Advertisement

Elizabeth Chandler

Advertisement

Elizabeth Chandler

Birth
New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA
Death
11 Mar 1787 (aged 36)
Saint John County, New Brunswick, Canada
Burial
Saint John, Saint John County, New Brunswick, Canada Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Around 2009, the Botsford plot was renovated. This poignant monument was restored. On it, it is written: ``Here Lyeth the Bodies of Mrs Sarah Grant Ages 38 Years widow of the Late Major Alex'r Grant: & Miss Elizabeth Chandler Aged 27 Years who were Shipwreck'd on their passage from Digby to St John on the Night of the 9th day of March 1787 and Perished in the woods on the 11th of said Month.`` According to W.C. Milner`s 1934 History of Sackville New Brunswick ``...Their bodies were found and carried to St. John, and buried in the old burying ground, at the head of King Street.... Years later their remains were carefully deposited in the lot of Amos Botsford, Esq., in the 'Rural Cemetery,' the beautiful Woodside grounds, at St. John."

The remainder of this short bio was written prior to the renovation.

Elizabeth Chandler was a daughter of Col. Joshua Chandler, a 1747 graduate of Yale College and a member of the Connecticut Legislature. President John Adams taught at a two-room schoolhouse built in 1752 by James Putnam and John Chandler, Col. Chandler's brother, from 1755 until 1758. Joshua Chandler was loyal to the Crown and fled into exile, settling with his family at Annapolis, N.S.. His New Haven property was confiscated and in March 1787 he was travelling with Elizabeth and William, his son, as it was known then, to meet commissioners appointed to adjust the claims of the Loyalists. Tragically, they were ship-wrecked at Musquash Head on March 9, just 20 miles west of Saint John. According to a history of Sackville, New Brunswick, William, hoping to secure the vessel, fastened a rope around his body and jumped overboard to swim to land, but he was immediately crushed between the vessel and rocks and was drowned. Col. Chandler and Elizabeth died from exposure, allegedly two days later, after they had reached the shore. I spent two summers in Musquash as a student at Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, walking in the woods and along the beach during my lunch break. The woods, often foggy and foreboding, edge frigid Bay of Fundy waters, even at the height of summer. It is hard to imagine two ship-wrecked souls surviving in the woods for two days in the summer, let alone in late winter. The Chandler family was initially buried in the old burying ground, now known as the Loyalist Burial Ground, at the head of King Street. According to a history of Sackville New Brunswick by W.C. Milner, 1934, years later, their remains were reinterred in the lot of Amos Botsford, Esq., in Fernhill Cemetery, formerly known as the Rural Cemetery. In the event that the captions for the photos do not appear, the first photograph is of the Loyalist Burial Ground. The second photograph is the tombstone of Col. Chandler's great-grandson, Amos Botsford. The third photograph is of the Botsford family tombstone, behind Amos' tombstone. There is an anchor in front of Amos Botsford's tombstone. To the right of Amos Botsford's tombstone is a marker for Thomas Murray, the first husband of Col. Chandler's granddaughter.
Around 2009, the Botsford plot was renovated. This poignant monument was restored. On it, it is written: ``Here Lyeth the Bodies of Mrs Sarah Grant Ages 38 Years widow of the Late Major Alex'r Grant: & Miss Elizabeth Chandler Aged 27 Years who were Shipwreck'd on their passage from Digby to St John on the Night of the 9th day of March 1787 and Perished in the woods on the 11th of said Month.`` According to W.C. Milner`s 1934 History of Sackville New Brunswick ``...Their bodies were found and carried to St. John, and buried in the old burying ground, at the head of King Street.... Years later their remains were carefully deposited in the lot of Amos Botsford, Esq., in the 'Rural Cemetery,' the beautiful Woodside grounds, at St. John."

The remainder of this short bio was written prior to the renovation.

Elizabeth Chandler was a daughter of Col. Joshua Chandler, a 1747 graduate of Yale College and a member of the Connecticut Legislature. President John Adams taught at a two-room schoolhouse built in 1752 by James Putnam and John Chandler, Col. Chandler's brother, from 1755 until 1758. Joshua Chandler was loyal to the Crown and fled into exile, settling with his family at Annapolis, N.S.. His New Haven property was confiscated and in March 1787 he was travelling with Elizabeth and William, his son, as it was known then, to meet commissioners appointed to adjust the claims of the Loyalists. Tragically, they were ship-wrecked at Musquash Head on March 9, just 20 miles west of Saint John. According to a history of Sackville, New Brunswick, William, hoping to secure the vessel, fastened a rope around his body and jumped overboard to swim to land, but he was immediately crushed between the vessel and rocks and was drowned. Col. Chandler and Elizabeth died from exposure, allegedly two days later, after they had reached the shore. I spent two summers in Musquash as a student at Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, walking in the woods and along the beach during my lunch break. The woods, often foggy and foreboding, edge frigid Bay of Fundy waters, even at the height of summer. It is hard to imagine two ship-wrecked souls surviving in the woods for two days in the summer, let alone in late winter. The Chandler family was initially buried in the old burying ground, now known as the Loyalist Burial Ground, at the head of King Street. According to a history of Sackville New Brunswick by W.C. Milner, 1934, years later, their remains were reinterred in the lot of Amos Botsford, Esq., in Fernhill Cemetery, formerly known as the Rural Cemetery. In the event that the captions for the photos do not appear, the first photograph is of the Loyalist Burial Ground. The second photograph is the tombstone of Col. Chandler's great-grandson, Amos Botsford. The third photograph is of the Botsford family tombstone, behind Amos' tombstone. There is an anchor in front of Amos Botsford's tombstone. To the right of Amos Botsford's tombstone is a marker for Thomas Murray, the first husband of Col. Chandler's granddaughter.


Advertisement

  • Created by: RK
  • Added: Apr 7, 2004
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8610863/elizabeth-chandler: accessed ), memorial page for Elizabeth Chandler (7 Aug 1750–11 Mar 1787), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8610863, citing Fernhill Cemetery, Saint John, Saint John County, New Brunswick, Canada; Maintained by RK (contributor 46610406).