George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives

5 linear feet.

Catalog Number:M29

Series List:

• Correspondence, Peleg W. Chandler, 1843-1890, n.d., .3 linear feet
• Correspondence Concerning the Petition of Theophilus P. Chandler, 1863-1882, n.d., 1 linear foot
• Charles Peleg Chandler Civil War Material, 1857-1862, n.d., .3 linear feet
• Personal and Family Material, 1831-1857, .17 linear feet
• Realia, 1861, n.d., 3 linear feet
• Family Documents and Letters, 1834-1881, one CD

Agency History / Biographical Note:
Peleg Whitman Chandler (Bowdoin 1834) was born in New Gloucester, Massachusetts (now Maine), on April 12, 1816, to Peleg Chandler Jr., and Esther Parsons Chandler. Chandler was an attorney in Boston, Massachusetts (1837-1889), City Solicitor (1846), Member of the House of Representatives (1845-1847), and of the Executive Council (1854); and Trustee of Bowdoin College (1871-1889). In 1838 he established the Law Reporter and compiled American Criminal Trials.

On November 30, 1837, Chandler married Martha Ann Bush (b. July 16, 1812), daughter of Parker Cleaveland, a professor at Bowdoin College from 1805 to 1858, and Martha Bush Cleaveland of Brunswick, Maine. They had three children: Ellen Maria Chandler (1839-1908); Horace Parker (1842-?), a poet; and Parker Cleaveland (1848-1908), an attorney in Boston and New York City. Chandler died in Boston on May 28, 1889.

Charles Peleg Chandler (Bowdoin 1854) was born on January 4, 1835, in Foxcroft, Maine, to Charles Parsons Chandler (Bowdoin Class of 1822), who was an attorney and Maine State Senator (1854-1857), and Sarah Wheeler Chandler, the great-great granddaughter of Sir John Murray, First Duke of Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland. Chandler was the grand-nephew of Peleg Whitman Chandler. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1857, he embarked on his career as an attorney in the law office of Gov. John A. Andrew (Bowdoin Class of 1837) in Boston (1857-1861).

During the Civil War, Chandler served with distinction as an officer at the First Battle of Bull Run, after which he was commissioned major of the 1st Mass. Volunteers (1861), and then lieutenant colonel. On the same day he received his commission as colonel, Chandler was killed at the Battle of Malvern Hill, Richmond, Virginia, while leading his regiment during the charge of Hooker's Brigade, June 30, 1862.

More information on the Cleaveland and Chandler families is available through Cleaveland-Chandler Papers.

Scope and Content:
The collection includes correspondence, a diary, an account book, photographs, clippings and realia by and concerning Peleg Whitman Chandlerand Charles Peleg Chandler, as well as digital copies of family documents and letters dated 1834 to 1881. The Peleg Whitman Chandler material includes correspondence to Chandler from family members and others (1843-1890), and a series of letters from and to Peleg W. Chandler regarding a petition before Congress of Theophilus P. Chandler (1863-1882).

The Charles Peleg Chandler material primarily relates to his Civil War service and largely comprises letters to Chandler's mother from 1861 and 1862 that are descriptive of his war-time experiences, including a series of letters describing the battle of Williamsburg (May 11, 1862-May 17, 1862). There is also a small amount of Civil War related correspondence from General Hooker, Governor Andrew, C. E. Stowe, J. P. Fessenden, William W. Bullock, and others, and letters regarding the search for the whereabouts of Col. Chandler after the Battle of Malvern Hill, and his death. Among the correspondents included in the family documents and letters are Andrew Campbell Chandler, Sr. and Jr., Cora Evelyn (Bean) Chandler, and Frederick Hewett Chandler.

Cite as: Cite as: Chandler Family Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library.

Access Restrictions: None