The town of Canterbury, NH, is the ancestral home of many generations of Cloughs dating back to fourth generation descendants of John Clough. Thomas and Jeremiah settled on reunion was a big success and was attended by over 35 members
A couple of years ago, when my wife Elena and I were doing our original genealogical research into my ancestral background, we learned about some of our forebears who lived in Canterbury and surrounding areas. On a motorcycle trip through NH, we stopped in to visit Canterbury for an afternoon and were simply amazed by its charms.
It turned out to be your classic postcard picture-perfect small New England town: a small white church, a one room school house, library, general store, town hall, local historical society building, and a pretty gazebo on the lawn. A variety of beautiful maple and oak trees surrounded the town center. An ancient cemetery filled with several ancestral Clough headstones was immediately across the street. Further down the road was a monument surrounded by a low stone wall. The inscription on the monument was dedicated to Captain Jeremiah Clough, who was in the 2nd N.H. regiment in the Revolutionary War. The site was the original timber fort and trading post that was used for trading with the Pennacook Indians. Needless to say, the town of Canterbury was rich with Clough history.
As Elena and I walked through the town exploring the buildings and cemetery, we asked ourselves: who were these Cloughs who lived nice to have a future JCGS reunion here? At the conclusion of the 2011 reunion, I suggested Canterbury to the Board and we approved it as first choice for 2012. I did a little research and was put in contact with the Director of the Canterbury Historical Society, Bob Scarponi.
John W. and I worked closely with Bob in coordinating the dates and logistics. Bob not only offered to host our annual reunion, he was in the process of planning their annual exhibit at the historical society focusing on the past generations of Cloughs in the town. Bob was a great help in coordinating the logistics for the reunion, Selectmen and making sure the meeting hall, school house, and historical society building were all available to us for guided tours. Bob arranged guided tours of the 1788 Thomas now a private home. of John Clough.
The reunion weekend finally came. The Board of Directors met at the Centennial Hotel in Concord, NH on Friday evening, Sept 28. It was a long evening as we worked out a variety of issues related to the agenda for Saturday, as well as discussion on a number of topics. The Friday meeting allowed the Board more time for organizing the reunion in Canterbury on Saturday.
Saturday morning came with an overcast sky but everyone was in high spirits. We met in the Town Hall, which was built in 1756 by our ancestor, Thomas Clough.
David Lewis, our President, opened the meeting at 10:30am and we covered the agenda for the day. We held a moment of silence for our recently deceased members. Time flew and before we knew it, it was time to move next door to the Parish House for lunch. The Canterbury Ladies Benevolent Society cooked us a wonderful and tasty lunch. We had plenty of time to socialize and connect with our cousins and new members. Door prizes were raffled including some Clough lapel pins and also special garlic-based jellies which are made locally right in Canterbury at the Thomas Clough house by current owner by Naomi Scanlon.
After lunch, a few group photos were taken under a colorful maple tree to record our reunion for posterity. At that point, the group split up into two separate groups, one to tour the Clough exhibit at the Historical Society, some to visit the cemetery, and others to the road about a mile to visit the Thomas Clough house, also known as the Clough Tavern. The house was originally built about 1778, and though has undergone a number of changes over the centuries, much is original and the property remains a working farm and household for the Scanlon family. We had a great time touring the home and seeing our Clough connection to the past. The tours concluded in the late afternoon, and we said our goodbyes till next year.
As I gazed around the picture-perfect views of the town center, with the autumn leaves at peak in a variety of reds, yellows, oranges, and ancestors who lived and died there, and those who had their reunions there over the decades. I thought how wonderful it was for our 2012 reunion to pay respect to that connection with all our Clough forebears in decades and centuries past, as well as to those in the present. John Clough of Salisbury would be proud of his legacy.