Daniel Lyman Chandler Papers
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Daniel Lyman Chandler Papers
- Identifier
- Midwest.MS.128
- Repository
- The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts
- Language
- English
- Size
- 0.1 linear feet (2 folders)
- Dates
- 1855-1866
- Collection Stack Location
- 1 1 2
- Abstract
- Twelve letters of New Englander Daniel Lyman Chandler from Chicago, Illinois, and Ogden, Kansas, to his relatives,1855-1863, which describe life in Chicago and in the Kansas Territory. Also, two other letters from his nephew John and a woman named Elisabeth Hewins.
- Language
- Materials are in English.
- Creator
- Chandler, Daniel Lyman, 1814-
Provenance
Gift, Mrs. Myles F. Gibbons, 1978.
Conditions Governing Access
The Daniel Lyman Chandler Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Daniel Lyman Chandler Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Cite As
Daniel Lyman Chandler Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Processed by
Virginia Hay Smith, 2008.
Processing Information note
This collection was surveyed as part of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium's Survey Initiative on 2011 April 5 by Andrew Steadham.
Biography of Daniel Lyman Chandler
Chicago hostler and Kansas farmer.
Daniel Lyman Chandler from Massachusetts was living and working as a hostler in Chicago in the 1850s, when he decided to emigrate to the Kansas Territory. Staking his claim in Ogden, near Manhattan, Kansas, Chandler farmed corn and hay, and encouraged some members of his family to come west, settle near him and join him in the anti-slavery movement. Apparently Chandler became active in local politics around 1860.
It is believed Chandler died in 1892.
Scope and Content of the Collection
Twelve letters from Daniel Lyman Chandler to his brother Henry and Henry’s wife Charlotte, plus two other family letters, written between 1855 and 1866. Four letters from Chicago, where Chandler worked with horses, are full of details regarding the possible draining of the city, local and national politics, and his thoughts on slavery, religion and temperance. Included is a description of visiting a Chicago cemetery and attending a Jewish service, plus a lengthy report on traveling from Massachusetts to Chicago.
Letters from Ogden, Kansas, 1857-1863, reflect the passions and emotions of an abolitionist living and working in the midst of social and political turmoil. Chandler’s descriptions of life during a time later termed that of “Bleeding Kansas” include the terrible hardships of the emigrants who have arrived to homestead, and his exhortations to his Eastern relatives to send assistance and/or come join the anti-slavery efforts. Letters also include rough maps of Ogden, reports on farming, descriptions of the landscape, comments on national politics and local affairs, and many other thoughts and opinions of an observant and literate correspondent.
One of two undated letters is written on the back of a circular published in English, Cherokee and Creek from Fort Gibson in the Department of Missouri, April 16, 1863, which urges Indians to enlist in the United States army. The two letters not written by Chandler are to his sister-in-law Charlotte, from an unknown family friend and from her son John.
Arrangement
Materials arranged in chronological order: originals in one folder and transcripts in another.
Catalog Record
https://i-share-nby.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CARLI_NBY/i5mcb2/alma998179168805867
Indexed Terms
- Chandler, Daniel Lyman, 1814-
- Abolitionists -- Kansas
- Chicago
- Chicago (Ill.) -- History -- 19th century
- Correspondence -- 1851-1900
- Families -- Middle West -- History -- 19th century
- Family Papers
- Kansas -- History -- 1854-1861
- Manuscripts, American
- Migration, Internal -- Kansas -- History -- 19th century
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation, Indian
Indexed Terms
- Abolitionists
- Chicago (Ill.)--History.
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Songs and music
Inventory
- Title
- Letters,
- Dates
- undated, 1855-1866
- Title
- Transcripts of letters