(Mary), distinguished by her talent for poetry, was the daughter of a dissenting minister at Bath; and was born at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, in 1687. She was bred a milliner; but from her childhood had a turn for poetry, and in her riper years applied herself to the study of the poets. Her poems, for which she was complimented by Mr Pope, breathe the spirit of piety and philosophy. She had the misfortune to be deformed, which determined her to live single; though she had great sweetness of countenance, and was solicited to marry. She died in 1745, aged 58.

(Dr Samuel), a learned and respectable dissenting minister, descended from ancestors heartily engaged in the cause of religious liberty, and sufferers for the sake of conscience and nonconformity; was born at Hungerford in Berks, where his father was a minister of considerable worth and abilities. Being by his literary turn destined to the ministry, he was first placed at an academy at Bridgewater, and from thence removed to Gloucester under Mr Samuel Jones. Beginning to preach in 1714, he was two years afterwards chosen minister of a congregation at Peckham in Surrey; and then joint preacher with the learned Dr Lardner, of a winter weekly evening lecture at the meeting-house in the Old Jewry London; in which meeting he was established assistant preacher about the year 1725, and then as the pastor. Here he ministered to the religious improvement of a very respectable congregation for 40 years with the greatest applause; and with what diligence and application he improved the vacancies of time from his pastoral duties, for improving himself and benefiting the world, will appear from his many writings on a variety of important subjects. While he was thus laudably employed, not only the universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen gave him, without any application, testimonies of their esteem in diplomas, conferring on him the degree of D.D. but he also received offers of preferment from some of the governors of the established church, which he nobly declined. Dr Chandler first formed the plan of the fund for the widows and orphans of poor dissenting ministers; to which, by his interest and indefatigable industry, he procured very generous subscriptions. He died in 1766.