George Chandler (1633 - 1687)

Born 8 Apr 1633 in Wilcot, Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Smith) Bayliss — married 3 May 1669 in Wiltshire, England

Descendants

Died 13 Dec 1687 at age 54 in at sea enroute to Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Robert Bain [send private message] and Louise Sigle [send private message]

Biography

There is an entry in the Chester County history regarding the Chandler immigrants:

George Chandler, the ancestor of the family in this county, left his home at Great Hodge, Wiltshire, England, in 1687, with his wife Jane and seven children... The father died at sea on the 13th of December in that year, but before the close of the following year his widow found a second husband, William Hawkes, of Chichester, (now) Delaware Co. John chandler, a brother of the elder George, came perhaps at the same time, but does not appear to have had a family. His home in England was at Oare, in the parish of Wilcott. The early records of that parish show that the Chandlers were an old family there. In 1602, John, the son of Thomas Chandler, was baptized, and in 1613, William, the son of Swithin Chandler. April 8, 1633, George, the son of John and Annie Chandler, was baptized. This may have been the emigrant, but it is uncertain.^[1]

Although no official record, of this or any other kind, has come to light to prove that George Chandler, the emigrant (whom we shall hereafter call George Chandler, Sr.), purchased land in Pennsylvania, subsequent events show that he did so; while a letter from Daniel Smith, of Marlborough, Wiltshire, to John Harding, of Chichester, Pennsylvania, clinches the matter.

In this letter, which bears date 7-17-1685, the writer, after referring to a purchase he has made of 500 acres in Pennsylvania, says :

"I have given a deed to George Chandler for 100 acres of it at any corner of the 500 acres of land together, and he to have all the benefit of the 500 acres till I dispose of it; he nor any he can hinder make no spoil of it. I desire thee to give them the best assistance thee can that it may ·go well with them, that they may give good encouragement to others to come into the country to dress the land .••• I have desired G. Chandler to come to thee, and I hope he will bring the Governor's order with him to those that are entrusted to give warrants out for the taking up of the land." Marlborough is one of the larger towns of Wiltshire, and is about ten miles northeast of the home of George Chandler, Sr. · Six months after the writing of the foregoing letter-not a lengthy period, considering the affairs to be settled-the next step is taken; namely, the raising of money for the voyage, and to meet the subsequent expense on arrival.

"In 1686, John and George Chandler left Wiltshire for Pennsylvania. This date is fixed by a bond taken out by these two with a Mr. Robert Pyle of Stanton Bernard; by which these two are bound to return a sum of money borrowed to finance their voyage to Pennsylvania. The repayment was to be made to Robert Pyle, Jr. and Nicholas Pyle, sons of Mr. Pyle that were then residing in Pennsylvania.^[2]

"This history provides details of George's baptism, the day his mother Ann was buried, which is recorded in the parish register of Wilcot dated 8th April 1633.

"George Chandler married Jane and through that marriage acquired a small farm in Great Hodge, located a few miles distant from Oare, in an adjoining parish. They lived there until they removed to Pennsylvania.

"The sea crossings were routine, but dangerous. Many times the passengers did not have enough food or clean water for the journey, and sea sickness and disease were always dangers. Unfortunately, George died on the voyage, and was buried at sea.

"His brother John was traveling with them and helped the wife, Jane, to manage until she could resettle. She and their 8 children lived in a cave until a home was built."

While George Chandler was sympathetic to the Society of Friends, the simple fact that all of his children were baptised in the parish church proves that they were in regular attendance and members in good standing. All later conversions of the family to Quakerism must have occurred in Pennsylvania.

DNA Groupings

This Chandler family is DNA matched and documented. George of this profile is of the genetic Chandler family group 7B. The DNA study details can be found at the Chandler Family Association.^[3]

Children^[4]

1. John b. 13 Feb 1669. No further record
2. George b. 14 June 1671; died 1715
3. Swithin b. 6 Sept 1675; m. Ann _____; settled on the Brandywine, in Birmingham Township, Pennsylvania, and later at Christiana Hundred, Delaware.
4. Jane, b. 9 July 1676; m. Robert Jefferis of Chichester.
5. William, b. 8 Dec 1678; d. 1746; m. Sept 10, 1712 Ann Boweter
6. Thomas b. 2 Apr 1681; d. 1761
7. Charity b. 1 Apr 1683
8. Ann b. about 1684; m. (1) Samuel Robins and (2) George Jones

Sources

1. ↑ The History of Chester County, by Futhey and Cope (1881); pg. 496
2. ↑ A Record of the Descendants of George and Jane Chandler Who Emigrated to Pennsylvania from Wiltshire, England In 1687. Published by Chandler Family Reunion, 1937. at Archive.org page 1
3. ↑ Chandler DNA Project
4. ↑ A Record of the Descendants of George and Jane Chandler Who Emigrated to Pennsylvania from Wiltshire, England In 1687. Published by Chandler Family Reunion, 1937. at Archive.org

See also:

• A Record of the Descendants of George and Jane Chandler Who Emigrated to PA from Wiltshire, England In 1687. pp 27-30 http://tinyurl.com/lnxg6uf
• Source: S2347882155 Repository: #R2347847705 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Page: Ancestry Family Trees Note: Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=26548914&pid=608
• Repository: R2347847705 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Chandler-861 created through the import of Robert C. Bain Family Tree (20.ged on Jul 4, 2011 by Robert Bain.