William Chandler was a 19th-century businessman based in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, an active

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and an early railroad executive. In 1818, Chandler served on the Wilmington City Council. In 1825, he helped organize the Delaware Fire Insurance Company. Chandler participated in several business ventures and abolitionist societies with

Thomas Garrett Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

, a Wilmington merchant and stationmaster on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. In 1827, the 25-year-old Abolition Society of the State of Delaware was reorganized as the Delaware Abolition Society, whose officers and directors included Chandler, Garrett, president

John Wales John Wales (July 31, 1783 – December 3, 1863) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served as U.S. Senator from Delaware. Early life and family Wales was ...

, vice-president Edward Worrell, and others. In 1829, he was elected a director of the Farmers' Bank of Delaware. In 1833, he became a director of the Wilmington Whaling Company. In 1835, Chandler and Garrett became directors of the new Wilmington Gas Company, which made gas "made from rosin, at $7 per 1,000 cubic feet" for lighting lamps. In 1836, he and Garrett invested with Joseph Whitaker and Whitaker's brothers to revive the

Principio Furnace Principio Furnace and village is in Cecil County, Maryland, 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Havre de Grace, MD. The Principio Iron Works were started here in 1719 by Joseph Farmer with British capital and an ironmaster, John England, who made ...

Perryville, Maryland Perryville is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,361 at the 2010 census. The town is located near an access for Interstate 95, on the north side of the outlet of the Susquehanna River. History Perryville was fir ...

.Historical Society of Cecil County, "Principio", Milt Diggins
/ref> In 1837, he helped found and was named first vice-president of the First Board of Trade of Wilmington. In 1838, Chandler was a director of three of the four railroad companies that were built the first rail link from Philadelphia to Baltimore: the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad, the Delaware and Maryland Railroad, and the

Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) was an American railroad that operated independently from 1836 to 1881. It was formed in 1836 by the merger of four state-chartered railroads in three Middle Atlantic states to create a ...

. (The line is today part of Amtrak's

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

.) His service as a railroad executive is noted on the 1839

Newkirk Viaduct Monument The Newkirk Viaduct Monument (also, Newkirk Monument) is a 15-foot white marble obelisk in the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Installed in 1839, it is inscribed with the names of 51 railroad builders and executives, ...

. From 1840 to 1843, Chandler served as a director of the

Union Bank of Delaware The Union Bank of Delaware was a bank that operated in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1839 until its acquisition by Wilmington Trust in 1943. It was chartered as a state bank on February 15, 1839, and was "soon recognized as one of the leading financia ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, William 19th-century American railroad executives American abolitionists Year of birth missing Year of death missing