Truby & Chambers families for the win in 2026

Farmhouse history and the Revolutionary war

Hello western PA history lovers – long time no see! I hope everyone’s staying warm and safe as we make our way through the end of another January. This one has been a doozy!

You know, it was 10 years ago this month—in January 2016—that I launched the Truby Farmhouse website and blog, in part to honor the 200-year anniversary of Apollo PA, and in part to share cool stories about the history of what was then my mom’s house, located at 708 Terrace Avenue in Apollo. When she purchased the house from Margie and Dale Hunter in 1975, we knew essentially nothing of its past, besides learning that the house had been in Margie’s family for nearly three decades. We had no clue about when the house might have been built nor who else had ever lived there. My mom suspected it was the oldest house on the block. But back then there was no internet and no time to research house histories. My mom was beginning a teaching job at Kiski Area High School, and my sister and I were new students in the Apollo-Ridge school district.

So when I started looking into the house’s history about 40 years later, I was astonished at the many stories that could be found and told about its inhabitants over the decades. For starters, the house had been built by Simon Truby (1806-1886), who had purchased about 150 acres of land from James and Hettie Speer in 1843. Back then it was mostly forest. But today that land includes a significant portion of Apollo and North Apollo boroughs, including Pegtown.

Simon Truby eventually had nine children and a thriving farm, including apple and peach orchards, sheep, chickens, cows, pigs, beehives, and crops like corn, potatoes, and oats. Simon had an older brother, Captain Henry Truby, who had a near-identical brick farmhouse along Lover’s Leap Road in Gilpin Township, near Leechburg PA. After Simon’s death, his farmland was divided up into hundreds of smaller properties in Apollo and North Apollo. The old brick farmhouse is now surrounded by dozens of houses. You would never guess it was once heart of a thriving farm.

Over the years, dear readers, I’ve shared many Truby-related stories with you. This includes the nail-biting tale of my great-uncle, who tried to swindle his Truby neighbor and ended up in federal prison (see the Chicken Coop Caper). But there are so very many other stories I’ve only partially researched and haven’t yet written or shared. And so many others I’d promised to follow up on, but then I dropped the ball.

I have to admit, it took a lot of wind out of my sails when my mom became very ill in 2017 and passed away in 2018. My sister and I sold the old brick house two years later. I was surprised at how hard it felt hard to continue writing about the Truby farmhouse and its families, especially when one of those former families is my own. I still love learning about the Trubys and others who’ve been associated with the house. But it’s been hard to muster the energy to write about them.

Not only that, but since I’m not a blood relative of the Trubys, some members of my family have been urging me to research the history of my own family, including the local Chambers family. It turns out, my 5-great grandfather James Chambers (1749-1847) was an immigrant from Ireland and a private in the revolutionary war. He lived just across the river from Apollo. In 1781 he was captured by Indians outside of Pittsburgh then transported to Lake Erie, handed over to the British, and sent to Prison Island, located along the St. Lawrence River in Canada. He was released two years later and returned to his family in Westmoreland County PA.

Like Apollo farmer Simon Truby, James Chambers and his son owned and farmed many acres of land that have since been broken up into smaller properties and neighborhoods in Washington, Allegheny, and Bell townships in Westmoreland County. But unlike the Trubys, a large portion of the old Chambers farm still exists as a working farm, now owned by another family. From Owens Grove in Apollo, you can get a good view of the cleared farmland on Chambers Hill, part of the old Chambers farm. The entire borough of Oklahoma PA is built on land that once belonged to my forebear James Chambers or his son William. My extended family still owns more than 30 acres that were part of the original Chambers properties.

Seeing as how this year marks the 250^th anniversary of the United States of America, it seems like a good time to try to revive this Truby website and blog. But for this year, I aim to write about both the Truby family and my own Chambers family. Since the Trubys and Chambers lived just across the river from each other, they must have known each other. In fact, James Chambers’ grandson John Bovard Chambers (1813-1886) moved to Apollo in 1847 and became a riverboat captain, business leader, and long-time president of the Apollo Savings Bank.  (J B Chambers is my four-great uncle.)

Signing off for now. Look for another post in February. Comments always appreciated. And if you love local history, please show some love and support to the awesome Apollo Area Historical Society Please stay warm and safe!

• by Vicki Contie