John MOORE (1 Nov 1748-19 Jan 1816) +
Abia STEVENS (23 Aug 1753-15 Jun 1836)

Hannah (10 Oct 1771-2 Feb 1861) — m. Nathaniel Hill II about 1790

Abigail (15 Mar 1773-19 May 1776)

Abiah (30 Mar 1775-1859) — m. Benjamin A. Wells on 30 Dec 1802

Elkins (28 Mar 1777-20 Dec 1851) — m. Mary Osgood on 14 Mar 1802

Archelaus (1 Mar 1779-2 Sep 1832) — m. Abigail Fifield

Mary “Polly” (3 Jan 1781-15 Jan 1849)

Jacob (24 Dec 1782-31 Aug 1806) — m. Ada Shepherd

Martha “Patty” (31 Jul 1785-28 Aug 1868) — m. Dudley Osgood; m. Jacob Osborn in 185x

John, Jr. (15 Sep 1787-6 Mar 1856) — m. Betsy Holman

Betsey (9 Sep 1789-10 Apr 1851) — m. Jacob Osborn on 9 Apr 1810

Sarah “Sally” (~1792-16 Nov 1882) — m. William S. Currier on 27 Oct 1816

William (5 Aug 1794-9 Feb 1879) — m. Catherine Ordway on 16 Dec 1826

John was born in Canterbury Township, Merrimack County (at the time part of Rockingham County), New Hampshire. He was the second child of New Hampshire natives Archelaus Moore (6 Apr 1722-20 Jul 1798) and Hannah Elkins (1719-9 Dec 1815). His father fought in the Revolutionary War and held the rank of colonel.

Abia was one of four children of Otho Stevens, Jr. (6 Dec 1726-28 Oct 1759) from Essex County, Massachusetts and Abigail Emerson (1735-30 Jan 1833) from Hampstead, New Hampshire, who married in Hampstead on 28 Oct 1752. Her father Otho was the constable of Hampstead in 1754 and 1755, and was one of the colonial soldiers under the command of General Wolfe who captured Quebec during the French and Indian War. He was injured in the attack on the Plains of Abraham, and died at Fort Oswego, New York several weeks later. In 1763, Abia’s mother Abigail married Deacon David Morrill (1734-1799).

John and Abia married on 5 Dec 1770 in Canterbury. All of their children were listed as born there, although other records indicate that in the 1780s they moved to Loudon, which is a couple of miles east-southeast of Canterbury. John built a large two-story house at the junction of the Concord and Pittsfield roads about a half-mile south of Loudon Ridge. The 1790 census listed them in Loudon. (Note there was another John Moore family that showed up in Canterbury in the censuses for 1790 through 1810. I don’t know who they were.)

John was a prominent figure in Merrimack County. He was Canterbury’s highway surveyor for several years in the 1770s and 1780s, and a selectman of Loudon in 1789. In 1797, he paid the largest tax bill in Loudon. He had only one eye, but had a reputation as a skilled bear-hunter. He owned enough land to give a farm to each of his four sons Elkins, Archelaus, John, and William. (I don’t know what became of Jacob, the fifth son.)

The 1800 census listed the household of John Moore in Loudon consisting of a couple aged 45+, a man and woman between 26 and 45, two men and two women age 16-26, one boy and one girl age 10-16, and two girls and one boy under 10.

In the 1810 census, the Loudon household was a man and two women age 45+, a man and woman age 26-44, two women and one man 16-25, a girl age 10-15, and two girls under 10. John died in 1816 and is buried in the Moore row of Loudon Center Cemetery, Loudon, Merrimack County. Abia died in 1836 and is buried with him. John’s parents are reportedly buried there as well. However, an ill-conceived 1915 renovation of the graveyard removed many of the stones, leaving the graves unmarked.

Children

Hannah Moore (1771-1861)

Hannah has her own entry in the family tree.

Abiah Moore (1775-1859)

Abiah married Benjamin A. Wells in 1802. After that...?

Elkins Moore (1777-1851)

Elkins married Mary Osgood in 1802. He was the one who in February 1810 purchased the property of his brother-in-law Nathaniel Hill, who was moving to Exeter in what later became the state of Maine. I don’t have anything more about him, except that he died in 1851.

Archelaus Moore (1779-1832)

Archelaus, named for his grandfather, married Abigail Fifield (1778-1852). They had many children. Archelaus died of typhoid fever in 1832. Like his parents, he is buried in Loudon Center Cemetery.

Mary “Polly” Moore (1781-1849)

Details TBD

Jacob Moore (1782-1806)

Jacob married Ada Shepherd. And then...?

Martha “Patty” Moore (1785-1868)

Patty married Dudley Osgood. By 1850, he was dead, and she was living with her son Jacob in Gilmanton, Belknap County. She married Jacob Osborn, widower of her sister Betsey, sometime in the 1850s. The 1860 census showed her and Jacob Osborn once again staying with son Jacob Osgood.

John Moore, Jr. (1787-1856)

John, Jr. lived until 1856. His wife was Betsy Holman. He had a son, John B. Moore, to whom he left the 60-acre farm and house built by his father in Loudon.

Betsey Moore (1789-1851)

Betsey married Jacob Osborn in 1810. They lived in Loudon. She died in 1851, and Jacob married her sister Patty.

Sarah “Sally” Moore (~1792-1882)

Sally married William S. Currier (~1784-186x) in 1816. Some accounts claim she married a Charles Currier by 1809, but I can’t find this. Sally and William lived in Canterbury, and had numerous children. William died in the 1860s, and Sally in 1882. Sally is buried in Buzzell Cemetery, Gilmantown.