Recently, I responded to a request for information concerning Jesse Chandler of VA. The request was posted via [email protected] and I responded by the same vehicle. This has led to several additional people requesting information. Since this seems to be a subject that interests a small group, I decided that rather than answer on an individual basis, I would summarize what I know about this Jesse and put it on the web for those interested both now and in the future. The explanation of how I happen to have this information, the volumn of the information, the necessity to sort it and then summarize same will take a little time. So, I will place it on the web in several parts. If you want a copy of any of the referenced documents, please ask. Some of the documents are photo copies of ledger size documents and I only have a home size copy machine which is to small. However, I will attempt to reduce the size of the documents or copy them in segments if necessary. ON WITH THE STORY----- Jesse Chandler of Henry and Franklin Co., VA (Part one) Over several years, I have been attempting to discover the parents of Thompson Chandler, my oldest known Chandler ancestor. Almost everything is known after his marriage in Giles Co., VA in July 25, 1831. A copy of his marriage certificate exists and a bible of one his 11 Children, lists his birth as Feb. 11, 1811. In several post 1850 census documents, Thompson lists his birthplace as VA. Thompson died in Kanawha Co., WV in 1877 after having lived a number of years in Giles Co., VA and Monroe Co., (VA/WV) before moving to Kanawha Co. One of my older relatives, Wilma Gardman, had searched for years without success (in an era before computers) to locate Thompson's parents. I have many of her notes. About two years ago, I dove into genealogy as a hobby (I am retired) using many resources, but mainly my computer and numerous Family Tree Maker CDs and the local Fairfax VA genealogy reading room. I have made a great many advances, but not with identifying Thompson's parents. As part of my analysis, I started with the assumption that he was born in VA, probably within a 100 miles or so from the Giles Co. location where he was married. I looked to the 1810 census (he was born in 1811) to identify any Chandlers in that SW VA area who could have been his parents. There were only three possibilities (I thought) and two of the three were only remote possibilities. The third was Jesse Chandler. Seemingly in corroboration, a Moses Chandler (son of Jesse) lived in Giles Co. during the few years before and after Thompson's marriage. Because of his young age, Moses could not have been Thompson's father, but could have been his brother. At this point, while writing to local Genealogy groups in the Giles area, I was told of a Franklin County genealogist named Edith McGhee Sigmond. Convinced that Jesse was the father or at least an uncle of my Thompson, I hired Mrs. Sigmon to research Thompson with a particular emphasis on Jesse. She did a fantastic job and sent me well over a hundred pages of photocopies of book pages, wills, legal documents and registers, marriage certificates and other documents. Many of the documents concerned Jesse and his descendants. At this point, before I outline what I know about Jesse, I must say that the research confirmed to me that there was no close (if any) connection between Jesse or Moses and Thompson. I must also tell you that I have found another possibility that I am exploring. I found a marriage between a William Chandler and Polly Harris in 1809 in Patrick Co., VA. This William never appears in a census (I have several theories why). I surmise that this William was the son of another William Chandler just across the adjacent border in Surry/StokesCo., NC. This is another story that I am working on. Now that I have given the background about how I happen to have a lot of information on Jesse Chandler of Henry and Franklin Co. VA in the period before and after 1800, I will summarize the information I have in my possession. This information will follow in a later message (i.e., I have not written it yet). Tom _________ Dr. H. Thomas Chandler 1714 Besley Road Vienna, Virginia 22182 703-281-6137 FAX 703-281-3040 E-Mail [email protected] Web page address: http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/c/h/a/Hubert-T-Chandler/