Synopsis "The George Chandler Family Letter Collection: 1852 - 1920 (in English)"
George Chandler was my paternal 2nd Great Grandfather. While I might refer to this collection as "The George Chandler Letters", there are references to many allied family and in-law's. I accidentally stumbled across them while doing a fairly generic internet search for Chandler history. It was titled MS 95: George W. Chandler (1831-1918), Papers, 1851-1971, and housed at the Iowa State University Special Collections and University Archives, Special Collections Department, 403 Parks Library, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-2140. Donated by Eloise Anderson. Of course I ordered copies of the collection, close to 10 years ago, and what a treasure it was with letters dated as early as 1852! There was also included a brief 6 generation Chandler report created by Elsie Chandler Frizzle, Grand Daughter of George through his son Charles, my Great Grandfather. She stated that according to her father Charles, his mother Elizabeth Jane "Libby" (Moore) Chandler had a genealogical record of some sort that was in "the old trunk" in Des Moines, Iowa indicating she was a descendant of Sir Thomas Moore. Charles had also told Elsie that both his Chandler and Moore ancestors came over with John Smith. I have no proof on any of the above as of this writing. In April of 2016, a 3rd cousin I had not previously known found me. His name is Don Thomson and is the Grandson of the above mentioned Eloise Anderson. He had in his possession more letters that were not in my collection, dating from 1878 to 1920. Most of which were the replies to existing letters I had, which helped to paint a much clearer picture of the family. He also has in his possession 2 pieces of Great Great Grandpa George's pottery. So with much thanks to Don, I have been spurred on to finish this project. Now it is time to put them all together, so they can be shared. Update December 2017: I have finally completed the "Companion" to this book, which contains the images of the letters. I am not out to get rich with any of my family history books, and all are priced only $5.00 above the minimum listing price required for the print on demand.
