History of Canterbury, (Windham County) Connecticut United States of America

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Biographies:

Ephraim Paine, delegate, was born in Canterbury, Conn., Aug. 19, 1730; son of Joshua and Rebecca (Sparrow) Paine; grandson of Thomas and Hannah (Shaw) Paine and of Jonathan Sparrow, and a descendant of Thomas Paine, the immigrant, who settled in Eastham, Mass. Joshua Paine removed to Nine Partners, N.Y., and Ephraim became the manager of a large farm. He also studied medicine with Dr. John Adams, and practiced for a time in Amenia. He was a delegate to the Provincial congress of 1775, and was prominent during the Revolutionary struggle. He was county judge, 1778-81; a member of the council of appointment in 1780; a state senator, 1780-84, and a delegate to the Continental congress, 1784-85, where he proposed that the number of commissioners appointed to negotiate with the Indians be reinforced by one, and that the sum of $8,000 be presented to Baron Steuben. This latter bill failed in its passage, but was afterward affirmed and the sum increased to $10,000. He was married, first, to Elizabeth Harris of Amenia, and, secondly, to Martha Thompson. He died in Amenia, N.Y., Aug. 10, 1785.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Jonathan Carver, traveller, was born in Canterbury, Conn., in 1732; grandson of William Joseph Carver of Wigan, Lancashire, England, an officer in the colony of Connecticut. The father of Jonathan was a justice of the peace, who gave the son as good an education as the locality and period afforded, and died about 1747. Until 1750 Jonathan studied medicine, and in that year was appointed an ensign in a Connecticut regiment. He served in the Canadian campaign in 1755, and in 1757 was a lieutenant in the Massachusetts battalion, raised by Colonel Partridge, to serve against Canada. He was promoted captain in 1760, and in 1762 led a company in Saltonstall's regiment. He retired from the service in 1763. In June, 1766, he set out from Boston for the purpose of exploring the portion of the American continent which was claimed by Great Britain. Travelling by the way of Albany and Niagara he reached Mackinaw, where he was supplied with credit on the traders at Prairie du Chien for an assortment of goods, believing that he would thus be received by the Indians with less suspicion. From Prairie du Chien he proceeded down the Wisconsin river and arrived at Prairie du Sac, Oct. 8, 1766. From the Wisconsin river they went to the Mississippi. He paddled a canoe up the Mississippi to Lake Pepin, leaving the water at the mouth of the Minnesota and proceeding on foot to the Falls of St. Anthony. He then penetrated to the shores of Lake Superior and returned to Boston, arriving there in October, 1768, having been absent two years and seven months, and travelled nearly seven thousand miles. He went to England to communicate his discoveries, where he was subjected to a long examination before he was given permission to publish his papers. He was soon after obliged to repurchase his manuscript from his publisher at great expense, and deliver it to the council, they allowing him for it but a small sum, quite insufficient to meet the expense he had incurred. Ten years after the completion of his tour he received permission to publish his book, which appeared in London in 1778, under the title "Three years' Travels through the Interior Parts of North America." This book was translated into several languages and printed in about twenty-three editions. The following year he published a Treatise on the Culture of Tobacco. The proceeds from his books were small, and he died in London, according to the Gentleman's Magazine, "absolutely and strictly starved." The benevolent Dr. Lettsom secured the publication of a new edition of his travels for the benefit of his widow and children, and this act led to the institution of the Royal literary fund of London. The date of his death is Jan. 31, 1780.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Elisha Payne, jurist, was born in Canterbury, Conn., in February, 1731; son of the Rev. Elisha and Mary (Johnson) Payne; grandson of Elisha and Rebecca (Doane) Payne, of Eastham, Mass., who removed to Canterbury, Conn., about 1700; and a descendant of Thomas (1586-1650) and Elizabeth (Tuthill) Payne, who came with six children from Wrentown, Suffolk, England, before August, 1637, to Salem, Mass. The Rev. Elisha Payne, Sr., said to have been the most talented lawyer in Connecticut, abandoned the practice of law in 1742 to become a preacher, and was twice arrested and thrown into prison for preaching the Gospel and advocating religious freedom in New England. In 1752 be became minister at Bridgehampton, near Southold, L.I., N.Y., where many of his relatives had settled in 1651-52. Elisha Payne, Jr., was educated and prepared for the law under the supervision of his father, and practised in Canterbury and Plainfield, Conn. He represented Plainfield in the state legislature, and was one of the five original settlers of Cardigan (now Orange), N.H. He served as an officer in the French and Indian war, gaining the rank of colonel; was deputy surveyor-general of the King's woods to preserve the pine trees, and was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of militia in August, 1775. He was chosen an assistant justice of the court of common pleas and register of probate for Grafton county in 1776; represented Cardigan, N.H., in the Vermont legislature during the "East Union" in 1778; removed to Lebanon in 1780; was a leading member of the Charleston convention of 1781 which determined the boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire, and was elected by the legislature lieutenant-governor of Vermont, chief justice of the supreme court and major-general of militia in the same year. When this last "Union" was dissolved he became a citizen of New Hampshire, serving in the state house of representatives, 1784-85, 1790, 1793, 1796, 1797 and 1800, and in the senate, 1786-87. He was married in 1753 to Anna Waldo, of Connecticut, and secondly to Elizabeth Spaulding, of Plainfield, Conn. Their son Elisha, Jr. (1763-1808), Dartmouth, 1784, practised law in Lebanon, and married Lydia Collins, of Mansfield, N.H. Elisha Payne, the elder, received the honorary degree A.M. from Dartmouth in 1779. He died in Lebanon, N.H., July 20, 1807.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Elisha Litchfield, representative, was born in Canterbury, Conn., in 1795. He attended the public school, and learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner. He removed to Pompey, N.Y., in 1812; was a member of the New York assembly from Onondaga county in 1819; justice of the peace, and postmaster for several years. He abandoned his trade, kept a country store and a lintel; was major in the state militia and a representative in the 17th and 18th congresses, 1821-25. He was a member of the state assembly 1832-34, 1844 and 1848, and speaker in 1848. He removed to Cazenovia, N.Y., in 1838, where he died Aug. 4, 1859.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor