John Chandler

John Chandler (1723-1762), third minister of Billerica, was born in Andover on December 14, 1723, the youngest of the twelve children of Thomas Chandler of Andover. His father was a son of William Chandler of Andover, whose father, also William, came to Roxbury in 1637, and his elder brother, Rev. James Chandler, was pastor of Rowley from 1732 to 1788. John graduated from Harvard College in 1743 and in 1746 was master of the Billerica school, which, as Hazen put it, introduced him to his future pastorate.

By 1747 the aged pastor, Samuel Ruggles, needed a colleague. In March the town named a committee to confer with him, and in April it voted by a great majority not to hear other candidates on probation: the young schoolmaster "had won their hearts." On April 28, 1747, church and town, meeting together, unanimously chose "Mr. John Chandler, of Andover" to settle in the ministry with Mr. Ruggles. They promised him a settlement of £600 old tenor and a salary of £200 while Mr. Ruggles could share the work, with £100 more after his death, and in place of an allowance for fuel twenty cords of wood a year. Chandler asked that the settlement be paid within two years and that the ministry land west of the Concord River be sold and replaced by land near the meeting-house, and the town agreed; because of the uncertain currency the salary was tied to the price of Indian corn and rye. He was ordained on October 21, 1747, before a council of eight churches: Rev. Daniel Rogers of Littleton began with prayer, his brother James preached, Rev. Samuel Phillips of Andover gave the charge and Rev. Nicholas Bowes of Bedford the right hand of fellowship. The town provided, at its own cost, for the ministers, the messengers, Mr. Chandler's relations and the students of Harvard College. Mr. Ruggles died in March 1749, and Chandler became sole pastor.

On November 3, 1748, at Haverhill, Chandler married Mary White, daughter of Deacon William White of Haverhill. In the same year he bought from Jeremiah Abbot, a saddler, an acre with a house and barn on the country road near the centre of the town, the house later known as the Rev. John Chandler House. Their children were Mary, born September 8, 1749; John, born May 9, 1752; and William, born June 9, 1757. Soon after his ordination the church made a formal renewal of its covenant. Hazen judged that the pastorate "began under bright auspices, and for eleven years was prosperous": Chandler "was a man of good ability, and the church was united and happy in his ministry."

Mary Chandler died on June 28, 1757, aged 31. On January 18, 1759, Chandler married her cousin Elizabeth White of Haverhill, daughter of Samuel White. The church record, kept in Chandler's own neat hand, notes that in February the sacrament was omitted because some were dissatisfied at the "chearful behavior" of the pastor when he brought his second wife home before a large gathering. Complaints about his drinking followed. A council of the First and Second Churches of Cambridge and the church at Chelmsford met on September 18, 1759, found three of the four charges sustained, but advised the church to accept his confession and to pray for the recovery of one who might be so good a pastor. The trouble continued, and on June 5, 1760, a second council met with the church; a show of hands so discouraged him that, on the council's advice, he resigned, and the resignation was accepted. John Farmer noted that it was the first vacancy in the Billerica pulpit in almost a century. Hazen, who condensed the story from many pages of the church record, credited Chandler with "a frankness and apparent honesty which wins respect and sympathy for his weakness."

Chandler stayed in Billerica. His daughter Elizabeth was born on August 6, 1760, and his sons John and William both died that October. He died in Billerica on November 10, 1762, aged thirty-eight. Farmer wrote in 1816 that his sermons "were written in a neat style and discover a benevolent spirit." His widow married Robert Luscombe of Taunton in 1766 and died in 1768. His daughter Mary married her cousin William White of Haverhill, a merchant in Boston and Rutland, in 1775, and died at Rutland in 1794; Elizabeth married Thomas Plummer in 1780 and died in 1839. The house passed to his daughters, and in 1785 Elizabeth Plummer sold her half to William White, the Boston merchant who already held the other half.

References

1. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 180 (a colleague for Mr. Ruggles, 1747; the young schoolmaster of 1746)
2. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 181 (call, settlement and ordination of Mr. Chandler, Oct. 21, 1747)
3. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 182 (pastorate; death of his wife; second marriage and the church record)
4. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 183 (councils; resignation June 5, 1760; death)
5. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), Genealogical Register p. 24, CHANDLER 1 (family)
6. Farmer, Historical Memoir of Billerica (1816), p. 19 (death of Rev. John Chandler; his sermons)
7. Vital Records of Billerica to 1850, births p. 39 (children of Rev. John Chandler)
8. Vital Records of Billerica to 1850, deaths p. 349 (Rev. John Chandler; his wife Mary; sons John and William)

Deed References Expand all

Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.