USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Canterbury > History of the town of Canterbury, New Hampshire, 1727-1912, v. 1 > Part 7
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Dr. Josiah Chase, according to the Rev. William Patrick, was the first "regularly bred physician" in Canterbury.1 He began practice in town about 1762, and, except a short service in the Revolutionary army, resided in Canterbury fifteen years. His professional calls extended as far north as Sanbornton until that town had a physician.2 He was a "surgeon's mate" under Col. John Stark at Bunker Hill. Removing to Maine after 1780, he was accidentally drowned in the Saco River. The town appears to have been without a resident physician for a decade after Doctor Chase's departure.
Joseph Simons was born in England in 1688. At the age of twenty-two he emigrated to America and settled in Connec- ticut. Here he married and removed to Canterbury, settling on the intervale, a mile and a half above Boscawen Bridge. His son, John, born in 1739, was highway surveyor in 1768, 1770 and 1773. Prior to the incorporation of Northfield he removed to that town.3
The brothers, John and William Forrest were among the pioneers. They were natives of Ireland emigrating with their father to this country. They settled in Canterbury. John was a tithingman in 1757, 1761, 1766 and 1768 and constable in 1759. William was a tithingman in 1758 besides holding minor town offices in early years. Their descendants were prom- inent citizens of both Canterbury and Northfield.
1 Historical Sermon, October 27, 1833.
: History of Sanbornton, where it is also stated that "A Mrs. Symonds offi- ciated here (Sanbornton) as midwife in the early settlement of the town, and it is said she rode on horseback on a common saddle when called upon for professional services."
¿ History of Merrimack County, page 523.
60
HISTORY OF CANTERBURY.
Stephen and Samuel Gerrish were the ancestors of the Gerrish family identified with both Canterbury and Boscawen. They were leading men of Canterbury, Stephen being selectman in the early days of the settlement and Samuel moderator and selectman for a number of years during the quarter of a century following the Revolutionary War.
Abraham and Jethro Batchelder and Moses Ordway were the earliest settlers in that part of the town which afterwards became Loudon. While Ordway's name does not appear in the tax list of 1762, all three are said to have been in town as early as 1760.1 All of the Batchelders whose names are found in the foregoing tax lists were undoubtedly settlers in the southern part of the original town. Abraham and Jethro were brothers and Nathan and Nathaniel Batchelder their cousins.2
Others whose names are found on these tax lists of Canter- bury and who also appear on the first tax list of Loudon, after it was made a separate township in 1773, are George Barnes, Jonathan Clough, Samuel Danforth, William Davis, Daniel Ladd, Samuel French, Samuel Locke, Gershom Mathes, Thomas Magoon, Ezekiel Morrill, Masten Morrill, Stephen Perkins, Eliphalet Rollins, John Sanborn, Benjamin Sias, Charles Sias and Dudley Swazey. Ezekiel Morrill and Masten Morrill were probably non-resident taxpayers. Between 1760 and 1773, quite a number of people had settled in Loudon.
John and William Forest, brothers,3 Nathaniel Perkins and some of the immediate descendants of Capt. Josiah Miles moved to the "Northfields" before that section of Canterbury was set off from the original grant. At least one branch of the Blanchard family, the Hancocks, William Keniston and William Williams were original settlers in Northfield.
The next table, which comprises tax lists running from 1774 to 1785 and the heads of families as found by the United States census of 1790 shows the absence of the names of settlers in that part of Canterbury which in 1773 was set off as Loudon, and again after 1780 the list is further depleted by the names of those inhabitants who had located in the northern part of the
1 N. H. State Papers, Vol. IX, page 827.
2 History of Merrimack County, page 500.
' Descendants of John, and of another brother, Robert, remained in Canter- bury.
61
GROWTH OF THE TOWN.
original grant and who were incorporated that year into a town by the name of Northfield.
Loudon is said to have derived its name from a Scottish land- lord, the "Lord of Loudon," the word Loudon meaning a low hilly country in Scotland. The hills of Loudon are but a few hundred feet in height and the general configuration of the surface suggests that it is a hilly town.1
In 1772 the people in the southern part of Canterbury found that it was inconvenient for them to attend church at the town meeting house and that their interests were more closely con- nected with one another than with the remainder of the town. They therefore petitioned to the provincial government to be incorporated as a town by the name of Loudon. There appears to have been no opposition to this division of the original grant.2 Most of the petitioners were permanent settlers in that section of Canterbury. Not all of the names on the petition appear on the tax lists from 1762 to 1771, but those whose names are not found on these inventories undoubtedly located there within the next two years, for which the tax lists are missing. The peti- tion set forth that the signers "live at a distance of ten or twelve miles, as roads now go, from the meeting house, that the roads are very bad and, therefore, they cannot without great difficulty attend public worship or any public affairs of the town." 3
This petition was signed by John Danforth, Daniel Batchelder, Ezekiel Morrill, Jr., Masten Morrill, Eliphalet Rollins, Nathaniel Batchelder, Samuel Danforth, Henry Moulton, Jethro Batchelder, Samuel Morrill, Isaac Morrill, Moses Ardua, Moses Ardua, Jr., George Barnes, Dudley Swazey, Amasa Dow, Samuel Dow, Samuel Lock, Joseph Magoon, Jacob Towle, Enoch French, Solomon Sias, Benjamin Sias, William Davis, William Boynton, Charles Sias, John Glines, Jethro Batchelder, Jr., Samuel Rogers, Abraham Batchelder, Abraham Batchelder, Jr., John Sanborn, Samuel Sargent, John Rines, Samuel Carter, Jonathan Smith, John Smith, Samuel French, Gershom Mathes, Stephen Perkins, Nathan Batchelder, Jonathan Clough, Joseph Tilton, John Drew, Abel French, Thomas Drake, Thomas Swett.
NAMES ON TAX LISTS FROM 1774 TO 1785 AND IN CENSUS OF 1790. David Ames 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 Lieut. Samuel Ames . 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
1 History of Merrimack County, page 477.
2 The legislature gave its approval January 22, 1773, and the first meeting of the inhabitants of Loudon was held March 23, 1774.
& N. H. State Papers, Vol. XI, page 263.
62
HISTORY OF CANTERBURY.
Simon Ames
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790 Joseph Ayers
1785 1790
Peter Asten 1790
Thomas Asten
1790
Elijah Babson. Enoch Bartlett .
1785 1785
Gideon Bartlett 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
John Bean. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
John Bean, Jr 1774 1775
Henry Beck . 1790
Benjamin Beedle.
1779
Steadman Bigelow
John Blake.
1785 1790 1790
Benjamin Bickford . 1778 1779 1780 1779
Abiel Blanchard .
Benjamin Blanchard . 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Benjamin Blanchard, Jr .. . 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Benjamin Blanchard, 3d. . . 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
David Blanchard . 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Capt. Edward Blanchard. . 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
James Blanchard . 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Jonathan Blanchard 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Peter Blanchard .. 1779
Richard Blanchard 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Simon Blanchard . 1785 1790
Stephen Blanchard
Edmund Boynton 1775
William Boynton
1774 1775 1776
1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
1790
Simeon Brackett
1790
Benjamin Bradley
1790
Jonathan Bradley
1779 1780 1785 1790
Timothy Bradley
1785
John Brier .
1790
Henry Y. Brown
1785
Simeon Brown .
1790
Jacob Bumford
1780
Nathaniel Burdeen
1775
1785 1790
Benjamin Burņam
1779
Joseph Carr. .
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Dr. Philip Carrigan.
1779 1780
Daniel Carter .
1785 1790
Ephraim Carter 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Jeremiah Carter
1785
John Carter .
1779 1780 1785 1790
Nathaniel Carter
1790
Noah Carter.
1778
Orlando Carter
1779 1780 1785 1790
Samuel Carter .
1777 1778 1779 1780
1785
Ebenezer Chandler
1779 1780 1785 1790
Edward Chase .
1785 1790
Dr. Josiah Chase . 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Satchel Clark .
1780 1779 1780 1785 1790 1779 1780 1785
Abner Clough.
1785
Abner Clough, Jr.
1785
Abner Clough, 3d
1785
Nathaniel Clement .
William Clement
Lieut. Winthrop Carter
1785
Joshua Boynton
Ichobod Brackett.
63
GROWTH OF THE TOWN.
Henry Clough . 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Jacob Clough.
1785
Jeremiah Clough, Esq ... .. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Capt. Jeremiah Clough, Jr.1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790 Jeremiah Clough, 3d . 1790
Joseph Clough . 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Leavitt Clough. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Nehemiah Clough 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790 1779 1780 1790
Thomas Clough. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Thomas Clough, Jr .
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Thomas Clough, 3d .
1780
Ebenezer Cogswell
John Cogswell
Moses Cogswell .
1785 1790
Edmund Colby 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Humphrey Colby 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779
Samuel Colby. . 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Nathaniel Colcord 1780 1785 1790 1785
John Coffin .
Benjamin Collins 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
John Cotter
1785
Jesse Cross 1774 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
John Cross .
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
John Cross, Jr
1780
Stephen Cross 1774 1775 1776 1777
Widow Hannah Cross 1779 1780 Thomas Cross 1778 1779 1780 1785 1778
Parker Cross
Isaac Cummings 1776
Simeon Currier
1785 1790
Widow Ann Curry 1774 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
John Curry .
1775
Robert Curry 1780
Thomas Curry
1785 1790
Elkiner Danforth
1780 1780
Jeremiah Danforth
1790
Moses Danforth
1778 1790
Simeon Danforth
1779 1780 1785 1790
Samuel Daniels
1790
Ephraim Davis 1774 1775
John Davis .
1785 1790 1785 1790
Jonathan Davis
Moses Davis.
1779 1780 1777 1778 1779 1780
Obadiah Davis
Samuel Davis
1790
Stephen Davis.
1790
Henry Dearborn
1777 1778
John Dearborn.
1778 1779 1780
Nathaniel Dearborn
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Shubael Dearborn .
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Shubael Dearborn, Jr
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Thomas Dearborn
1785 1790
Josiah Dow. .
1780
Abraham Durgin
1778 1779 1780 1785
Joseph Durgin .
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Henry Dwendell.
1790
William Dyer
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Benjamin Eastman
1785
Jedediah Danforth
1785 1790 1790
Obadiah Clough.
64
HISTORY OF CANTERBURY.
Miriam Eastman
1785
Josiah Edgerly .
1778 1785
Elizabeth Ellison 1774 1775
Joseph Ellison.
1785
John Ellison .
1785
Richard Ellison
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Daniel Fletcher.
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Daniel Fletcher, Jr.
1785
James Fletcher
1785
Phineas Fletcher
1776 1780
James Forrest.
1785
Jane Forrest 1775 1778
John Forrest. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
John Forrest, Jr
1779 1780 1785 1790
Robert Forrest .
1777
William Forrest, Jr . 1774 1775 1777 1778 1779 1780
William Forrest, 3d. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Jacob Foss
1780 1785
John Foss.
1777 1778
Josiah Foss
1790
Moses Foss .
1774
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Timothy Foss Thomas Foss
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Rev. Abiel Foster 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Abiel Foster Esq.
1785 1790
Asa Foster.
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Ens. Daniel Foster
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
David Foster
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
1790
James Foster
1790
Jonathan Foster. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Abner Fowler
1775 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Daniel Fullerton.
1778
John Fullerton .
1778 1779
Joseph Garman.
1778 1779 1780
Samuel Gault
1785
William Gault
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Samuel Gerrish
1775 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Stephen Gerrish
1774
Edward Greeley
1780
Jonathan Greeley
1779
Enoch Gibson.
1785
James Gibson . 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
James Gibson, Jr
1780 1790
John Gibson. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779
1780 1785
Thomas Gibson
1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
William Gibson
1785
Jonathan Gile 1774 1775
1777 1778 1779 1780
1790
Lieut. Thomas Gilman. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Lieut. Charles Glidden. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Benjamin Glines.
1785
Lieut. James Glines 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 John Glines .. 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Joseph Glines 1774 1775
Nathaniel Glines 1
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778
1785 1790 1790
Nathaniel Glines 1
Richard Glines 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
1 Two of same name with families given in the United States Census of 1790.
Daniel Foster, Jr.
1785 1790
Jacob Foster.
Widow Margaret Gibson. .
GROWTH OF THE TOWN.
65
William Glines 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
William Glines, Jr. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
William Glines, 3d . 1774 1775
John Glover.
1790
Alexander Gordon 1774
Lieut. Jeremiah Hackett. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790 1790 Widow Sarah Hackett
Dr. John Hall. 1785
Obadiah Hall 1785 1790 1785 1790
Joseph Ham.
John Ham.
1790
Abner Haines 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Matthias Haines
1780
Richard Haines 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Samuel Haines 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Stephen Haines
1780
Walter Haines 1774
1776 1777
George Hancock 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Joseph Hancock 1774 1775 1776 1779 1780
Jacob Hancock 1774
Abigail Hancock. 1778
Dorothy Hancock 1775
1779 1780
Martha Hancock .
1779 1780
Mary Hancock.
1779 1780
Judith Hancock .
1779 1780
William Hancock. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Peter Hunniford.
1777 1778 1779 1780
James Hardy.
1780
Stephen Hardy
1780
Robert Hastings
1777 1778 1779 1780
Peter Hastings
1785
Barnes Hazeltine .
1778
William Hazeltine .
1779 1780 1785 1790
Benjamin Heath
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Caleb Heath
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Jacob Heath. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Jonathan Heath 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1790
Reuben Heath.
1777 1778
Simon Heath.
1785 1790
Widow Sarah Hicks
1777 1778 1780
Miles Hodgdon.
Elizabeth Holden.
1779
John Holden 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778
Abner Hoyt ..
1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Abner Hoyt, Jr.
1790
Thomas Hoyt 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778
1785
John Ingalls.
1785 1790 1785
Joseph Jackson
1780
Moses Jackson.
1785 1790
Patience Jackson
1785 1785 1790
Samuel Jackson
Benjamin Johnson
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
John Johnson
1790
Benjamin Jones
1780 1785 1790
David Keniston. .
1779 1780
William Keniston
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
John Kent.
John Kent, Jr.
1785 1790
6
Moses Ingalls .
1790
Elizabeth Hancock
66
HISTORY OF CANTERBURY.
Edmund Kezer
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
George Kezer 1774:1775
Reuben Kezer 17745
1780
Ebenezer Kimball
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
1790
John Kimball
1790
Jeremiah Ladd.
1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Edmund Lange
1790
Jonathan Lange, Jr
1790
Moses Lange 1
1790
Simeon Lange
1790
Gideon Leavitt
1779 1780
Jonathan Leavitt.
1779 1780
Joseph Leavitt
1780
Thomas Lewis
1790
James Lougee.
1785
Edmund Lougee
1785
Jonathan Lougee.
1785
Jonathan Lougee, Jr.
1785
John Lougee .
1778
Joseph Lougee.
1777 1778
1785
Joseph Lougee, Jr.
1785
Simon Lougee
1777 1778
1785
William Lougee
1785
Chandler Lovejoy
1785
John Lovejoy
1779 1780
Joseph Lovejoy.
1779 1780
Joseph Lovejoy, Jr
1779 1780
Simeon Lovejoy
1779 1780
James Lyford .
1785 1790
John Lyford .
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Lieut. Thomas Lyford
1777 1778 1779 1780
Jeremiah McDaniel.
1774 1775 1776 1777 1780
John McDaniel
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Thomas Magoon
1785
James Maloney
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Capt. John Maloney
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Margaret Maloney 1774 1775
Widow Elizabeth Mann
1775
James Mann.
1790
Joseph Mann 1774
Josiah Marden
1790
David Mason .
1785
Elijah Matthews
1785 1790
Nicholas Merriner
1790
Abigail Miles.
1785
Abner Miles 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Ens. Archelaus Miles.
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Capt. Josiah Miles
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Josiah Miles, Jr
1774
Samuel Miles .
1774 1775 1776 1778 1779 1780
William Miles
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Archelaus Moore
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Archelaus Moore, Jr.
1780 1785 1790 1780
Elkins Moore
1785 1790
Ezekiel Moore.
Hannah Moore.
1780
1 This name may be Lang or Long. In the town records of 1801 a Moses Long was excused from paying taxes.
67
GROWTH OF THE TOWN.
Ens. John Moore 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 John Moore, Jr 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
John Moore, 4th .
1780 1785
John Moore, son of Na-
thaniel.
1785
Joseph Moore Mara Moore.
1780
Nathaniel Moore 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Samuel Moore
1774
Samuel Moore, Jr.
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Stephen Moore
1780 1785
Widow Susannah Moore. 1775 1776
David McCrillis 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790 Thomas Moore. 1780 1785 1778 1779 1780 1785
William Moore. 1774 1775 1776
1779 1780 1785 1790
Obadiah Mooney
1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790 1778
Abraham Morrill . 1777 1778 1779 1780
Lieut. David Morrill 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Dea. Ezekiel Morrill 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790 Jacob Morrill.
1779 1780
Joannah Morrill
1785
John Morrill.
1779 1780
Lieut. Laban Morrill 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Masten Morrill. 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Sargent Morrill 1776 1778 1779 1780
David Morrison
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Nicholas Morrison
1785
Samuel Morrison
1785
David Norris 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Samuel Nudd. 1775 1776 1777
Joseph Pallet 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Nathaniel Pallett
James Pell.
1785
John Pell 1776 1777 1778
Widow Pell
1779 1780
Widow Elizabeth Perkins. .
1777 1779 1780
James L. Perkins 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
John Perkins.
1777 1778 1780
Nathaniel Perkins. 1774 1775
1777 1778 1779 1780
Nathaniel Perkins, Jr 1774 1775
Robert Perkins
1779 1780
William Perkins. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Widow Betty Perkins
1776
Nathaniel Peverly .
1785 1790 1785
William Ralph.
1790
Daniel Randall.
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1790
Moses Randall. 1774
Richard Randall.
1790
Daniel Richardson.
1785 1785
William Rines. 1775 1776 1777 1778 1780
John Robinson . 1774 1775 1776 1777
Simeon Robinson 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Joshua Rollins
1790
William Ross
1785
John Rowan.
1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Enoch Runals
1785 1790
Elijah O. Philpot
Zachariah Richardson
1790
William Moore, Jr.
Jonathan Morgan
68
HISTORY OF CANTERBURY.
Benjamin Sanborn. 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Benjamin Sanborn, Jr
1785
Widow Jane Sanborn . 1775
Joseph Sanborn
1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
John Sanborn .
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Simon Sanborn
William Sanborn
1775
Aaron Sargent
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778
Aaron Sargent, Jr 1774 1775
1790
Zedediah Sargent
Gideon Sawyer
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
James Sawyer
1780
Edward Scales
1780 1785 1790 1780
James Sherburn .
1775
1777 1778 1779 1780
James Sherburn, Jr.
1779 1780
Thomas Sherburn
1776 1777 1778
George Shannon
1774
Widow Mercy Shannon . . 1775
John Shannon.
Capt. James Shepard 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Morrill Shepard
1785 1790
Eli Simons.
1774 1775
John Simons 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
William Simons 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778
Widow Elizabeth Simons. . 1779 1780 1780 1785
William Simons 1
Benjamin Simpson
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
Noah Sinclair .
1785 1790
Nathaniel Sleeper
1785
Isaac Small
1785 1790
John Small .
1785 1790
Ephraim Small.
1790
Lieut. Joseph Soper
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Aaron Stevens. .
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Aaron Stevens, Jr
1780
Jesse Stevens
1779 1780 1785 1790
John Stevens
1785
Simon Stevens 1775 1777 1778 1779 1780 1790
Barnard Stiles. 1774 1775 1776 1777
Widow Margaret Sutton ..
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
John Sutton. .
1785 1790
Michael Sutton
1779 1785 1790
Stephen Sutton
1778 1785
Solomon Sutton
1785
Dudley Swazey
1777 1778 1779 1780 1785
James Tallant.
1785
Margaret Tallant
1790
Jonathan Taylor
1780
Ruth Taylor
1785 1790
James Towle.
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779
Benjamin Thurston
1779 1780
Micajah Tucker
1785
Henry Tufts
1776 1778 1779
1 May have been son of first William Simons if Elizabeth was widow of William.
1779 1780 1785 1790
Samuel Sargent
1774 1775
1778 1779 1780 1785
Elijah Sargent
1785
William Scales .
1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
1777 1778 1779 1780
Henry Tibbetts
1775
1790
69
GROWTH OF THE TOWN.
Ebenezer Virgin 1
1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1779 1780
Jonathan Wadleigh .
William Walker
1785 1790
Thomas Ward
1785 1790
Josiah Watson
1785 1790
Capt. Stephen Webster. 1777
Joshua Weeks.
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1790
Samuel Weeks. 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Samuel Weeks, Jr.
1785
John Welch.
1785
Jonathan West. .1774 1775 1776 1777 1778
Ichabod Whidden 1779 1780 1785
Nathaniel Whidden
1790
Parson Whidden.
1785 1790
Benjamin Whitcher 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1785 1790
Ebenezer Whitcher.
1785
Jedediah Whitcher
1790
Jonathan Whitcher
1778 1779 1780
Nathaniel Whitcher
1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Reuben Whitcher
1776 1777 1779 1780
Chase Wiggin
1785 1790 1790
Jonathan Williams
William Williams
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Benjamin Woodman
1776 1777 1778 1780
Hezekiah Young
1777 1778 1779
Jonathan Young
1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780
Joseph Young.
1790
Jotham Young.
1775 1779 1780
Winthrop Young
1790
The foregoing tax lists and the United States census enumera- tion of 1790 bear some evidence of defects. There are mistakes in both and there is no proof that the tax lists found in the archives of Canterbury were always the inventories as finally corrected by the selectmen. In several years there are duplicate lists, and they vary slightly in the names given, but the inventories from 1762 to 1771 and from 1774 to 1785 furnish good, if not conclusive, evidence of the time of the coming to town of the various families, and whether they were located within the present limits of Canterbury or settled permanently in the off- shoots of the parent town. They further indicate who were transient residents, tarrying long enough only to be taxed for a year or two and then migrating elsewhere.
Where the given name descended from father to son and in some instances to the grandson, it is difficult to decide which generation was taxed in the later years. The decisions here made are partly arbitrary, but they are based upon the best evidence attainable. Except in one instance not included in the foregoing list, there is no designation of any person as
1 Non-resident, probably of Concord.
70
HISTORY OF CANTERBURY.
a non-resident, and it is very probable that nearly all of the names given are those of actual residents. Henry Y. Brown, who was taxed in 1762, 1764, 1769, 1770 and 1785 was probably a non-resident. With these exceptions, the names which appear in the successive years are those of families known to have been located in Canterbury, Loudon and Northfield.1
In 1779 the people of the "North Fields," as the northern part of the town was called, asked to be set off by themselves in a separate township to be christened Northfield and for much the same reason that had influenced the people of Loudon.2 The petitioners were for the most part residents of the northern part of the town, and their names, which are here given, disappear from the tax lists of Canterbury after 1780.
William Kenistone, James Blanchard, William Williams, Jeremiah McDaniel, Benjamin Blanchard, Thomas Clough, Jr., Joseph Carr, Richard Blanchard, Simon Sanborn, Thomas Gil- man, Charles Glidden, John Dearborn, Joseph Leavitt, Shubael Dearborn, Jr., William Forrest, Shubael Dearborn, Jacob Morrill, Aaron Stevens, Jr., Samuel Miles, John Forrest, Nathaniel Whitcher, Thomas Clough, John Cross, Jonathan Wadleigh, Abner Miles, Jacob Heath, George Hancock, John Simons, Joseph Hancock, Benjamin Collins, Abraham Dearborn, Wil- liam Hancock, Nathaniel Perkins, James Lind Perkins, Archelaus Miles, Edward Blanchard, William Perkins, David Blanchard, Aaron Stevens, Reuben Whitcher, William Sanborn, John McDaniel, Ebenezer Kimball, Gideon Leavitt, Mathias Hains.
An invoice for the year 1769 which has been preserved shows the number of polls or "heads" taxed and the live stock that the settlers owned. It is apparently incomplete, as a few well-
1 The custom of giving children middle names did not become common until long after the beginning of the nineteenth century (Brown's History of Hamp- ton Falls, page 505). In the tax lists of Canterbury there is no instance of an initial letter for a second name until 1770 when John S. Gibson is recorded. The next case is six years later. James L. Perkins is then scheduled as a tax payer and he continues on the list until 1780 when Northfield was made a separate township. As a resident of the latter town Mr. Perkins' name dis- appears from the Canterbury records. When the enumeration was made for the United States Census of 1790, no head of a family was found with more than one given name. Nor do the lists of town officers show middle names until some years after 1800.
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