Raymond H. Fogler Library
Special Collections: Guide to the Chandler Family Papers
Arranged and described by Brenda Howitson Steeves
Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department
November 2003
Introduction and Summary Information
Collection Title: Chandler Family Papers.
Dates of the Collection: 1750-1956 (inclusive); 1795-1886 (bulk).
Provenance: The Chandler Family Papers were acquired from Donald C. Chandler, New Gloucester, Maine, in 1966.
Collection Number: MS 94.
Box Numbers: 1-7 (formerly Boxes 40-46).
Size and Arrangement: The collection consists of six archival record cartons and one document box of material (6 cubic feet) + 1 linear foot of ledgers.
Conservation Note: The collection has been re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes.
Preferred Citation: Chandler Family Papers, SpecialCollections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine.
Restrictions on Access and Use: Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval.
Biography
The collection contains the personal and business papers of several generations of the Chandler family of New Gloucester, Maine. It centers primarily on materials of Peleg, Philip, Solomon Hewett (both elder and younger), Charles Parsons, Charles Peleg, and Andrew Campbell Chandler, as well as business records of Bearce & Chandler, a grocery business of Dexter Bearce and Solomon Chandler.
Peleg Chandler was born in 1735 in Duxbury, Massachusetts and later moved with other family members to North Yarmouth, Maine, and then to New Gloucester where he became a blacksmith. Active in town affairs, he served for many years on the Committee of Safety, was one of the original members of the Orthodox Congregational Church in New Gloucester, and in 1784 was a representative to the Massachusetts General Court. He married Sarah Winslow in 1762 and had 11 children. Peleg Chandler died in 1819.
Philip Chandler, Peleg’s son, was born in 1767. He seems to have been involved in business with his father and also served as a coroner. He married Deborah Hewett in 1790 and died in 1823. Solomon Hewett Chandler (1790-1858), whose papers make up a large part of the collection, was Philip Chandler’s oldest son. In partnership with Dexter Bearce (1781-1838), his uncle by marriage, he started a grocery and general store in New Gloucester around 1815. He also seems to have been involved in the lumbering business and in a carding mill. He became known as New Gloucester’s wealthiest citizen. He married Sarah Campbell in 1825 and had two sons, Solomon Hewett and Andrew Campbell Chandler.
Charles Parsons Chandler (1801-1857) was the son of Peleg Chandler, Jr. and his wife Sarah and the grandson of the older Peleg Chandler. Charles Parsons Chandler graduated from Bowdoin College in 1822 and received an A.M. in 1827. He read law in his father’s office and later practiced law in Foxcroft, Maine. He also served as preceptor at the Foxcroft Academy and was in the Maine Senate from 1854 to 1857.
Charles Peleg Chandler (1835-1862), the son of Charles Parsons Chandler, graduated from Bowdoin in 1854 and from Harvard Law School in 1857. He then worked in the law office of Massachusetts governor John Andrew until 1861 when he enlisted as a major in the 1st Massachusetts Infantry. He was killed at Malvern Hill, Virginia, in 1862.
Solomon Hewett Chandler (1828-1903) was the son of Solomon Hewett and Sarah Chandler. He was involved in lumbering operations in the Letter E Plantation near Madrid, Maine, and also in farming. His brother, Andrew Campbell Chandler (1830-1894), was also involved in farming in New Gloucester. He served in the Maine House of Representatives in 1869.
Scope and Content Note
The Chandler family papers consist of business and personal papers of several generations of the family as well as materials concerning the town of New Gloucester, Maine. They reflect the involvement of the family in farming, a general store and grocery, and the lumber industry. Materials documenting the family’s activities in civic and religious organizations are also included.
The papers are arranged in two series: Family Papers and Material about New Gloucester. The Family Papers series has several sub-series. The collection was re-foldered sometime after arriving at the Fogler Library; many of the folder labels assigned then have been used in this finding aid.
The Family Papers series is arranged chronologically with each individual family member’s papers as a sub-series. The records of Bearce & Chandler are also a sub-series in this series. Within each sub-series, if present, the materials include correspondence and other personal material, followed by legal, financial, and purchasing records. Legal records typically include deeds, notes, documents from various estates for which the Chandlers served as administrators, and tax documents. Financial records include statements of accounts, assets and liabilities, ledgers, journals, cashbooks, daybooks, and bills or accounts payable and receivable. Purchasing records include bills, receipts, and orders. This series ends with a sub-series of papers of various family members each too small to be considered a separate sub-series, as well as materials not belonging to any specific family member.
The New Gloucester series contains various documents from citizens of the town as well as a small group of materials about the militia, schools, churches, and various organizations in the town.
The series outline and description which follows lists the major types of papers found in each sub-series.
Series Outline and Description
Series I: Family Papers
Sub-series 1: Papers of Peleg Chandler (1735-1819)
Papers include photocopies of personal correspondence, 1791-1794; deeds of properties owned by Peleg Chandler, 1762-1811; records concerning the meetinghouse in New Gloucester; and a copy of Peleg Chandler’s will, 1815.
Sub-series 2: Papers of Philip Chandler (1767-1823)
Papers include correspondence, 1803, 1821-1822; legal documents, 1795-1819; deeds, 1796-1824; and materials about the estate of Peleg Chandler, 1819-1823. Also included are daybooks, account books and memorandum books, 1794-1816, some from the P. & P. Chandler Company.
Sub-series 3: Papers of Solomon Hewett Chandler (1790-1858)
One of the largest sub-series in the collection, materials include lesson books, 1806-1809; incoming correspondence, 1814-1857; and documents about the estate of Philip Chandler, 1823. This sub-series also contains account books, 1818-1859; bills, 1824-1853; and receipts, 1823-1857. Although the bills and receipts are addressed to S.H. Chandler personally, they are for groceries, dry-goods, equipment, hardware, etc., and are probably from his partnership in Bearce & Chandler. The bills are mostly from firms in Portland, Maine and in Boston. This sub-series ends with records documenting Chandler’s involvement in the lumber business.
Sub-series 4: Papers of Dexter Bearce (1781-1838)
This small sub-series includes personal correspondence, 1810, 1815 and 1824, as well as an account book, 1811.
Sub-series 5: Records of Bearce & Chandler
This large sub-series begins with legal and financial records about the establishment of the partnership between Dexter Bearce and S.H. Chandler. It is followed by detailed accounts of goods on hand and amounts of money due to the store, 1817-1834, plus daybooks, cashbooks, journals and ledgers, 1814-1864. Bills to the store, 1807-1825, for goods and equipment sold are also included.
Sub-series 6: Papers of Charles Parsons Chandler (1801-1857)
Included are photocopies of incoming personal correspondence, a catalogue of Foxcroft Academy and a document, 1833, appointing Chandler a justice of the peace.
Sub-series 7: Papers of Charles Peleg Chandler (1835-1862)
This small sub-series includes materials about Chandler’s attendance at Bowdoin, 1851-1854, and an undated lesson book.
Sub-series 8: Papers of Solomon Hewett Chandler (1828-1903)
Included is incoming correspondence, 1869-1885, as well as correspondence concerning lumbering in the Letter E Plantation, 1885; notes on agriculture and crops; financial information, 1862-1871; a daybook from Letter E Plantation, 1884-1886; and bills, 1884-1886.
Sub-series 9: Papers of Andrew Campbell Chandler (1830-1894)
This sub-series contains correspondence, 1853-1892, insurance and tax documents, agricultural information, ledgers, and bills and receipts. The correspondence reflects Andrew Chandler’s work in agriculture and his interest in religion; it includes a letter, 1874, from Joshua Chamberlain, writing about the need to keep Bowdoin an evangelical Christian college. It also contains some material from S.H. and A.C. Chandler’s business activities together.
Sub-series 10: Papers of other Chandler family members
This sub-series contains material from early Chandler family members as well as genealogical material, advertisements for agricultural and lumbering equipment and supplies, and various unidentified journals and memo books.
Series II: Material about New Gloucester
This series begins with account books, diaries and other documents of various individuals not related to the Chandler family; these are listed alphabetically by the names of their creators. A small group of records about the town of New Gloucester and its activities closes the series.
Box List
Please note: All items without a folder number and designated as Ledger are kept in the wall storage area.
Series I: Family papers
Sub-series 1: Papers of Peleg Chandler (1735-1819)
Box 1
Folder
1 Correspondence, personal, 1791-1794 [Photocopies]
2 Deeds, 1762-1782, 1786, 1789
3 Deeds, 1784-1792
4 Deeds, 1795-1807, 1811
5 Receipts, 1793-1818; undated
6 Papers re meeting house, 1791, 1798; undated
7 Documents re estate of Joseph Philips, 1799 [Peleg Chandler,administrator]
8 Will of Peleg Chandler, 1815
Sub-series 2: Papers of Philip Chandler (1767-1823)
9 Correspondence, 1803, 1821-1822
10 Appointment as coroner, 1795, 1821
11 Legal documents, 1795-1819
12 Deeds, 1796-1824
13 Materials re estate of Peleg Chandler, 1819-1823
14 Papers re estate of Mercy Hatch, 1821-1822
15 Bills, receipts, etc., 1809-1825
16 Journal [of work done], 1786-1794
17 Daybook, 1794
18 Daybook, 1797-1798
19 Miscellaneous daybooks and account books, 1799-1816; undated
20 Account book, 1775-1798
21 Account of sales cashbook began September 30th, 1796, P. and P. Chandler’s Co.
22 Account book, 1796-1797
23 [Account book], Nov. 26, 1798, P. & P. Chandler Co.
24 Memorandum books, 1810, 1820, 1823
Sub-series 3: Papers of Solomon Hewett Chandler (1790-1858)
Box 1 cont.
Folder
25 Lesson books, 1806-1807; undated
26 Lesson book, 1809
27 Lesson book, undated
28 Correspondence, incoming, 1814-1857; undated
29 Insurance documents, 1830, 1844, 1852-1856
30 Legal documents, 1826-1854; undated
31 Notes, 1823-1855; undated
32 Documents re estate of Philip Chandler, 1823
33 Documents re estate of Isaac Haskell, 1831-1833 [Solomon Chandler, administrator]
34 Documents re Haskell estate, 1831-1834
35 Haskell estate and others
36 Memo books
37 Account books
38 Accounts, 1818-1830
39 Account book, 1825
40 Account books, 1825-1829
41 Account book, 1832
42 Account book, 1846-1850
43 Account book, 1858-1859
44 Cash, memo and freight books, 1850’s
45 Ledger, 1852-1853
Box 2
1 Miscellaneous financial information, 1836-1854
2 Miscellaneous financial information
3 Bill book, 20th May 1820-[1822]
4 Bill books, 1825-1835
5 Bills, 1824-1825
6 Bills, 1825-1826
7 Bills, 1825-1826
8 Bills, 1825-1826
9 Bills, 1826-1827
10 Bills, 1826-1827
11 Bills, 1828-1829
12 Bills, 1830-1831
Sub-series 3: Papers of Solomon Hewett Chandler (1790-1858) cont.
Box 2 cont.
Folder
13 Bills, 1831-1833
14 Bills, etc., of proprietors of Lane’s threshing machine, 1834-1836
15 Bills, 1834-1837
16 Bills, 1841-1845
17 Bills, 1846-1848
18 Bills, 1849
19 Bills, 1849
20 Bills, 1849
21 Bills, 1849
22 Bills, 1849
23 Bills for wool, 1849-1853
24 Bills, 1850
25 Bills, 1850, Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad Corp.
26 Bills, 1850, Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad Corp.
27 Bills, 1850-1851
28 Bills, 1851
29 Bills, 1851
30 Bills, 1851
31 Bills, 1851
32 Bills, 1851
Box 3
1 Bills, 1851
2 Survey bills, 1851-1853
3 Bills, 1851-1852
4 Bills, 1851-1852
5 Bills, 1852
6 Bills, 1852
7 Bills, 1852
8 Bills, 1852
9 Bills, 1852
10 Bills, 1852
11 Bills, 1852
12 Bills, 1852
13 Bills, 1852
14 Bills, J.W. Pottle Co., 1852
15 Bills, 1853
Sub-series 3: Papers of Solomon Hewett Chandler (1790-1858) cont.
Box 3 cont.
Folder
16 Bills, 1853
17 Bills, 1853
18 Bills, 1853
19 Bills, 1853
20 Bills, 1853
21 Account of W.B. Lovejoy, 1853-1854
22 Bills, 1854-1859
23 Pass books, price books, 1851-1853
24 Orders, 1852
25 Receipts, 1823-1833
26 Receipts, 1834-1836
27 Receipts, 1836-1839
28 Receipts, 1840-1857; undated
29 [Record of cut lumber & prices], 1833-1835
30 Memo book of lumber surveyed, 1851
31 Solomon H. Chandler and Joseph Clifford: Carding book for 1850
32 Engraving of Solomon H. Chandler
Sub-series 4: Papers of Dexter Bearce (1781-1838)
33 Personal correspondence, etc., 1810, 1815, 1824
34 Account book, 1811
Sub-series 5: Records of Bearce & Chandler
35 Legal and financial records, 1808-1820
36 Account of...stock D. Bearce turned into company with S.H. Chandler, May 3, 1815
37 Account of money taken by Bearce & Chandler, 1815 May 3-[1818]
38 Account of money carried from home to Boston for Bearce & Chandler, 1819
39 Cash carried to Portland for Bearce & Chandler, 1826
40 Account of money paid out and to whom it is paid, 1819-1821
41 Ac’t. of money pd. out, 1821-1825
42 Notes issued & paid, 1818-1822
43 Notes issued & paid, 1818-1819
44 Account book, 1804
45 Account of goods on hand, 1817; account of notes due...1817
46 Goods on hand, 1818; amounts due, 1817-1819
Sub-series 5: Records of Bearce & Chandler cont.
Box 3 cont.
Folder
47 Goods on hand, 1819; amounts due, 1819
48 Amount of stock on hand, 1820-1824
49 Goods on hand, 1820; amounts due, 1820
Box 4
1 Account book: Goods on hand, 1821
2 Amounts due, 1821
3 Amount of notes belonging to Bearce & Chandler, 1821-1823
4 Goods on hand, 1822; amounts due, 1822
5 Amount of goods on hand, 1823
6 Amount of what is due on account & who from, 1823; amount of what B & Chandler owe, 1823
7 Amounts due [on notes], 1823
8 Goods on hand, 1824; amounts due, 1824
9 Amounts due, 1825; journal, 1825
10 Amounts due, 1826
11 List of store notes & amounts due, 1834
Ledger [Daybook] no. 2, Dec. 1815-June 1816
Ledger [Daybook] no. 3, June-Dec. 1816
Ledger [Daybook] no. 5, June 1817-Jan. 1818
12 Daybook, 1825-1826
Ledger [Daybook], no. 18, Feb.-Aug. 1833
Ledger [Daybook], no. 19, Aug. 1833-Dec. 1834
Ledger Daybook, July 1835-Aug. 1836
13 Cash book no. 6, 1821-1823 + index
14 Cash book no. 7, 1823-1824 + index
15 Cash book, 1823-1833
Ledger Cash book, Feb.-Oct. 1852
16 Journals, 1814-1820
17 Journals, 1817-1820
18 Ledger, 1804-1808
Ledger Ledger, 1817-1820
19 Index to ledger, 1817-1820
Ledger Ledger, 1824
20 Index to ledger, 1824
Ledger Ledger, 1825-1839
Sub-series 5: Records of Bearce & Chandler cont.
Box 4 cont.
Folder
21 Index to ledger, 1825-1839
Ledger Ledger, 1827-1831
22 Index to ledger, 1827-1831
23 Ledger, 1832-1834
Ledger Ledger, 1835-1862
24 Index to ledger, 1835-1862
Ledger Ledger, 1849-1851
25 Index to ledger, 1849-1851
Ledger Ledger, 1861-1864
26 Index to ledger, 1861-1864
27 [Index] no. 1, undated
28 Bills, 1807
29 Bills, 1807
30 Bills, 1810-1811
31 Bills, 1811
32 Bills, 1812
33 Bills, 1812
34 Bills, 1816-1819
35 Bills, 1821-1822
36 Bills, 1822
37 Bills, 1822
38 Bills, 1823
39 Bills, 1823
40 Bills, 1823
Box 5
1 Bills, 1823
2 Bill book, 1824
3 Bills, 1825
4 Orders, 1819
5 Poem re Bearce & Chandler
Sub-series 6: Papers of Charles Parsons Chandler (1801-1857)
6 Correspondence, personal, incoming [all photocopies]
7 Correspondence, incoming, 1825
8 Catalogue...of Foxcroft Academy, 1832
9 Appointment as justice of the peace, 1833
Sub-series 7: Papers of Charles Peleg Chandler (1835-1862)
Box 5 cont.
Folder
10 Materials re attendance at Bowdoin College, 1851-1854
11 Lesson book: trial balances, undated
Sub-series 8: Papers of Solomon Hewett Chandler (1828-1903)
12 Correspondence, etc., 1869, 1872-1879
13 Correspondence, incoming, 1881, 1884-1885, 1887
14 Correspondence, incoming, 1885
15 Correspondence re Letter E Plantation, 1885
16 Correspondence re Letter E Plantation, 1885
17 Correspondence, 1899
18 Miscellaneous personal material
19 Notes on agriculture and crops, undated
20 Newspaper clippings on agriculture, undated
21 Accounts: Solomon H. & A.C. Chandler as administrators of the estate of S.H. Chandler, 1858-1870
22 Documents re trust fund of Solomon H. Campbell, 1878-1882
23 Financial information, 1862-1871
24 Notebook listing bonds, 1860’s-1870’s
25 Notes, Jan. 1877
26 Daybook, Letter E Plantation, 1884-1886
27 Memorandum and cashbook, 1869
28 Bills, 1884-1885
29 Bills, 1885-1886
Sub-series 9: Papers of Andrew Campbell Chandler (1830-1894)
30 Correspondence, 1853-1854
31 Correspondence, 1862-1871
32 Correspondence, 1872-1874
33 Correspondence, 1875-1878
Box 6
1 Correspondence, 1879-1887
2 Correspondence, 1888-1892; undated
3 Insurance policies, 1889-1894
4 Tax documents, 1863-1868
Sub-series 9: Papers of Andrew Campbell Chandler (1830-1894) cont.
Box 6 cont.
Folder
5 Tax documents, 1869-1871
6 Maine State Agricultural Society materials, 1876, 1878
7 Agricultural information and orders
8 Newspaper clippings, undated
9 Photograph of Andrew Chandler, undated [Colpitts & Co. Photographic Studio, Portland, ME]
10 Ledger: Book B, 1872-1881 + index
11 Ledger: Book C, 1883 + index
12 Bills, receipts, 1879-1886
13 Bills, 1890-1892
14 Correspondence, 1881-1885, of S.H. & A.C. Chandler
15 Tax information, 1860’s, S.H. & A.C. Chandler
16 Legal document, 1868, S.H. & A.C. Chandler
17 Accounts, 1850’s, S.H. & A.C. Chandler
Sub-series 10: Papers of other Chandler family members
18 Donald Chandler: Miscellaneous material, 1956; undated
19 Ebenezer Chandler: Deeds, 1750
20 George W. Chandler: Wallet and contents, 1870-1872
21 Peleg Chandler (1773-1847): Documents re Cumberland Lodge, New Gloucester, 1808
22 Peleg Whitman Chandler (1816-1889): Correspondence, 1830 [Photocopies]
23 Samuel Fessenden: Correspondence, 1820, 1825
24 Mary Chandler Lowell: Fifty years [essay about her life]
25 Chandler genealogical material
26 “Chandler-Parsons...and allied families,” 1911, by Mary Chandler Lowell
27 Advertisements
28 Advertisements
29 Advertisements
30 Advertisements for lumber and mill machinery, undated
31 Miscellaneous booklets, 1830-1882
32 Religious clippings and pamphlets, 1883-1884
33 Miscellaneous notes
34 Family postcards, early 1900’s
35 Unidentified cash book, 1823-1827
36 Financial accounts, 1837-1850’s
Sub-series 10: Papers of other Chandler family members cont.
Box 6 cont.
Folder
37 Daily journal, 1868 [unidentified]
38 Unidentified memo books, undated
39 Unidentified index
40 Miscellaneous unidentified material
Series II: Material about New Gloucester
Box 7
1 Andrew Campbell: Military commission, 1808
2 Uriah Coffin: Account book, 1802-1804
3 Jeremiah Day: Diary and account book, 1779-1789
4 John Eveleth’s book, 1802
5 Stephen Haskell’s book, 1808
Ledger Gilman P. Hodgon: Account book, 1835-1873
6 Jackson family documents, 1796-1822
7 Laban Presho: Arithmetic notes, 1806, 1809
8 Sampson Presho: Account book, 1804-1808
9 Sampson Presho: Accounts, 1804-1807
10 William Small: Upper Gloucester carding book, 1845
11 E. Whitman: Orders, 1804
12 New Gloucester militia documents, 1803-1805
13 Record of meetings of school district, 1808-1819
14 Parish valuation books, 1858-1859
15 Town and school documents, undated
16 New Gloucester Temperance Association by-laws, undated
17 Account of newspapers and periodicals received at the post office, 1851
Finding Aids for selected manuscript collections in the Special Collections Department at Fogler Library are accessible online in URSUS, in a browsable Guide to Manuscript Collections. Please contact Special Collections at spc@umit.maine.edu or (207) 581-1686 for further information.
Special Collections Staff: spc@umit.maine.edu | Revised: 01/15/2013
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