Elizabeth (Douglas) Chandler
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Elizabeth (Douglas) Chandler (1641 - abt. 1705)

Elizabeth Chandler formerly Douglas aka Douglass
Born in Ipswich, Massachusettsmap [uncertain]
Ancestors ancestors
Wife of — married 16 Feb 1658 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusettsmap
Descendants descendants
Died about at about age 64 in New London, Connecticutmap [uncertain]
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Profile last modified | Created 14 Sep 2010
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Biography

One of five children, Elizabeth was born to William and Anne Mattle Douglas the year after they arrived in the Colonies in 1640. They came from Northamptonshire in England. She was baptized at the First Church of Boston where her parents were members.

William Douglas was a cooper, owned property in Boston, and the family lived intermittently in Ipswich where Elizabeth was born.

Elizabeth was about seventeen at the time of her marriage to John Chandler, who was twenty-four. They settled in Roxbury, Mass. on the lot next to William's mother, Annis Bayford Chandler Dane Parmenter.

Their first son John lived for only nine months. Around this time, Elizabeth's parents and siblings (except for sister Anna) left the colony for the growing settlement of New London, Connecticut, so Elizabeth was left without her family's support with her young family. A year later they had a daughter Elizabeth, followed by a second John, Joseph who died young, then Hannah, Mehetabel, and a second Joseph.

Elizabeth became a full member in the Roxbury church in 1665 (her husband not until 1679) and all of their children were baptized there. The church was presided over by John Elliot, famous for his efforts to christianize the local tribes.

Elizabeth's husband John Chandler was several times brought up on various charges related to alcohol. Other family infractions under church law were brought to justice, too.

King Phillip's War came very close to Roxbury and took a toll on the inhabitants .John Chandler's sister Sarah lost her husband William Cleaves in the April 1676 battle at Sudbury. Other family members were killed or captured by Indians who had been greatly punished during the war. There were long-lasting effects, both economic and psychological on the colonists.

Schooling at the time in Roxbury was reserved mainly for male children. It is likely that Elizabeth, who was quite literate, taught her daughters to read and write.

Elizabeth's personal writings included her sixty-four-page " Meditation, or Poem, being an Ep[ic?] of the Experiences and Conflicts of a Poor Trembling Soul in the First Fourty Years of Her Life." Many of Elizabeth's letters as well as her "letterbook" survive in the hands of her descendants.

In the interest of acquiring more land and escaping the political turmoil of Boston and Roxbury, in 1686 John Chandler and John Jr.went to settle in the newly formed settlement of New Roxbury (renamed Woodstock around 1690), carved out of Indian lands after King Phillip's War. Two years later Elizabeth and the other children went to join them. These two years tending to the farm alone must have been very difficult for Elizabeth. Life in the new outpost would have been even more so. In the face of many Indian attacks, the Crown would not send soldiers to protect them but at the same time, would not allow them to leave.

Some time after the death of her husband John, in 1704, Elizabeth went to live with her daughter Mehetabel Chandler Coit in New London, much to Mehetabel's joy. They had been separated for many years. Elizabeth died in 1705 and is buried in the old cemetery in New London.

From Elizabeth's epic poem, a remarkable literary effort that reflects a conviction that her experiences were of consequence and worth documenting. An excerpt from the poem, which describes Elizabeth’s evolving relationship with God, follows:

If of my Life I shou’d account ye age the days and years of my poor Pilgrimage the time I’ve Lived in this vale of tears Doth now amount unto twice twenty years In Wilderness I’ve wandred fourty years I have Been often Lost and fil’d with fears Much Like to Israel hath my Progress Been For many Sore temtations I have seen The Fiery Serpents oft my Soul hath wounded Yet through Gods Grace I never was Confounded But wth his Goodness I have Been Surrounded. When as I meditate on what is Past And Seriously my thoughts & Eye I Cast Upon my Pathes my wandring feet have Trod And on the Goodness of my Gracious God My wandring muse doth Swim[?] in Contemplation My Soul is filled full with admiration And Cou’d I Butt my meditations Raise I’de Sing a Song unto my makers Praise.

Sources

  • "One Colonial Woman's World, The Life and Writings of Mehetabel Chandler Coit" by Michelle Marchetti Coughlin, many pages.

Website on her book, with excerpts: http://onecolonialwomansworld.com

  • Source S214
Author: Brøderbund Software, Inc.
Title: LDS Website - www.familysearch.com
Publication: Name: Release date: January 12, 1997;
NOTECustomer pedigree.
Family Archive CD







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Comments: 4

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Removing Project protection. If there is a good reason to re-add it let me know.
posted by Anne B
I changed Elizabeth's mother from Anna Chandler (probably a mistake using married name) to Anne Mattle. There is a photo of documentation on Mattle-1.

This was an interesting woman and we do need to add some information on her.

posted by A Fabry
Marriage information:

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Record Birth, Marriage & Death Name: Elizab Dugglas Spouse: John Chandler Marriage: 16 Feb 1658 in Roxbury, Massachusetts

posted by A Fabry
For solid information on Elizabeth Douglas Chandler, I would refer you to the webpage of Michelle Marchetti Coughlin…OneColonialWomansWorld.com. She wrote a book on the diaries of Mehetabel Chandler Coit, published in 2012. She was recently given access to Elizabeth Douglas Chandler's letter book, still in family hands, and wrote an article on them. She has done meticulous research on the Chandler/Douglas/Coit families, and I would trust her findings, all well documented. I am happy to add them here if everyone agreed.
posted by A Fabry

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Categories: Douglas Name Study | Douglas of New London