[1] His great-grandfather, Col. William Candler (1730-1784), had led Georgia troops during the American Revolutionary War and later served as a state legislator.

[1] After Milton's birth, his father soon moved the family to Villa Rica, a city in Carroll and Douglas Counties in western Georgia, after the local Creek Indians were expelled on the Trail of Tears.

[6][7] As firstborn son, Milton A. Candler received a private education, then graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens in 1854.

[8] Shortly before the American Civil War began, his father-in-law, former Representative Charles Murphey died in January 1861.

[9] In his honor, the Candler family outfitted a company of Confederate troops from DeKalb County, which was named the "Murphey Guards".

In 1874, voters from Georgia's 5th congressional district elected Candler to the United States House of Representatives, defeating Republican James C. Freeman.

Candler won re-election in 1876, but ultimately withdrew from the 1878 race and was succeeded by fellow ex-Confederate, and former state attorney general Nathaniel Job Hammond.