Hon. Edward Barron Chandler was born on August 22, 1800, in Amherst, Nova Scotia.

He was a New Brunswick politician and lawyer, one of the Fathers of Confederation. He moved to New Brunswick to study law and in 1827, he was elected to the House of Assembly. He became involved in such questions as the quitrents, Catholic emancipation, the rights of the Acadian population, school administration, the revision of provincial laws, and immigration. In 1836, he was appointed to the Legislative Council where he remained until 1878. In 1843, Chandler joined the Executive Council of Sir William Colebrooke and remained the acknowledged leader of the “compact” government until 1854. In this position of power, he was able to impose his version of responsible government on the province. He became a leading advocate of an improved system of railway transportation within the province and with its neighbours. In 1878, he received his final public appointment as Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick.

In 1822, he married Phoebe Walker Millidge (1802–1889). He died on February 6, 1880, in Fredericton, Nova Scotia.