Chapter 8

Research Director:
Jim Light

Understanding Group 8 Chandler Lineages

Members of CFA Chapter 8 are those who have taken a Y-DNA test that sorted them into Group 8, or they have a close male relative with the surname of Chandler and a Chandler Lineage that has taken a Y-DNA test that placed their Chandler ancestry in genetic Group 8.  The Chapter 8 membership has been additionally sub-organized to facilitate a better understanding of the lineages of Chapter 8 members. 

This graphic depicts the sub-groups within Chapter 8:

Sub-Groups 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8F, and 8G all have lineages in the USA; Group 8E does not.  None of the USA sub-groups know who the Chandler was that emigrated to the USA and established our roots here.  We are exploring the idea that William Chandler who arrived in Virginia in 1638 aboard The William might be that person.

The sub-groups have some commonalities within them, but not between them.  Groups 8A, 8B, and 8C all descend from a single Chandler ancestor.  Group 8D has not yet identified the Chandler patriarch from whom they descend.  Group 8E knows its ancestors in England already; it is from this group that we believe our Chapter 8 Chandler ancestors originate in Leicestershire.  Group 8F has a variety of Earliest Known Chandler Ancestors (EKA), i.e., we currently cannot link them to a single Chandler ancestor, nor to any of the other subgroups. 

Group 8G are linked via genealogy research to Isaac Chandler (1732 VA-1797 TN), who is in Group 7A.  Isaac Chandler has other descendants who have Y-DNA test validated his inclusion in Group 7A.  Isaac has recorded sons with the same names as these Chandlers (George, Thomas, Daniel, and Shadrack), but there is no compelling source data that says these men are the same men in Isaac’s household, although it seems odd that there could be four sons of the same names in a different household.  Clearly, Isaac is not their biological father; he is 7A, they are 8.  Chapter 8 members need to find biological parents for their Group 8 EKAs, whether Isaac “adopted” these children, or not.

For Group 8B – please see more information about known descendants of Rev. Horatio Chandler here.

Consider the table below.  It is organized by the kit-numbers of those who have tested into Group 8.  You can find this same list of kit-numbers on the CFA Website in the Y-DNA results report.  For each testee, we have a Chandler lineage.  The earliest known Chandler in that lineage (EKA) is identified in the table, along with where he was born, and where he died, if known.  Also listed are the sons of the EKA where we have testee’s who descend from different sons of the EKA.  Having more than one line of descent resulting in the same Y-DNA test result provides corroboration of the DNA of the EKA.  In the case of the Rev. John Chandler (8B), he only had one son, Horatio, so the corroboration was accomplished by having two different grandsons’ descendants tested.  Similarly, two of the testee’s in Group 8G descend from George Chandler’s son James, so included are George’s grandson’s which corroborates James DNA.

Please let Jim Light know if this report has been helpful to you, and also let Jim know if you have any additional ideas to further our research.