YOUR SILENT NEIGHBORS, Noah R. L. Bristol, Educator and Farmer
by David K. Leff
Town Poet Laureate and Deputy Town Historian
  
Born in Oxford, Connecticut, Noah R. L. Bristol (1797-1861) was educated in public schools.  He started his adult life as a teacher for several terms in New York state.  He came to Canton as a young man. 
  
When first in Canton, he worked as a cooper.  Later he purchased a farm near the mouth of Cherry Brook and engaged in general agriculture.  Bristol took great interest in local affairs and was elected as state representative in 1835, and town clerk in 1849. 
  
He married Mary Barber, daughter of one of Canton’s oldest families.  Among their children was Anson W. Bristol who continued working the family farm and, like his father, represented Canton in the state legislature. 
  
Bristol was said to be “a man of temperate habits and domestic tastes, and was noted among the business men of his acquaintance for his honesty and uprightness.” 
  
Noah R. L. Bristol is buried in Canton Center Cemetery, Canton Center. 
  
“Your Silent Neighbors” introduces readers to people out of Canton’s past.  Readers are encouraged to visit these gravesites and pay their respects to the people who have helped make our community what it is today.