Mahala and Samuel had their home in Dow Settlement, which lies between the village of Meductic (Eel River) and the village of Canterbury (Howard Settlement) in York County, Parish of Dumfries. Years later the northern part of Dumfries became the Parish of Canterbury.
The third son, Gideon Y. Dow, when he made his home with his nephew, Samuel Dow Yerxa, during the winters in the later years of his life, related stories of his boyhood. They lived in a large log house with fireplaces. Sometimes there weren't shoes for all. They had plenty of wool from their sheep so their mother, Mahala Dow, knitted many pairs of socks, later assisted by her daughters. Gideon told how he heated two big chips by the fireplace and stood on them in his many wool socks to split wood outside while his father and older brothers were in the woods cutting the trees or doing other work. The wool had to be spun into yarn so the whir of the spinning wheel was a familiar sound in pioneer homes. The log house was later replaced by a frame structure. It has now been torn down (1996).
Generation Eight (1) Milne Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Milne Dow 8)
Milne Dow, son of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born in 1835. He married Olive Tompkins, born 1836. Milne was a farmer, Baptist in religion. They lived in the Parish of Canterbury.
Eight children of Milne and Olive (Thompkins) Dow were.
Milne Dow died in 1918.
Generation Eight (2) Charles P. Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Charles P. Dow 8)
Charles P. Dow, son of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born in 1837 in Canterbury Parish. He married Caroline Dickinson, born 1841. They lived in a part known as “The Back Lane,” which was cleared back of Dow Settlement. The name was changed to Marne during or after the First World War, 1914-1918. Charles P. Dow was a farmer.
Six children of Charles P. Dow and Caroline (Dickinson) Dow were:
Charles P. Dow died in 1909.
Generation Eight (3) Emma Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Emma Dow 8)
Emma Dow was born in 1839, daughter of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, in Dow Settlement, Parish of Canterbury. Married to Elias Yerxa of Richmond Parish, July 5, 1860. Often referred to as “Amy.” She was greatly missed by her mother, Mahala Dow, when she moved to Union Corner with her husband, Elias Yerxa.
Elias Yerxa died March 15, 1873. Emma (Dow) Yerxa remarried to Enoch Gilbert from Douglas. There were two sons of this union.
Emma (Dow) (Yerxa) Gilbert died at Lower Woodstock in 1902 and is buried in the old Dow Cemetery beside her first husband, Elias Yerxa.
Generation Eight (4) Gideon Yerxa Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Gideon Yerxa Dow 8)
Gideon Yerxa Dow, was born in 1840 in Dow Settlement, Parish of Canterbury, fourth child of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow. Gideon Dow married Caroline Dow, born 1846. They lived in a house across the road from Gideon Yerxa’s home in Lower Woodstock, N. B. at first, Gideon being his uncle. Gideon Dow was a carpenter. Later on, the family moved to Massachusetts.
Children of Gideon Y. Dow and Caroline Dow were:
Gideon Yerxa Dow spent the last years of his life in New Brunswick. He lived with his sister-in-law, Almeda Dow and her son and family in Canterbury Village during the summer and with his nephew, Samuel D. Yerxa and family in Lower Woodstock during the winter. He suffered a stroke at his nephew’s home and passed away June 13, 1933, at 93 years of age. Burial was in Dowville Cemetery beside his wife, Caroline Dow.
Generation Eight (5) Amaziah M. Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Amaziah M. Dow 8)
Amaziah M. Dow, son of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born August 27, 1841, in Dow Settlement, Canterbury Parish. “Amaziah M. Dow of Canterbury, N. B. and Adelaide B. Tompkins, Southampton, N. B. married Sept. lst, 1863, at Houlton, Maine, by Rev. Theodore Corey. Witness: George Dow.” Adelaide was born June 25, 1844. Amaziah M. Dow died Jan 1928. Adelaide B. Tompkins died 30 December 1903.
Children of Amaziah and Adelaide Dow were:
Generation Eight (6) Archibald Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Archibald Dow 8)
Archibald Dow, son of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born in 1842 in Dow Settlement, Parish of Canterbury. Known as “Archie.” He married Sarah J. Dickinson, born 1853. He was a farmer. Baptist in religion.
There were ten children in Archie and Sarah J. Dow’s family.
Archie Dow died in 1891.
Generation Eight (7) Barbara Yerxa Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Barbara Yerxa Dow 8)
Barbara Yerxa Dow, duaghter of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, born 1844, Dow Settlement, Parish of Canterbury, York Co., N. B. Unmarried. Died 1862.
Generation Eight (8) Ruth E. Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Ruth E. Dow 8)
Ruth E. Dow, daughter of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born in 1846 in Dow Settlement. She married George B. Dow, born 1845. They managed a hotel in Meductic after marriage and later managed a Woodstock hotel.
Children of Ruth E. Dow and George B. Dow were:
Some time after 1881, this family moved to St. Stephen, Charlotte County, N. B.
Ruth E. Dow died in 1902. George B. Dow died October 3, 1936.
Generation Eight (9) Joanna Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Joanna Dow 8)
Joanna Dow, daughter of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born in 1847. She married James Brittney. She was named after her grandmother Joanna (Merrithew) Yerxa. There was one child.
Joanna (Dow) Brittney died in 1899.
Generation Eight (10) Lydia Jane Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Lydia Jane Dow 8)
Lydia Jane Dow, daughter of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, born 1849, Dow Settlement, York County, N. B. Known as Jane. She married John Maxon of Southampton, York County. John C. Maxon was born ca. 1847. Farmer.
Jane (Dow) Maxon and John Maxon had 5 children. They were:
This family later moved to Fredericton where John C. Maxon died. L. Jane Maxon lived in Fredericton until 1918 when she went to Detroit, Michigan, to live with her son Harry F. Maxon. She died in Detroit in 1944 at the age of 95 years. Her remains were returned to Fredericton for funeral and burial in Rural Cemetery. Ernest Maxon was living in Port Huron; Tyler Maxon in Fredericton.
Generation Eight (11) John Yerxa Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, John Yerxa Dow 8)
John Yerxa Dow, son of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born in 1850 in Dow Settlement, York County, N. B. Named for his grandfather and great grandfather Yerxa. He married Ella May Porter, born ca. 1858. Often referred to as “Johnny Y. Dow.” He was an avid hunter and trapper; did woodwork. Raised honey bees as so many did. Lived in Meductic, Lower Woodstock and Upper Woodstock.
Children of John Yerxa Dow and Ella Dow were:
John Yerxa Dow died March 29, 1931. His wife, Ella M. Dow died
Generation Eight (12) Thursa Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Thursa Dow 8)
Thursa Dow, daughter of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born in 1851, Dow Settlement, supposedly. She married Charles Simpson. One child.
Thursa (Dow) Simpson died 1897.
Generation Eight (13) Samuel Howard Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Samuel Howard Dow 8)
Samuel H. Dow, 7th son of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born December 21, 1853, in Dow Settlement, York County, N. B. Farmer. He married Mary Almeda Johnston, school teacher from Limestone, Carleton County, near Debec, born in 1869. She was Presbyterian in religion. Samuel Dow was Baptist. Samuel and Almeda Dow lived on the old Dow farm of his parents. In the early 1900’s they operated the Dow Settlement Post Office in their home.
When the tannery business was booming, Samuel Dow with help cut hemlock bark from the woods on his farm during the winter months. This bark was cut in long strips and used in the process of tanning leather. His nephew, Samuel D. Yerxa, with horses and sled hauled the bark from Dow Settlement to the tannery at Benton. It was a long day from before daylight in the morning until early evening when stars were sometimes shining.
Children of Samuel Howard Dow and Almeda (Johnston) Dow were:
At the insistence of their sons, Samuel and Almeda Dow purchased a lot in Canterbury Village, built a new home and moved there.
Samuel H. Dow died December 29, 1923. His wife, M. Almeda Dow, died April 29, 1956. Buried in Canterbury Cemetery.
Generation Eight (14) Alice Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Alice Dow 8)
Alice Dow, daughter of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born in 1855 in Dow Settlement, York County, N. B. She married Farrell Maxon. There were two children:
This family lived in the Hay Settlement School Disctrict in 1898.
Alice (Dow) Maxon died in 1922.
Generation Eight (15) Asa Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Asa Dow 8)
Asa Dow, son of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born November 17, 1858, in Dow Settlement, York County, N. B. He went to Alberta. There he married Ada Bishop as his first wife. There were four children.
Asa Dow died in Bellis, Alberta in 1931.
Generation Eight (16) Frances Lauretta Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Frances Lauretta Dow 8)
Frances Lauretta Dow, daughter of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, born 1860 in Dow Settlement, York County, N. B., was known as “Ett.” She married first Ardean Sawtelle and they lived in Waterville, Maine for a time where Sawtelle and nephew Samuel Yerxa were in store business. After Sawtelle’s death, she married second James Ramsdell and they lived in Lynn, Massachusetts. Later they moved to Meductic, N. B. where James Ramsdell died. Buried in Dow Cemetery. Lauretta married third James McIntyre, Canterbury, N. B. After his death, she married fourth Charles McLaughlin, Canterbury, N. B. Laurette (Dow) McLaughlin died in Canterbury, June 27, 1934. Survived by her husband, stepson and his wife, many nieces and nephews.
Generation Eight (17) Dudley James Dow (Poulus 1, Johannes 2, Johannes 3, Abraham 4, Johannes (John Yerxa) 5, John Yerxa 6, Mahala (Yerxa) Dow 7, Dudley James Dow 8)
Dudley James Dow, son of Mahala (Yerxa) Dow and Samuel Dow, was born August 25, 1863 in Dow Settlement. Dudley Dow married Mina Belle Saunderson (or Sanderson) of Debec, N. B. Dudley was a hunter, trapper, labourer. They did not live in one place very long, moving from N. B. to the West, then back to N. B., to the West, etc.
Family of Dudley J. Dow and Mina (Saunderson) Dow were:
This family finally settled in Alberta and after the late 1920’s or early 1930’s, there was no more moving back to N. B. All the family married and settled in the West. Dudley Dow founded the first Baptist Church in Bellis, Alberta.
Dudley James Dow died February, 1935 and is buried in Alberta.
References: Dow Book, Census Records 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881; J. Neal, Dow’s small book on one branch of Dows; Family records and family members, gravestones in Dow Cemetery and elsewhere.