Dear Canterbury history enthusiasts, this newsletter #1 was prepared by a “committee”, which represents the work of 7 hearts and minds, and 14 hands. As you may already know, we began gathering in September 2025, with several goals to be acted upon. Including bringing into the light the often overlooked, notable, heroic and determined lives of women lost in history. And introducing them to Canterbury folks in coordination with the TriCentennial year celebrations. We begin.
Wild dogs did not stop Hannah Moore
As the last member of the notable Moore family, who lived alone on Foster Road, Hannah frequently worried about her small flock of sheep that provided wool to help her get by. Would they starve? Would they freeze? Would they wander off – and when the dog packs showed up – would they be devoured?
The ancient maps of Canterbury history from 1858 and 1892 document that “Miss H. Moore” was the occupant of the family homestead. As a descendent of one of the lesser known branches of the famous Moore family, the historical record of her life is sparse. We began our search anyway. Now her life story is alive here.
Her grandfather John was an original Proprietor, and one of the few who actually settled in Canterbury. There is more that could be told (pun intended!) about the larger family, but this is about Hannah.
Hannah was born sometime after her three brothers were born. The boys died young. She was one of 7 daughters. Two married and the 5 others remained in the homestead their whole lives, with 4 of them outliving their parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Whidden Moore. And Hannah outlasted them all.
The land was not productive, but these were determined people. Clearly Hannah was one of them. Even though she lacked the resources to prevent the dilapidated house from sagging around her, she survived.
From historical writings we know that later in life Hannah was the owner of the house [note 1]. With 2 sisters moved away, and her parents deceased, she shared the home with, first two sisters, then one sister, and finally she maintained her ownership alone for almost 30 years, until the age of 88 in 1892. Help yourself to the math! She was born when Canterbury was a 77 year old adolescent, barely 30 years independent from the mother country.
We found no image of her, or of her house. But we have this: the family graveyard on Foster Road. Just across from the house site. There are no markers for her three brothers. The histories report that after the parents, the three sons, and three sisters had died, a deteriorating soapstone family marker was replaced with these 5 matching, white marble stones. She and “The Moore Girls” had acted to preserve their family history [Remember, unmarried women were labeled girls].
She was resourceful. Guided the family. She raised sheep, at least in 1866, and in 1881, at age 77, as in both those years she was reimbursed by the town for sheep killed [note 2]. From this we can guess she was a shepherd all the years between those dates. And possibly beyond. In fact, in the Moore family history, “The descendants of Ensign John Moor of Canterbury”, [note 3] her nephew Olinthus reports he discovered “mounds of moldy wool in the dilapidated barn” after she died.
After failing health prevented her from remaining alone on the old family homestead, she moved to Loudon, to the home of Mrs. Hazelton. Maybe you know who that is. Tell us. Frequent attention of that nephew to her in Canterbury, then later in Loudon, probably helped Hannah remain in the house as long as she did.
Hannah died at the house in Loudon around 1895, over 90 years old, clearly a notable, heroic and determined woman. However, according to the histories, she was buried in the family graveyard without a stone marker.
But her name lives on in modern day Canterbury Tax Records. Check out Tax Map 240, Lot 7, off Abbott Road. It is known as “Hannah Moore Lot”.
Citations:
[1] History of the Town of Canterbury, New Hampshire, James Otis Lyford Volume 1 page 66. Her tax record for 1880.
[2] Canterbury annual Town Reports: 1866 page 5: $4.08, and 1881 page 9: $8.
[3] The Descendants of Ensign John Moore, Howard P. Moore 1918 page 148 (171) Link here: https://archive.org/details/descendantsofens00moor/page/n405/mode/1up
Two more delightful details
Even today there is plenty of water in the Moore Family well.
Hannah’s small 15’ by 8’ root cellar field stone walls are in various states of preservation.
We receive our mail at: historiccanterburywomen@gmail.com, and will respond to any questions, suggestions, and other queries.
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