Samantha Munson: New England Roots

1814-1897

Samantha Munson Stackhouse; Carroll Family Album, page 4, in possession of Dorothy Crooks.

      Samantha Munson was born July 22, 1814, in Duxbury, Vermont, the daughter of Loammi Ruhami Munson and Sophia Preston! She was the sixth of 7 children, her siblings being: Ira (1800), Orson H. (1803), Miranda Pamela (1806), Owen (1808), Alonzo (1812) and William Chandler (1816). (Alonzo died young.) Her father Loammi was born in Goshen, Connecticut, but came to Vermont as a boy. He later moved to Lachute, Canada, but returned to Duxbury, Vermont. Loammi fought in the War of 1812 and worked as a farmer. He also made and sold salve. The Munson family has deep roots in New England. Samantha's grandfather, Caleb Munson, fought in the Revolutionary War. Our earliest known Munson in this country is Captain Thomas Munson, our 8 great-grandfather. He was born in 1612 in Rattlesden, England, in County Suffolk. He came to Hartford, fought in the 1637 Pequot War against the Indians and was one of the founding fathers of New Haven, Connecticut. Thomas Munson was the grandson of Richard Munson of Rattlesden, who was a churchwarden's assistant and died in 1590.

      Samantha married Eden Johnson on January 5, 1834, either in Vermont or Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada. They had 3 children together: Emily Munson (1835-1841), William E. (1836) and Louisa S. (1838-1852). Only William survived to marry. Eden Johnson died June 2, 1839, (or possibly 1837), and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Vankleek Hill, Ontario.  Samantha was left with 3 young children. It is curious that Samantha married a Canadian and lived her life in Canada because all her 5 surviving siblings lived in the States, primarily in Vermont and Pennsylvania. But there was a lot of movement in those days between Vermont and Canada! Samantha's father had gone to Canada for a short stint and her grandfather had died in Lachute, Canada. Likewise, both of Eden's parents had been born in Vermont, so they could have met in Vermont! 

      On March 7, 1842, Samantha married Charles Gilbert Stackhouse in Vaudreuil, Province of Quebec, near Sainte-Justine-de-Newton.  They had 6 children together: Charles Franklin (1842), George Henry (1845), Elizabeth (1848), Mary Jane (1849), Emily Ann (1851) and Emily Louise (1855).  Only 3 of the children (Charles, Mary Jane and Emily Louise) reached adulthood. They raised their family around Sainte-Justine-de-Newton and Peveril, later moving to Charlottenburg, Ontario, to be closer to their daughter Mary Jane Hemenway. There must have been some reunions in Vermont, because the Carroll Family Album includes pictures of Miranda, Samantha's only sister. 

      Charles died August 3, 1882. By at least 1891, Samantha was living with her son, Charles Franklin Stackhouse, in Sainte-Justine-de-Newton. Her son worked in manufacturing and was living with his wife and 4 of his daughters. 

      Samantha Munson Stackhouse died on March 4, 1897, age 82, and is buried in Dalhousie Mills Old Square Church cemetery, sharing a tombstone with her husband Charles.

Written by Dorothy Crooks, her great-great-granddaughter.