1889 History - Biography - Moses B. Canney

Moses B. Canney was born in Ossipee, .May 20, 1809, and died at Union, April 19, 1886. He was the oldest child of Isaac and Hannah (Thompson) Canney, who had eight children: Moses B., Zalmon, Benjamin, Eliza, William, Priscilla, Isaac, and Sylvester G. Of these, two are now living: Isaac, who resides in Chicago, and Sylvester G., who married Maria Briard, of Kittery, Maine, and lives in Salem, Mass. They have had five children, two of whom, Ida M. and Flora M., are living. He has been in the employ of the Eastern railroad about forty years.

Moses B. Canney at an early age felt the necessity of taking care of himself, that he might aid his father, who supported his large family by carrying on a small farm and working at the carpenter's trade. He walked to Salem, Mass., and began independent life by working on a farm. When about twenty-one years of age, he married Mary, daughter of Hull and Mercy (Twombly) Abbott, of Berwick, Maine. She died January 23, 1886, twelve weeks previous to her husband's decease. They had two children, Mary Frances, born September 23, 1830, and Eliza A., born October 2, 1836 (died in infancy). Mary Frances married George A., son of Asa and Aphia (Canney) Beacham, who was born October 10, 1826, and died March 11, 1866. Mrs. Beacham has one son, Howard Arthur, and resides at Union. At his father's death, which occurred shortly after his marriage, Moses B. voluntarily assumed the maintenance of his mother and brothers and sisters, who were too young to support themselves, taking them to his home in Salem, where they remained until they were able to care for themselves. Mr. Canney was never ashamed to do any honorable work. Lacking the educational advantages that even the young people of those days enjoyed, it was more difficult for him to get on in the world; but he possessed a willingness to do, and a laudable ambition to be higher up in the scale of life. The additional burden devolving upon him by his father's death made advancement doubly hard, but in all his labors, hopes, and ambitions he was aided and encouraged by his most estimable wife. Many times in early life Mr. Canney has come home from his day's work and sawed wood for others until far into the night. This shows of what material he was made. The business of his life was varied, beginning first on a farm and then going into the stables of the old "Coffee-House," now the "Essex," in Salem, Mass., where he drove "extras" until established on a regular line from Salem to Boston. Soon he removed to Amesbury, and entered the employ of Moses Coleman, and drove four and six horse coaches to Boston via Salem and Lynn until 1839, driving from Amesbury to Boston one day and returning the following day, "putting up" at the old "Eastern stage house," on what was then Ann, now North street. Persons wishing to travel on his route registered their names at the office, and Mr. Canney would drive around and "pick them up." This sounds queer in regard to Boston, but things were vastly different then from now. Mr. Canney bought and sold quite extensively such things as the farmers on his route produced, butter, eggs, poultry, etc., on his own account, and this spirit of trade continued as long as he did business. In the fall of 1839 William Sawyer, of Haverhill, Mass., established a competing stage-line from Dover to Conway, and Mr. Canney was placed in charge, and removed to Ossipee. He soon bought an interest in the line, and eventually became sole owner, driving from Dover to Ossipee, connecting with Leander D. Sinclair, who drove from Ossipee to Conway. When the Eastern railroad was extended to South Milton, Mr. Canney was appointed the first conductor between Great Falls and South Milton, and served until the road was built to Union, when he moved his family there, and shortly after disposed of his stage-line.

In 1856 Mr. Canney, in connection with L. W. Perkins, established "Canney & Company's Express" from Conway to Boston and continued in that business until 1872, when the business was purchased by the Eastern Express Company, which subsequently sold out to the American Express Company. From 1872 until his death, Mr. Canney passed most of his time at home engaged in farming. He was a devoted and indulgent husband and father. In politics he was an unflinching Democrat; in religion a firm believer in the Universalist faith. He was not easily turned from any line of action upon which he had once decided. He gave liberally to all worthy and benevolent objects. As a stage-driver, conductor, and expressman, and in all his business intercourse through life, he was kind and obliging, winning the respect and kindly regard of those with whom he came in contact. Several years before he sold his express business he was severely hurt in a railroad accident at South Berwick, Maine, in which the engineer and fireman were killed and many others injured; this accident probably hastened his death. He was a member of Unity Lodge of Masons, No. 62, at Union.

Contributed 2022 Jul 09 by Norma Hass, extracted from History of Carroll County, New Hampshire by Georgia Drew Merrill, published in 1889, pages 527-529.