Daniel Candler (c1700-1765) joined South River Monthly Meeting in Bedford County, Virginia on February 12, 1756. His wife, Hannah whose maiden name remains unknown, seems not to have joined Friends (a claim that some will dispute). Daniel's will of 1765 says, "my loving wife Hannah" and names children:

Family legend contends that there were also sons Thomas and Henry who died in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina fighting Indians. The only documentation of this lies in hearsay, passed along in a 1770's letter from Rev. Thomas Moorman of North Carolina to one Mary Ann Lynch of Virginia. For more on these children, see CANDLER GENEALOGY

Thanks to the many genealogists whose research has been instrumental in this site. Special thanks to Linda Sparks Starr, Doug Tucker, Glenn Turnell, and Don Reed.

Charles and Sarah (Clark) Lynch are widely credited as first settlers of South River Settlement in the Virginia Colony of England, having moved there from Louisa County, VA. This land would become the heart of Lynchburg, Virginia -- founded by the senior Charles Lynch's son John in 1786. When Charles, Sr. died in 1752, his will was probated in Louisa County, but Sarah and her children were already situated in South River and there they remained.

In August, 1754, the Friends of South River, "gathering at the Lynch home, petitioned for the right to establish an organized public meeting. Thus, South River Particular Meeting was set out on its long history. It was not until 1757 that the first log meeting house was built, on the land given by Sarah Lynch, and made ready for occupancy. ... in 1757, in unity with another meeting which had been established at Goose Creek, South River Monthly Meeting was established..." - [D. S. B.]

Daniel Candler's Grant of 1755 on Fishing Creek (adjacent watershed to Blackwater) must have been surveyed before 1753 and it is likely that Daniel was located there for some time before. In July of 1761, John and William each secured Royal Grants; William also on Fishing Creek next to his father, and John on Lynches Creek (another branch of Blackwater. These grants began a trend up the northwestern slope of Candlers Mountain. Eventually the Candler Clan would cross this mountain southeastwardly and move into the valley of Possum and Beaver Creeks.

CANDLER QUAKER RECORDS AND TIME-LINE:

I found Chandlers living near Charles and Sarah (Clark) Lynch in Louisa Co. I also found Chandlers living next to Bartholomew and John Stovall (uncles of Dorothy Stovall who would marry Daniel Candler's grandson John Candler, Jr. in 1799). Likewise, I found Chandlers living just east of John Candler in Campbell Co, in the 1780's. It remains to be seen if these are family connections. Several Chandler Association researchers tell me that they are aware of no Chandler-Candler inter-relations in Virginia. It remains to be explored. (see below)

See various Wills, Grants, and Deeds:

For an article on the CANDLERS & THEIR MOUNTAIN Some of this data is incorrect - webmaster

Read a 1940 Biography on the Carolina Descendants of Daniel Candler: Some of this data is incorrect - webmaster

See the South River Meeting House today:

In two excellent sources, citations about the Candler family of Lynchburg, Virginia may be found.

Quaker Records of South River Monthly Meeting, Virginia 1756-1800, by F. Edward Wright, Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD; and

Lynchburg's Pioneer Quakers and Their Meeting House, by Mrs. Douglas Summers "Jane" Brown, Pub. J. P. Bell, Lynchburg, VA,

Mrs. Brown states that the Candlers were important founding members who were instrumental in the community of Friends, but she gives little evidence for this claim. In her indices, there are relatively few Candler citations. In Wright's transcription of the Quaker records, the same is true. I have, happily, discovered why these good and important sources lack Candler data.

The CANDLER name was often misspelled as CHANDLER. Because more often than not, the Candlers were listed as C(h)andlers, both authors must have missed this detail and so their reports were incomplete. I found this discrepancy in Wade Hinshaw's Encyclopedia Of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol.#6, where there are more C(h)andler than Candler references, yet all but two of these are actually Candlers.

There are many Candler documents in Virginia under the CHANDLER spelling. A search of the DIGITAL COLLECTIONS of the Library of Virginia reveals Candlers listed as C(h)andler.

Library of VIRGINIA On-Line:

I might also mention Allen D. Candler's book Colonel William Candler of Georgia, His Ancestors and Progeny, 1896, the Foote & Davis Co, Atlanta, GA. This is an interesting chronicle of the second son of Daniel and Hannah Candler. Written in the late 19^th century, the author wrote without knowledge of the extensive Virginia data now available. He was aware of Candler branches in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland; but speculated that these were either descended from other, later-arriving Candler immigrants, or perhaps, from a brother of his ancestor Col. William. It is clear now that the early Georgia, North Carolina, and Maryland Candlers were sons of Daniel and Hannah Candler.

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