Col. Sidney C. and Cora Wright Chambers House

1981

(The information below in italics is from the Preservation Durham Plaque Application for the Col. Sidney C. and Cora Wright Chambers House)

Sidney Chambers moved south from New York to attend UNC Law School in the 1900s, and shortly thereafter joined the National Guard. He moved to Durham around 1904, and married Lucy Bell Wright (niece of R.H. Wright) in 1919. He then fought in WWI, commanding the 113th Field Artillery, and was welcomed home as a hero - he gave a lecture at a parade and celebration for veterans in 1921. He and Lucy lived in the Franklin Court Apartments (originally Wright Apartments) at 505 E Main Street, adjacent to her uncle (residing in the E.J. Parrish House on Dillard). In 1924, when Lucy was about 30, she died suddenly. Her obituary lauds her work throughout civic groups in the city. 

At this point, Sidney was already the City Attorney, a position he would hold until 1937. After a few years alone, he remarried, to Cora Lee Wright, Lucy's younger sister. She was 30 and he 49 at the time of their marriage. They traveled widely together, including to Europe and Brazil, and he remained quite active in civic life until his final illness and death in 1961. Shortly thereafter, Cora sold the house on Trinity, although she lived another 23 years, passing in 1984.