CHANDLER FAMILY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I want to express my sincere appreciation to Judith Chandler Duncan
and Cecelia Duncan Wilkerson
for their help and sharing
of their Chandler Family documentation.
Judene's 2nd great grandparents were Absalem D.
CHANDLER and Francis Unknown. Absalem was born about 1812 in
Georgia. Francis was born about 1816 probably in Georgia. Absalem
& Francis were married about 1835 in Hall County, Georgia. Absalem died
in April 1874 in Edwardsville, Cleburne County, Alabama. Francis died
about 1890 in Cleburne County, Alabama. The union of Absalem & Francis
produced twelve children; George Wesley;
John W.; Isaac; Thomas H.; Mary; Elizabeth; Josephine;
Margaret; Mariah; Martha; Joseph; & Sarah.
The CHANDLER & CROY families lived in
the Rosewood community in Cleburne County, Alabama. On a visit there in 1997 I
visited the Kilgore General store in Rosewood and found the following hanging
on the wall.
AN
ABBREVIATED HISTORY OF
ROSEWOOD,
ALABAMA
by
Royce Lane Kilgore
Situated in what is now Cleburne County the Rosewood Community was an
early Indian Territory. Although the boundary has been disputed, it is most
likely that Rosewood lies three to five miles south of the old Creek and
Cherokee boundary line inside the Creek territory. Although there were numerous
Indian villages along the many creeks surrounding Rosewood, no documentation
remains about the specifics and no Indian mounds are found in the immediate
area.
Although its location cannot be accurately pinpointed, it is believed
that the "Sandtown Trail" came through, or in close proximity to
Rosewood. This trail was an early Creek Indian route that led from western
Atlanta westward to an Indian village in east Alabama. This trail later became
a stagecoach route for the early settlers traveling west.
It is not feasible to give every individual name of the earliest
settlers, but there were several families who made their presence known in
Rosewood as some of the earliest settlers in the area. These include the family
of William R. Brown, the Bentleys, Hunnicutts, Scotts, Barnes, Bomans,
Barnetts, Chandlers, and the Killgores (now
spelled Kilgore).
During the 1850's, Rosewood became a somewhat respected trading area
centered on a store that was owned and operated by Absalem
D. Chandler. Rosewood was also home to one of 27 post offices
located in the county. Mr. A. D. Chandler, in
addition to operating his store, also served as postmaster at the Rosewood Post
Office until the outbreak of the Civil War, when the office was temporarily out
of service. The post office was revived on December 15, 1870 with James A.
McGee serving as postmaster. McGee held the office for 18 years until William
James Beverly took over on August 17, 1888. Eliard Long served as postmaster
from January 31, 1900, until the office was permanently closed on January 16,
1904, and the mail was sent to be processed at Fruithurst.
Rosewood has contributed a great deal to the politics of Cleburne County
and to the war efforts of the nation. When the very first election was held in
Cleburne County in July of 1867, A. D. Chandler,
a prominent citizen of Rosewood, was chosen by the people to be the probate
judge for the newly formed county. Rosewood and the surrounding area also
contributed many soldiers during the Civil War and other wars in the 20th
century. Surprisingly, Rosewood was also home to at least one soldier who
fought in the war of 1812 and was killed by the British. His widow, Jane Brown,
was still receiving a pension of $8 per month in 1880 while living in Rosewood.
Today, Rosewood is still intent as a very nice community with
approximately 130 residents. It still plays a role in county politics having
sent two of its residents to the county commission, consecutively, for almost
the past three decades. There are two general stores, Robinson Grocery, and
Kilgore's Rosewood Corner Gas & Grocery that serves the area residents.
Also operating in the community is the Rosewood Tire Center, and Rosewood
Recycling.
********
GEORGE & MILLIE
George Wesley CHANDLER was born in Hall County, Georgia November 19, 1835. Millie
Elizabeth WRIGHT was born July 6, 1836 in Georgia. George and Millie
were married March 17, 1858 in Haralson County, Georgia just over the state
line from where George lived in Cleburne County, Alabama. George
died May 11, 1897 in Jefferson County, Arkansas. Millie died November
14, 1913. Both are buried in the Morris Cemetery, Grant County, Arkansas. To
this union eleven children were born; Narsissis
Elizabeth; Irvin; John Wesley; Absolum
Denman; Isaac; Maria; General George Washington; William;
Thomas; Richard Filo; & Denman.
********
NARSISSIS & DAVID CROY
To learn about the family of Narsissis &
David please click here.
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