CANTER FAMILY HISTORY
1653-2005


After 3 years of almost constant research involving libraries, letters, trips to Maryland, Virginia, S. Ohio, etc….. plus reading more history than I ever thought possible…..I have come to the conclusion that I will now stick my neck out and begin to write the Canter Family History Book. Unfortunately, there is no possible way to include every Canter line, so I will try to stay within, or close to, my particular lineage. Someday I do hope to develop the Canter Family Historical Register where we will number all Canters and their particular ancestry with a number and letter system. That is a HUGE project.

First, let’s shed some light on the Canter’s old world roots.

Fact : The name is VERY old and is believed to have been a name brought to France by the Norsemen. The Norsemen conquered the world as it was known in about 800-1000.

Fact: Shortly after 1000, the Norsemen came from France and conquered the British Isles..thusly spreading the Canter name virtually worldwide.

Fact: There is NO Canter coat of arms listed in any directories as being English.

Fact: There are several Canter coats of arms listed as being French, Dutch, Spanish and German.

Fact: The meaning of the name “Canter” comes from the word cant…such as one who cants…ie…the Canter of the church. The person who cants, chants, sings the service songs, etc. Forget the other garbage like “beggar or such”. The old world names most often came from your occupation. In Germany for instance the name Fenstermaker is literally translated as “window maker”.

Fact: The name ,Canter, appears in English records way back as far as the 1300s….but it appears in other parts of Europe way before then.

Fact: The name deCanter is really more Dutch than French


SO…..what the hell are we ?? French, English, German, Spanish, Dutch ??? YES ! We are all those things and more. There are Mexican, Australian, and Canadian Canters and a whole lot more.

My point is this . We are most definitely descended from the Norsemen as is 90% of the white skinned race and a whole lot of the various other races. Whether or not we are considered from one particular country is very much up for debate. The fact that our ancestors arrived here from England is only proof that the boat left from England before it sailed to our shores. Also, the French speaking Norsemen were in England almost 600 years before the first English arrivals in the USA. Does that mean that all the French dialect had died out in England before the English made their journey ? Who knows ?

My personal belief is that all the Canters who ended up in Benedict, Maryland in the 1730s were related somehow. I don’t know if we will ever be able to prove it, but I am not one to keep quiet until I have certain proof. And the family records that say some of the Maryland Canters spoke French are probably true. I’m sure the Canters had relatives in virtually every known country by then.

So, I’m not going to draw any major conclusions in this work. I will say this…..My family has always said that I was English, Dutch, Irish and with some American Indian sprinkled in. Now, I’m positive that the English came from my Pap Applegarth, and the Irish from Gram Applegarth ( who was a McAllister….originally a Scotch name, but they came from Ireland), My Gram Canter was a Perdew (Perdeiu) whom I’ve traced back to England……soooooo….that leaves the Canter surname to be Dutch. How about that ??
Oh well, maybe someday we will figure this whole thing out.




My opinions about the beginnings in Maryland/Virginia are as follows.

The first Canters here were Thomas, John and James. It is thought that John and James were brothers. John and Thomas arrived within two years of each other in the same county. To pinpoint their arrival is almost impossible, however with a few printed records, one can make some relatively good assumptions. Arrival times were sometime between 1653 and 1664 with the 1660s being the most popular belief.
Several William Canters followed in the 1680s and 90s.

The locations for arrival were: John, Thomas and James in Lancaster County, Va..and one William in Charles City County, Va. I do not have a location for the other Williams.
It is believed that the one William (Charles City Cty) stayed in that part of Virginia, while the rest of the Canters migrated into St Mary’s County Maryland. (You really need a map to follow this story the right way.) I believe that was because of Maryland’s more liberal tolerance of religious beliefs . That would change soon ,however, with the beliefs of whichever Lord Baltimore (Calvert) was in power at the time.

I truly believe that some of these original Canters were Catholic which would validate the reason for moving to Maryland..plus one of the Lord Calverts was a closet Catholic. If you haven’t seen it…..go to St. Clement’s and go through the museum there to get a real feel of why and where. So…if some were Catholic…that would probably mean they were NOT English. I believe the bulk of the Irish and French immigrants were Catholic…and I do know that the first ships that arrived in Maryland…… The Ark and The Dove, were organized by Catholics to come here for freedom of worship. So …believe what you will.

Another French connection, I believe, is a record of a John Canter who sold a share of the Ohio Company to his son circa 1790 in Washington County, Ohio. The original Ohio Company was formed by Virginia Colonists to aquire and sell land in the Ohio area. To promote this idea to the French, they erected several buildings and tried to form a town and sell all to the French on the site where Gallipolis, Ohio is now. The deal fell thru, but Gallipolis did survive and thrive. Was this John Canter a Frenchman? Was he part of the French group attempting to settle in Ohio ?

Okay….I’m rambling…..but dammit…I am allowed because I’m writing this thing.

Now back to theory…which is supported by family records, censuses, old library records, other Canter History publications, and the work of several Canter researchers who preceded this writer.

As you know…..or I hope you know…..I wasn’t there in the 1600 and 1700s to see what really happened, but I have read much about those times and it was not an easy life.

How would you get by without electric, without furnaces, without grocery stores, without running water, or inside toilets ? The only transportation……walking….or a horse. The only heat…a fireplace. Food ? You better be growing a garden and raising livestock and be a damn good hunter and fisherman. OH yeah, I forgot about the Indians….most of them were not happy with our ancestors and there were plenty of wild animals large enough to cause major problems for a human. Not an easy time to live.

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There is no possible way to prove the first 2 or 3 generations of who had what kids and where and when. Suffice it to say that James, Thomas and John provided enough Canters to start the Canter family that is surviving yet today. William came later with a bunch of his own children…mainly girls, with the exception of James who also did well at continuing the name thru his sons James, Jr , Erasmus, and Henry. There were also several child producing machines named Thomas, John, Isaac, Henry and others around at this time.

Sometime around 1690, a Mr. Thomas Truman, who was a very wealthy man and owned much property passed away. He spread his wealth very generously and gave a very large chunk of land to a nephew, Mr. Thomas Truman Greenfield and Mr. Greenfield’s heirs.. providing they take the name of Truman. Now I’m certain that the Canters were related somehow to the Greenfields. There are far too many records of Canters and Greenfields associating with each other to believe otherwise. If not related, they were at least great friends. It is at this time in family history where the name Thomas Truman Canter begins to be seen. I personally believe that two or three of the Canters took on the name of Thomas Truman Canter to meet the requirement set forth in the will . I know that one of those was a William because of records containing the name William T.T. Canter. I also believe that a Thomas and a John Canter did the same thing. WHY NOT ?? It meant free land !! And guess where that land was ? It was on the east side of the Patuxent River smack dab where Benedict, Maryland is today.

Now…in 1732….a group of the folks living in this place, then referred to as Benedict Leonard Town, petitioned Lord Calvert to make this place an official town. On that petition are the names of 2 Canters…John and John Jr., Thomas Truman Greenfield, John Adams, John Rouse, and many other names familiar to the Canters who in the following year appear on the first actual tax list for this town of Benedict Leonard…..also referred to as the Benedict Leonard Hundred or the BL Hundred. On that same tax list of 1733 there is now a William Canter, Sr and William Canter, Jr. That town is still there…it IS the town of Benedict. This old town was one of the first to have zoning laws. In the petition it states that no one in the town is to have livestock unless it is fenced on that person’s property.

If you were to take a ride thru Benedict…you may get the same feeling as I did…that this place has changed little since 1732. The streets are barely wide enough for one car and the houses are tightly packed in. The original petition was only for 15 acres, so the houses had to be close to each other. It was also for protection…just like a fort or circling the wagons would be. Shortly after this time, a few of the Canters were purchasing land in the Calverton Manor, which was probably a step up the social ladder and just a bit east of Benedict.

At this time over in Virginia, almost 2 million acres of land was assigned to Lord Fairfax by the English powers. This land was in what is now NE Virginia and the counties of Hampshire, Hardy, and Mineral County , West Virginia and more.He was to develop and secure the land for future use by English settlers so that the King could reap more tax money. The quickest way for Lord Fairfax to populate this yet untamed wilderness..was to give the land away to those who would settle on land that was between the Indian territory and the existing English settlements in order to provide a buffer zone that would gradually move westward. All a part of the grand plan for the English to eventually eliminate the French establishment that was already known in the western areas that would become Ohio and other states. The main reason the French were able to get along with the Indians is that the French at that time had no interest in owning the land. They were happy to be able to trap and trade with the Indians. As usual, the French could not see the forest for the trees.

So….Lord Fairfax proceeded to give away land..first come, first served. Here is another bit of info to back up what I’m about to say. There was a Fairfax family on the original ship that arrived in Maryland. Lord Fairfax and Thomas T Greenfield were great friends. Beginning to see the picture now ?? The Canters and Fairfaxes were together in Southern Maryland AND the Canters were also tight with Thomas Greenfield in Benedict, Md.
Lord Fairfax was so fond of Thomas T Greenfield that he gave him a VERY large chunk of land near or at the Patterson Creek settlement which was believed to be near the junction of todays Mineral, Hardy and Hampshire Counties in West Virginia. Remember that ALL this area was known as Frederick County, Va at that time.

It is known that Thomas T Greenfield never really got to enjoy his new property given to him by Lord Fairfax due to his untimely death. However, he did permit settlers (presumably those close to him) to lay claim to sections of his property in the area named above. Proof that the Canters came here is in the early tax lists of Virginia’s Hampshire County, which was later divided to also form Hardy and Mineral Counties.

So….I believe that the John Canter,Jr, who was in the 1733 tax list of Benedict ,removed to the Lord Fairfax lands in N. Va around 1734-50 Others put the time much later, but I believe it to be this early because I can find no John Canters in Maryland from 1734 to 1790.

John Canter, who left Maryland for Lord Fairfax’s land deal in Virgina most likely had several children……most Canter families did. I’m supposing that he had children beginning around 1734. Staying true to the family names that are very obvious he probably had sons named Thomas T circa 1740, John c 1746, James c 1742, Henry c 1749 and probably more. I believe that this man is also the father of Sarah who married a Vaughan in 1788 and a Susannah Canter.
There is a tax list that has a Henry Canter whose household numbers eight in 1782 in this area.

The Revolutionary War was now roaring along and we have records of a John Canter and a James Canter enlisting in the same company just days apart in 1780. On these papers it would lead us to believe that John was born in 1761 and James 1760. Most researchers also believe that they were brothers.

All researchers agree that there were at least three brothers and (either a cousin or ½ brother) who migrated westward thru the Shenandoah Valley. They were John the soldier (our ancestor) , his brothers Thomas and Truman, and another John (born 1774) who was related someway. I think that there were more brothers and a few sisters involved in this family. Namely James , Henry , Sarah and Susannah.

Okay, the BIG debate is over who was Thomas, Truman, and John the soldier’s father !!!
Most older researchers think that the father’s name was Thomas T Canter. MAYBE IT IS !! Maybe it is John T T Canter…..Maybe it is Henry T T Canter. Personally, I believe that it was a Thomas T Canter and that Thomas T was the son of whatever Canter moved from Maryland to Virgina after 1733 and before 1780. I believe that Canter was a John Canter, Jr. who was listed on the 1733 tax list of Benedict, Maryland. I do think sooner or later that we will find that a key name for all of us will be the William T T Canter whose name I found in the St Mary’s Research Library in Leonardtown. He could be the link that ties us all together, and he could have been known as Thomas T , Truman T, William T T or whatever he chose at any particular time. For now though, just food for thought.

This is where my particular Canter line begins to take on the look of a proven line of a family tree.

It figures that my oldest known (for sure) ancestor is a John Canter ( known by Canter researchers as John the soldier) who is a mystery man. There are records that say this man was born in 1746, 1754, and 1761. He can not be found on a census until 1800 in Ohio. The name John Canter does pop up on tax lists in SW Va. and what is now W.Va… in the 1780s and 1790s showing that he did migrate from NE Va. to Ohio via the Shenandoah Valley.

John was a Rev. War Vet..enlisting at age 19 in Fauquier County , Va. As payment for his service, John received land in Ohio that was specified by the government as military grant land. That land was between the Miami and Scioto Rivers. After the war , John packed up the family and began the journey that would take him to his land in Ohio. On the way, John spent time in SW Virginia probably resting and allowing time for his young children to grow stronger for what was to be the hardest part of the journey…from SW Va to Ohio. There are tax records for John, Thomas, Truman, Henry, and James Canter in the counties of Montgomery, Tazewell, Grayson, Washington, Smythe, and Wythe counties starting in the early 1780s thru the early 1790s. I think that for some time John may have thought about staying in this area, but the adventurer in him eventually came out.

Truman Canter, John’s brother, married Cynthia Harris in SW Va and then moved to Rockcastle, Kentucky where he and his populated a lot of that state.


There are two theories about the route that was taken to Ohio, but I believe one makes more sense that the other and the trail of Canter families sort of proves this route was the one I’ll detail here for you.

John was living for some time in what is now Monroe County, W.Va…then it was Greenbrier County, Va.. After deciding to go on to Ohio he headed North following the New River Valley to the Kanawha River Valley to the Ohio River Valley at Point Pleasant , W.Va. using alternately… oxen and flat-bottom boats (rafts) to tote the loads. You will find pockets of Canter families along this route in the older censuses and still today.

Once reaching the Ohio River using information furnished to him by older Canter relatives who came to Ohio prior to George Washington and Christopher Gist’s survey parties of 1796….he headed south on the Ohio River to where it takes a large turn to the north , where he went ashore in a place known today as Lawrence County. John is shown here in the 1800 census with his son John and brother James. It was here in the early 1790s that a James and William Canter built the first cabin ever in this part of the state as recorded in the Ironton Register.

John is still shown as living in Lawrence County in 1820 but shortly after he finally reached his government land by moving north about 40 miles to what is now Scioto County, Madison Township. The other Canters with him moved to the same area on adjoining farms, (which I believe to be a part of John’s granted land )…...but as Ohio grew, Jackson County was formed and the area adjacent to John’s farm was then in Jackson County, Hamilton Township. No one moved…just the county boundaries changed. So this made it appear as though there was a seperation within the family, but it was not.

The Canter’s Cave stories may be just that…stories. But they are as important to our history as the proven records…..it just says that the Canters are a colorful, adventurous bunch. The Cave is said to have been an important part of the migration process for a few of the Canters so I will relate the stories which are also documented in the local newspaper and in the family records of the Canters who still live in Jackson County.

Okay here’s my version of the legends.

Thomas, whom many believe to be John’s brother and the OTHER John Canter (1774) came to Ohio a little later than Old John. It appears that they were following the trails of large game and Indians in order to locate salt deposits crucial to the life of any and all settlers because it was the only preservative available for their food supply. They crossed the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, W.Va. to Gallipolis, Ohio and continued northwest on a trail that is now Rt 35 until they reached the salt deposits in northern Jackson County on Salt Creek. They were located at the head of a hollow where there was a large rock overhang that had a waterfall at the center dropping some 40 feet into a large pool then 40 feet more down into the creek. I have been to this place and it is easy to see why it attracted Thomas and John (1774). The overhanging rock provided a large natural shelter and the waterfall formed a large pool for a water source. Also available were deep holes which were used to force the seperation of salt deposits from the water. The two men are said to have sold salt and gunpowder from this cave to the settlers in the area. Thomas stayed in the cave for years and became known as the “Old Man in the Cave” or the hermit of the cave. John went to southern Jackson County a few years later and was one of the founders of Hamilton Township. Thomas joined him some time later and finished his life in Hamilton Township also. It is said that one of the local men predicted that the world would end on a particular day in about 1812 , so they all gathered to hide in the Cave. The Canters in the Cave numbered about 13 out of the nearly 40 people there. The world did not end so they all went home and the Cave has been known ever since as Canter’s Cave.

The other legend is not so nice, but maybe more believeable…..but hey maybe both are true.Here it is :

Sometime around 1803-04 Aaron Burr decided to overthrow the present US government and form his own. The headquarters for this plot was on Blennerhassett Island in the middle of the Ohio River between Parkersburg, W.Va and Marietta, Ohio. One of Burr’s desired recruits for his cause was a young, handsome, lieutenant from the US Army named James Canter. Mr. Canter, it is said, resided in western Pennsylvania. He did not intend to betray his beloved country, but his wife who fell in love with the idea of riches and power promised by Burr, persuaded James to join Mr. Burr’s cause. After months of aquiring a fleet of river boats with the intent of moving down the river to New Orleans to join up with a projected French branch of Burr’s Army, the traitorous group sailed out of the Island at night. Of course, the existing government knew of the plot and were waiting for the traitors with their own boats and land forces. During the very brief battle several of the traitors jumped ship and swam to shore…among them James Canter. He, ashamed of his decision, ran blindly through the night and day until reaching the Cave. He recovered there and waited under an assumed identity until he was found innocent of treason by the government. He returned then to his home where he found his wife dead, and the rest of his family and friends now hated him for his actions…so he returned to the Cave until his death and became known as the Hermit of the Cave.

Upon reaching the Ohio country, the Canters were primarily farmers. Presumably their original crop was tobacco, although it shifted soon to other crops as tobacco planting depleted soil quickly and tobacco prices were falling.

Industry followed soon afterward with Iron Furnaces and coal mining becoming large industries. The Canters were involved in both industries, but the focus shifted strongly to coal mining among my ancestors. Mr. Harrison Canter was one of the first to discover several large veins of coal on his farm.

By this time the Civil War had begun and there were no less than 143 Canters fighting in that horrible conflict with over 600,000 Americans killed……cousins against cousins…brother against brother. As in most families, this war was the biggest single factor in tearing families apart… never to see or speak to each other again. What a waste of lives ! If you are looking for a Canter ancestor around this time 1859-1863…consider the fact that he may be in the Civil War..and maybe did not come back.

If anyone is interested….. the site for searching the Civil War rosters is :

http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/


Our line was now in Scioto County, Ohio and our ancestor Henry Canter (1797) and wife Mary Miler, both born in Va., were busy making babies. Henry was originally a farmer with his father, Old John. I believe the whole family including Henry, Daniel, Thomas and William worked Old John’s farm of 100 acres plus and Henry built the farm to a prosperous one showing many laborers living with him on the census of 1850. He did, however, go to work at the Iron furnace around 1860 for some time, before returning to the farm. When he returned , Daniel, Thomas and William were still there .

The civil war played havoc with the economic development of the entire country in this period as most men were off to war from 1860-1863 with no means of support for their families and many Canters including Henry were among them.

Amos Canter (1834), son of Henry was a teamster and also lived in Scioto County. He married Rosanna George and they also had a bunch of kids…among them was Frank (1871) who was a coal miner.

Frank married Annie Hinzey and produced Frank Oat (1894) and Lester Sidney Canter (1897). He moved to Hocking County . Both sons were coal miners.

The move from Scioto County to Hocking County was made due to an Englishman by the name of Jobs opening a coal mine near Murray City. The town was named after him…..Jobs in Ward Township in Hocking County. Jobs is still there…although it is hard to find. I was there in the summer of 2004 and all that’s left is a few shacks and a Methodist Church dating back to the 1800s. The coal mine and all else has been grown over by weeds and trees and is not visible.

Now…some strange events to ponder . I don’t know if we will ever figure all this out, but I will tell all I know and let you assume what you wish.

Frank and Annie separated between 1900 and 1910. I found Uncle Oat living with another family (not Canters) in Athens County at age 16, but have not been able to find where Lester was sent. Annie went to live with her family again and I have proven that with a census showing her with Adam Hinzey living practically next door to Frank Canter in Hocking County…no kids in sight.
I would presume that Lester was sent to live with family or friends in W.Va. where he met and married Letha Perdew in Cabin Creek.

Now back to the weird stuff. Lester always said he was born on High St. in Columbus. At the time of his birth…there was living in Columbus, Ohio at 105 ½ S. High St…a Ruth and an Eleanor Canter. Also living in Columbus at that time was a Francis M. Canter who was a bartender in a saloon ( census records). This Francis M. Canter was shown as being born in Missouri. More weid stuff…….Uncle Pone and Uncle Shorty both remember Frank coming to visit Lester when they were kids and they remember a woman who was with Frank whose name was Ruth and they always assumed her to be their grandmother, but no one ever told them anything. Confused enough ?? It would be very easy just to say that Frank and Annie were Lester’s parents and they probably were. You decide.
Uncle Shorty says that he remembers Frank working at the soup kitchen in Barton in the 1930s.

Lester did meet Letha Perdew in Cabin Creek, WVa and they did have one son there, Milton Eugene or Uncle Bus. They then moved to Hocking County, why…..probably for work…where they had the second son, William Robert, my dad.

I presume the move from Jobs to Barton, Belmont County, Ohio was made for the same reason……a job in the Barton Coal mine where Pap Lester Canter was a foreman and my dad and probably the other Canter boys, got his start there too, as a 14 year old. After grandpa Les had his mental problems, they moved up the holler between Barton and Colerain next door to us and my Applegarth ancestors in a house owned by Uncle Oat.

It was in Barton that the rest of the family was born. Ray, Jim, Shorty, Betty and Pone.

Belmont County is pretty much where these generations stop. Uncle Shorty still lives in Tacoma, Washington and Uncle Pone still lives in the holler between Colerain and Barton in the same house where Les and Letha lived . Every other Aunt and Uncle is gone now, but the Canter name lives on with plenty of Canter men to keep it alive. I personally have 3 sons who have produced, so far, 5 grandsons , so I am doing my part. How about you ?

I have copies of the images of the actual censuses showing most of the family in our past generations. If anyone is interested..please send me your email or home address and ask me for whatever you would like.

I’m sure there will be additions and probably corrections to this text and I will provide them to you. There will be another part to this text that will be a family tree type, showing as many family members as I possibly can… thru the generation of Lester and Letha’s children. I ask anyone who gets this to send me all the info you have about your particular line.

I beg you to add your personal trees to this text for the use of those who follow us, so they will not have to bust their humps for years like I did to find this little bit of information.

Michael ‘Mick” Canter