Peleg Whitman Chandler (April 12, 1816 – May 28, 1889) was an American lawyer, legal news reporter and editor,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's city attorney ( solicitor), and a two-term state legislator in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...

. As City Solicitor, Chandler defended Boston's exclusion of African American students from its public schools in the legal case of '' Roberts v. City of Boston''.

Life

Chandler's father and grandfather were also named Peleg Chandler; his mother was Esther Parsons Chandler. Born in

New Gloucester, Maine New Gloucester is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, in the United States. It is home to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker village in the U.S. The town's population was 5,676 at the 2020 census. New Gloucester is part ...

, he studied at Bangor Theological Seminary and received his degree from Bowdoin College in 1834. He studied law with his father, in the law office of

Theophilus Parsons Theophilus Parsons (February 24, 1750October 30, 1813) was an American jurist. Life Born in Newbury, Massachusetts to a clergyman father, Parsons was one of the early students at the Dummer Academy (now The Governor's Academy) before matricu ...

, and at Harvard Law School. Chandler was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar Association in 1837, in which year he also married Martha Ann Bush, with whom he went on to have four children.Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums-Peleg W. Chandler Gilded Age Collections, Biographical Sketch
/ref> Chandler practiced law in Boston, contributed law reports to the ''

Boston Daily Advertiser The ''Boston Daily Advertiser'' (est. 1813) was the first daily newspaper in Boston, and for many years the only daily paper in Boston. History The ''Advertiser'' was established in 1813, and in March 1814 it was purchased by journalist Nathan ...

'' and also founded the ''Law Reporter'' journal, which was the first magazine on law to be successful in the US. He served on the

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

from 1843 to 1845 and in the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Counc ...

in 1850. He was also a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

for 1844-1845 and 1862-1863. In 1850, as City Solicitor, Chandler defended Boston's exclusion of African American students from its public schools in the legal case of ''Roberts v. City of Boston''. Chandler died at his Boston home from heart failure, after a long illness, on May 28, 1889.

Publications

Among Chandler's published writings are: * * * * * *

Legacy

In 1872, Chandler funded the refurbishment of Massachusetts Hall, Bowdoin College according to designs by A. C. Martin. The works included removal of a staircase, the creation of a first-floor recitation room and space to house the Cleaveland Cabinet of mineral and natural history specimens. Cleaveland was his father-in-law. Chandler's papers are kept several institutions including the Phillips Library, Massachusetts Historical Society, the Hayes Presidential Center, and the Bowdoin College Library.

References

External links

*Reviews of ''American Criminal Trials'' in:
''North American Review''

''The American Jurist''

''The Law Magazine and Review''

''The Christian Examiner and General Review''

''The Pioneer: A Literary and Critical Magazine'' (p. 46)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Peleg 1816 births 1889 deaths People from New Gloucester, Maine Lawyers from Boston Politicians from Boston Journalists from Massachusetts Bowdoin College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Presidents of the Boston Common Council Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council Writers from Boston Writers from Maine 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers