Canterbury family tree

The Canterbury Family of Virginia

Tracing the Family Tree

Article sections:
  1. Introduction
  2. The first two generations: John "Whitgift" and sons
  3. The third generation: Samuel 1728 and Joseph Senior
  4. The out of state sons of Joseph Senior
  5. John "Carson" and Samuel 1771 - who's your daddy?
  6. The Giles County Canterburys: Joel and Joseph 1775
7. Ezekiel Canterbury
      a. Ezekiel's wife: Rachel Stover of the Boone line
  8. Family tree chart: the first three generations
  9. Family tree chart: fourth generation paternity issues
10. Other information

An interesting thing happened when I started looking for DNA matches leading back to my ancestor Ezekiel Canterbury (1794-1870). I found DNA matches leading to John "Whitgift" Canterbury (1665-1717), the immigrant who founded the Virginia Canterbury line more than a hundred years earlier, with no paper trail leading from Ezekiel to John. (Note: middle names were uncommon before the mid-1800s, and most people didn't have one before then. But amateur internet genealogists love to give undocumented extra names to people who only used a first and last name when they were alive. These extra names are incorrect, but they can help us tell the difference between different people who had the same names. So I will use these inappropriate names sometimes, putting them in quotes to indicate that it's not the person's real name).

Another interesting thing happened when I went on a quest to identify Ezekiel's parents. It looks like a major branch of this family - maybe the biggest branch - has been more or less forgotten, and there are major errors in most of the existing internet trees (although some were updated after this article was written). This article will discuss the available evidence and present a chart showing lines of descent that seem more likely, with links to source documents. It won't be definitive, but it's expected to be more accurate than a typical internet tree. The goal is to track the descent of the Canterbury name, so this article is mostly focused on males.

Documentation tends to be pretty sketchy in this time period. As a result, we often have no evidence for who somebody's parents or children were, and we have to make an educated guess based on the available information. Unfortunately there are a lot of internet trees that make assumptions with little or nothing to support them, and the results can be laughably bad. Dates can be hard to pin down too, and many of the dates in this article are approximate.

But there is some documentation. Virginia counties started keeping property tax lists in 1782, to help them collect a tax on white males and slaves and certain taxable property (like horses). White men over 21 were listed individually by name on these records, and men 16-20 were counted as taxable members of the household without listing their names. So these tax lists function like an annual census of adult and sub-adult males, making them one of the best information sources in this time period. They may give us a more accurate idea of the birthdates of sons than the census does; since sons became taxable when they turned 16, it paid to be aware of their age. While it might have been advantageous to say they were younger than they really were, there was no incentive to say they were older. There was no poll tax on white females, but they would appear on the tax list if they were the head of household and owed tax on something else (like a teenage son or a horse).

It looks like the tax lists may have followed a sort of "emancipated minor" concept, where a male who was less than 21 was listed by name like an adult if he moved out of his parents' house and established his own household. There are several instances where a male Canterbury was listed by name on the tax list after appearing as an unnamed member of his father's household for only a couple of years. I have assumed that the year they first showed up in the father's household is the year they turned 16.

The tax lists haven't been indexed, which means that you can't run a search and get a list of results. You have to choose the county and time period that interests you, and leaf through the handwritten pages looking for names. There are dozens of books and thousands of pages, and it's not practical to examine all of them. I looked in the counties and time periods where Canterburys were likely to be present, but I have not searched the records for every county in every year. So there may be records that I have missed.

The federal census didn't begin until 1790 and many of the earliest ones haven't survived. The census didn't start listing everyone in the household until 1850, and before that we can only guess about wives and children based on the sex and age of the people who were counted in the household. Birth records were basically nonexistent (unless someone was literate enough to own a Bible and write information in it) and marriage records were spotty. Deaths weren't recorded unless there was a will (and most of the time there wasn't). A lot of land ownership information has survived, and assorted other documentation like court cases. But many of these records haven't been indexed for an easy online search, so you have to know where to look.

Note: this article uses many links to FamilySearch. Registration and login is required to view the site; but it's a safe, reputable site that won't spam you or do anything bad. I have tried to avoid using Ancestry links, since a paid subscription is required to view their documents; but sometimes there is no other source.

The first two generations: John "Whitgift" and sons

The founder of the family line is John "Whitgift" Canterbury, who apparently came to Virginia from Somerset, England as an indentured servant in 1685. I don't know where the undocumented name "Whitgift" came from. His parents are unknown. It looks like he had just two sons: Samuel (1701-1764) who was childless, and John Junior (1700-1750). Three daughters are also reported: Elizabeth, Margaret and Esther. Elizabeth reportedly married John Kincheloe, and I'm finding significant DNA matches with her descendants. There are questions about whether John Kincheloe's wife was really a Canterbury, but the DNA is indicating that it's true.

John Junior is usually credited with just two sons: John III who has no record of a wife or children, and Samuel (1728-aft 1787) whose sons became the most productive males that this line had seen in generations (according to poor-quality internet trees anyway). But it looks like John Junior had a third son, Joseph Senior, whose history has been misrepresented and basically forgotten. Internet trees usually list a Joseph Canterbury born 1748 as a son of Samuel born 1728; but the paper trail indicates that he is Joseph Junior, and his father Joseph Senior is probably the brother of Samuel 1728.

Who were the parents of Joseph Senior, who was apparently born around 1725? Samuel 1701 is the only family member in generations who left a will (written in 1764), and it divides his property between his wife, niece, and nephew, with no mention of children. It's unlikely that Samuel 1701 is anybody's father, leaving John Junior (1700-1750) as the only available candidate who could be Joseph's father. The niece and nephew in Samuel 1701's will are Mary Ann Hill, daughter of his brother John, and John Bryan, whose line of descent can not be identified. None of Samuel 1701's sisters is known to have married a Bryan, so maybe this was a relative of Samuel's wife. Samuel didn't leave property to his other nieces and nephews, so his failure to mention Joseph Senior in the will isn't meaningful.

I will assume that Joseph Sr and Samuel 1728 are both sons of John Junior, and they are the only breeding males in their generation. Like the previous generations, they didn't leave behind a list of their children, so we have to make conclusions about how people fit into the family tree based on the available evidence. Each generation also produced daughters, but their descendants don't help us trace the Canterbury name. Some sources think the original name may have been Cantlebury or Scantlebury.

John "Whitgift" settled in North Farnham Parish in Richmond county. Around 1735, his son John Junior moved to Prince William county. In 1742, the northern part of Prince William county became Fairfax county, and subsequent records of the family in Fairfax are probably due to this boundary change not an actual move. Samuel 1728 and Joseph Senior moved out of Fairfax county, and the family gradually spread into other parts of Virginia.

Note: there was a Canterbury family that settled in Massachusetts in the 1600s, but it's believed that they are not related to the Virginia Canterburys.

The third generation: John III, Samuel 1728 and Joseph Senior.

John III. There's little to say about John III. There's no indication that he married or had children. In 1752-1754 multiple people sued him for debt in Prince William county, and one of the records states that John was a resident of Culpeper county at this time. There are several records of a John Canterbury in Orange county VA from 1763-1766, and a Samuel and Joseph Canterbury were in Orange county at the same time - were the three brothers traveling around together? There's a John Canterbury in Augusta county in 1767-1770 that's probably him. John disappears after that.

Samuel 1728 has been a shadowy figure but extensive research has shed some light on his movements. Rent rolls (land tax records) indicate that he might have still been in Fairfax county in 1774, but this is questionable since there's no record of him owning land there. The records might be for land owned by the widow of Samuel 1701, still listed in her husband's name. There is an alleged 1757 marriage of Samuel Canterbury and Mary Franklin in Orange county that can't be documented. There are Orange county court records in 1764-1765 with John and Joseph Canterbury in the county at the same time. There are records of Samuel in Pittsylvania county from 1765-1772 (some of them mentioning a wife named Elizabeth), and a 1777 record in Henry county (which was created from Pittsylvania in 1777). In 1782 he was on the Montgomery county tax list. In 1785 he did a land survey in Botetourt County although apparently a land grant was never issued (the land was actually in Montgomery county). In 1786 and 1787 he was on the Botetourt tax list, and 1787 was also the year that he gave his daughter permission to get married in Montgomery county. There's a 1788 court case in Montgomery county that might be him. There's a mysterious 1796 record of a Samuel Canterbury marrying Lancy or Loucy Webb in Franklin county VA. Was this him with a third wife? We don't know of any other unattached Samuels. In 1797, he had a tax delinquency on 200 acres of land in Montgomery county, but it's not clear when he acquired this land or whether he was even still alive at this point. His whereabouts in all other years are unknown; he was not on the Montgomery county tax lists. There is a Samuel Canterbury who served in Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment in 1777; but this is a New York-based regiment, so it's likely that Samuel the soldier is a descendant of the Massachusetts Canterburys, not "our" Samuel.

Internet trees sometimes say that Samuel 1728 is the father of a Joseph Canterbury who was born in 1748, but this appears to be wrong. Revolutionary war records show that there is a Joseph Junior born in 1748 who served in the Continental Army with Joseph Senior, who was presumably his father. Joseph Senior is probably the brother of Samuel 1728. Samuel 1728 is also given credit for other sons including John "Carson" Canterbury (1760-1842) who married Nancy Lowe; Samuel born 1771 who married Jane Dick; and William Canterbury (1761-1855) who got married in Montgomery County VA in 1789 and then disappeared, possibly moving to Tennessee. Samuel 1771 is probably the son of Joseph Senior, not Samuel 1728. The paternity of John "Carson" is unclear. Samuel 1728 had a son named William but it's possible that Joseph Senior did too. Samuel 1728 also had a daughter named Mary Ann (in 1787, Samuel gave her written permission to marry Isham Gwin), and any other children of Samuel have not been documented. Internet trees generally agree that his wife's name was Elizabeth, but they don't agree on her maiden name. Popular choices include Jerrett, Barnes and Harper.

Joseph Senior. Almost everything that we know about him is based on his Revolutionary War service. There is no record of him in Fairfax county, but DNA indicates that he's part of the Virginia Canterbury line. There are records of a Joseph Canterbury in Orange county in 1764-1767 that look like him because Samuel and John were there at the same time. A few military records are available online, and the most significant one is a 1777 muster roll showing two Joseph Canterburys (Senior and Junior) near the top right of the page, serving under Capt. Benjamin Taliaferro in the 6th Virginia Regiment. FamilySearch gives this document a date of May 1777, but Ancestry says August 1777 and it looks like Ancestry is more accurate. The notes on this muster roll say that Joseph Senior deserted on June 16th and Joseph Junior deserted on March 23, but both were obviously back in time for the muster. In this time period, junior and senior meant older and younger, not necessarily father and son; but there were very few male Canterburys and the potential for other relationships is very limited. The two Josephs were apparently recruited from Amherst county and there's no known record of Samuel 1728 ever going there. It seems safe to assume the two Josephs were father and son.

Other records show that Joseph Senior and Joseph Junior both deserted in September 1776 (Amherst County in the Revolution p. 16). In Virginia, all free males aged 16 to 50 were considered part of the militia unless exempted. Militiamen could be called for tours of duty up to three months, serving mostly within Virginia. Many served more than one tour of duty during the war (Library of Virginia). The 6th Regiment was part of the Continental Army, not a militia, and the service term was not similar, lasting three years or more in the Continental Army; temporary desertions were common as men took time off to help their families. The muster roll indicates that both Josephs had deserted and returned.

Amherst County in the Revolution pg 41 says that both Josephs were from the part of Amherst that is now in Nelson County, which was created from Amherst in 1807. The records indicate that Joseph Junior was born in 1748, and a timeframe of 1723-1728 seems appropriate for his father's birthdate; it's reported (but not documented) that John Canterbury Junior and Elizabeth Smith (the proposed parents of Joseph Senior) married around 1723.

It looks like Joseph Junior may have had at least one child when he joined the army, because these is a Joseph born 1775 who is clearly part of this family. Most people don't have two living children with the same name, so Joseph 1775 is likely to be the son of Joseph Junior not Joseph Senior. But it looks like Joseph Senior was married more than once, since his known wife Ruth is apparently too young to be the mother of Joseph Junior. It's possible that she might have wanted her own son named Joseph, even though her husband already had a son with that name. We have no actual record that Junior had a wife and/or children.

It looks like Joseph Senior was killed in the Battle of Brandywine Creek on September 11, 1777, or perished in its aftermath, possibly as a prisoner of war. In any case, he was never heard from again and nobody seemed to know exactly what happened to him. The Continental Army suffered considerable losses at Brandywine but did not record the names.

The Battle of Brandywine was the biggest battle of the Revolutionary War, involving more than 30,000 men - about 18,000 on the British side and 15,000 on the American side. The two Josephs were in the 6th Virginia Regiment, within the 2nd Virginia Brigade commanded by Brigadier General George Weedon, within a division commanded by Major General Nathanael Greene (Wikipedia). Greene's division served as a reserve unit during the main battle, waiting behind the lines while the rest of the army fought. The British attack gave George Washington an unpleasant surprise due to faulty reconnaissance on the American side, and when Washington realized that he couldn't win he called on Greene's division to cover the army's retreat. Greene's men advanced to a good position and fired on the British for about an hour while the rest of the army retreated. The British fought back during this maneuver, and this must have been the part of the battle where Joseph Senior was lost. Brandywine Battlefield has a series of maps, with the last one showing the position of the 2nd Virginia Brigade relative to everyone else.

When darkness fell the British simply stopped fighting and let the Americans finish withdrawing. The Americans left the battlefield in defeat, so they couldn't make an accurate tally of the casualties they left behind. The British made several estimates of the American casualties, ranging from 200-500 dead, 600-750 wounded, and about 400 prisoners of war with most of the prisoners wounded. The Americans never released any figures at all, although Nathanael Greene estimated the total American casualties at 1200-1300 men (Wikipedia).

Genealogy.com is a good source of information on Joseph Senior, with followup pieces here, here, and here. These pieces were written in 1999, when online documents and bad internet trees were far less prevalent. It relies heavily on books whose authors apparently had access to more records than are currently available online. The accuracy of these books is unknown, but I can see at least one apparent error: Item #3 on this post says that Joseph Junior requested a pension from Giles county on 12/21/1825. The online Giles County Legislative Petitions show that the only request on that date was made by Joseph Senior's widow, Ruth Simms Canterbury. The original document can be viewed by clicking the links at the petitions website, and an unofficial transcript is available here.

There is some highly relevant information in this petition. Ruth's birthdate is approximately 1740, so she is unlikely to be the mother of Joseph Junior (born 1748). When Joseph Senior disappeared he left her with 8 small children that she had to support by herself. She says she raised them up to manhood, implying that most or all of them were male, and that as of 1825 they were dispersed and scattered across three or four different states. We can't identify all eight of the children, but any male Canterbury who was born in Virginia before 1777 and moved to a different state before 1825 is a candidate to be the son of Joseph Senior and Ruth. A record of disbursements to wives, widows and orphans of poor Revolutionary soldiers shows payments to Ruth Canterbury in January 1778, August 1778, and October 1778. She is described as Joseph's wife not his widow, indicating that no one knew whether he was dead (Amherst County in the Revolutionn, pg 61-62).

You'd think that the DAR would be all over the two Josephs but they aren't. The evidence is so circumstantial and limited that it's hard to prove descent, and the general thinking about this line is so messed up that it's hard to even ask the right questions. The only Canterburys with a DAR listing are John "Carson" and Jacob Canterbury of Massachusetts.

Note: the Genealogy.com article proposes that Joseph Senior was the son of Samuel 1701, perhaps unaware that Samuel's will strongly implies that he was childless. It's much more likely that Joseph was the son of Samuel's brother John.

The (potential) out of state sons of Joseph Senior

Based on the statements of Ruth Canterbury in her Giles County petition, she and Joseph had at least four children who were born in Virginia but had moved to other states by 1825. The Canterbury males in other states who may be sons of Joseph Senior include:

William Canterbury 1761-1855 moved to Sevier County, Tennessee. William married Betty Ann Lawson in Montgomery county VA in 1799, and was on the Montgomery tax list from 1790-1792. Probably the same William Canterbury who served in Doherty's militia regiment in the Territory South of the Ohio River (aka Tennessee) in 1794 (Ancestry link). The overall evidence points toward him being the the son of Samuel 1728 but we can't be sure of it.

Zachariah Canterbury 1773-1852 who was in Tennessee in 1799, in Kentucky in 1802-1804, then back in Tennessee for a few years before moving to Alabama, finally settling in Bibb County by 1830. I don't know of any records of him in Virginia, but I don't know which county or years to look for.

John Canterbury ("John of Tennessee/Alabama") age 50-59 on the 1830 census for McNairy, Tennessee implying a birthdate of 1771-1780. Probably the same John Canterbury on the 1799 tax list for Grainger, Tennessee, implying a birthdate of 1778 or earlier. Zachariah Canterbury is also on this tax list, suggesting that they might be brothers. Probably the same John Canterbury who moved to Bibb County AL with Zachariah and became a chief justice in 1818. Maybe the same John Canterbury who served in Doherty's militia regiment in the Territory South of the Ohio River (aka Tennessee) in 1794 (Ancestry link). As noted above, there was a William Canterbury who served in the same regiment in 1794 so they're probably connected. The minimum age for serving in a militia was 16, implying a birthdate of 1778 or earlier. So overall we're looking at a birthdate of 1778 or earlier for John of Tennessee/Alabama.

John "Carson" Canterbury had some military service in the 1780s (FamilySearch notes) but the John Canterbury in Doherty's militia doesn't look like him. The tax lists show that John "Carson" lived in Greenbrier county VA throughout the 1790s. John "Carson" and John of Tennessee both have uncertain paternity; it's unlikely that both of them were the sons of Joseph Senior, since both were the right age to be the son of Ruth Simms. John "Carson" is too old to be the son of Joseph Junior, but it's possible that John of Tennessee/Alabama was Joseph Junior's son.

By 1802 there was a Joseph Canterbury in Georgia. His birthdate can't be determined but he was presumably born before 1781. He appears on several Franklin county GA tax lists between 1802-1819 but doesn't appear on any federal census. I haven't found any record of Joseph Junior after 1784, and don't know what became of him. It's possible that he moved to Georgia. But if the person in Georgia is not Joseph Junior, then I don't know who he is; probably not the son of Joseph Senior. There is a well-documented Joseph born 1775 in Giles County VA who is more likely to be the son of Joseph Senior and Ruth, if Joseph Senior really did have two sons named Joseph. It's possible that the Joseph in Georgia is a son of Samuel 1728, a son of Joseph Junior, or a grandson of either Joseph Senior or Samuel 1728. Or a descendant of the Massachusetts Canterburys who moved south.

John "Carson" and Samuel 1771 - who's your daddy?

There are some potential sons of Joseph who stayed in Virginia. Internet trees in general say that John "Carson" Canterbury and Samuel 1771 are the sons of Samuel 1728. Since the Joseph line had been twisted into something unrecognizable and basically forgotten, Samuel 1728 looked like the only available male Canterbury who could have produced them. But with the Joseph line rediscovered, we have to reconsider the paternity of all the children who have been attributed to Samuel 1728.

In 1823 John "Carson" applied for a Revolutionary War pension with extensive testimony about his military service; independent documentation for this service can not be found. The most important part for establishing paternity is the beginning of the story: in his 1834 testimony he states that when he was 14 years old in 1774, he was living on the Holston River in "what is now" Washington County (which was created from Fincastle county in 1776), and joined a cattle drive to supply the army at Point Pleasant. But what was he doing in Fincastle/Washington? We have no records of adult Canterburys in these counties at the relevant time. Washington county was adjacent to Montgomery (also created from Fincastle in 1776), and Montgomery county had sporadic records of Samuel 1728 in the 1780s and regular records of Joseph 1775 and Joel Canterbury in the 1790s and beyond; but there's no record of Canterburys in Montgomery in the 1770s. Samuel 1728 was recorded frequently in Pittsylvania county from 1765-1772 and again in 1777, while Joseph Senior was in Amherst county in 1776-1777; but we don't know where either of them were in 1774, and neither of these places are close to Washington or Montgomery county. John "Carson" reports that he continued to live on the Holston River between military engagements until the end of the war in 1781, and moved to Monroe County after that. At the end of the war, Joseph Senior was dead and Samuel 1728 was being spotted in Montgomery county on the rare occasions that he could be found. Did John "Carson" run away from home and establish a new home in Washington county? Is it possible that he is the illegitimate son of a Canterbury daughter, and does not have Canterbury paternity at all?

He was asked to testify again in 1835 and told a somewhat different story. He doesn't mention the 1774 expedition to Point Pleasant** and says that he was living in Montgomery county for his tours in 1777 and 1778, then moved to Washington county before his tour in 1779. He also says that he has memory problems due to age and infirmity, and can't recall many details. Changing his initial residence from Washington to Montgomery does not help us solve the paternity question. The pension application was rejected due to insufficient evidence of service.

**the Point Pleasant story doesn't sound right. It's more than 200 miles over rough terrain from Washington County to Point Pleasant, which would be difficult for a cattle drive. It's reported that game was so abundant in the area that bread was the only food that needed to be supplied. The battle did not take place at a fort; it was at the temporary camp of an army on the move, so a cattle drive would not have known where they needed to go. It would be an extraordinary coincidence if they accidentally arrived at the camp on the day after the battle. The rest of the testimony sounds reasonable enough but can't be verified. The pension application was rejected due to insufficient evidence of service.

Getting back to things that can actually be documented: John "Carson" starts appearing on the tax lists for Greenbrier county in 1783, with Samuel 1771 joining him on the tax list in 1795. After this part of Greenbrier turned into Monroe county in 1799, the two of them continued to appear on the tax list pretty consistently through 1818. Greenbrier/Monroe is not associated with either the Joseph line or Samuel 1728, so this location doesn't provide clues about the paternity of John "Carson" and Samuel 1771.

But then something happens suggesting that Samuel 1771 is part of the Joseph line. In 1818, Samuel makes his last appearance on the Monroe county tax list and never returns; there are no further records that can be positively identified as him, so he has probably died. In any case, his wife and children moved to Giles county without him by 1820. Giles county is Joseph Line Central; members of this branch of the family had been living there since 1806, and at some point it became the home of Joseph Senior's widow Ruth. Women are harder to track than men since the government was less interested in recording them; but there are records of her in Giles county in 1815 and 1825. It's not clear when she arrived; she was on the Rockingham county tax list in 1791, and the next known record of her is her appearance on the Giles tax list in 1815. She is not named on any federal census, but the 1820 census shows both Joseph 1775 and Jane Canterbury (widow of Samuel 1771) with an unidentified older woman in their household who could be Ruth. The 1820 census shows all three Giles county Canterbury households (Joel, Joseph 1775 and Jane) living in the town of Pearisburg, so they must have been fairly close together at that time. Records of Samuel 1771's sons continue in Giles county through 1823. Part of Giles was transformed into Logan county in 1824, and the records for Samuel's descendants are in Logan after that date.

In 1820, a Samuel Canterbury appears on the Cabell county tax list, and continues to appear there through 1823. In 1824, part of Cabell county turned into Logan county, and at least one Samuel Canterbury appears on the subsequent Logan tax lists. But this is probably John Carson's son Samuel, who disappeared from Monroe county after the 1819 tax list.

We can't be certain that John "Carson" and Samuel 1771 were brothers, so there is still room for John "Carson" to be the son of Samuel 1728, not the son of Joseph Senior. We have no evidence one way or the other for his paternity; but if Ezekiel Canterbury is his son (as speculated later) it's a point in favor of John "Carson" being the son of Joseph Senior. The existence of another John Canterbury in Tennessee during this time period suggests that one of the Johns may have been the son of Joseph Senior and the other was the son of Samuel 1728. Other possibilities: John of Tennessee might be the son of Joseph Junior, or maybe one of the Massachusetts Canterburys decided to move south. John "Carson" is too old to be the son of Joseph Junior.

Internet trees tend to give John "Carson" more children than the documents support. Six of the sons credited to him can be observed on the tax lists, first as unnamed tithables in their father's household and then being listed in their own name as they turn 21: John Junior, Samuel, Levi, Joshua, Anderson, and Zadoc. Any other sons attributed to John "Carson" should be viewed with suspicion; some of them may belong to a different family. Ezekiel Canterbury is sometimes listed as his son; this can't be documented, but circumstantial evidence indicates that it may be true. John "Carson" is often given an additional undocumented name, "Asa". It looks like John is being conflated with Asa Canterbury of Massachusetts, and may be getting credit for some of Asa's sons. There is no known connection between the Massachusetts Canterburys and the Virginia family.

The tax lists show that John "Carson" might have another son who is usually not listed on internet trees. In the 1800 Monroe County tax list, there is an unidentified tithable in John's household; in 1801 and 1802 this extra tithable disappears and is replaced by an individual listing for Fielden Canterbury, right next to John's listing. Who is this? If he turned 16 in 1800, he must have been born in 1784. But John "Carson" and Nancy Lowe married in 1787. The most obvious explanation is that Fielden might be the son of John "Carson" from a previous marriage. Fielden disappears after the 1802 census; there is no other known documentation for him, and the world in general seems unaware of his existence. John "Carson" has a grandson named Fielding who could have been named after an uncle who died young.

John Junior might also be the son of a previous marriage; he appears in his father's household as an unnamed tithable in 1802, implying a birthdate of 1786.

The Giles County Canterburys: Joel and Joseph 1775

The earlier source documents indicate a birthdate of about 1776 for Joel Canterbury and a birthdate of 1775 for the third Joseph in the family line, although their ages became more "elastic" later in life. They are definitely part of the Joseph line, but it's difficult to determine whether they were the sons of Joseph Senior or Joseph Junior. I lean toward Joseph Senior as the father of Joel, and Joseph Junior as the father of Joseph 1775. We don't have information on Joseph Junior's marital status, but he was 27 years old in 1775 and could have had children. On the other hand, it's uncommon for a family to have two living children with the same first name, but it might have happened since Ruth was apparently the second wife of Joseph Senior and may have wanted to have her own son named Joseph.

Joel and Joseph 1775 had a presence in Montgomery county in the late 1790s to early 1800s, with Joel having a more consistent presence there than Joseph. In 1806 they became residents of Giles county, which was formed in 1806 from parts of several other counties including Montgomery. So this may have been a boundary change not a physical move. Joel and Joseph 1775 had a consistent presence in Giles county from 1806 to 1833. Joel disappeared from the Giles tax list in 1834 and moved to Gallia county Ohio. Joseph 1775 remained in Giles county, and was still there when he wrote his will in 1863. Joseph married in 1799 but was apparently childless. His wife predeceased him, and his will leaves his property to two friends. The will was witnessed by a James Canterbury who may be Joel's son.

The tax lists and census reports indicate that Joel had five identifiable sons: Joseph, James, John, Hugh and Robert. The census also indicates that he had two more sons born between 1810-1820 that I can't identify, and he probably had two daughters. Internet trees often call him Isaac Joel Canterbury, and for once there is actually some justification for the extra name. The 1860 census calls him Isaac, which looks like an error; all other records including his 1870 death record call him Joel.

Their mother and/or grandmother Ruth (widow of Joseph Senior) joined Joel and Joseph 1775 in Giles county at some point in time, and so did Jane Dick Canterbury, the widow of Samuel 1771. They were discussed in a previous section.

Ezekiel Canterbury

This project began as an attempt to identify the parents of my ancestor Ezekiel Canterbury. There is no known documentation that mentions Ezekiel's parents or siblings. I still don't have a definite answer, but there is one candidate who stands out from the others.

On the surface, John "Carson", Samuel 1771 and Joel are the primary candidates to be his father, but the unnamed males in their tax list tithables and federal census reports can easily be identified and there's no room for Ezekiel. Joseph 1775 can be eliminated, since the records clearly indicate that he had no children. The federal census reports don't show any other Canterbury males (or females) who are likely to be his parent. Ezekiel's census reports say he was born in Virginia, so it's unlikely that he came from a Canterbury male who moved to a different state. DNA indicates that he is one of the Virginia Canterburys, not a descendant of a Massachusetts Canterbury who moved to Virginia.

The most likely explanation is that (A) Ezekiel moved or ran away from home before he could be listed as an unnamed tithable in his parents' household, or (B) he is the illegitimate son of a Canterbury daughter. Out of wedlock children took their mother's surname during this time period. But a general search for Canterburys in the relevant time period isn't turning up a census report or any other documentation for an appropriate single woman. Women are very difficult to trace in this time period, but they did get listed by name in the census report if they were the head of household. It is always possible that Ezekiel's mother died when he was very young and that's the reason we don't see her in the records.

Of the three male candidates, John "Carson" is the best choice based on Ezekiel's birthdate. Ezekiel's federal census reports show some age creep; the 1830 and 1840 census indicate a birthdate between 1790-1800; the 1850 census says he was born in 1794; while the 1860 and 1870 census show a birthdate of 1799-1800. The later dates are obviously wrong, since he appears on an 1811 tax list and that wouldn't happen if he was 11 years old. But 1794 is a very reasonable estimate. It looks like he was the only Ezekiel Canterbury in the nation prior to the birth of his son Ezekiel Junior in 1834, so it's unlikely that any of the records were for someone else.

John "Carson" married Nancy Lowe in 1787, and their children were born after that date. Samuel 1771 married Nancy Dick in 1798, and the census indicates that all his children were born after 1800. Joel's marriage date is unknown, but the census indicates that all his children were born after 1800. So John "Carson" is the only one who was married at the time of Ezekiel's birth. All the males in John "Carson's" household in the 1810 census are identifiable, and there's no room for Ezekiel. But Ezekiel was about 16 in 1810 and may have run off already. Males were considered old enough to go to war at the age of 16, so he was probably capable of making his way in the world.

Ezekiel's first known appearance in the record books is when he is listed by name on the 1811 Giles county tax list, apparently without ever having been listed as an unnamed tithable in someone else's household. The location alone is a strong indication that he's probably a grandson of Joseph Senior.

His next appearance is on the 1813 Kanawha county tax list. It isn't clear what he's doing there. A John Canterbury was recorded in Kanawha county in 1810 and 1811; this looks like John Junior the son of John "Carson", who was listed in Monroe county in 1809 and then went elsewhere. John Junior isn't listed in Kanawha in 1813, but the tax collectors apparently missed people sometimes and he may have still been hanging around. Maybe Ezekiel wanted to visit him.

Ezekiel's next appearance is on the 1816 Monroe county tax list - home of John "Carson" and Samuel 1771. We can theorize that Ezekiel ran away from Monroe county and visited some other family members before going home temporarily. There are gaps of two or three years between the tax records where we don't know where Ezekiel was.

In 1819 Ezekiel is recorded in Giles county again, and settles down to a steady presence there. He is not listed by name on the 1820 census, but both Joel and Joseph 1775 have an unidentified male in their household who is the right age to be Ezekiel. He married Rachel Stover in Giles county in 1822. Part of Giles county was incorporated into Logan county in 1824, and Ezekiel's records are in Logan from that point forward. Most of the Logan county tax lists have not survived, and what's available online are transcripts that can't be checked for errors. The Logan tax lists for 1824, 1827, and 1843 show him there. The Logan tax lists for 1833 and 1837 do not show him. In 1831, Fayette County was created from parts of Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas and Logan counties, and he appears on the Fayette county tax lists from 1831 to 1838. This suggests that he had been living in the part of Logan county that became part of Fayette county. Many Stovers also appear on the Fayette tax lists during these years. From 1839 onwards, Ezekiel is not on the Fayette county tax list; apparently he has moved to Logan county. Every federal census from 1830 to 1870 shows him living in Logan county. By 1870, it looks like his marriage has fallen apart; he's living in his own household next to a couple of his sons, while his wife is living in a different household on a different page with some of the other children. This is the last known record for either one of them. An 1881 deed refers to "Ezekiel Canterbury deceased" confirming that he had died.

On the 1819 Monroe tax list, there is a mysterious Sary (Sarah) Canterbury listed next to John Carson's son Joshua. She has two tithables, suggesting two teenage males in the house. In 1820, her listing is further away from the rest of the family, and it shows one tithable. There's a listing next to her for John W.C. Canterbury who appears to be one of the previous year's unnamed tithables. He is definitely not John "Carson" (the listings for him and his kids are on the previous page). It's not clear who Sarah and her sons are, and there are no other identifiable records of these people. Is she someone's widow? Is she a single mother with her out of wedlock children? Could she be Ezekiel's mother? I think it's unlikely, since her presence in Monroe county seems to have been temporary. Even if we assume that she was his mother, it doesn't solve our documentation problem: we don't see Ezekiel starting out as an unnamed tithable in her household. He was well over 21 in 1820, so he's not one of the tithables in that year.

The overall evidence supports the idea that John "Carson" Canterbury is Ezekiel's father. There's no other male who's a reasonable candidate, and we have enough documentation to construct a plausible narrative. The main other alternative is that an unidentified unmarried daughter of Joseph Senior is Ezekiel's mother, but we have no evidence that such a person even existed.

Ezekiel's wife Rachel Stover. Rachel has an interesting line of descent - both the paper trail and DNA say that she's the great-great-granddaughter of Sarah Boone (1691-bef 1744)(Daniel Boone's aunt) who married Swiss immigrant Jacob Stover (1688-1741) in Philadelphia in 1715. Sarah was an immigrant herself, arriving from England in 1714. Sarah's parents George Boone and Mary Milton Maugridge (Daniel Boone's grandparents) arrived in Philadephia in 1717. Their son Squire Maugridge Boone is Daniel's daddy, and the brother of Sarah Boone Stover.

But Rachel is a somewhat forgotten child of this line. Her father, Jacob Stover was honored with an 8-foot granite monument at the Workman's Creek Cemetery in West Virginia (FindAGrave). The monument lists most of Jacob's children but leaves off Rachel and her older brother Elijah. But the records clearly show that they really are Jacob's children. Her 1822 marriage record states that Jacob Stover is her father. The marriage of her sister Susanna (who did get her name on the monument) is listed further up the page also showing Jacob as her father, and this is definitely the same Jacob Stover. The Giles County tax lists for 1812-1823 and Logan County tax lists from 1824 onward show that there was only one Stover family in the area at this time. The only Stover males in the county were Jacob and his sons (Elijah, Obediah, John, Jacob Junior, Lewis, Abraham, Sampson and Jubal, who all appear on the tax list at least once). The sons were too young to be Rachel's father; Jacob Junior in particular was about nine years old when Rachel was born, so he's definitely not her father. She's also identifiable in Jacob's household on the federal census for 1810 (Kanawha County) and 1820 (Giles County).

Family tree chart: the first three generations

The family tree charts are aimed at tracing the descent of the Canterbury name, so the Canterbury daughters are ignored unless there's a reason to mention them. Most of the claims about daughters can't be documented, and there are probably some whose names have been lost completely. The first three generations of males are pretty straightforward. There's no direct evidence for Joseph Senior's parents, but DNA indicates that he descends from this line and there's really only one person who can be his father.

John "Whitgift" Canterbury (abt 1665-1717) b. England, d. Richmond County VA. Immigrated to Virginia 1685 married Ruth Williams (1673-1750) b. Richmond County VA, d. Fairfax County VA
John's name is not Whitgift and it's not clear why some sources call him that, but this undocumented label is useful for identification purposes. His FamilySearch profile is a good source of documentation, but don't trust the claims about his parents. The parents of his wife Ruth Williams are documented, but John's parents are not.
1.	John Canterbury Junior (abt 1700-bef 1750) b. Richmond County VA, d. Prince William County VA about 1723: married Elizabeth Smith (1702-1762) in Richmond County. Moved to Prince William County about 1735.
	Information sources: FamilySearch
	A.	Joseph Canterbury Senior, born about 1725-1735, probably in Richmond County VA. Missing and presumed dead after the battle of Brandywine Creek, PA in Sept 1777. Married Ruth Simms (1740-aft 1825). A previous wife is speculated (by me) but there is zero documentation.
		Information sources for Joseph Senior: Orange county 1764: a payment to Joseph is listed in a court order. This is apparently part of a debt case against William Kindell. 1767: Joseph is listed on a document that looks like a tax list. His name is right next to Richard Lamb, who was the defendant in a debt case involving John Canterbury. Amherst County in the Revolution pg 41 says that Joseph Senior and Junior were both from the part of Amherst that is now in Nelson County, which was created from Amherst in 1807. Amherst County in the Revolution p. 16 says that Joseph Senior and Joseph Junior both deserted in September 1776. The report includes a description of Joseph Junior. 1777 Continental Army muster roll showing Joseph Senior and Joseph Junior near the top right side of the page, including the information that Joseph Senior deserted in June and Joseph Junior deserted in March. Both had obviously returned in time for the muster. 1782 Amherst tax list shows the estate of Joseph Canterbury with no males, two cows and one horse. The Virginia tax list system began in 1782 so this was the first opportunity to show any member of the Canterbury family. We can guess that Ruth was still living in Amherst county and this is her household; Joseph Senior has obviously been presumed dead at this point. Genealogy.com discussion Part 11, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
		Additional information sources for Ruth: Amherst County in the Revolution, pg 61-62 shows payments to Ruth Canterbury in January 1778, August 1778, and October 1778 as the wife of a poor Revolutionary soldier. 1778 Amherst county court record for the October 1778 payment 1825 petition establishing her age, number of children and other information: Original - Transcript The petition was rejected. Rockingham County VA tax lists 1787 - 1790 - 1791 Giles County VA tax list 1815 Federal census: Ruth is not named in any census, but may be one of the over-45 women on the 1820 Giles county census for Joseph 1775 or Jane Canterbury
		1.	Descendants discussed in separate chart
	B.	John Canterbury III, born after 1726 in Richmond county, died after 1754, probably after 1770. No known wife or children.
		Information sources: Prince William county 1752-1754 John is sued for debt by Richard Oswald, Bertrand Ewell, and Elizabeth Winn in three separate cases. One of the records states that John is a resident of Culpeper county (FamilySearch#1, FamilySearch#2). A 1765 Orange county debt case involving Samuel says that Samuel was from Culpeper. Orange county 1763: John is part of a roadwork crew. 1764: John is accused of telling malicious lies in a Bryant vs Powell court case. 1765-1766 John is mentioned in multiple documents for a debt case, but he is not the defendant. It looks like someone loaned money to a Richard Lamb, and this note was subsequently assigned to several other people including John (#1, #2, #3, #4). In 1767, Richard Lamb appears on a tax list with Joseph Canterbury, perhaps indicating that Lamb knew more than one Canterbury. Augusta county 1767: John sells a slave. It says that John has a sister Margaret who married Jeremiah Brent. The name is more likely to be Bryant. There was a Jeremiah Bryant born about 1700 in Farnham, and several younger Jeremiah Bryants named after him. Farnham was John Canterbury's hometown, so there's a high probability that the families knew each other. 1770: John witnesses a deed.
	C.	Samuel Canterbury, born about 1728, probably in Richmond County VA. Died after 1787 and probably before 1797, location unknown. Wife is not well documented; internet trees call her Elizabeth, with a last name of Jerrett, Barnes and/or Harper. He may have had a first wife named Mary Franklin and a second wife named Elizabeth. Between 1764 (when his uncle died) and 1792 (when Samuel 1771 turned 21), Samuel 1728 was was the only known adult Samuel Canterbury in Virginia.
		Information sources (Virginia tax lists began in 1782): (Fairfax county records before 1764 are not shown because they might belong to his Uncle Samuel 1701-1764) Fairfax county rent rolls 1770 -1772 - 1774 (Ancestry links). Listed first because it's doubtful that this is the right Samuel This was a quitrent tax on land owners, and there is no evidence that Samuel 1728 owned land in Fairfax. There are records of two grants in Fairfax to Samuel 1701 totaling 160 acres, nothing more. These records are probably for the land that Samuel 1701 left to his widow, recorded in his name not hers. Orange county 1757: Samuel reportedly marries Mary Franklin but it looks dubious. 1764: Samuel is paid a witness fee 1765: Samuel is sued for debt by Lenox and Scott (#1,#2,#3,#4). One of the documents says he's from Culpeper, just like John III in his Prince William debt cases. This document also has a large "Dr" at the top of the page which is apparently some kind of court notation, not an indication that Samuel was a doctor. Pittsylvania County 1765: Samuel records 400 acres on the branches of Snow Creek. 1766: Samuel records 400 acres of vacant land near the branches of Mountain Creek. 1768: Samuel witnesses a deed for Thomas Potter. 1768: purchase of 200 acres on Island Creek. 1769: Samuel & wife Elizabeth sell 200 acres on Island Creek. 1771: Samuel & wife Elizabeth sell 50 acres (location indeterminate). 1772: sale of 100 acres on Mountain Creek 1777 Henry county (created from Pittsylvania in 1777): Samuel swears allegiance to the Commonwealth of Virginia and renounces allegiance to Great Britain. Montgomery tax list for 1782. This 1785 document appears to be a land tax list. The land tax records usually aren't online but we got lucky with this one. Botetourt county 1785 Survey#1, Survey#2, Survey#3 The land is actually in Montgomery county; there may have been some confusion over the boundary between Botetourt and Montgomery. All three surveys mention Samuel's son William; two of them mention Isham Gwin (husband of Samuel's daughter Mary Ann); one of the surveys is for Samuel and says that he is William's assignee; and one of them says that William's survey begins at his father's corner. Two of these surveys mentions Elliott Creek and one mentions Pilot Mountain. A 1796 Montgomery County survey for Samuel Langdon says that it includes 100+100 acres surveyed for William Canterbury in 1785 and transferred to others. This disposal of William's rights explains why no land grant was ever issued to William for this land. An 1840 land grant to Valentine Carrell mentions "Canterberry's Fall a head branch of Elliott Creek". It was common for people to occupy the land before the land grant had actually been issued, and this name undoubtedly refers to the land surveyed for William and Samuel; but the name Canterberry's Fall has not persisted and we can't figure out where it is. Expand this topo map for a view of both Pilot Mountain and Elliott Creek. Botetourt tax lists for 1786 - 1787 showing Samuel but not William. The Montgomery tax lists don't show any Canterburys between 1783-1789. Montgomery county 1787 Samuel gave permission for his daughter to marry in Montgomery county, but was not recorded on the Montgomery tax list. 1788 Montgomery county Samuel is summoned to court on the order of the sheriff to show why he should not be fined for disobedience of orders. It's not clear what this is about. A genealogy newsletter on Ancestry says he had a 1797 tax delinquency on 200 acres in Montgomery county, perhaps indicating that he had died. Franklin county: 1792 court record: John Hubbard releases all actions against Samuel Canterbury. Not clear what this is about or whether this is the right Samuel. 1796: There is a mysterious record and marriage bond for a Samuel Canterbury who married Lansy (or Lincy/Loucy) Webb in Franklin county VA in 1796. I can't find any other records of a Canterbury in Franklin county during the relevant time period. This doesn't look like Samuel 1771, who was living in Greenbrier county from 1795 onwards, and married Jane Dick in Greenbrier in 1798. Perhaps this is a record of Samuel 1728 and a new wife.
			Mary Ann Canterbury (1770-1850) m. Isham Gwin; a 1787 marriage bond and marriage record names Samuel as her father, in addition to the permission slip.
			William Canterbury, born before 1764. Mentioned in the surveys listed above for Samuel. Discussed with other possible descendants in a separate chart
	D.	Margaret Canterbury (speculative), birthdate uncertain, married Jeremiah Bryant before 1767
		Information sources: Mentioned in a 1767 transaction in Augusta county, where John Canterbury says he has a sister Margaret who married Jeremiah Brent. The name is more likely to be Bryant. There was a Jeremiah Bryant born about 1700 in Farnham, and several younger Jeremiah Bryants named after him. Farnham was John Canterbury's hometown, so there's a high probability that the families knew each other.
	E.	Mary Ann Canterbury, birthdate uncertain, married Enoch Hill before 1762, died before 1816
		Information sources: Mentioned in the 1762 will of her uncle, Samuel 1701
2.	Samuel Canterbury (1701-1764) b. Richmond County VA, d. Fairfax County VA married Mary Simpson (1725-1780)
	Information sources: FamilySearch
	A.	No known children; none are mentioned in his 1762 will

Fourth generation paternity issues

We can be fairly certain that Joseph Junior is the son of Joseph Senior, that Mary Ann Canterbury Gwin is the daughter of Samuel 1728, and that Samuel 1728 had a son named William. The paternity of everyone else is up for debate, but we do have some clues. The 1825 petition by Joseph Senior's widow Ruth stated that they had 8 minor children when he died in 1777, and that children were now living in three or four different states. It implied that most or all of the children were male. However a search for potential daughters turned up a Mary Canterbury born in 1776 who got married in Montgomery County in 1797 with a witness named Joseph who did not appear to be her father. A Canterbury male born in Virginia before 1777 who migrated to a different state is likely to be the son of Joseph, and so is anyone who migrated to Giles County VA (Ruth's home in her later years).

We don't have similar clues for the children of Samuel 1728, so his potential children are basically anyone who doesn't look like one of Joseph Senior's kids.

Potential sons of Joseph Senior
The following people seem more likely to be the children of Joseph Senior than the children of Samuel 1728.
Joseph Canterbury Jr, born 1748, died after 1784, possibly after 1815. No information on wives or children.
Little information is available, and the last identifiable record is in 1784. A Revolutionary War desertion report says that he was 28 years old in 1776, and also says that he was a rifleman, 5'10", well made with short red hair, a reddish complexion and a dejected look (Amherst County in the Revolution p. 16). Joseph Senior deserted at the same time but is not described. The existence of a Joseph III born in 1775 suggests that Joseph Junior may have been a father when he went off to war, but Joseph Senior was apparently married twice and his second wife Ruth may have wanted a son named Joseph. After the Battle of Brandywine Creek, Joseph Junior became a member of Morgan's Rifle Regiment. The Genealogy.com article says that Joseph Junior settled in Giles County VA in the 1780s and died there after 1815. It's certainly possible, but I haven't found evidence to support it. Giles county was formed from Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe and Tazewell counties in 1806, so the area would have had a different name then. Joseph Junior is not found on the tax lists for the relevant area. A Joseph Canterbury was recorded in Georgia in the early 1800s; the age of this Joseph can't be determined, but he was presumably born before 1781. He may or may not be the same person as Joseph Junior. If Georgia Joseph isn't Joseph Junior, it's not clear who he is. Possibly a grandson of Joseph Senior, a son of Joseph Junior, a son or grandson of Samuel 1728, or a descendant of the Massachusetts Canterburys.
Information sources: 1777 Continental Army muster roll showing Joseph Senior and Joseph Junior near the top right side of the page. Some Revolutionary War records before Sep 1777 may be for Joseph Senior; I can't always tell the difference: on FamilySearch: Nov 1776 - Aug 1777 -Jan 1778 - Feb 1778 - May 1778? on Ancestry (multipage documents): May 17777 - Dec 1777 1778 Amherst county road survey work #1, #2 1781 Amherst county land grant for 174 acres on the branches of Dutch Creek. The survey was conducted in 1773 for Richard McCary. Dutch Creek is a tributary of the Rockfish River in modern Nelson County. There's a topo map here. It's very close to the boundary between Amherst and Nelson county. Albemarle tax lists 1782 - 1783 1784 Amherst tax list 1784 Amherst county land sale selling the 1781 grant to William Nalley (Amherst County deed book E, page 626). More activity ensued. 1785: the deed was proved in court. 1790: a debt case is opened for Canterbury vs Nalley. The plaintiff is called John Canterbury but it should say Joseph. May 1791: the case is continued. Aug 1791: the defendant William Nally admits that he owes the money. A Joseph Canterbury in Franklin, Georgia (Ancestry links) 1802 - 1805 - 1806 - 1807 - 1808 - 1811 - 1819 Ambiguous Joseph documents: the following are too late to be Joseph Senior, but could be either Joseph Junior or Joseph 1775 (whose birth date is about 1775 but may not be exactly 1775). 1793 Kanawha River, protecting the frontier in modern West Virginia. There is a report of a Joseph Canterbury in the militia company of Captain Caperton of Greenbrier County. Daniel Boone was there for a time. Joseph 1775 was over 16 and old enough for military service. John "Carson" was in Greenbrier at this time, but none of the Josephs are expected in Greenbrier or the general area of the Kanawha River. 1795 Orange County Joseph is witness and/or bondsman for two non-Canturbury weddings 1802 Virginia: Joseph Canterbury is on a jury. This document is supposedly in a book of Monroe County court orders, but most records don't mention the county and the ones that do mention a variety of different counties.
Samuel Canterbury aka Samuel 1771 (1771-1819) Born in Virginia, apparently died in Monroe County VA Married Jane Dick (1782-1850) in Greenbrier County VA on March 4, 1798
Lived in the same county as John "Carson" for decades - first Greenbrier then Monroe. His widow and children moved to Giles County after his death, which makes him look like a son of Joseph Senior. Children: John 1800-1866 m. Amy Stewart David 1802-aft 1860 m. Margaret Isabella 1804-aft 1840 m. Robert Miller Isaac 1807-1887 m. Lucinda Dickens Eleanor 1808-1895 m. William Stewart Griffin 1810-1865 m. Lucinda Browning Samuel 1813-1853 m. Mary Toler Rufus 1814-1895 m. Susanna Dickens Felix 1814-aft 1850 m. Emmazella
Information sources: Marriage record Greenbrier tax lists 1795 - 1796 - 1797 - 1798 Monroe tax lists 1799 - 1800 -1801 - 1802 - 1803 - 1804 - 1805 - 1806 - 1807 - 1809 - 1810 - 1811 - 1812 - 1813 - 1814 - 1815 - 1816 - 1817 - 1818 1810 census Monroe county: 1 male 26-44 (Samuel); 1 male 10-15 (John); 3 males <10 (David, Isaac, Griffin); 1 female 26-44 (Jane); 2 females <10 (Isabella, Eleanor) Decades after Samuel's death, a Monroe County real estate document provided an apparently complete list of his children in this 1839 power of attorney appointing David Canterbury to deal with an 1838-1839 tax delinquency on Samuel's Monroe County land. The issue was not resolved, and the land on Little Wolf Creek was seized in 1848 for nonpayment of 1844 taxes. A record for the acquisition of this land has not been located. Additional information sources for Jane (Samuel's widow): 1820 census Giles county: 1 male 16-18 (David); 3 males 10-15 (Isaac, Griffin, ???); 3 males<10 (Samuel, Rufus, Felix); 1 female 45+ (maybe Ruth, widow of Joseph Senior); 2 females 26-44 (Jane and ???); 1 female 16-25 (Isabella). Not clear where 12 year old Eleanor is, unless she was accidentally counted as a male. Giles county tax lists: 1821 - 1822 (taxed for having a horse) 1850 census Wyoming county VA: Jane is listed in the household of her daughter Eleanor Canterbury Stewart. This is the last record of Jane.
Joel Canterbury (born about 1776 d. 1870) Born in Virginia, died in Gallia County OH Married Sarah (1784-bef 1870) probably around 1802
Young enough to potentially be a son of Joseph Junior, but Joseph Senior seems more likely. Children: Joseph 1803-1870 m. Nancy Bowen James 1805-1886 m. Ann Fillinger John 1808-aft 1880 m. Nancy Newman Hugh 1816-1903 m. Louisa Maria Goulden Robert 1824-aft 1860 m. Sarah Harless Probably two other sons born between 1810-1820820 Probably two daughters
Information sources: Montgomery tax lists 1798 - 1799 - 1800 - 1801 - 1802 - 1803 - 1804 - 1806 (Giles county created out of Montgomery in 1806) Giles tax lists 1806 - 1807 - 1809 - 1810 - 1811 - 1812 - 1813 - 1814 - 1815 - 1816 - 1817 - 1818 - 1819 - 1820 - 1821 - 1822 - 1823 - 1824 - 1825 - 1826 - 1827 - 1828 - 1829 - 1830 - 1831 - 1832 - 1833 (last record of Joel in Virginia) 1810 Giles county land grant this grant adjoins another property owned by Joel (possibly acquired when it was Montgomery county) 1821 Giles land transfer - Joel gives up his land ownership to settle a debt. The parcel adjoins the land of Joseph 1775. 1823 Giles county sale of cattle and furniture. Maybe he's still trying to get out of debt. 1870 Gallia OH death record Federal census: 1810 Giles VA: 1 male 26-44 (Joel); 3 males <10 (Joseph, James, John); 1 female 26-44 (Sarah); 1 female 16-25 (??? not a daughter) 1820 Giles VA: 2 males 26-44 (Joel and ??? Maybe Ezekiel); 1 male 16-18 (Joseph); 2 males 10-15 (James, John); 3 males<10 (Hugh and two unidentified); 1 female 26-44 (Sarah); 1 female 10-15; 1 female<10 1830 Giles VA: 1 male 50-59 (Joel); 2 males 10-14 (Hugh and ???); 2 males 5-9 (??? and Robert); 1 female 40-49 (Sarah); 1 female 10-14 1840 Gallia OH: 1 male 60-69 (Joel); 1 male 20-29; 2 males 15-19; 1 female 50-59 (Sarah) 1850 Gallia OH: Joel age 65, wife Sarah, Nancy Davis age 30 1860 Gallia OH: Joel age 79 (listed as Isaac Canterbury), wife Sarah, son Robert age 36 Monroe county court case (significant because Monroe county is strongly associated with John "Carson" and Samuel 1771. There's no record of Joel and Joseph 1775 living there, but apparently they had an association with the county.) 1821: Joel and Joseph are summoned to Monroe county for a slander case involving the Cole family (Joseph's in-laws). Joel's age class on the 1810 and 1820 census indicates a birthdate between 1776 and 1784; his age class in 1830-1840 indicates a birthdate between 1771-1780; on the 1850 census he was born in 1785, and on the 1860 census he was born in 1771. The earlier records are expected to be more accurate. If he was the son of Joseph Senior (which seems like the most likely alternative) then his birthdate must have been close to 1776.
Zachariah Canterbury (1773-1852) Birthplace not recorded, died in Bibb County Alabama Married Sarrah according to a family bible
The move to Alabama creates suspicion that he's a son of Joseph Senior, who had several sons who moved out of state. Probate record suggests that Zachariah's children were Shadrach, Samuel, Rhoda, Daniel, Zachariah Junior, Nicholas, John, Sylvester, Willima (William?) and Missouri
Information sources: 1799 Grainger TN tax list Zachariah and John Canterbury listed side by side. It's not clear who this John Canterbury is. He's not John "Carson" who was living in Greenbrier/Monroe County Virginia from at least the 1780s to the 1820s. He might be John Canterbury of Tennessee born around 1778. 1803 Knox KY tax list No other Canterburys on the page. 1804 Knox KY court orders Zachariah and John Canterbury on a delinquency list for land taxes. Perhaps they had already left Kentucky. 1805 Anderson TN tax list in the second column near the bottom. John Canterbury is listed right above Zachariah. 1807 Campbell County TN Zachariah is a captain in the Campbell County Regiment. 1815 territorial tax roll for the area that later became Madison County AL. Zachariah is the only Canterbury on the page 1830 census Bibb AL There appears to be another Canterbury on the same page listed two lines below Zachariah but the name is hard to read. Samuel, perhaps. 1854 probate record Bibb AL

Uncertain paternity

The following people do not have convincing evidence for their paternity

John "Carson" Canterbury (1759-1842) Born in Prince William County VA, died in Monroe County VA.
Married Nancy Lowe (1767-1850) on Oct 17, 1787. A couple of his documented sons were apparently born before this date, so an unidentified first wife is speculated.

Circumstantial evidence (discussed earlier) points somewhat in the direction of Joseph Senior being John "Carson's" father, but not enough to feel confident about it. Alternative father: Samuel 1728.
The birthdates of the sons listed below assume that they were 16 when they first appeared on the tax lists, first as unnamed tithables in John's household and then getting their own listing. Links to the tax lists are in the Information Sources section.

Sons with speculative first wife:
   Fielden (1784-aft 1802). Source: Monroe tax lists for 1800-1802
   John Junior (1786-1860). Source: Monroe tax lists for 1802-1805, then 1809. Apparently in Kanawha county in 1810 and 1811
Sons with Nancy Lowe m. 1787:
   Samuel (1793-1886). Source: Monroe tax lists for 1809-1819
   Levi (1797-1875). Source: Monroe tax lists for 1813-1819
   Joshua (1801-1877). Source: Monroe tax lists for 1817-1823
   Anderson (1801-1899). Source: Monroe tax lists for 1817-1823
   Zadoc (1802-1886). Source: Monroe tax lists for 1818-1823.

Census records suggest at least 3 daughters.

Information sources:
1787 marriage record
Military records: DAR listing. Original records of his military service don't appear to exist, but he gave extensive testimony in his 1832 military pension application: Original with multiple pages - transcript (pdf)
Greenbrier tax lists 1783 - 1786 - 1788 - 1789 - 1791 - 1792 - 1793 - 1794 - 1795 - 1796 - 1797 - 1798 (Monroe county created out of Greenbrier in 1799)
Monroe tax lists 1799 - 1800 -1801 - 1802 - 1803 - 1804 - 1805 - 1806 - 1807 - 1809 - 1810 - 1811 - 1812 - 1813 - 1814 - 1815 - 1816 - 1817 - 1818 - 1819 - 1820 - 1821 - 1822 - 1823 - the family continues to be on the tax list, but I stopped looking
Federal census:
1810 Monroe County<: 1 male 45+ (John); 1 male 16-25 (Samuel); 3 males 10-15 (Levi, Joshua, Anderson); 1 male<10 (Zadoc); 2 females 45+ (Nancy and ???); 1 female 16-25; 1 female 10-15; 1 female<10
1820 Monroe County: 1 male 45+ (John); 1 male 16-25 (Zadoc); 1 female 45+ (Nancy); 1 female<10 (???). Listings for Levi, Joshua and Anderson on the same page.
Land records: 1797 Greenbrier grant - 1800 Greenbrier grant - Monroe grantee index - Monroe grantor index. The grantee and grantor index show where John's land purchases and sales can be found in the Monroe deed books. The Greenbrier grants became Monroe county land (boundary change), and the sales can be seen in the indexes.
1832 military pension application (details his military service and states that he was born in Prince William County in 1759)

William Canterbury (1761-1835) Born in Virginia, died in Sevier county TN
Married Betsy Ann Lawson in Montgomery county VA on Aug 3, 1789

The move to Tennessee (apparently in 1793) creates suspicion that he's a son of Joseph Senior. But the overall evidence points toward him being a son of Samuel 1728. Botetourt survey records in 1785 tell us that Samuel 1728 had a son named William. Samuel 1728 is hard to trace, but he was the only known adult Samuel Canterbury in Virginia in 1785 so it's not likely that this is a different person. It's possible that there was more than one William and the one in Sevier TN was Joseph Senior's son, but there is no clear evidence for this.
William had one son (William Junior) and seven daughters (Sally, Polly, Nancy, Rebecca, Hannah, Betsy, Jane) - see Family Bible link below.

Samuel 1728 is alleged to have a daughter Rose who married Layton Romine. I don't have direct documentation for her existence, but there is a Peter Romine on the marriage bond for Samuel's documented daughter Mary Ann Gwin so they must have known the family. Layton Romine moved to Claiborne County TN and is listed on the 1830 census there.

The survey records listed below are definitely for William the son of Samuel 1728, and probably the Montgomery tax lists too. If there was more than one William, we can't tell which one the other records apply to.

Information sources:
Family Bible transcript (does not mention parents) (scroll down - it's not the picture at the top of the page)
Botetourt county 1785 Survey#1, Survey#2, Survey#3 The land is actually in Montgomery county; there may have been some confusion over the boundary between Botetourt and Montgomery. All three surveys mention Samuel's son William; two of them mention Isham Gwin (husband of Samuel's daughter Mary Ann); one of the surveys is for Samuel and says that he is William's assignee; and one of them says that William's survey begins at his father's corner. Two of these surveys mentions Elliott Creek and one mentions Pilot Mountain. A 1796 Montgomery County survey for Samuel Langdon says that it includes 100+100 acres surveyed for William Canterbury in 1785 and transferred to others. This disposal of William's rights explains why no land grant was ever issued to William for this land.
An 1840 land grant to Valentine Carrell mentions "Canterberry's Fall a head branch of Elliott Creek". It was common for people to occupy the land before the land grant had actually been issued, and this name undoubtedly refers to the land surveyed for William and Samuel; but the name Canterberry's Fall has not persisted and we can't figure out where it is. Expand this topo map for a view of both Pilot Mountain and Elliott Creek.
1786 Montgomery survey for 500 acres adjoining his other land. The survey was performed for Samuel Balley and transferred to William Canterbury.
Marriage record
Montgomery VA tax lists: 1790 - 1791 - 1792 - 1806
Military record 1794 Doherty's Regiment in the Territory South of the Ohio aka Tennessee (on Ancestry)
1810 Sevier Tennessee land records: June 15 - June 19
1830 census Sevier TN
1835 probate record (Ancestry)

Joseph Canterbury III aka Joseph 1775 (1775- after Feb 1863) Born in Virginia, died in Giles County VA
Married Elizabeth Thomson in Monroe county VA on Aug 27, 1799

The probability of Joseph Senior having two sons named Joseph must be weighed against the fact that we don't know whether Joseph Junior was ever married or had children. Overall it seems more likely that Joseph 1775 is the son of Joseph Junior. There are no other likely candidates to be his father.

Apparently childless, although he sometimes has unidentified "extra" people in his household. Census reports indicate no children. His will leaves his property to two friends; James Canterbury is a witness but not a beneficiary.

Information sources:
Marriage record 1799, Monroe County
Appointment as constable (1835) (on Ancestry)
Will
1797 Montgomery County: Joseph is witness to the marriage of Mary Canterbury born 1776. He does not appear to be her father. The location suggests that it's Joseph III not Joseph Junior. #1, #2, #3.
1798 Montgomery county: Joseph is asked to defend something in court but it's hard to read. Apparently part of the 1799 trespass case.
1799 Montgomery county: Joseph is a plaintiff in a trespass case but must pay court fees
Montgomery tax lists 1796 - 1800 - 1801 - 1802 (Giles county created out of Montgomery in 1806)
Giles county land transactions: 1819 survey for 100 acres on the east side of New River. A land grant was not located for this specific tract, but there was an 1849 land grant for 235 acres in the same general area, with a survey conducted in 1840.
Giles tax lists 1806 - 1807 - 1809 - 1810 - 1811 - 1812 - 1813 - 1814 - 1815 - 1816 - 1817 - 1818 - 1819 - 1820 - 1821 - 1822 - 1823 - 1824 - 1825 - 1826 - 1827 - 1828 - 1829 - 1830 - 1831 - 1832 - 1833 - 1834 - 1835 I stopped looking at this point
Federal census:
1810 Giles county: 1 male 26-44 (Joseph): 1 female 26-44 (Elizabeth)
1820 Giles county: 1 male 45+ (Joseph); 1 male 26-44 (??? maybe Ezekiel); 1 male<10 (???); 2 females 45+ (Elizabeth and ??? maybe Ruth)
1830 Giles county: 1 male 50-59 (Joseph); 1 male 15-19 (???); 1 male 10-14 (???); 1 female 50-59 (Elizabeth)
1840 Giles county (on Ancestry; FamilySearch doesn't seem to have the 1840 Giles County census): 1 male 60-69 (Joseph); 1 female 60-69 (Elizabeth)
1860 Giles county: Joseph Canterbury age 85; John Canterbury age 15
1838 Giles county: an odd court case in which someone absconded from the room of Joseph Canterbury. It might have been Joseph himself; the order is hard to understand. This could be Joseph the son of Joel rather than Joseph 1775.
Will of Joseph Canterbury and related documents. His will left the use of his land to servants (slaves) Mark and Sally, and after their death to his friend William B. Peters. This generated several years worth of legal activity. #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
Monroe county court records (significant because Monroe county is strongly associated with John "Carson" and Samuel 1771. There's no record of Joel and Joseph 1775 living there, but apparently they had an association with the county.) 1821: Joel and Joseph are summoned to Monroe county for a slander case involving the Cole family (Joseph's in-laws). 1833: a multi-page court case involving Joseph's role as an executor of the will of John Thompson (Joseph's father-in-law). Joseph was summoned from Greenbrier to Monroe, but he was no longer in Greenbrier so testified in Giles county instead. 1849: Joseph sells his interest in John Thompson's land.

John Canterbury of Tennessee/Alabama (born abt 1778, little other information available)

Probably related to William Canterbury of Sevier County TN, since they both served in Doherty's militia regiment in 1794. Not listed as a son in William's family bible, and not the same person as John "Carson" Canterbury. He may or may not be the same John Canterbury who's listed in several records with Zachariah Canterbury in Tennessee and moved to Alabama like Zachariah did.

Information sources:
1794 Muster roll Doherty's militia (Ancestry)
1799 Grainger TN tax list Zachariah and John Canterbury listed side by side. This is not John "Carson" who was living in Greenbrier/Monroe County Virginia from at least the 1780s to the 1820s.
1803 Knox KY tax list Zachariah alone, but apparently John wasn't too far away.
1804 Knox KY court orders Zachariah and John Canterbury on a delinquency list for land taxes. Perhaps they had already left Kentucky.
1805 Anderson TN tax list in the second column near the bottom. John Canterbury is listed right above Zachariah.
1818 Montgomery county Alabama John Canterbury is appointed justice of the peace
1823 marriage to Lydia Lindsey in Alabama

The three Mary Canterburys

Marriage records have been located for two women named Mary Canterbury. There is little to no information on what became of them after the wedding. Both are the right age to be the daughter of either Joseph Senior or Samuel 1728.

Mary#1 (Mary Ann Canterbury) married John Temple in Orange County VA in 1775 (FamlySearch). She doesn't appear to be underage, for an estimated birthdate of 1754 or earlier. There's a lack of Canterbury records in Orange County at this time so we don't know why she was in Orange County or what her family connections might be. There were multiple records of Canterburys in Orange County in the 1760s that look like the family we're interested in. But the only Canterbury records in the 1770s are in 1771 for a Jedithen Canterbury which might not be his real name. There was a James M. Franklin who admitted to running away from his master and joining the Revolutionary War under the name Jedithen Canterbury. Wikitree believes that there was a real Jedithen in addition to this fakery, but I am not convinced. The court records for Jedithen in Orange County relate to a debt case, so maybe James Franklin was borrowing money under an assumed name (record #1, record #2).
Mary#2 is the most interesting because a Joseph Canterbury is involved in the proceedings. Mary married Joshua Jones in Montgomery County in 1797. Joseph Canterbury swore an oath that she was 21 years old (for a birthdate of 1776) and he was also on the marriage bond. Joseph does not appear to be Mary's father; one of the records has a space for father's name, and it is blank. It's quite likely that this is Joseph 1775. There is a Joseph Canterbury on the 1796 Montgomery tax list who disappears for a few years, then Joel Canterbury starts appearing on the Montgomery tax list in 1798, and Joseph and Joel start appearing together on the tax list in 1800. Giles County was carved out of Montgomery in 1806, and the two of them continued to appear on the Giles tax list for many years into the 1830s. Joseph 1775 and Joel both appear to be part of the Joseph line although we can't tell whether they are sons of Joseph Senior or Joseph Junior. It looks like this Mary is closely associated with them. There are three records related to the marriage: #1, #2, #3.
There is also a claim that a Mary Canterbary married Joham Gunn in 1787 in Montgomery County VA (FamilySearch). We can dismiss this one. It's clearly a misreading of the documents for the marriage of Samuel 1728's daughter Mary Ann to Isham Gwin.

Information sources:
1794 military service (on Ancestry)
1799 Grainger TN tax list Zachariah and John Canterbury listed side by side.
1804 Knox KY court orders Zachariah and John Canterbury on a delinquency list for land taxes. Perhaps they had already left Kentucky.
1805 Anderson TN tax list in the second column near the bottom. John Canterbury is listed right above Zachariah. This is the last record of John and Zachariah together.
1830 census McNairy county TN

Ezekiel Canterbury (1794-aft 1870) Born in Virginia, died in Logan county WV
Married Rachel Stover (1804-aft 1870) on May 26, 1822 in Giles county VA

Appears to be a grandson of Joseph Senior but his parents can not be documented. The only viable candidates are John "Carson" Canterbury or an unidentified, undocumented, unmarried daughter of Joseph Senior. John "Carson" seems more likely since we at least have evidence that he existed.

Children:
Susan 1825-aft 1860 no marriage record
John 1826-aft 1880 m. Polina Evans
Priscilla/Perlina 1829-aft 1860 m. Peter Dingess
Joseph 1830-aft 1880 m. Sarah Lafferty (they are the parents of Mary Canterbury 1863-1924 m. Joel Jarrell)
Sarah/Sally 1831-aft 1860 no marriage record
Ezekiel Junior 1834-1923 m. Eliza Clark and Polly Workman
Rhoda 1835-aft 1870 no marriage record
Emily 1845-aft 1870 no marriage record
The number of daughters who apparently never married is surprising. Emily's late birthdate raises questions about whether she was actually Ezekiel and Rachel's granddaughter (daughter of Susan or Sarah)

Information sources:
1811 Giles county tax list
1813 Kanawha county tax list
1816 Monroe county tax list
Giles county tax lists: 1819 - 1822 - 1823 (Logan county created out of Giles county and several others in 1824)
1822 Giles county marriage record
1822 marriage bond
Logan tax list transcripts (most years did not survive) (watch out for multiple columns on the same page): 1824 - 1827 - 1843
Federal census:
1820 Giles county: he was 26 years old. Not listed by name but might be the unidentified 26-44 year old male in the household of Joel or Joseph 1775
1830 Logan county
Fayette county tax lists 1831 - 1832 - 1833 - 1834 - 1835 - 1836 - 1837 - 1838. Witnessed an agreement in Fayette County in 1832 and testified in court in Fayette in 1838.
1840 Logan county (on Ancestry)
1850 Logan county
1860 Logan county
1870 Logan county. Wife Rachel is listed in a separate household.
1881 Logan deed books the heirs of Ezekiel Canterbury deceased sell their father's land to Richard McCalister in accordance with their father's wishes during his lifetime.

Other information

The Canterbury migration

Virginia county name changes. MAPofUS has an excellent interactive map of Virginia that lets you click through the years to see how the county lines changed. You can also watch a time-lapse animation, but it moves too fast to be useful. Other state maps are also available.

Canterbury migration pattern.. The map at left shows the Virginia county lines as they stood in 1824 (the year Logan county was created). West Virginia was not a separate state at this time. The counties that have known Canterbury records from 1685-1824 are marked in red. Many counties "shrank" during this time period, so the marked area may not reflect the exact location where the record was made. But it shows the family starting out in eastern Virginia near the coast, then moving northwest, and finally spreading out across the state toward the southwest, ending up in the area that became West Virginia.

Logan County tax lists. Only a few years have survived. They show many members of the Canterbury family, and I haven't attempted to sort them all out. The originals aren't available online, but there are transcripts on Archive.org (may not work in some browsers). There are three columns of names on each page, so be sure to look at each column: 1824 - 1827 -1833 - 1835 - 1837 - 1843

Other family history articles:
   The Trents:
     1. The Trent Y-DNA project
     2. Trent family tree
     3. Trent landholdings
     4 . Frederick Trent of Tazewell/Logan county: how many Fredericks?
     5. The Lincoln connection
     6. Original documents
   The Jarrells:
     1. Jarrell family tree
     2. Jarrell landholdings
     3. Who were William Jarrell's parents?
     4. Was Susannah Parks a Cherokee?
   Other branches of the Jarrell/Herbert family:
     The Pocahontas problem
     The truth about Abner Vance
     The New Sweden line
   The Beach line:
     Richard Beach 1825-1900
     The ancestors of Donkin Dover
     Tribute to Edwin Thomas Beach
  On the paternal side:
     The Armingeon family