After extensive research, I believe that Joseph Canterbury, Sr. is the brother of Samuel Canterbury not his son.
They were not the sons of Samuel Canterbury, Sr. The will of Samuel “Senior” indicates strongly that he was childless. Their father must have been Samuel’s brother John Canterbury, Jr. The guy that Geni calls Samuel Junior is the guy that I call Samuel 1728.
I’ve been studying the descent of the Canterbury name, so the women have gotten short shrift unless they had an important bearing on documenting the male line. This is what I found on Joseph Senior:
Documents show that two Joseph Canterburys (Senior and Junior) served together in the Continental Army in 1777. A birthdate of 1748 is highly unrealistic for Joseph Senior; it was probably in the 1725-1740 range, and I lean toward before 1735. He would have been born in Richmond county VA if born before 1735, and in Prince William county if born after 1735. Joseph Senior was MIA and presumed dead after the battle of Brandywine Creek (Pennsylvania) in September 1777. We have documentation for his widow Joseph Canterbury, Sr. indicating that she was born around 1740, and Joseph’s death left her with 8 young children that she raised by herself. Unfortunately she did not list their names.
I do think that Joseph Senior may have had a previous wife, but there is zero documentation for this. Elizabeth Canterbury married a different Joseph Canterbury who was born in 1775. He is part of this family too, but I can’t find him on Geni.
Joseph Senior’s son Joseph Canterbury, Jr. must have been born by 1761 to be at least 16 years old at the time of his army service. He’s probably older than that, since he may have had one or more children by 1777. He survived the war, and the last identifiable record of him is in Albemarle county in 1782. He may or may not be the Joseph Canterbury who was recorded in Georgia in the early 1800s. Jospeh Junior is a shadowy figure, with no information on his wife or children. All I know about the Georgia guy is that he was probably born before 1781.
I have an article with more information and links to sources at http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/chzonie/canterbury.html To skip the discussion and cut to the chase, go to the line of descent charts: http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/chzonie/canterbury.html#first3