James Watson Chandler was a lawyer, judge and political figure in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

. He represented Charlotte County

Charlotte County, New Brunswick

Charlotte County is located in the southwestern portion of New Brunswick, Canada.In most of the county, fishing and aquaculture dominate the local economy, although the town of St. Andrews is a tourist mecca and St...

 in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 from 1857 to 1861.

He was born in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, the son of Samuel Chandler

Samuel Chandler (politician)

Samuel Chandler was an American-born merchant and politician in Nova Scotia. He represented Londonderry township in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1799 to 1811....

 and Susan Watson, and was educated there. He went on to study law, moved to New Brunswick around 1829 and was admitted to the bar in the same year. He set up practice at St. Andrews

St. Andrews, New Brunswick

St. Andrews is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.It is sometimes referred to in tourism marketing by its unofficial nickname "St. Andrews-by-the-sea".-Geography:St...

. In 1843, he married Julia Hatheway. Chandler served as a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

, a judge in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and a judge in the Probate Court. From 1852 to 1854, he also served on a commission to codify the provincial statutes. Chandler ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1846 and 1854. He was defeated in a bid for reelection in 1861. Chandler supported Confederation

Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

 and was elected again in 1866. He resigned his seat in 1867 after he was named judge in the courts for Westmorland, Kent, and Albert counties. He died at Moncton

Moncton, New Brunswick

Moncton is a Canadian city, located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The city is situated in southeastern New Brunswick, within the Petitcodiac River Valley, and lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces...

 at the age of 69.

His cousin Edward Barron Chandler

Edward Barron Chandler

Edward Barron Chandler was a New Brunswick politician and lawyer from a United Empire Loyalist family. He was one of the Fathers of Confederation....

was a Father of Confederation and served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick.