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CFA Chapter 13
Descendants of Edmund Chandler

born c 1588 England, died 1662 MA USA

Chapter 13
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EDMUND’S COMMUNITY COURIER
August 2006

Barb Chandler Editor

 

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Hi, I am Carol May, now co-chairperson of the Edmund Chandler Family Association having taken over some of the duties from Marcia. I am trying to fill one shoe by taking care of the databases. She did an extraordinary job entering all of that information plus the library.

I am a baby boomer, that is as technical as I will get about age! My great-grandfather, Frank B. Hanscom, (grandson of Rebecca Chandler) came to California in the late 1880’s for his health as the severe Maine winters were giving him rheumatism. He and my great-grandmother settled in Palm Springs, California. Absolute opposite of Maine, must have been a shock. His rheumatism went away. They lived there a few years, eventually settling in Los Angeles, where I live now.

I was a teacher, then did a little freelance writing, before family responsibilities took over. I am currently taking care of my Dad who is 85. I am also a horse lover.

Like so many of us in the group, I have only circumstantial evidence linking my ancestor, in my case Rebecca Chandler, to Edmund. I was clueless as to who her parents were when I first started out.

I believe my Chandler line to be Rebecca>Abel>John>Joseph>Benjamin>Edmund. I think that I may be the only one in the group who descends from Benjamin.

 

THE GENEALOGIST’S TOOLBOX

A general knowledge of time period when our ancestors lived is helpful to our research. History not only gives us insight into their lives, but may also provide clues for further discoveries.

To start putting together a historical timeline go to American Memory at //memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

American Memory has letters, interviews, sound recordings, maps, music, pictures and advertising from 1400 to the present.

 

TIDBITS

Finding our female ancestors who are married is difficult, but not insurmountable. Discovering her maiden name is vital. Some sources you might investigate are; marriage certificates, husband’s obituary, birth certificates of her children, her obituary (this may include surviving siblings), baptismal record, census records (women sometimes gave their maiden name to their children).

A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIFE OF . . .
Reuben Chandler

by Jane Wong

I heard about Reuben Chandler all my life. He was quite a legend. It was unclear how he was related to my family. There were conflicting stories. Sometimes he was reported as the brother of my great great grandmother, Eliza Chandler Kelly. Sometimes as her father.

Reuben traveled the world. My family has a hand painted vase he reportedly brought back from Indonesia or China. We also have a horsehair covered strongbox that contained family papers, including ship’s papers, signed by Martin Van Buren in 1841. These were orders for Captain or Commander Reuben M. Chandler to sail the Brig “Hortense”. There was also a copy of Reuben Chandler’s original will, signed September 26, 1871. He left the remainder of his estate to his two daughters, Eliza Chandler Kelly and Almira Chandler Milliken. Also in the box was a funeral notice for Almira Milliken’s daughter, Marietta, who died at the age of nine in 1858.

When I started digging around on the Internet looking for Reuben’s parents, I didn’t find much. However, the Bucknam family tree lists him as the husband of Mary Bucknam, and his parents as Enos Chandler and Elizabeth Soule Chandler. However, when I looked up these Enos and Elizabeth their children were listed as: Rhoda, b. 1766; Betty, b. 1768; Joseph, b. 1769. Reuben, b. 1782, was not on the list.

In June, I went to Maine with my second cousin Fred, my brother Tom, his wife Ada to see what we could find. At the Historical Society in Portland we found a copy of a document from the Androscoggin Historical Society that listed Reuben as the son of Enos and Elizabeth, as well as his wife Mary Bucknam and his children, one of whom is Eliza Chandler Kelly.

Tom and Ada went to the Maritime Museum in Bath and learned that Reuben Morris Chandler, 26 years old, died on the brig Hortense on a trip back to New York from Palermo, Italy. This didn’t make a lot of sense, so we kept digging.

The Yarmouth Historical Society has list of Yarmouth cemeteries, and names of the people are buried there. We did a cemetery search and struck gold. In the Old Baptist Cemetery in Yarmouth we found a Chandler family. Buried in it was; Capt. Reuben Chandler, who died October 7, 1871 in Nevada City, California, his wife Mary B. Chandler, his son, Capt. Reuben Morris Chandler, who died on the brig Hortense, several other children who died in childhood, and two grandchildren, one of whom was Marietta, whose funeral notice we found amongst the family papers.

Reuben Chandler signed his will in Yarmouth, Maine on September 26, 1871, and died eleven days later in Nevada City California on October 7, 1871. This was a total surprise. All we can think of is that he settled his affairs, taking care of his two remaining children, and took the train to California. His epitaph says, “There is Rest in Heaven”. Perhaps he just had itchy feet and wanted to see what it was like to cross the country by train instead of rounding Cape Horn by ship.

So my mother was right – Reuben Chandler was her great great grandfather, and another Reuben Chandler was her great grandmother’s brother!

We also found the graves of Enos Chandler and Elizabeth Soule Chandler in Old Ledge cemetery in Yarmouth. There are a lot of other Chandlers buried there as well. Joseph Chandler, son of Enos and Elizabeth, and his wife Elizabeth Bucknam, and some of their children. We didn’t get all the relationships straight, but it’s definitely worth a visit for Chandler researchers.

We enjoyed the epitaph on Lucy Chandler’s grave (Lucy is the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth, 1800-1834): “In pining sickness till her latest breath, Religion her support, her joy in death”. We decided she must have been a real fun gal. We also found the grave of Sarah Loring Bucknam, our g-g-g-g grandmother!

We found a lot of information in two days. When we went to Maine we had some information, but with the wonderful help from the historical societies, we had a very successful trip.

 

WISH LIST

Library help. Pictures need to be entered into the library. They don’t need to be scanned, just entered. If you’re interested in volunteering for this important job contact Carol May at Docabye @ aol.com

Articles for Newsletter. I need articles for “A Glimpse into the life,” “Tidbits,” “Genealogist’s Toolbox,” “Getting to Know You.” Send your articles to barb95831 @ gmail.com