James Watson Chandler (July 18, 1801 – October 3, 1870) was a lawyer, judge, and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. He represented Charlotte County in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

from 1857 to 1861. He was born in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, the son of

Samuel Chandler Samuel Chandler (1693 – 8 May 1766) was an English Nonconformist minister and pamphleteer. He has been called the "uncrowned patriarch of Dissent" in the latter part of George II's reign. Early life Samuel Chandler was born at Hungerford in B ...

and Susan Watson, and was educated there. He went on to study law, moved to New Brunswick around 1829 and was admitted to the bar in the same year. He set up practice in St. Andrews. In 1843, he married Julia Hatheway. Chandler served as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, a judge in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and a judge in the Probate Court. From 1852 to 1854, he also served on a commission to codify the provincial statutes. Chandler ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1846 and 1854. He was defeated in a bid for reelection in 1861. Chandler supported

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

and was elected again in 1866. He resigned his seat in 1867 after he was named judge in the courts for Westmorland, Kent, and Albert counties. He died in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

at the age of 69. His cousin,

Edward Barron Chandler Edward Barron Chandler (August 22, 1800 – February 6, 1880) was a New Brunswick politician and lawyer from a United Empire Loyalist family. He was one of the Fathers of Confederation. Chandler was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia and moved t ...

, was a Father of Confederation and served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1801 births 1870 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick People from Saint Andrews, New Brunswick Colony of New Brunswick judges {{NewBrunswick-MLA-stub