Historian - August 2006

Just a short drive up the road from Concord, New Hampshire, is a small town called Canterbury. You probably recognize the name for its most famous attraction – the Canterbury Shaker Village. If you’ve

never been there, it’s worth the visit.

In 18th century England, a religious group known as the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing was formed by dissidents of several religions, including the English Quakers and Methodists. Members of the group were commonly known as Shaking Quakers or Shakers because of their use of dance during worship services. In 1774, the Shakers emigrated to the United States and began establishing communities from Maine to Kentucky. In 1792, the followers established their seventh self-contained community right here in Canterbury, New Hampshire. For 200 years, the community was vibrant and at its height in the 1850’s, the 3000 acre Village housed 300 residents.

Since 1992 when the last of the Shaker residents died, the property has been an outdoor history museum. It does a great job at interpreting 200 years of Shaker life through exhibits, gardens and programs. When you go, you’ll see its tremendous collection of historic artifacts and 25 original buildings including, a wonderful old meetinghouse and a Shaker dwelling, both in their original locations.

The Town of Canterbury was named for William Wake, the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. The T own was granted by Lt. Gov. John Wentworth in 1727. At that time there wasn’t much there

except for a timber fort and trading post up on a hill where the Penacook Indians came to trade. The fort and trading post was operated by a pioneer named Jeremiah Clough.

Jeremiah Clough’s son, Jeremiah, Jr., was said to have been the first male child born in Canterbury, New Hampshire having been born there on August 10, 1736. At the beginning of the American Revolution, Jeremiah was a Captain in the 8th Continental Infantry. On May 27, 1775, his Company went to Boston and served for seven months at Winter Hill near Boston. In 1776, he and his Company went from Winter Hill to Canada, serving there for one year. On his return from Canada, he was accused by several men in Boscawen of being a Tory, or an American who favored the British. On June 9, 1777, he was arrested and placed in jail in Exeter.

In a letter to his father, Jeremiah wrote from jail, "I can't find as there is any evidence against me unless some unguarded words that I should have spoken sometime last spring." He was kept in close confinement until Sept. 3, 1777, when upon giving bonds, he was allowed to walk around the jail yard. On October 3, 1777, he was finally discharged. It seems that the evidence against him was "from the tongues of malicious persons who think that they ingratiate themselves into the favor of the government by falsely and wickedly exclaiming against others.” A vindicated and free Jeremiah Clough returned home to Canterbury.

Jeremiah served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1781, and again in 1788 when the federal constitution was ratified by New Hampshire. He was a representative of Canterbury in the New Hampshire State Legislature in 1783, was a Justice of the Peace, and on the Board of Selectmen for several years. He died in Canterbury on July 10, 1819 and is buried there in a family plot on Pillsbury's Hill.

James Otis Lyford in his book The History of Canterbury wrote the following of Jeremiah Clough, "His whole record shows him to have been an ardent patriot in both military and civil life." It sounds like he was quite a man. We shouldn’t be surprised that he received his Masonic Degrees in St. John’s Lodge No. 1 on October 3, 1774.

For further information, see Canterbury Shaker Village

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