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CFA Chapter 13
Descendants of Edmund Chandler

born c 1588 England, died 1662 MA USA

Chapter 13 home page

 

EDMUND’S COMMUNITY COURIER
February 2007

Barb Chandler Editor
GETTING TO KNOW YOUHi, I am Chuck Heath of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and I just found out about and joined the ECFA. I was born in Evanston, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in geology. I went to work for US Steel after graduation where I was placed in the management-training program and got my first introduction to computers. After US Steel came the Army, the MITRE Corporation, Computer Sciences Corporation and the Federal Government. I retired in late 1999 as a Chief Information Officer in the Department of Energy.

In August 1999, my wife Barb and I were on an Alaskan cruise talking about what I would do when I retired at the end of the year. I had recently received some diaries and letters that my ggrandfather, George Chandler, kept during the Civil War. So I thought I might like to find our more about George, where I came from, and who my family was. I didn’t have a clue about any family history beyond the names of my grandparents. Only my brother and I remained from out family line. We have no aunts, uncles, cousins or any other relatives that we know about. We did remember that my Mom had a family bible that she had mentioned decades ago and that we had some family pictures. We found the bible; it was printed in 1748, and had a family line going back to the Revolutionary War through George’s wife, Cornelia Barnes Pennell. George’s diaries and letters provided a host of Chandler family information, and some of my Mom’s pictures had names on them including George, his wife and her parents.

Since that meager beginning I have become addicted to genealogy and Civil War research and have been able to go back a long way in both my and my wife’s family histories. I am a member of the Mayflower Society (Richard Warren) on my Dad’s side of the family and I am working on the Sons of the American Revolution membership through Cornelia Barnes Pennell. Today we live in Falls Run, an active adult community (800 homes) in Stafford County Virginia, where I am very active in the community’s government, chairing the genealogy club, taking the Civil War into the classroom in Northern Virginia, do genealogy research for our community residents and keeping house while my wife continues to teach. In my spare time I am working on two books: the first is a contemporary history of the 5th Maine Infantry; and, the second is one about my ggrandfather, George Chandler’s, Civil War experiences.

My lineage to Edmund goes like this:

Edmund Chandler
Benjamin Chandler m Elizabeth Buck
John Chandler m Bethiah Ricard
Jonathan Chandler m Rebecca Packard
Reuben Chandler m Hannah Dennen
Seth Chandler m Lydia Banks
George Albert Chandler m Cornelia Barnes Pennell
Edith Chandler (only child) m Harry Ivory Jordan
Cornelia Francis Jordan m Lewis White Heath
Charles Chandler Heath (that’s me–I have three children and six grand children).

We have been to Maine to see the homes of some of my relatives in the Auburn-Lewiston area as well as the house where my Mom was born and grew up. She was the first in her family to leave Maine when she married my Dad in the 1930’s. I never met her parents nor had I ever been to Maine until the summer of 2001. We will be back this summer to do more research and to enjoy the Maine scenery. I would be happy to share anything I have that others might be interested in (my family’s history, gedcoms, George’s diaries, etc.) just let me know.

TIDBITS

“GOODY” AND “MRS.”
by Carol May

While doing genealogy research, have you ever come across someone called Goody Smith or Goody Jones, for example, and thought “What an odd first name?” “Goody” is actually short for “Goodwife.” Today we use the term Mrs. in its place and the term Mr. for “Goodman.” These were titles for ordinary folks back in the 1600s.

Arthur Miller used the title “Goody” in his play, “The Crucible” which was about the Salem witch trials. The expression “Goody Two Shoes” was actually Goodwife Two Shoes in an old children’s nursery story. Goody Two Shoes was thrilled to finally obtain a second shoe after only owning one. Today when we think Goody Two Shoes we think “goody, goody” – a little miss perfect, who upholds of all of the rules to the point of being obnoxious.

Another genealogy tripper-upper is the term Mrs. which is the abbreviation of mistress. Today we use the term as a title Mrs. for a married woman and mistress has an additional meaning altogether, but that was not always so. In the olden days Mrs., or mistress, was used as a term of respect for a woman a little higher in the social pecking order and did not indicate marriage status.

Our two examples from the Edmund Chandler family are Mrs. Sarah Chandler and Mrs. Martha Chandler. Searching for the husbands of these two young ladies would be a wild goose chase as they were single. They were honorific titles on their tombstones. They were the daughters of Joseph (Joseph> Edmund) and Martha (Hunt) Chandler of Duxbury, Massachusetts who later moved to North Yarmouth, Maine.

Sarah and Martha were buried in the Old Ledge Cemetery in North Yarmouth, Maine.

Their tombstones bear the following inscriptions (this was before standardized spelling):

For Sarah: Here Lyes Buried Ye Body of Mrs. Sarah Chandler who died April 28th 1737 in Ye 23d Year of Her Age.

For Martha: Here Lies Burried Ye Body of Mrs. Martha Chandler Who Died Augst 5th 1737 in Ye 21st Year of Her Age.

Today we have dropped “Goody” and added “Ms” to our everyday language. What will future genealogists make of that?
A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIFE OF . . .
THE ZEBEDEE CHANDLERS

by Carol May and Elsie May Ray

The first Zebedee Chandler that we know of was Zebedee Chandler of Plympton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. He is one of our “mystery” Chandlers (more about that below). This Zebedee had a son, grandson and great-grandson named after him.

However, there was one Zebedee who was not a descendant of our “mystery” Zebedee. He was the great-grandson of Capt. John Chandler. Was he named after our “mystery” Zebedee Chandler of Plympton? Perhaps, but we don’t know.

Zebedee, is a Biblical name meaning “God has given” or “abundant” depending on the source. It is related to the name Zebediah. The Zebedees can be hard to trace as the name has often been misspelled in the records – Zibida, Zebadee, Zibidee.

Other than the Zebedee who descended from Capt. John Chandler, the Zebedees seemed to have originated in Plympton, Massachusetts. Plympton is on the west side of Duxbury and like Duxbury, was an expansion town for the Plymouth colony. For clarities sake, the Massachusetts Zebedees will be numbered. Zebedee #1 and #2 resided in Plympton. Zebedee #3 was born in Plympton but lived in Bridgewater and then Carver as did his son Zebedee #4. Carver was originally part of Plympton. Carver, along with Halifax, was created out of part of Plympton. Smaller portions of Plympton went to Middleboro and Kingston.

All of the Zebedees had more than one wife including the Capt. John descendant. With Zebedee #3 and #4 it gets confusing about which Zebedee married which wife.

The biographical sketches of the Zebedees are below. Corrections and more information are welcome as genealogy is always a work in progress.

Zebedee Chandler (#1) of Plympton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts

He is the first of our Zebedee Chandlers, but we have no record of his birth or his parents’ identity. Our ECFA group refers to him as “mystery” Zebedee because we have no proof of who his parents were. It has been speculated that he was the son of Edmund (Joseph>Edmund) and Elizabeth (Alden) Chandler. It has also been speculated that he was the brother of our other “mystery” Chandlers — Capt. John, Nathaniel and Mercy, but we have no proof of that either. Capt. John did marry Bethiah Rickard in Plympton which was Zebedee’s hometown. You can read more about Edmund and Elizabeth (Alden Chandler) and this debate on our website. See “Did Edmund Chandler Marry Elizabeth Alden?”

As there is no proof as to his parents or his siblings, we can’t dismiss other possibilities, although this is speculation as well. There was a Jonathan Chandler who married Abigail Jackson in Plympton, Zebedee’s hometown. It appears that this Jonathan was the son of Samuel and Mercy Chandler of nearby Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Could Zebedee have been related to him? Could Zebedee have descended from Roger Chandler? Or an unknown son of Joseph (>Edmund, the immigrant). Could Edmund, the immigrant’s son Samuel, have had descendants? Could there be other possibilities?

If we can DNA test one or more of Zebedee’s male line descendants we may get some answers. It will not tell us if Zebedee was the son of Edmund and Elizabeth (Alden) Chandler, but it can either include or exclude Zebedee as a possible brother of Capt. John Chandler, our other “mystery” Chandler as mentioned above. DNA testing can also include or exclude Zebedee as a member of Edmund, the immigrant’s family. You can read more about DNA testing on our website.

We do know that he was buried in the Smallpox Cemetery in Plympton Center, Massachusetts. His tombstone inscription reads that he died “Dec. 2, 1777, 65 yrs wanting 34 days” which would have put his birth in October of 1712. It was noted that the tombstone was damaged by a rifle bullet destroying the last two numbers of the year he died.

His first wife was Lydia Loring whom he married on August 8, 1737 in Plympton.

His second wife was Repentance Lucas whom he married on August 6, 1761.

Lt. Zebedee Chandler (#2) (>Zebedee)

This Zebedee was the son of Zebedee Chandler and his second wife, Repentance Lucas. He was born April 22, 1764 in Plympton. He died January 23, 1844. He married Zeruiah Cushman. Zeruiah died July 1, 1826 in Plympton. He was a Revolutionary War veteran and was listed on the 1840 list of Revolutionary War pensioners. He served as a lieutenant in Capt. Thomas Loring’s Company.

He and an older, female probably his wife, were listed in the 1810 census and the 1820 census for Plympton. Although in both censuses there appear to be younger family members living with them.

The 1830 Plympton census shows 1 male between 10-15, 1 male between 30-40 1 male between 40-50, 1 female between 10 and 15 and one female between 30 and 40. This census is confusing because Lt. Zebedee (#2) was 66-years-old, although this could have been his son (Zebedee #3) who was 45 in 1830 that was listed as the male between 40 and 50 years of age. Or it could have been a mistake on the part of the census taker.

The 1840 Plympton census shows 1 male between 50-60 (a son or son-in-law?) 1 male between 70-80 (this was probably Zebedee) and 1 female between 40-50 (a daughter or daughter-in-law?) From census information it does not appear that he remarried. There were three Zebedee Chandlers listed in the 1840 census for Massachusetts, but Zebedee, of Plympton, was counted twice.

Zebedee Chandler, Jr. (#3) (Zebedee>Lt. Zebedee)

He was the son of Zebedee and Zuriah (Cushman) Chandler. He was born April 6, 1785 in Plympton and died July 15, 1849. He was a 64-year-old widower when he died of cholera according to the U.S. Federal Mortality Schedule 1850 to 1880. He was buried in the Lakenham Cemetery in North Carver, Massachusetts. He married Ruth Cole. She died Aug. 27, 1834 in her 49th year and was also buried in Lakenham. He also served in the Revolutionary War. He was a private in Capt. Edmund Sparrow’s Company. He was listed in the 1810 census as “Zebidee Chandler, Jr.” and was a resident of Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

For the 1840 census he was in Carver. There were only two listed for his household. They were 1 male between 20 and 30 and 1 male between 50 and 60. It appears that they were most likely, respectively, Zebedee (#4) and Zebedee (#3).

It appears that Zebedee, Jr. (#3) married Mrs. Mary J. Wheeler April 4, 1841. This was from Middleborough Vital Records. She must have died after 1841 and prior to 1849 as he was a widower when he died.

Zebedee Chandler (#4) (Zebedee, Jr.>Lt. Zebedee.> Zebedee)

He was the son of Zebedee and Ruth Cole. However, we have very limited information about him. We have not found a record of his birth, nor of his death. For a while it appeared that he may not have even existed. It is marriage records that helped establish his existence. He was born after 1804 as that was the year it appears that Zebedee and Ruth married as marriage intentions were filed in July of 1804. He was probably one of the two sons listed in the 1810 Bridgewater census and the male listed as between 20 and 30 in the 1840 census as a member of Zebedee #3’s household, Zebedee #3 being the other one. It was a household of just two.

According to “Taunton, Massachusetts Vital Records, Marriages until 1850”, Zebedee Chandler of Carver, Mass. married Betsey H. Briggs of Freetown, (Bristol County), Massachusetts on September 17, 1841. It appears that this was Zebedee #4 from the records that we have seen. They had a daughter, Abby M. Chandler. Abby was born circa June 1844 and died at 3 years 10 months on February 8, 1847. She was buried in Lakenham Cemetery. Betsey died in her 35th year on May 12, 1845. She was also buried in Lakenham Cemetery. This was the same cemetery as his parents Zebedee and Ruth (Cole) Chandler were buried.

Which Zebedee married Bathsheba Burt?

The Zebedees outlived their wives, remarried and then outlived those wives. We had difficulty sorting out some of the second and possibly third wives. While we did our best to match the correct wife to the correct Zebedee, more information could prove otherwise. We still don’t know if Zebedee (misspelled “Zebadee”) #3 or #4 married Bathsheba Burt or Bert on September 12, 1838 (from Carver vital records). She didn’t last long as she was not listed in the 1840 census.

Zebedee Chandler (Nathaniel>Jonathan>Capt. John) of Minot, Maine

He is the exception amongst the Zebedees as he descended from Capt. John Chandler, not Zebedee Chandler. Was he named after the “mystery” Zebedee Chandler? As mentioned previously, Capt. John did marry in Plympton which was “mystery” Zebedee’s home town. Or could he have been named after a family friend, although Zebedee was not a common name? Or was it just a name that his parents chose? We don’t know. Zebedee was born January 14, 1792 in Minot, Androscoggin County, Maine. He was one of the most prolific of the Chandlers having 18 children in all.

This Zebedee married Mary “Polly” Hall on December 8, 1814. They had nine children. After she died, he married Ruth Hall Tracy on June 10, 1830 according to Minot vital records and had nine more children. The information that we have shows Mary “Polly” Hall and Ruth Hall Tracy as sisters, although that is unconfirmed as it may have come from a bulletin board. We would like more documentation. Joan Chandler, our member who descends from this Zebedee, found but has not verified, that Ruth’s first husband was Moses Tracy. Moses was born in 1795 and died in 1828. They had a son named Moses Tracy born in Poland, Maine in 1827.

When Ruth married Zebedee she was listed as Ruth Tracy in Minot marriage records. If she was the Ruth Hall listed in Poland vital records that was born in 1798, her parents were Hatevil Hall and Judith (Morgan). A Mary Hall’s birth was also recorded in 1795 in Poland, but her parents’ names were not given. At that time Minot was still part of Poland, Maine. So the ancestry of this Zebedee’s wives is still mysterious.

The children born from Zebedee and Ruth’s marriage were recorded in Minot, Androscoggin County, Maine and in Hallowell, Kennebec County, Maine.

He served as a private in the War of 1812 in Capt. L. Bridgham’s Company, Lieut. Col. C. Clark’s Regiment from Sept. 13 to Sept. 24, 1814. Raised at Minot. Service at Portland.

He appeared in the following U.S. censuses:

1830 Minot, Cumberland, County Maine census
2 males under 5
1 male from 5 and under 10
1 male from 10 and under 15
1 male from 20 and under 30
1 male from 30 and under 40 (Zebedee)
1 male from 70 and under 80
1 female from 5 and under 10
1 female from 10 and under 15
1 female from 15 and under 20
1 female from 20 and under 30
1 female from 30 and under 40 (Ruth)1840 Cumberland census, Maine listed as “Zebadee”

1850 Saco, York County census, Maine he was listed as “Zebida.” This is the information from that census:
Zebedee Chandler 54 ME
Ruth ” 50 ME
Emeline Jordan 19
Adeline Chandler 18
Ruth ” 17
Susanna ” 16
Charlotte ” 13
Alfred ” 12
Bethia ” 11
Dorothy ” 9
George ” 5
Calvin Jordan 23

1860 Minot, Androscoggin County, Maine census. Zebedee was listed along with his wife Ruth and his youngest child, George.

1870 in Washburn, Aroostook County, Maine census. He was 78-years-old and living with Oliver Cook, his wife, Amelia and son Alfred C. Was he related to Oliver or his wife? We don’t know. As his wife died in 1865 in Minot, Maine, he was a widower.

Zebedee died in Worcester, Massachusetts the following year on December 5, 1871 in the home of his son Nathan. Worcester was the home of sons Nathan and Benjamin Chandler.

As you can see we still have gaps and questions regarding the Zebedees. We welcome more information or corrections.

WISH LIST

Carol is hoping to complete an article for the next edition of the newsletter about Hewett Chandler, the Shaker inventor.

In the following edition, she will write about the “lost” Jonathan Chandler Family of Minot, Maine. Please note, this Jonathan is not the son of Capt. John.

If anyone in the group information you can contribute about Hewett or the Johathan or his family please contact Carol at; Docabye @ aol.com

Please check out the database that has your line. If you have source material that isn’t noted, please send the information to Carol.

If you have any Chandler documents or photos check with Carol to see if she needs them for the library.
If you have questions or comments please direct them to Barb Chandler at barb95831 @ gmail.com