Peleg W. Chandler Legal Papers

1717-1888; bulk: 1845-1862

Guide to the Collection

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

Collection Description

Processing Note

Acquisition Information

Organization

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Access Terms

Collection Summary

Creator:	Chandler, Peleg W. (Peleg Whitman), 1816-1889.
Title:	Peleg W. Chandler legal papers
Dates:	1717-1888
Bulk Dates:	1845-1862
Physical Description:	5 document boxes, 1 narrow box, and 1 oversize box
Call Number:	Ms. N-1199
Repository:	Massachusetts Historical Society 1154 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 library@masshist.org

Abstract:

This collection consists of the legal papers of Peleg W. Chandler, a mid-nineteenth century Boston attorney. The legal papers include his work on road widening, development of wharves, and torts against the city due to the destruction of private property caused by municipal work. Chandler also did work for the First Church of Boston, and the Church of the Holy Cross on Devonshire Street, railroad nuisance cases, and family probate land disputes.

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Biographical Sketch

Peleg Whitman Chandler (1816 - 1889) was born and educated in Maine. He received his early education at Bangor Theological College, and he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1834. He studied at the Dane Law School at Harvard and read with Prof. Theophilus Parsons; he was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1837. That same year he married Martha Anne Bush of Brunswick, Maine. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for two terms, in 1844 and 1862. His practice handled civil cases primarily. He was known as an excellent litigator whose career in the courtroom was shortened due to increasing deafness.

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Collection Description

The legal papers of Peleg Whitman Chandler consist of 5 document boxes, 1 narrow box, and 1 oversize box.

The bulk of the collection is legal papers, 1840-1861, including his work on road widening, development of wharves, and torts against the city due to destruction of private property caused by municipal work. Chandler also did work for the First Church of Boston, and the Church of the Holy Cross on Devonshire Street, railroad nuisance cases, family wills, land transfers, and deeds. The collection includes some published decisions from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and one from the Supreme Court. Chandler did most of his work on land cases and the collection contains many maps, including street layouts, wharf proposals and property lines. The collection also includes legal correspondence and addresses.

Although Chandler was a representative to the Massachusetts House and a Boston city solicitor, there are no papers pertaining to those positions in the collection.

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Processing Note

Due to mildew that resulted from water damage, some papers have been photocopied and discarded.

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Acquisition Information

The Massachusetts Historical Society acquired the Peleg W. Chandler legal papers from the Peabody Museum in 1943.

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Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:


	I. Commercial cases, 1825 - 1886
	II. Municipal cases, 1835 - 1861
	III. Family cases, 1717 - 1862
	IV. Church cases, 1835 - 1860
	V. Legal papers, 1833 - 1887
	VI. Legal correspondence, 1850 - 1888
	VII. Addresses, n.d.

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Detailed Description of the Collection


Box	Folder	Contents
		I. Commercial cases, 1825 - 1887 This series consists of papers related to the development of Boston's wharves and commercial water power. The cases concerned legal issues including ownership, land transfer deeds, land ownership. Water power companies that Chandler worked with include the Boston Water Power Company and the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation. He represented the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation in negotiations with the City of Boston in a dispute over land rights in Back Bay. Chandler represented the proprietors of Long Wharf, Charles River Wharf, and T (Tea) Wharf, the Mercantile Wharf Corporation, Josiah Quincy concerning City Wharf, and the Boston Wharf Company.
			A. Water power companies, 1854 - 1887
Box 1	Folder 1-4			Hayden v. City of Roxbury, 1854 - 1858
Box 1	Folder 5			Commonwealth v. City of Roxbury, 1857
Box 1	Folder 6			Boston Water Power Co. v. City of Roxbury, 1858 - 1859
Box 1	Folder 7-8			Taylor v. Boston Water Power Co., 1858 - 1860
Box 1	Folder 9			Sewall v. Boston Water Power Co., 1860
Box 1	Folder 10			Boston Water Power Company cases, 1860
Box 1	Folder 11			Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation records, 1883 - 1887
			B. Wharf cases, 1825 - 1861
Box 1	Folder 12			Long Wharf, 1825
Box 1	Folder 13			Mercantile Wharf, 1827 - 1831, 1854
Box 1	Folder 14			Charles River Wharf, 1841, 1846
Box 1	Folder 15			T (Tea) Wharf, 1860 - 1861
Box 1	Folder 16-17			City Wharf, 1852 - 1855 Most of the papers related to City Wharf are legal papers and correspondence involving Josiah Quincy.
Box 1	Folder 18			Boston Wharf Company, 1852
OS Box	Folder 1-2			Wharf plans and maps, 1852 - 1854
					Table of Contents
		II. Municipal cases, 1835 - 1861 This series includes cases involving Boston's streets. Chandler represented many land and home owners who lost frontage due to the widening of streets to accommodate increased traffic. Chandler also represented homeowners who lost property when a city improvement of a sewer caused flooding on Dover Street in 1856. The series also includes documents requiring the city to number houses in a development, South Cove, and care for the streets it improved; testimony from three men on the effect the railroad has had on the livelihoods of horse and stable owners; papers related to Chandler's involvement in elections, especially a disputed election of 1861; and records of clients he represented in cases against the cities of Boston and Roxbury.
			A. Cases related to Boston streets, 1835 - 1859
Box 2	Folder 1			Parks Commission statement on Back Bay Park, n.d.
Box 2	Folder 2-3			Papers of the South Cove Development Corp. (Kneeland St), 1835 - 1846
Box 2	Folder 4			Orders compelling the City of Boston to number and widen streets, 1851 - 1861
Box 2	Folder 5-7			Streets, declaration of City to widen, 1852 - 1858
Box 2	Folder 8-25			Dover Street flooding cases 1857 - 1859
Box 2	Folder 26			Rhodes v. City of Boston (490 Tremont Street), 1858
			B. Railroad case, n.d.
Box 3	Folder 1-4			Testimony from horse and stable owners about effect of railroad on business, n.d.
			C. Elections, 1859 - 1861
Box 3	Folder 5			Election law, 1859
Box 3	Folder 6			Paul v. Wilson, Ward 12 disputed election, 1861
			D. Civil cases, 1849 - 1859
Box 3	Folder 7			White v. City of Boston, 1849
Box 3	Folder 8			Wheeler v. City of Boston, 1859
Box 3	Folder 9			Sargent v. City of Boston, 1859 Papers show evidence of water damage and many are illegible.
Box 3	Folder 10-11			Joseph Stevens v. City of Boston, 1859
					Table of Contents
		III. Family cases, 1717 - 1862 This series consists of cases of families involved in probate to prove ownership in order to possess and sell land. Some wills and deeds proving ownership of property date back to 1717, but the bulk date from the 1850s and 1860s.
Box 4	Folder 1-2		Background deeds, 1717 - 1806
Box 4	Folder 3-5		Pertaining to Joseph Rowe, 1816 - 1857
Box 4	Folder 6		Hall v. Thayer, 1849
Box 4	Folder 7		Hall v. Thayer, 1859
Box 4	Folder 8		Wight v. Thayer / Stetson v. Thayer, 1849
Box 4	Folder 9		Thayer wills and papers, 1822 - 1854
Box 4	Folder 10		Thayer wills, 1850 - 1851
Box 4	Folder 11		Copied Supreme Judicial Court decisions, 1855 - 1860
Box 4	Folder 12		John Ware, 1857
Box 4	Folder 13		Winslow v. King, 1858
Box 4	Folder 14		Sumner v. Evans, 1859
Box 4	Folder 15		Israel Thorndike, 1860 - 1861
Box 4	Folder 16		Codman v. Evans, 1860 - 1862
Box 4	Folder 17		Cases involving James Beebe, 1861
Box 4	Folder 18		Estate papers of Benjamin Adams and Frances P. Winthrop, 1859-1861
Box 4	Folder 19		Deeds and lease agreements, 1854 - 1862
					Table of Contents
		IV. Church cases, 1835 - 1860 This series includes papers related to street developments that impacted the First Church of Boston and the Church of the Holy Cross, both on Devonshire Street. It also includes records of the Hawes Fund, established for the First Church, and other papers associated with that church.
Box 5	Folder 1-3		First Church papers, 1835 - 1856
Box 5	Folder 4		Hawes Fund (First Church), 1848 - 1849
Box 5	Folder 5-6		First Church notes, 1857
Box 5	Folder 7-8		Devonshire Street widening case, 1860
OS Box	Folder 3		Bishop John Bernard Fitzpatrick, Devonshire Street deed, 11 July 1860
					Table of Contents
Box 6	Folder 1-7	V. Legal papers, 1833-1887 Arranged chronologically. This series consists of Chandler's legal notes, court decisions and pleadings, accounts, and other legal papers, including records of the Supreme Court case City of Boston vs. David R. Lecraw, 1851, records of several Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts cases, and a short codicil written for the Anti-Slavery Society, 1858. Many of the papers relate to miscellaneous land and property cases. Some of the papers are difficult to read due to water damage.
					Table of Contents
Box 6	Folder 8-10	VI. Legal correspondence, 1850-1888 Arranged chronologically. This series consists of Chandler's incoming legal correspondence. The correspondence relates to various cases and claims in which Chandler was involved. It contains correspondence and building plans, ca. 1888, from William Gibbons Preston, the Boston architect who designed the Chandler Building at 53 Devonshire Street. A letter from Preston has photographs of the roof of the building attached. For additional correspondence, see Series I-IV.
					Table of Contents
Box 6	Folder 11	VII. Addresses, n.d. This series consists of drafts of addresses given by Chandler, including speeches on the principles of American government and the laws of nations.

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Preferred Citation

Peleg W. Chandler legal papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

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Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.


	Persons:
		Preston, William Gibbons.
		Quincy, Josiah, 1772-1864.


	Organizations:
		Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation.
		Boston Water Power Company.
		Boston Wharf Company.
		First Church (Boston, Mass.).
		Long Wharf (Boston, Mass.).
		Mercantile Wharf Corporation.
		South Cove Corporation (Boston, Mass.).
		T Wharf. Proprietors.


	Subjects:
		Architects--Massachusetts--Boston.
		Back Bay (Boston, Mass.).
		Lawyers--Massachusetts--Boston.
		Real estate development--Massachusetts--Boston.
		Real property--Massachusetts--Boston.
		Streets--Massachusetts--Boston.
		Wharves--Massachusetts--Boston.

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http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fa0196
Send reference questions to library@masshist.org.

Collection processed by Dory Codington, Dec. 2004.
Revised and encoded by Michael Rush, Dec. 2004

Massachusetts Historical Society
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