LYNCHBURG CANDLERS ~ The First Generations, ©1999 by Ed Marsh

This essay reviews the history of the children and grandchildren of Daniel and Hannah Candler of South River Settlement (Virginia Colony -- present-day City of Lynchburg). There is much Legend pertaining to these early Candlers. Of most, I cannot find the origin. I will discuss these tales without trying to pin down their source. Where I can offer facts to the contrary, I will do so. Many, but not all, of the Candlers were Quakers.

According to legend, Daniel and Hannah had seven children. Daniel's will of 1765 names only five. They were listed (and spelled) as follows: John, William, Elizabeth, Elloner, and Zedikiah. Legendarily, there were two other children, Thomas and Henry. They are reputed to have died (prior to Daniel's death) while fighting Indians in North Carolina (presumably during the Indian Wars in the late 1750's). It should be noted that whereas the name Henry recurs in subsequent generations, Thomas does not.

John, Elizabeth, Elloner, and Zedikiah* remained in Virginia and their stories form the nexus of my research.

* Zed may have moved to Tennessee after 1804 (his wife Anna's death).

More on The Candler Neighborhood

John Candler (c1730-1802*) appears on the first tax rolls of Bedford County in the year of its formation - 1754. He was (apparently) married circa 1750. The parents of his wife, Elizabeth Gibson, were in the area by the mid-1740's. It's likely that the Candler Family too was in the area at this time

*Campbell Co. will book. #2, pg.111, inventory of estate, 10 Jan.1803.

The earliest documented evidence of Elizabeth Candler that I have found appears in the 1758 records of South River Monthly Meeting. By that date, she was already the wife of John Caffery (1722-1790), son of Charles Caffery and Sarah Carter who were neighbors of the Candlers at the South River Settlement. To date, no documentary record of her marriage has come to light. The Caffery family was Presbyterian. Caffery researchers maintain that there was no formal organization to record Prebyterian marriages in Virginia at this time - the long-lost marriage book of a circuit riding preacher may have been the only record ever made.

In 1791, she was named executrix of husband John's estate. Six children were named in the will - Charles, Barnabus (called William in the will), Sally, Ealner (probably Eleanor), Mary, and Winnie. For a long time, descendants of Captain John Caffery, b. 27 Aug 1756, believed that he was the son of an Elizabeth C(H)andler. Recent evidence has proven that Captain John Caffery (husband of Mary Donelson) was indeed the son of John Caffery and Elizabeth Candler.

More on Elizabeth

Allan Daniel Candler, in his book Colonel William Candler of Georgia, His Ancestry and Progeny, stated unequivocally that William Candler was born, raised, and married in North Carolina. He was misinformed. Wherever William was born, he grew to manhood and married in South River Settlement along the James River in Virginia. Daniel Candler (William's father) was probably settled at South River by the late 1740's. William would have been 14 years old when his brother, John, married a South River girl, Elizabeth Gibson, c1750.

In 1755, at age nineteen, William joined the Quaker meeting at South River (present-day Lynchburg, VA). Several years thereafter, he was elected clerk of the Quaker Meeting. He acquired modest tracts of land at South River including one sharing property lines with his future father-in-law Joseph Anthony and his father Daniel. The grant survives at the Library of Virginia.

In 1760, William Candler contracted (with Joseph Ray at Fort Lewis -- present-day Salem, VA) to carry supplies to soldiers stationed at Dunkard Bottom on the New River (present-day Radford, VA). In 1761, he married Elizabeth Anthony. In 1763, he and his brother John and cousin Zachariah Moorman, along with Robert Brooks, appraised two estates (in behalf of neighbor Charles Lynch a prominent South River man). These estates, belonging to Valentine "Felty" Yoacom (Yokum) and Frederick See, were located in present-day Greenbrier County, WV. At the time, this was on the extreme western frontier of Virginia. Yoacom was killed in the Indian massacre at Muddy Creek.

William Candler was the executor of his father's 1765 will filed in early 1766 in Bedford County, VA.. Later in 1766, he asked the Quaker meeting officials to settle his business -- to give him a certificate of good standing for departure. There are records of land and property sales in 1767 and early 1768.

After this he may have moved his wife and children to Cane Creek, North Carolina. William would have been relocating among friends and cousins. In 1755, he had received a certificate to travel to the Cane Creek meeting. The Candlers were obviously fine woodsmen, and had no doubt traveled and worked in the VA/NC area. A group of men from South River had gone on to Carolina in 1756 to settle. Some stayed and some returned. It is family legend that William was one who had gone and returned (although these old legends are another story in themselves).

A group of Quaker colonizers from Cane Creek, under the leadership of Joseph Maddock, moved to Georgia in about 1770 to take up a large grant given to them by Georgia governor Wright. They named this colony Wrightsborough. A short time later, William Candler was appointed as Surveyor of the County. I suspect that he went to Georgia ahead of the other Quakers and surveyed the land grant for the future settlement. Records show that he sold a slave in Georgia in 1769 (named Chester), a slave on whom he paid Pittsylvania County, Virginia tax in 1767.

Whatever the exact circumstances, William does not appear in Quaker records of the Wrightsborough meeting. The events of the Revolution overtook the details of normal life at South River. The Quaker meeting there was practically closed during the War - many Quakers, against their stated principles, fought against the British foe. When the meeting at South River started up again in 1782, William and Elizabeth Candler were, "discontinued having remove removed from amongst Frs." In common language: they were gone and had not taken up the Quaker ways elsewhere so it was the responsibility of South River Meeting to disown them.

In Georgia, William became a County Surveyor - in Colonial America this was a major political appointment. George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Lewis were each a County Surveyor in Virginia. This appointment marked a man of intelligence, education, woodsmanship, and (most likely) military ability. This is a good description of William Candler of Georgia. At first a major in the Royal militia, he resigned his commission and joined the fight for American Independence. His distinction as a Major, then later Colonel of the Georgia "Refugees" of the American Revolution has been chronicled by his descendants.

More on Col. William Candler Governor Allen Daniel Candler's Georgia Candler Research

Elloner Candler (c1739-1790) first appears on Quaker records (see below). Elloner married Byrum (Byrum) Ballard on 20 Aug 1763 at South River Quaker Meeting House. Byrum was the son of William Ballard and Mary Byrum. They had six children who survived to adulthood - Mary, Elizabeth, William, Amos, Mourning, and Judith. Elloner was quite active within the Quaker faith. She traveled a good deal in support of contemporary Quaker causes. After she died, her husband married Sarah Cadwalder, and later Elizabeth Davis.

More on Elloner

Zed Candler (c1746-c1820) is the progenitor of most North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky Candlers. He married Anna Moorman, daughter of Zachariah Moorman and Elizabeth Terrell. The South River Quakers disowned Anna for marrying Zed because he was not a "Friend." They had eight children - Elizabeth, Zachariah, John, Falby, Nancy, Mahaly, Sally, and Rachel.

Zachariah traveled extensively before settling down in North Carolina where he raised a large family. John settled in Wilson County, Tennessee (the area was later separated into DeKalb County). It is said that he never married but recent evidence seems to prove (only circumstantially so far) that he did have a family. Zedekiah Candler appears in the 1820 federal census, in Smith County, Tennessee. This area of Smith was adjacent to the Wilson County area where John lived.

More on Zedikiah

The only evidence I can find for the existence of Thomas and Henry Candler lies in a letter, supposedly written in 1778 by one Rev. Thomas Moorman to one Mary Ann Lynch (read the letter and commentary). This letter comes to us by way of a long chain of hearsay. In Jones Library in Lynchburg, VA, there is a letter that quotes a letter that quotes the original letter. Furthermore, the document in Jones states that the original letter was lost in a fire in the 1800's.

As the author says, "There is much fogginess about my memory..." There are several details of this letter that don't "jive" with empirical fact. For an analysis of these and other details see The Candler Legend.

Also, read a 1959 Lynchburg News article on the CANDLERS & THEIR MOUNTAIN, but be warned, this article contains much incorrect data!

Just when Hannah Candler died remains a mystery. According to Daniel's will of 1765, she would retain possession of his land until her death, and only then would the children receive their equal share. There don't seem to be records of this distribution of property in Bedford or Campbell County. According to legend, Hannah lived to be 100 years old. Some have said she was buried in Georgia near son William; others, that she lived comfortably on her estate on Candler's Mountain, dying in 1800. The Lynchburg News article (printed elsewhere in this essay) states that Daniel died in September of 1800. This being clearly false, perhaps it was Hannah's date of death.

Who was Elizabeth Gibson? James Gibson's will of 14 April 1764 [Bedford County Will Book #1, pg. 20-21] states: "To my daughter Elizabeth Candler teen pounds current money."

It is commonly asserted that "Quaker records show that John Candler and Elizabeth married in 1762". There is no such Quaker record that I can find. What the records do show is a marriage of John Candler (no date or spouse), followed by the birth of two boys - John, Jr. in 1766, and Henry in 1769. When it became clear that John Candler, Sr. had at least three children (William, Daniel, and James) and probably five (the three boys plus Jane and Hannah) prior to 1762, I began to suspect that John, Sr. had a wife prior to this "1762 marriage." It seems logical that James Candler (c1756-1826) was named after Elizabeth's father James Gibson, with William (1751-1836) and Daniel (c1753-1810) being named after John's brother and father respectively. John and Elizabeth must have married in about 1750.

James and Eleanor Gibson were living in the South River area in the 1740's when it was Lunenburg County. John Candler's first son, William, was born in 1751, and thus it seems likely that he married Elizabeth about 1750. This is more convincing evidence that the Candlers were in this part of Virginia before 1750.

Elizabeth Gibson's siblings were James, Jr, Randall, John (deceased), Archbell (deceased), Catherine Hale, and Hannah Cook. When her son, John Candler, Jr. moved to Russell County Virginia in the late 1790's, several of his neighbors were Gibsons. For more on the Russell County Candler/Gibson connection (see below).

Elizabeth (Gibson) Candler, John Candler, Jr's mother, had several brothers. Whether one of them migrated to Russell Co, VA at or around the same time as John Candler, Jr. I do not know. Whatever the case might be, the sons of John Candler and Dorothy Stovall lived among many Gibsons in that western reach of Virginia. On the 1787 tax list of Russell County (Russell Co. was formed in 1786), there was one James Gibson, and one John Gibson. By the tax list of 1795, there were six Gibson households. Eventually, there would be a town of Gibsonville in Russell Co.

(see this link for children and grand-children of John & Eliz.)

There has been some confusion stemming from the fact that, there were several Williams and Daniels living in 18^th century Virginia. Daniel Candler (c1700-c1765), I will call "Old" Daniel. His first-born son, John Candler, Sr. (c1730-1802), had five sons, William, Daniel, James, John, and Henry. I will refer to this William as William of Virginia, and this Daniel as Daniel of Maryland (more on Daniel of MD).

"Old" Daniel's second-born son was William Candler (c1736-1784). Georgia Candlers respectfully call him Colonel William and I will observe their tradition. Col. William also had sons named Henry, b. c1762, William, b. c1764, and Daniel, b. 1779. William and Henry were (most likely) born in Virginia, while Daniel was born in Georgia.

Was William Candler of the deed of 1808 the same man as Pvt. William Candler of the Virginia Line during the Revolutionary War? It appears so. On the 1830 Census, William of Virginia's household contains one person 50-60, one 60-70, and one 70-80. This is the old soldier, still two years from his pension in 1832.

Unfortunately, in the War of 1812 the British destroyed the 1790 Federal census schedules for Virginia. A pseudo-census was reconstructed (later) from various 1780's tax records. This is perhaps why no one from the Candler neighborhood appears in the (so-called) 1790 census schedules. The 1800 schedules were also destroyed.

There is an 1800 tax list for Campbell Co. in The Virginia Genealogist, vol.13, pg. 109. It listed Henry, John, James and William Candler (this is most likely John, Sr. and sons William, James, and Henry). The 1810 Federal Census page for the Candler neighborhood was quite damaged (as mentioned above -- see Penelope Caneller). On the 1820 Federal Census of Campbell County, Virginia, there were two William Candlers; one old and one younger (with children). This younger William was the son of the old soldier - William A. Candler, b. 1795.

Pvt. Wm. Candler was listed as receiving a Virginia pension (beginning in 1832) at age 82 [Virginia Pension Roll of 1835]. This would place his birth in about 1750. On his pension application, he claimed to have been born in 1751. He was on the list of Virginia Revolutionary War soldiers who never claimed their Land Bounty. According to Robert Achilles Russell, a commonwealth attorney for Rustburg, VA in the 1930's (and a Candler descendant), William Candler claimed not to have fired a shot at the Battle of York Town. Russell further stated that "whether this was from his musket being out of fix or his Quaker convictions I do not know."

On William's wife Agnes Guthrie

Thanks to the Deed of 1808, we can place William and James Candler in Campbell Co. along with their brother-in-law James Guthrie; and learn that the Daniel Candler who appears on the Maryland Federal Census of 1790 was a descendant of "Old" Daniel Candler. It was through this land record "snap-shot" that I first understood that Daniel of Maryland was one and the same as the grantee in the 1779 Candler's Mountain Grant (signed by Jefferson).

Just when Daniel moved to Maryland is not clear but there are clues. He signed an oath of fidelity to the cause of American Independence in Maryland in 1778. He married a Maryland girl - Rosana Benson. At least one child was born in Maryland - John in 1779. Daniel appears in tax records in 1783. [Maryland State Archives, MARYLAND INDEXES, (Assessment of 1783, Index), Montgomery County MSA S 1437 -- Linganore and Sugar Loaf Hundred, p. 2. MSA S 1161-8-1, 1/4/5/51]. Additionally (as mentioned above), he may be found in the 1790 Federal Census of Montgomery County. He may have registered his land grant in Virginia in 1779 because he was relocated in MD and wanted good legal claim to his VA possession.

1790 Federal Census records show Daniel of Maryland had one son and one daughter over the age of 16. He must have been married no later than 1773. If he was over18 at that time, he must have been born in the early 1750's. Assuming that he was 18 when he married and that he had his first child immediately thereafter, he would have been 36 years old in 1790. That would place his birth on or before 1754.

1800 Federal Census records show Daniel as head of households in Montgomery County, Maryland [pg. 91].

1810 Federal Census records show John, William and Rosana Candler as heads of households in Montgomery County, Maryland [John on pg. 347, Wm. on 336, and Rosana on 362]. These were the sons and widow of Daniel. He died on the 18th of June 1810.

1820 Federal Census of Montgomery County, Maryland shows only John Candler [pg. 163]; the 1830 shows John Candle; and the 1840 Census shows a Daniel H. [pg. 193 - Rockville district], and Leonard W. Candler [also pg. 193] - sons of John. The 1850 shows John's widow Sarah [pg. 374], Leonard W. [also pg. 374], and a Rosetta Candler [pg.375] - not sure of this relation.

James Candler, Sr., b. c1756, Bedford Co, VA, d. 3 Jan. 1826, Campbell Co, VA, became and remained a serious Quaker at South River unto death. He acquired a good bit of land on the Mountain that bore his family name. His grandchildren populated the mountain and many lie buried in the Candler cemetery near the summit. The church nearby, Jehova Jireh - "God will provide" - named from the Bible story where Abraham's faith is tested on the mountain where God has asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac - attests to the connection the Candlers felt to this high place above the James River.

James' father, John Candler, Sr, recanted his sins (April 20, 1782, see Candler Quaker Records) and was reinstated as a Quaker. Less than a month later (May 10, 1782), James (age 26) requested membership in his own behalf. Two months later, on July 20^th, John, Sr. requested membership in behalf of his young sons Henry and John, Jr. (age 13 and 16 respectively). In September, John Candler, Jr. was received as a member, but there is no record that Henry ever was received "among Friends" but he must have been because he was disowned for military service in the 1810's [all Hinshaw, SRMM].

On December the 17^th, 1785, James Candler received a certificate from SRMM to Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting to marry. On January the 16^th, 1786, in the house of James Johnson of Louisa County, James Candler married Agnes (Agathay) Johnson (c1760-1817, daughter of James Johnson and Mildred Moorman).

When James Candler died in 1826, the Quaker records said "70 years old". This would (of course) place his birth c1756.

Before continuing with the Candler/Guthrie connection, a few words about these children are in order. I had the most trouble with these girls because the records are very slim. In fact, when I first wrote this article, I did not know of Ellender at all. A Burress family researcher contacted me on the internet and asked me if I knew of an Ellender Burress of Montgomery County, VA who was the daughter of a "Henry Candler." This researcher had assumed that Henry Candler was her father because she (and Hannah Irby) had inherited some land from him.

Wm Burruss & Elender, his wife of Montgomery County and Douglas Irby and Hannah, his wife of Botetourt County sold 285ac. to James Candler. Burruss and Irby, or their wives got the property from Henry Candler, date unknown. - From Campbell County Deed Book 8, page 636. Dated: 11/17/1809.

As it turns out, these are sisters of Henry and James. They are selling their inheritance from brother Henry who died in 1806, to their brother James who was buying up land on Candler Mountain (see Deed of 1808).

There is a Virginia Land Grant dated 1 December 1779, issued to Daniel Candler and signed by governor Thomas Jefferson [Virginia Patents A, 1779-80,pg.181]. I first read of this document in a 1959 Lynchburg News article written by Martha Rivers Adams on the subject of Early Candlers and their Mountain [Sunday, March 29, 1959, pg.B-2]. According to the newspaper article, this 1779 Land Grant, was issued to "Old" Daniel Candler, "Pioneer Quaker" who died (supposedly) in 1800. The writer had the obituary of another Daniel Candler (who was one of the last Quakers in Lynchburg --1830's-40's) mixed up with the death date of Hannah Candler (c1700-c1800). Other Candler researchers have supposed this 1779 Grant to be issued posthumously to settle "Old" Daniel's estate.

In light of newly uncovered evidence, it is pretty clear that the Daniel Candler who received the 1779 Grant was Daniel of Maryland. His existence comes to light again in a Campbell County deed dated 1808 [Campbell Co., Virginia, Deed Book 8, p. 272-274 recorded 11 July 1808]. It states that Daniel Candler of Montgomery County, Maryland, and William Candler and James Guthree of Campbell County, Virginia are selling -

- to James Candler (Sr.) of Campbell County.

The reference to Henry Candler "deceased" was, in all likelihood, to their brother Henry, b. 1769, d. 1806 (some Candler researchers suggest that this Henry was the long-dead son of Old Daniel). Regardless, circumstantial evidence indicates that this transaction was between children of John Candler, Sr. (James Guthree was the husband of John's daughter, Jane c1758-1807, by then deceased). John Candler, Jr. certainly was not dead in 1808, so exactly why he was not involved in this transaction is not clear. I can find nothing further on daughter Hannah after her marriage to Douglas Irby, so whether she was still living is indeterminable at this time.

My research into the connection between the Candler & Guthrie families unraveled quite slowly. The marriage of Jane Candler and James Guthrie was my starting point. My first clue turned up in an internet search for C(h)andlers (which I undertook after realizing just how many CANDLERS were listed under that spelling). I found a query on June/Jane Chandler of Bedford County, VA. This June/Jane had married James Guthree, son of Henry Guthree and Penelope Guthree. About that time, I discovered an 1801 marriage in Campbell County, VA between one John Candler and one Penelope Guttry. I assumed (at first) that this was a case of brothers and sisters marrying.

I contacted the researcher who had made the internet query and received an excellent Guthree Genealogy. Thus, I came to realize that the 1801 marriage was between John Candler, Sr. and the mother of James Guthree. John married his daughter Jane's mother-in-law. I cannot cite a source document to prove the 1778 marriage of James Guthree and Jane Candler, but the weight of circumstantial is fairly conclusive.

Clearly, the Guthries must have lived close to the Candlers in Bedford County during the 1770's (when Jane and William married James and Agnes), but I have yet to find documentary proof of this. Henry Guthrie died in Franklin County in 1786. Franklin County is not too far south of the area of Campbell County in which the Candlers lived. I assume that Penelope Johnson Guthrie moved back to Campbell County to be near her children and thereby found herself in the frequent company of her children's father-in-law. However it happened, she was available and willing to marry John Candler, Sr. in 1801.

One finds Penelope Candler in the 1810 Campbell County, VA Federal Census. The 1810 Census Index says, "Penelope Caneller", but one can see that the supposed "el" is really "d" (although the transcriber could not). Penelope was living on Candlers Mountain near Edward Lynch, and immediately next to Alexander Bridgeland, and Washington Lambeth. Regrettably, most of the census page has been destroyed by the ravages of time and so Penelope is the only Candler whose name remains to be seen, but thankfully she is there to bear out that it was she, the surviving wife of John Candler, Sr.

By the 1820 Census, Penelope had passed away. In that census, in the neighborhood of Lynch, Bridgeland, and Lambeth, one can find three grandsons of John Candler, Sr. living side by side - Johnson (b. 1789 - son of James), William A. (b. 1795 - son of William), and Daniel, (b. 1784 - son of William). My guess is that this property is the Lynch Creek or Fishing Creek property of John, Sr. which is at the western foot of Candler's mountain. This guess is based on the fact that this page (pg.122) is the first page of the census schedule marked "Campbell County." The previous pages were marked "Lynchburg Town." James and William Candler appear farther on in the schedule (pg.148) which seems to place them well out of town (on the mountain). I believe that they were living along the ridge between Flat & Possum Creeks, possibly on the 1779 grant of their brother Daniel Candler of Montgomery County, Maryland. This mountain-top area is the vacinity of the present-day Candler cemetery.

On the Guthrie Family A Good Story About Penelope A Good Guthrie Family Site

The following is a correspondence from a descendant of James and Jane (Candler) Guthree and the transcriber of the 1808 deed.

After Jane died in Virginia, James Guthrie moved to Highland Co., Ohio, sometime in the mid-1810s with his children. Many of his Quaker relatives (Johnsons, Moormans, etc.) had moved there before he did and he probably moved west with some of the latecomers. They settled in Leesburg. Three of James and Jane's daughters (Mildred, Elizabeth and Penelope) and two of their sons (Henry and James) married in Highland Co., Ohio. Four of their children were married in Virginia in Campbell or Bedford Co. (William, John, Martha and Agnes). I have no further information on their youngest child, Harriett.

James Guthrie, after he moved to Leesburg, apparently was a prominent figure in the community. He died on 27 February 1848 at Leesburg. So far as I know, James Guthrie wasn't a Quaker himself. His mother, Penelope (Johnson) Guthrie, was a Quaker until she married Henry Guthrie in about 1755, when she was thrown out because she "married contrary to discipline".

Agnes Guthrie, sister of James - daughter of Penelope, is said to have married William Candler (1751-1836). The Guthrie family genealogist who helped me with Penelope and James does not know who Agnes married. My only information on Agnes' being married to William comes from a 1937 letter, written by Robert Achilles Russell to Reverend B. T. Candler, stating that William's wife was Agnes Guthrie. I can find no record of William's marriage in Campbell or Bedford county records. He was not a Quaker so those records do no good. The wedding would have been at the time of the Revolution so public records may have been hectic.

Analysis of Candlers in the 1820 Campbell Co, VA census

There were two William Candlers on the 1820 Federal Census. The elder was William Candler (1751-1836), the old Rev. War soldier. His immediate neighbors were John Candler* and Daniel Candler, Jr.

*John Candler, had 8 children at the time. He was probably John Candler, b. c1782, who married Phoebe Boaz on 13 Dec 1802 in Campbell County.

Who was this Daniel Candler, Jr? He was (confusingly) Daniel Candler, Sr. (1788-1860), son of James Candler, Sr. (c1756-1826). In the old usage , "Jr" could mean simply "younger," not "the son of..." as it is used today.

The "other" Daniel was his cousin, born in 1784 (son of William Candler 1751-1836), married Martha King on 13 Aug 1817, and died between May and July of 1839.

The 2nd William listed in the 1820 Census was William A. Candler, the son of the elder. His next-door-neighbors were Johnson Candler (his brother-in-law) and Daniel Candler, Sr. (his brother). Johnson, b. 1789, was the son of James Candler, Sr. and Agnes Johnson (see below).

Quaker records state that John Candler, Jr. was born on February 9th, 1766 and I took that for granted until one of the most interesting genealogical discoveries emerged -- more on that discovery in a moment. On April 20, 1782, John's father recanted his sins (he was disowned in 1767, see Candler Quaker Records) and was reinstated. Two months later, on July 20^th, 1782, John, Sr. requested membership in behalf of his young sons John, Jr. and Henry (age 16 and 13 respectively). In September, John Candler, Jr. was received as a member, but there is no record of Henry's acceptance. He must have been accepted at some point because we find this citation in the Quaker records:

12th month, 8th day, 1798; Henry Candler, has deviated from principles as to bear arms and accused by a young woman of being the father of her illigitimate child, which he neglects to clear himself. -- Quaker Records of South River Monthly Meeting, Virginia 1756-1800, compiled from original documents by F. Edward Wright.

John Candler, Jr. was actually born on February the 9th 1765, not 1766 as Quaker records state. He was born at South River Settlement, VA. (present-day Lynchburg. In 1759, John Candler Sr. bought the "Old Lynch Place" on Chestnut Hill near the Quaker Meeting House. This was the Lynch's first home south of the James. John Candler, Jr. may well have been born in the very house (perhaps cabin). This is probably where John Candler was living when, in 1761, he and Benjamin Johnson built an addition onto the first Quaker Meeting House (which was built on this land in the mid 1750's).

Three John Candlers were married in Campbell Co, VA between July 1799 and December 1802 and I was trying to determine which was which. I had yet to discover the Candler-Guthrie connection.

I had been hunting for information on John Candler, Jr. when I found a reference to an article about a Candler-Stovall Bible. The 1982 article, from The Pioneer Wagon (a quarterly publication of The Jackson County Genealogical Society of Independence, Missouri) proved hard to "get hold of." About the same time, I was investigating Candler-C(h)andler connections when a CHANDLER researcher suggested that I get in touch with Glenn Turnell who (purportedly) was "the best Candler researcher you could meet."

I called Glenn Turnell and he was correct. What is more, she turned out to be the author of the elusive Pioneer Wagon article. A few weeks later, I had before me a photostatic copy of this ancient record. There (in a glorious 18th century hand) was written "John Candler was born February 9th 1765." Beneath, in the same hand, is written "Dorothy Candler was born May 17th 1778." Turnell believes this Bible to be that of Singleton Candler, one of John and Dorothy's sons.

In 1797, the name John Candler first appeared on Russell County Tax Lists. On July the 8^th, 1797, John Candler, Jr. was listed as "being removed for some years from among Friends" [Hinshaw, SRMM]. Like many Americans, John had made his move westward. On Jan. 12^th, 1799, John, Jr. was disowned for "non-attendance for several years and buying a slave". On July 24^th he married Dorothy Stovall (daughter of George and Elizabeth Stovall) in Campbell County, VA [Hinshaw cited this from the Campbell Co. marriage book #?]. John returned to Russell County with his bride and in the next year, tax records reflect that there were two souls at the Candler home; there would soon be more.

John Candler and Dorothy Stovall are the Patriarch and Matriarch of the southwest Virginia Candlers. By the Federal Census of 1820, John and Dorothy had nine children, 5 under age10, 2 age 10-16, and 2 over 16. John Candler, Jr. died in 1832 in Russell Co, VA. (according to Russell County Candler researchers). By the Federal Census of 1850, there were four Candler households in Russell Co, VA; Archer, Dorothy, George W, and Singleton.

Henry Candler, the youngest child of John and Elizabeth Candler, is hard to trace. According to legend, he did not marry. According to the Quaker records of South River, he was about to be disowned for not taking responsibility for an his illigitimate child (no name of mother unfortunately) when he was dismissed for military service. July 20th, 1782, John, Sr. requested membership in behalf of his young sons John, Jr. and Henry (age 16 and 13 respectively). In September, John Candler, Jr. was received as a member, but there is no record of Henry's acceptance. He must have been accepted at some point because we find the citation (below) in the Quaker records:

12th month, 8th day, 1798; Henry Candler, has deviated from principles as to bear arms and accused by a young woman of being the father of her illigitimate child, which he neglects to clear himself. -- Quaker Records of South River Monthly Meeting, Virginia 1756-1800, compiled from original documents by F. Edward Wright.

There was a Henry Candler on 1793 North Carolina tax records - one year only; likely it was this Henry. There is an 1806 estate inventory in Campbell County; once again probably Henry. The deed of 1808 concerns land of Henry Candler deceased - probably him.

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