Captain Joshua L Chandler "of Chincoteague" - Genealogy Digging

My Mom was born and raised on Chincoteague Island, and her maternal forebears go back to the first Whealton family to settle on Mosquito Creek and then move on to the island.  Mom married a US Navy man, and we traveled the Navy bases until Dad retired, when I was five.  We never visited his family in Kansas and Missouri - we only spent time away from our house on Chincoteague and Assateague.
  One of the first things I remember is driving onto the island, turning north onto Main Street and driving past Peterson Street, where the family home was, and going straight to the turntable at the very end of North Main so that we, as a family, could pay our respects to Captain Chandler by placing a penny apiece on the edge of his grave site. I still do it, at the age of 63...
  A few days ago, Captain Dan Davis, who does the Foal Patrol tours of Assateague commented that he'd had descendants of Captain Chandler on board, and wondered if anyone knew his history.  It took me a few days to start looking, but I was surprised by what I found.    First, Captain Chandler is buried in isolation on  the north end of the island - there were few inhabitants there when he died in October of 1877.  There are no other graves near him.  In fact, there is no one else named Chandler buried on the island!  So what was the story?

This is a photo of his original grave stone - with many pennies.  If you're an older person who either grew up on Chincoteague, or has spent a lot of time there, you can quote the stone with ease.

"Capt. Joshua L. Chandler  -  Born  Oct. 1829     Died  Oct.21,1877  -

Farewell wife and children dear, I am not dead but sleeping here.

As I am some day you will be, Prepare for death and follow me."

So who was Captain Joshua L. Chandler?  He was born in Delaware, and, according to his Delaware death records, his father's name was James, and his mother's name was Ellen.  In 1850, he was a Printer's apprentice in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.  He was then 19 years of age, and was living with the family of another Printer's apprentice; the head of the household was widow Jane Cloud.

  In 1851 or early 1852, Joshua married Catherine Mary Lynch.  Their first son, William James, was born in Pennsylvania in 1852.  In 1854 another son, Joshua Burton joined the family.  In 1856 a daughter was born, but died soon after birth; and in 1858 son Ebe Townsend was born.  The last three children were born in Delaware.

  In 1860, Captain Joshua Chandler and his family were living in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware.  The Census of that year lists him as a Mariner, owning real estate worth $750, and having a personal estate of  $500.  Joshua and Catherine's last child, Mary Catherine, was born in 1861 there in Baltimore Hundred.  Due to the Civil War, Joshua joined Company D of the 6th Delaware Infantry of the United States Army, where he served as a Private for 2 years.  Afterwards, he returned to the water in Sussex County, Delaware.

  The 1870 Census finds Joshua Chandler and all of his family living in the village of Roxana in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex, Delaware.  Joshua's employment is listed as "Light Boating" and both of his eldest sons are listed as being employed "Boating."  At that point in time, the Real Estate is listed under Catharine's name and is named at $700.  Joshua has a person estate value of $200.

  In about 1872, the entire Chandler family moved to Chincoteague Island,Virginia.  Joshua's eldest son, William James, worked for the US Life Saving Service on Assateague, but had a new wife and child on Chincoteague.  Joshua was now "Captain Joshua" again - employed as a captain of a schooner and an oyster dredger, depending on the season, trade and tides.  Now his two younger sons, Joshua and Ebe, worked on the boats with him.   Apparently, things were going well for the family.

  However, on 21 October 1877, Captain Joshua and the two boys had the schooner on Cat's Creek at Wallops Island.  A lightning storm appeared and lightning struck Captain Joshua Chandler and the mast of the schooner, disabling it.  Captain Chandler died instantly.  Young Joshua and Ebe poled the schooner from Wallops back to Chincoteague, and then Ebe carried his father's body home to his mother.

   Within 6 months, all of the family, except William, the eldest son, moved back to Delaware.  Joshua became a hugely successful farmer, and was the largest strawberry grower in Sussex County at one time.  Ebe worked the water all his life, living to be 98 years old, and having 3 ships sink under him.

Oldest son William became a member of Christ's Sanctified Holy Church and moved away from Chincoteague in 1884. Joshua's widow never remarried and passed away in 1918.  His daughter Mary Catherine (Cassie) married twice and had eight children; she died two weeks before her 90th birthday.

   So Captain Joshua L. Chandler lived on Chincoteague for about five years of his life, and none of his family are buried here with  him...  I guess we do owe him respect...  and a penny on his grave every visit.