CHANDLER

Talladega County, Alabama

The first documentation I have found of my great-great grandfather, Hardy CHANDLER (born ca. 1819 in North Carolina) is in the estate inventory of Mordecai CHANDLER:

I know the following about Mordecai CHANDLER: he was born in South Carolina, as were his parents. He was head of household in the 1830 Elbert County, Georgia census. By 1833 he had moved to Talladega county, Alabama. He and his brother James founded the settlement called Chandler's Springs in Talladega county around 1835. Mordecai probably died around 1847, the date of the birth of his last known child. He does not appear in the 1850 census.

Hardy, Matilda and Ann/Hester Ann are the only slaves whose names I have so far discovered in association with Mordecai, although in the 1830 census his household has a total of 4 slaves and in the 1840 there are 9 slaves enumerated.

In the 1850 slave schedule, his widow, Elizabeth CHANDLER had 6 slaves including a mulatto man aged 25 years who I suspect is Hardy.

My next record for Hardy is of his sale in November 1859 for $1552.00 to William SCOTT. William Scott was Elizabeth's second husband. Matilda was sold for $1,200.00 to Mordecai's brother, James.

I have no information on Hardy Chandler during the final 6 years of his enslavement. I assume that he remained in the same area with the same slaveholders. I am also not sure of the whereabouts of Hardy's wife and children, who do not seem to have been owned by Mordecai or Elizabeth. My next record for Hardy comes after emancipation.

In the 1866 Colored Census, a Hardy CANDLER (sic) is head of a household numbering seven persons as follows:

This information matches up very closely with the members of Hardy CHANDLER's family as found in the 1870 census below:

Betsy Jane (SCOTT?) CHANDLER
(b. ca 1839, GA - d. 1915, AL)
picture - 1880's?

Here is Hardy's family in 1880. While neither Hardy or Betsy apparently ever learned to read or write, they made sure that all of their children received an education.

By 1900 Hardy, Betsy their two sons Kelley and Moses and grandson George E. are living on the farm. Hardy Jr. lives adjacent on his own farm. I cannot find Hardy's other children in this census. The census also confirms that Hardy owned, not rented, his land.

Sometime after this census and 1908, when deaths were required to be reported to the state, Hardy died. In the 1910 census Betsy is enumerated as a widow living in Talladega city with her daughter Nettie Henry GILBERT and family. Betsy Jane Chandler died on November 30, 1915 of old age.

Other than my own line (Annie Chandler - see below) I do not have a great deal of information on Hardy's children. In the 1900 census their mother Betsy Jane reports that only 7 of her 11 children are still living, but this may not be accurate. I can only locate 4 of them (Ann, Hardy jr., Moses and Kelly) in the 1900 census.

• Nettie Henry has reappeared in Talladega county.
• Moses has moved to Muscogee, Oklahoma and started using the name Marion Chandler where he remained up through at least 1922 (per city directory).
• Kelley has taken over his father's farm.
• Hardy jr. has moved to Dallas county, Alabama, where he is farming.

In the 1920 census, the only children I can locate in Alabama are Kelley, still farming, though apparently he also traveled frequently to Tulsa (and Muscogee?) Oklahoma, and Netty Henry, still living in Talladega city.

Click here to see the descendants of Hardy and Betsy CHANDLER:

On April 2nd, 1871 at "the Mill of Mr. Hammond" Ann CHANDLER married Albert MORRIS (b. 1849, Alabama). Albert had the farm adjacent to the Chandlers. They had 11 children:

Willie M. MORRIS, b. December, 1872 - d. 1900-1910; m. Sallie TALIAFERRO in 1896

Harrison MORRIS, b. December, 1876 - d. 1968; m. Nancy WASHINGTON, 1898; m. Alice HARRIS in 1916

Albert W. MORRIS, b. 15 April, 1878 - dec; m. Margie McCLELLAN, 1901; m. Virginia WALKER in 1914

Henry J. MORRIS, b. 1879 - d. 1918; m. Martha (UNKNOWN) in 1896 (?)

Betty MORRIS, b. December, 1881 - d. 1955; m. Joseph Hardy CHANDLER, a.k.a. Henry SEVOUS in 1902

Hardy Lowell MORRIS, b. June 15, 1884 - d. 1968; m. Mattie Lilian (UNKNOWN) in 1909; m. Virginia (UNKNOWN)

Laura J. MORRIS, b. 27 May, 1886 - d. 1979; m. Arthur MORRIS in 1906; m. William STREETY after 1930; m. Robert THOMPSON in 1945 (?)

James MORRIS, b. March, 1889 - d. bef. 1908

Sally MORRIS, b. February, 1892 - d. 1959; m. Solomon J. COLLINS in 1914

Columbus Franklin MORRIS, b. July 24, 1894 - d. December 14, 1973; m. Geneva GOINGS November 24, 1925 in Los Angeles

Winnie Bell MORRIS, b. October 2, 1895 - d. 7 August, 1988; m. Byron MARBURY in 1918

Albert and Ann lived together for more than 40 years. After Albert's death in 1916, Ann moved to Talladega city to live with her daughter Sally COLLINS. Ann died February 16, 1920 and was buried in the family graveyard.

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