Chandler Collections

  • The Asenath Chandler Papers (1795) 

Scope and Content: The collection consists of one handwritten and hand-sewn book made by Asenath Chandler in 1795.  The book records genealogical information about Asenath’s immediate family including the death dates of her sister, Rhoda, and her mother.

Biographical Note:  Asenath Chandler (d. 1858) was born in Duxbury to Perez Chandler and Rhoda Wadsworth.  In 1798 she married Nathaniel Holmes (1773-1848) of Kingston, MA.  They resided in Kingston, MA and had 11 children. 

Organization: The Collection consists of 1 Folder.

Frederick A. Chandler Journals (1856)
DAL.MSS.144

Scope and Content:
Four journals kept by Frederick A. Chandler (1842-1856) when he was fourteen years old. The journals span March-June 1856 and are filled with daily activities such as going to school, spring planting on the family’s farm, playing games, and building a go-cart. Many names of neighbors and family are mentioned. The journals are a good representation of a boy’s life growing up in mid-19th century Duxbury, MA.

Biographical Sketch:
Frederick A. Chandler (1842-1856) was born in Duxbury, MA, the son of George Chandler and Louisa D. Ransom. The family farm was near the Duxbury/Kingston border on Winter Street. Frederick was one of four siblings. His older brother George, and younger brother, Henry, are both mentioned in the journal as well as infant Lloyd. Another child, Bertha, was born after Frederick died. Frederick and the baby Lloyd Chandler both died in November 1856 of scarlet fever.

Pelham Chandler Family Papers (1801-1879) 

Scope and Content: The collection consists of 22 documents in one folder.  Sixteen of the documents are financial including receipts to Sylvia Delano Chandler and tax receipts to Pelham Chandler.  Two of the documents pertain to the guardianship of Pelham and Nancy Chandler after the death of their father in 1801.  A Deed of Sale (1804) between Rufus Adams and Darius Delano describes the property lost by Sylvia Delano Chandler’s father, Cornelius Delano. 

 Also included in the Collection is George T. Chandler’s discharge from Union Army (1863) as well as a very detailed agreement between George T. Chandler and Z. W. Peterson concerning the construction of a new house in 1878.

Biographical Information: Pelham Chander (1795-1865) of Duxbury was the son of Sylvia Delano (1770-1831) and Aaron Chandler (1865-1801).  When he was five years old his father died at sea, leaving both he and his sister, Nancy, under the guardianship of their widowed mother.  In 1824, Pelham Chandler, a shoemaker, married Olive Low (1803-1865).  The couple had three children, Henry (b. 1827), Susan (b.1837) and George T. (1839-1925).  His sister, Nancy Chandler, married Cyrus Cushman Churchill of Plympton.

Pelham’s sons also became shoemakers.  George T. Chandler enlisted in the Civil War as a private in the Massachusetts 38th Regiment and was discharged in 1863.  During the late 19th century, George was employed as a postmaster in Duxbury.

Organization: The Collections is in three series.

Series I: Sylvia Chandler

Series II: Pelham Chandler

Series III: George Chandler

Series I: Sylvia Chandler

  1. Guardianship of Pelham Chandler and Nancy Chandler to their mother, Sylvia Chandler, 1801.
  2. Document permitting the sale of property to support Pelham and Nancy Chandler by Sylvia Chandler, 1801.
  3. Receipt to Sylvia Chandler for attending the son of John Young, 1802.
  4. Deed for sale of property between Rufus Adams of Kingston and Darius Delano of Duxbury, 1804.
  5. Receipt to Sylvia Chandler for red flannel, 1811.
  6. Bill to Sylvia Chandler, 1812
  7. Receipt to Sylvia Chandler for the building a house by Luther Phillips, 1817.
  8.  2 Receipts for shares in the Old Meeting House, n.d.
  9. Promissory Note to Sylvia Chandler from George Delano, 1827.
  10. Receipt to Pelham Chandler from James Loring for the burial of Sylvia Chandler, 1831.
  11. Document naming Pelham Chandler the executor of Sylvia Chandler’s will, 1831.

Series II: Pelham Chandler

  1. Receipt to Pelham Chandler for the making of shoes by Otis Weston, 1826
  2. 4 Tax receipts to Pelham Chandler, 1841-1849.
  3. Receipt to Pelham Chandler from Dr. John Porter for doctor visits, 1847.
  4. Receipt to Pelham Chandler from Augustus Weston for funeral charges, 1865.

Series III: George T. Chandler

  1. Civil War discharge for George T. Chandler, 1863.
  2. Agreement between George T. Chandler and Z. W. Peterson concerning the building of a house, 1878.
  3. Receipt to George T. Chandler from Z. W. Peterson for the building of a house, 1878.

6 thoughts on “Chandler Collections”

  2. Hi Paul,

    George T. Chandler was a descendant of Edmund Chandler, who immigrated to Duxbury c. 1630. Almost all of the Chandlers in Duxbury descended from him. This is from just a quick search of our database showing George’s line back to Edmund starting with George. George T.>Pelham>Aaron>Thomas>Samuel>Benjamin>Edmund, the immigrant.

    We have not done a lot of research on that branch of the family, but we know that several of them were buried in the Mayflower Cemetery in Duxbury.

    We have much more information about the Edmund Chandler family on our website http://www.edmundchandler.com and even more in our members’s only section. You are welcome to join if you wish.

    You can find George T. Chandler’s military service at http://www.familysearch.org. Click records search at the top then click pilot search records.

    Happy hunting and if you have questions you may e-mail me at my e-mail address above.

    Carol May
    Co-chairperson of the Edmund Chandler Family Association.

    Reply

  3. You can read more about the Edmund Chandler family in Edmund’s Community Courier on our web site http://www.edmundchandler.com. Go to the top of the page and click Edmund’s Community Courier.

    You can read about the Isaac Chandler house in Duxbury, Duxbury’s “haunted” places, the Liberty Pole, a Chandler Medal of Honor recipient and more if you go to the back issues.

    When we finish the current series, the plan is to do a series on Revolutionary War Chandlers. We have done a couple of stories on Civil War Chandlers, one on our Duxbury MOH recipient, James B. Chandler, (mistakenly recorded as John) and another brief one on Alvin Chandler of Maine.

    Both George T. Chandler and James’ common ancestor was Samuel Chandler who was the grandson of the immigrant, Edmund Chandler. Samuel did not migrate from Duxbury, so many of generations of his descendants also made Duxbury their home.

    Also check the archives at the bottom of the page.

    Reply

  4. Hello Duxbury!, the plot of land that I own on the Souhegan River in NH was once used to fund the schools in Duxbury ca 1740’s. What can you tell me about how this was acquired and by whom? When was the property released and who was responsible? prior to 1794.

    Reply

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