This collection consists of legal papers and some personal papers of Peleg W. Chandler, a mid-nineteenth century Boston attorney. The legal papers include cases involving ships, leases, probate, and a paternity suit. The collection has been divided into 13 series.

Series I. Cases Involving Debt (1843-1861) contains material associated with cases related to efforts to collect unpaid fees for either goods or services. This is the largest set of cases contained in the collection.

Series II. Cases Involving Collisions Between Vessels (1855-1863) contains materials relating to suits and libels resulting from the collision of vessels while underway. These cases were heard in both the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts and Suffolk County Superior Court.

Series III. Cases Involving Interdiction Under The Non-Importation Acts (1835-1859) results from the seizure and forfeiture of vessels violating the non-intercourse acts passed to prevent commercial intercourse with territories controlled by Britain and France in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The cases represented here involve vessels that proved their departure from British ports between June 3 and September 15, 1812. Under an act of Congress, January 2, 1813, the U.S. district courts could remit the seizure and forfeiture if it could be proved that the vessels were unaware of the declaration of war between the United States and Great Britain. In such cases the normal duties were paid on the imported cargo. The object of these cases is efforts by heirs of the port collectors and surveyors to recover a portion of those paid duties.

Series IV. Cases Involving Breach of Contracts (1856-1864) focuses on disputes resulting from the failure of one or more parties to comply with the terms of a contract. Included are disputes over terms of charters, a diverted voyage, and the sale of a vessel.

Series V. Cases Involving Contested Cargo (1852-1860) involves disputes over the failure to deliver consigned cargoes against a bill of lading, contesting the weight of a cargo for duty purposes, etc.

Series VI. Cases Involving Insurance (1852-1860) deals with the failure to pay insurance premiums, questions regarding the payment of claims, disputes involving the assets of failed insurance companies and their receivers, and a dispute regarding the valuation of a vessel in determining a loss.

Series VII. Cases Involving Probate (1829-1857) involves the estate of merchant William Potter of Brunswick, Maine. Peleg Chandler was administrator of Potter's estate. These papers include administration documents as well as those related to a suit by Chandler against Caleb Reed, trustee of the estate, for mismanagement of estate funds.

Series VIII. Case Involving the Contested Ownership of a Vessel (1851-1858) deals with the efforts of an alleged owner of the bark Otis J. Chaffee, impounded by the deputy sheriff of Suffolk County, to release the vessel.

Series IX. Case Involving a Contested Lease (1856) deals with a disputed land lease between C. T and H. D. Gardiner and Donald McKay.

Series X. Case Involving the Transfer of Patent Rights (1852-1858) involves the sale and disposition of the patent rights of Jesse Reed, inventor of a ship's steering device.

Series XI. Case Involving A Paternity Suit (1863) deals with the claim of a seaman that the child born to his wife could not possibly be his because of his being at sea at the time of conception.

Series XII. Case Involving the Abuse of a Seaman (1858) deals with a suit brought by a seaman aboard the bark Prescott against the mate for physical abuse during a voyage in 1858.

Series XIII. Miscellaneous Papers ranges from 1847 to 1908 and includes bills/receipts, a variety of legal papers, blank court forms, personal papers, correspondence, accounts, a collection of maritime poems belonging to a Horace Chandler (son of Peleg), and the printed public refutation of Samuel D. Crane against the claim of Elisha T. Loring that Crane used the name of Loring & Co. without Loring's knowledge.

For item-level inventory, see 1999 Collection Register in Box 1.