It is fitting that Mr. Chandler's life be written. It is due, first of all, to his memory. It is due to those who come after him. It is due to the great State whose Senator he was, whose interests he served, whose honor he upheld. I am glad the work is committed to competent friends, who can discriminate between honest approval and inconsiderate praise, and who with strict adherence to truth can find in his career so much that is honorable, so much that is admirable, so little that is censurable, and nothing that is mean. Very sincerely yours, JAMES G. BLAINE. WASHINGTON, February 15, 1880. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. BIRTHPLACE AND ANCESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND. PAGE. The town of Bedford, N. H.--King Phillip's War--Land grants to surviving soldiers--Souhegan-East--Grant of a charter--Naming the town--The early settlers--The thirst for civil and religious liberty--Records of the church--The thrift of the people--Native humor--A patriotic record--Services in three wars. 19 CHAPTER II. PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. The Chandlers of New England--The first Zechariah and his possessions--Settlement in the intervale of the Merrimack--Genealogy of the family--Noted family connections--Prominence in church and State--The family residences--Birthplace of Zachariah--Inherited traits--A strong, self-reliant boy--His school-days--One term as teacher--Work on the farm--Military experience--Clerk in a store--His journey Westward--Affection for the old town--Some of Bedford's emigrants. 31 CHAPTER III. REMOVAL TO MICHIGAN--MERCANTILE SUCCESS--BUSINESS INVESTMENTS. Business start in Detroit--The cholera epidemic--Caring for the sick--Characteristics of the young business man--Nearest approach to an assignment--Pushing his business--Visits to the interior--Strong friendships--His young clerk and successor--Commercial integrity and sagacity--Accumulation of property--Helping the Government credit--Incorruptibility as a Legislator. 44 CHAPTER IV. THE PANORAMA OF NORTHWESTERN DEVELOPMENT. Early explorations of the Lakes--A mission at the Sault--Passage of the Strait--First settlement at Detroit--Steam navigation upon the Lakes--Organization of the Territory--An imperial domain--Detroit in 1833--Marvelous development of a great City and State--Statistics of 1879. 54 CHAPTER V. THE COMMENCEMENT OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY--RECORD AS AN ANTI-SLAVERY WHIG.