Town histories, reports & genealogy

Canterbury Historical Society maintains a large archive of historical data and much of it is digital. Find some links below for items of interest.

Links

Below are links to resources that are available to researchers for free.

Town Histories

There are two known official town histories of Canterbury; the first, published in 1912, records the history from 1727, our charter year, until 1912. It also contained genealogies of many families in town. In 1973, the Historical Society reprinted the 1912 history as one volume; a digital copy of the two volumes, written by James Otis Lyford, is below.

The second town history, written by Kathryn Grover and published in 2017, contains 20th-century events and people, and is available for purchase from the Society here.

History of Canterbury, 1912, Lyford – Volume 1: Narrative

History of Canterbury, 1912, Lyford – Volume 2: Genealogy

The Archives also has in its collections, various other books and manuscripts pertaining to our town’s history, including memoirs, books on specific areas of history, books on and by Canterbury people, and genealogies, available to researchers by appointment. Several of these titles include:

As I’ve Heard Tell, Catherine Dickson
A History of Morrill Road, Samuel Papps
Under Five Sultans, Mary Mills Patrick
An Educational Ambassador (Mary Mills Patrick Biography) by Hester D. Jenkins. New York: Fleming, 1925.

and many others.

Genealogies of Canterbury Families and Local Town Histories

Listed below are several family genealogies of Canterbury families that are available online digitally:

AMES – The Samuel Ames Family, by John Kimball. Concord: Republican Press, 1890.

FIFE (ancestors) – History of Pembroke, N.H. by Nathan F. Carter. Concord: Republican Press, 1895.

FORREST – A History of the Antecedents and Descendants of William and Dorothy Worthen Forrest, by Lucy R. H. Cross. Concord: Republican Press, 1897.

FOSTER – Foster Genealogy, by Frederick C. Pierce. Chicago: Conkley, 1897.

KIMBALL – History of the Kimball Family, by Leonard A. Morrison. Boston: Damrell & Upham, 1897.

KIMBALL – The Joseph Kimball Family, by John Kimball. Concord: Republican Press, 1885.

MOORE – The Descendants of Ensign John Moore, by Howard P. Moore. Rutland: Tuttle, 1918.

MORRILL – Morrill Kindred in America (Vol. 1), by Annie Morrill Smith. New York: Lyons, 1914.

PEVERLY – transcript of Thomas Peverly of Portsmouth, N.H. 1623-1670 and Some of His Descendants, comp. by Henry W. Hardon. Privately Printed, Boston: Wright and Porter, 1927.

The History of Boscawen and Webster from 1733 to 1878, comp. by Charles C. Coffin. Concord: Republican Press, 1878.

History Boscawen-Webster, 1879-1933, comp. by Willis G. Buxton. Penacook: Ranney Press, 1933.

History of Concord, New Hampshire (vol. 1) comp. by James Otis Lyford. Concord: Rumford Press, 1903.

History of Concord, New Hampshire (vol. 2) comp. by James Otis Lyford. Concord: Rumford Press, 1903.

History of Northfield, New Hampshire, comp. by Lucy R. H. Cross. Concord: Rumford Press, 1905.

Town Reports

Various years are represented below. A complete set are at Elkins Public Library and avaliable to researchers during normal hours, or at the Historical Society Archives, by appointment.

1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869

1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879

1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889

1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899

1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919

1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

1940 1941 1942 1943 Jan. 1944 Dec. 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979