William HATCHE [Parents] ^{1, 2, 3} was born ⁴ about 1599 in of Wye, Kent, England, United Kingdom. He died ⁵ on 6 Nov 1651 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. William married ^{6, 7} Jane YOUNG on 9 Jul 1624 in Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom.

Other marriages:

UNKNOWN,

ELDER William HATCH (William, Thomas, John the Younger, Thomas, Thomas, John), of Ashford, Wye, and Sandwich, co. Kent, and of Scituate in the Plymouth Colony, woollen draper and merchant, born about 1598, died at Scituate 6 Nov. 1651. He probably married first ;* and secondly, probably at Thanington, near Canterbury, co. Kent, by licence of 9 July 1624, Jane YOUNG of Thanington, born about 1596, who married secondly, at Scituate, 31 Mar. 1653, Elder Thomas King of Scituate (who succeeded William Hatch in the office of elder), and died at Scituate 8 Oct. 1653. Her parentage has not yet been discovered, but it is likely that Edward Young of Thanington, husbandrnan, one of the bondsmen on the marriage licence, was her kinsman, perhaps her brother.

About 1634 William Hatch and his family removed from Wye to Sandwich, Co. Kent, The statement that he was at Scituate in the Plymouth Colony in 1633 is incorrect, and is due to the assumption that the date after the names of the assistants in the records applied to all the names following. He embarked for America for the first time in Mar. 1634/5, sailing from Sandwich in the ship Hercules with his wife Jane, five children, and six servants. In the same ship sailed his cousin, Lydia (Huckstep) Tilden (7,1, 7), with her husband Nathaniel Tilden, and their children. William Hatch and his family settled at Scituate, where he built a house on Kent Street and was admitted freeman on 5 Jan. 1635/6. He returned to England, but came back to New England in Apr. 1638, in the ship Castle. It is probable that his brother Thomas (10) with his wife and children and his sister Elizabeth Soan (12) with her son William came with him on this voyage. In 1643 William Hatch was chosen the flr~t ruling elder of the Second Church of Scituate, and in August of that year he with his sons Walter and John appears on the list of those in Scituate able to bear arms (that is, they were between 16 and 60 years of age). In the same year also he was lieutenant of the trainband

Printed from NEHG Register, Volume 70, July 1916, New England Historic Genealogical Society & Broderbund Software, Inc., Banner Blue Division, February 22, 2001

WILLIAM HATCH (William, Thomas) was the son of William and Anne (Tilden) Hatch and was born about 1592, presumably in Ashford, Kent. He, his wife Jane, and five children sailed from Sandwich, Kent in the spring of 1634 aboard the Hercules of Sandwich, John Witherley, Master. On the passenger list he was noted as being a merchant of Sandwich. With his family came five employees. William and his family settled in Scituate, Massachusetts. William Hatch had a first wife whose identity is unknown. She died, leaving a son Walter. He remarried, by license issued at Canterbury, probably at Thannington, Kent, 9 July 1624, Jane Young who was born there about 1596. William Hatch died 6 November 1651 at Scituate, Mass. Jane remarried 31 March 1653, Elder Thomas King. William's will was dated 5 November, the day before he died.

Ref: Canterbury MarriageLicenses, 2nd series, 1619-family on passenger list. 1650, edited by Joseph Meadows Cowper; Parish Registers; v .r. of Scituate; Savage

THE WILL AND INVENTORY OF WILLIAM HATCH, SENIOR, OF SCITUATE

Transcribed from the Original Records,

By GEORGE ERNEST BOWMAN

WILLIAM HATCH, SR. , of Scituate, died at that place on 6 November, 1651, the day following the date of his will, which is found in the Plymouth Colony Records of Wills, Volume 1, folio 125.

[1: 225] The Last Will and Testament of Mr Willam Hatch of Scittuate Deceased exhibited before the generall court holden at New Plym: the 3d of June 1652 on the oathes of Mr Willam Wetherell and James Torrey

November the fift 1651

I William hatch the elder of Scittuate in the collony of New Plymouth in america Planter being weake in body but

            Will and inventory of William Hatch, Senior   39

of pfect memory Doe make this my last will and Testament in mannor and forme following;

Imprimis I give and bequeath unto Jane my wife two milch cowes and my executors to keep them Summer and Winter upon my meadow grounds them and theire encrease tell they exceed the number of six Item I Give unto her halfe my Dwelling house During her life time as allsoe halfe the fruites of the trees in my orchyard Item I will that my executors allow her yearly sixteen bushells of come viz foure of wheat foure of Rye foure of barley and foure of Indian Come; as alsoe sixteene Rods of broken up ground and to bee well Dunged yearly for to sow hempe seed on Item I give her the bed furnished wheron I lye with two paire of sheets two pillows two paire of pillow coates one bolster one Rugg one blankett therunto belonging Item I give her one chamber pott two houshold platters two pewter Dishes one pewter Drinking pott; alsoe a little brase pott and a brasse skillett two spining Wheeles a paire of wool carafes a Trunke halfe a Dozen of milke trayes a coupple of wooden Dishes two wooden platters a milke payle two chayres foure spoones one of them being of silver Item a warming pan one brandiron one paire of tonges one paire of pothangers a tier slice Item I give her a hogg and my great brase kettle Item I give my Daughter Jane Lovell one milch cow to bee Delivered to her by my executors att two yeares end after my Decease Item I give unto my grandchild John Lovell a cow calfe to bee Delivered by my executors at two yeares end after my Decease; And if the lord give my Daughter Jane any more children then my will is that her next child shall have the first calfe of that calfe that I have given to her son John Lovell and the next child the next calfe and soe Successively Item I give my Daughter Jane one paire of sheets Item a chest alsoe a pewter candlesticke one Sawcer two alchymy spoones Item I give to my Daughter Ann Torry one milch cowe to her and her heires to bee Delivered at two yeares end after my Decease by my executors; Item I give to my grandchild James Torrey a cow calfe and the first calfe of her breed to my grandchild Willam Torrey and the next calfe of her to my grandchild Josepth and the next to my grandchild Damaris &c alsoe I give my Daughter Torrey the shipp pott; All the Rest of my moveables goods lands and tenements I give and bequeath to my two sons Walter hatch and Willam hatch to them and theire heires for ever to bee equally Devided between them Whom I appoint to bee the executors of this my last will and Testament and

40           Will and Inventory of William Hatch, Senior

to pay all my Debts and legacies In Wittnes Wherof I have heerunto sett my hand and seale the Day and yeare above

Written
Witnesses Guilielmo Wetherell Willam Hatch
James Torrey        (seal)
Willam hatch the son of Thomas hatch

Printed from Mayflower Descendant Legacy CD-ROM - All rights reserved. Copyright © 1996 - 1998 by Search & ReSearch Publishing Corp., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

William Hatch

William Hatch, a resident of Sandwich, Kent, sailed for New England in 1635 on the Hercules. Upon arrival he settled in Scituate, where he resided until his death in 1651. He brought with him his second wife and five children, two other children having died in England prior to the family s migration. The town of Scituate granted him the usual course of land distributions.

Beyond these basics,William Hatch in some respects seemed to reflect the norm of the middle of the middle stratum. He became a freeman soon after arrival and served in several offices, including participation on grand and petit juries. He was, in fact, a little above the norm, in that he was in 1642 and again in 1645 Deputy from Scituate to the Plymouth Colony General Court, and in 1643 he was appointed Lieutenant of the Scituate trainband.

Were this the totality of what the surviving records had to tell us about William Hatch, we would account him a solid but unremarkable New England immigrant. But in addition to the details of his life which have been outlined above, we find also a steady stream of other notices of this man which tell us a different story.

The very first entry in the volume of "Judicial Acts of the General Court and Court of Assistants" of Plymouth Colony, dated January 3, 1636/7, was a law suit against William Hatch, instituted by Comfort Starr in a case of debt, the jury finding for the plaintiff This judgment in itself was not remarkable, but, as will be seen, was a portent of things to come. Barely six months later, on June 7, 1637, "whereas William Hatch, of Scituate, is presented for an incroachment upon a piece of ground on this side the river without license of this Court, it is therefore enacted by this Court that the said William Hatch shall reap the crop this year only, and leave the land, which is the mulct laid upon him for his presumption therein."

Not long after these events, Hatch returned to England, and then sailed again for New England on the Castle, bringing with him his brother Thomas and his family.While on this voyage,William Hatch formed a partnership with Thomas Ruck and Joseph Merriam to handle the affairs of the voyage. In August 1639, a year after this transatlantic passage, Ruck and Merriam sued Hatch, claimed he did "overreckon, misreckon, account short & mischarge" various items in the accounts.

Two years later, on September 7, 1641 ,Williani Hatch was accused of stating publicly that "the warrants sent from the governor were nothing but stinking commissary warrants.  Finally, on March 5, 1643/4, the Court took notice of a dispute between Hatch and his servant Hercules, regarding the length of service of the latter. Very few men were so frequently recorded in so many forms of disagreeable behavior. Even so, throughout this period, William Hatch continued to hold offices at the colony and town level. His peers and neighbors clearly valued his skills and abilities highly enough to set aside his apparent antisocial behavior, but he may have been skating very close to the edge.

New England Ancestors Fall 2002, pg 24, Robert Charles Andreson

Jane YOUNG ^{1, 2} was born about 1602 in of Tenterdon, Kent, England, United Kingdom. She died ³ on 8 Oct 1653 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. Jane married ^{4, 5} William HATCHE on 9 Jul 1624 in Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom.

Other marriages:

KING, Thomas

Plymouth Colony Vital Records

[p. 22] Thomas King Marryed to Jane Hatch Widdow march the 31 1653

Thomas BUMPAS was born ¹ about 1650 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. Thomas married ² Phebe LOVEL on 11 Nov 1679 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States.

Marriage source: Barstable Mass., Vital Records p.398 Surnmame from Marriage record

Phebe LOVEL [Parents] was born ¹ on 19 Feb 1656 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States. She died ² on 10 Apr 1736 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. Phebe married ³ Thomas BUMPAS on 11 Nov 1679 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States.

Marriage source: Barstable Mass., Vital Records p.398

Roger CONANT [Parents] [scrapbook] ^{1, 2} was born on 9 Mar 1592 in East Budleigh, Devonshire, England, United Kingdom. He was christened ³ on 9 Apr 1592 in All Saints, East Budleigh, Devonshire, England, United Kingdom. He died ⁴ on 19 Nov 1679 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Roger married ^{5, 6} Sarah HORTON on 11 Nov 1618 in St Ann Blackfriars, London, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom.

Roger's will was probated ^{7, 8} on 25 Nov 1979 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

A handsome statue of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem, stands outside the Salem Witch Museum. Because of the statue's proximity to the museum and because of his cloak and hat and generally impressive appearance, Roger Conant is often mistaken for a participant in the Salem witch trials. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

ROGER CONANT

ORIGIN:  London
MIGRATION:  1624
FIRST RESIDENCE:  Plymouth
REMOVES:  Nantasket 1624, Cape Ann 1625, Salem 1626, Beverly

OCCUPATION:  Salter.  He signed the composition bond of his brother, John, 20 January 1619/20 as "Roger Conant, salter," implying that he was free of the Salters' Company and a Citizen of London [Conant Gen 99].
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP:  "Roger Connant" is in the list of Salem church members compiled in late 1636 [SChR 5].
FREEMAN:  Requested 19 October 1631 (as "Mr. Roger Conant") and admitted 18 May 1631 [MBCR 1:79, 366].
EDUCATION:  His hand is seen on many documents at Essex court and in the early Salem Town records.  "Mr. Roger Conant" was one of those chosen to consider how to lay the division of Marblehead neck so that it would not "hinder the building of a college," 18 April 1636 [STR 1:16; Morison 162].
OFFICES:  Deputy to General Court for Salem, 9 May 1632 [MBCR 1:95]. Committee to lay out land for John Humphrey, 7 November 1632 [MBCR 1:102].  Committee to determine bounds between Salem and Saugus, 20 November 1637 [MBCR 1:211].

Appointed Essex magistrate, 17 May 1637 [MBCR 1:197].  Essex magistrate, 27 June 1637, 3 October 1637, 27 March 1638, 26 June 1638, 25 December 1638, 25 March 1639 [EQC 1:5-10].  Grand jury, 9 July 1644, 6 July 1647, 25 December 1649, 25 June 1650, 25 November 1651; 29 June 1652, 27 November 1655 [EQC 1:62, 114, 180, 191, 238, 253, 408].  Essex jury, 27 December 1636, 20 October 1653 (foreman) [EQC 1:4, 309].  Petit jury, 27 December 1642 (foreman), 26 December 1643 (foreman), 31 December 1644, 8 July 1645, 30 June 1646, 29 November 1653, 28 November 1654, 24 November 1657 [EQC 1:44, 57, 74, 78, 95, 313, 372, 2:58].  Essex surveyor of canoes, 27 June 1636 [EQC 1:3].

Salem selectman, 1637-41, 1650-54/5, 1657[/8]-58[/9] [STR 1:50-52, 55-59, 61-65, 67-68, 71, 73-74, 77, 79-80, 83-87, 89, 91-94, 97, 105, 112, 164-67, 169-71, 175-77, 179-80, 210, 218, 221, 223].  Salem town clerk (at least he kept the minutes of the selectmen's meeting), 11 September 1637 [STR 1:57].  Committee to draw the line between Ipswich and Salem, 27 March 1643 [STR 1:119].  Surveyor of lots, 2 January 1636[/7], 27 January 1636[/7], 20 February 1636[/7], 10 April 1637, 15 May 1654, 16 January 1656[/7], 8 March 1657/8 [STR 1:28, 35, 38, 44, 179, 195, 213].  Auditor, 12 November 1638, 20 March 1647[/8] (ordered to give an account) [STR 1:73, 154].  Director of highway repairs, 26 February 1643[/4] [STR 1:125].  Surveyor of highways, 13 June 1644 [STR 1:130].  Rater, 22 September 1645 [STR 1:137].  Arbitrator, 16 February 1655[/6], 24 February 1656[/7], 20 June 1658 [STR 1:189, 196, 216].
ESTATE:   "Mr. Connant" was one of the five prominent men to receive a two hundred acre farm in the freeman's lands at the head of Bass River 25 January 1635[/6] [STR 1:12, 19].  He received one acre in the Salem grant of 1637 with a household of nine persons [STR 1:103].  This grant is in Roger Conant's hand.

On 4 February 1638[/9] Henry Bayley requested a piece of land "next Mr. Conants house at Catt Cove" [STR 1:80].  On 7 May 1639 "Mr. Conant" received a grant of five acres of meadow "in some convenient place" [STR 1:96].

At the General Court on 28 May 1679, "Mr. Roger Conant of Beverly, alias Bass River," received one parcel of land in the wilderness on the eastern side of Merrimack River consisting of two hundred acres as laid out by Jonathan Danforth [MBCR 5:227].

In his will, dated 1 March 1677[/8] and proved 25 November 1679, "Roger Conant aged about eighty-five years ... though weak & feeble in body" bequeathed to "my son Exercise" one hundred and forty acres near Dunstable (a part of two hundred acres granted by the General Court), also ten acres adjoining his present homelot, also two acres of marsh at the south end of Wenham's great pond "or if my daughter Elizabeth Conant will exchange to have so much at the great marsh near Wenham," also my swamp at the head of the rails which is yet undivided, also my portion of land lying by Henry Haggat's on Wenham side, from which land he is to pay £7 toward the discharge of my legacies; to "my grandchild John Conant, son of Roger Conant," ten acres adjoining his twenty acres by the great pond, he to pay £20 toward the discharge of my legacies; to "my grandchild Joshua Conant" seventeen acres by the south side of the great marsh "and the rest to return to my executor"; to "my daughter Sarah" to her and her children, two acres between the head of the rails and Isaac Hull; to "a daughter of one Mrs. Pitts deceased ... now living in Culleton a town in Devon in old England" into the hands of Capt. Roger Clap of the Castle near Dorchester as attorney for Mrs. Pitts "for certain goods sold for the said Mrs. Pitts in London and was there to be paid many years since but it is alleged was never paid"; to "my son Lott his ten children" £20 to be equally divided; to "my daughter Sarah's children, to John £5, to the four daughters" £5 between them"; to "my daughter Mary Dodge to herself £5 and £5 to her five children equally divided"; to "Exercise his children" £4 between them; to "Adoniron Veren" £3, "to his sister Hannah" 20s. and "her two children each 10s."; to "my cousin Mary Veren wife to Hillier Veren" £3; to "the daughters of my cousin Jane Mason deceased" £3 "including Love Steevens her child a share"; to "my son Exercise" residue of moveable goods and "my gray horse and cattle"; to "Rebacka Connant my grandchild" my sheep; to "Mary Leach" one sheep; "and whereas there remains in my hands a certain portion of cattle belonging unto one Mr. Dudeny in England and by him assigned unto his nephew Richard Conant valued at £25 and now left in the hands of my son Exercise Conant that there be a rendering up of such cattle or their valuation ... unto the said Richard Conant upon seasonable demand"; "son Exercise" executor; "my son William Dodge and my grandchild John Conant Senior" overseers [EPR 3:335-37].

The inventory of the estate of "Roger Conant deceased" was taken 24 November 1679 and totalled £258 10s. of which £198 was real estate: "two hundred acres of land lying at Dunstable, not improved," £60; "more land sold to Elizabeth Conant not paid for," £40; "more land ten acres and more ten acres [totalling] 20," £20; "more land 23 acres," £59; "more two acres of meadow," £10; "swampy land [at] 20s. two acres of land [at] £5," £6; and "more land," £1 [EPR 3:337].

BIRTH:  Baptized East Budleigh, Devonshire, 9 April 1592, youngest of the eight children of Richard and Agnes (Clarke) Conant [Conant Gen 99].
DEATH:  Beverly 19 November 1679.
MARRIAGE:  St Ann Blackfriars, London 11 November 1618 Sarah Horton, daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Satchfield) Horton [NEHGR 147:234-39].  "Sarah Connant" is included in the list of Salem church members compiled in late 1636 [SChR 6].  She was alive in November 1660 to depose about the marriage of James Bede and the widow "Ellot" [EQC 2:265].  She is not named in her husband's will and therefore probably died before 1 March 1677/8.

ASSOCIATIONS:  Christopher Conant who received one acre in Plymouth Colony in 1623 as a passenger on the Anne, was Roger's brother [PCR 12:5].

Jane (Knowles) Bennett, wife of WILLIAM BENNETT of Salem was niece of Roger Conant [NEHGR 153:221].

COMMENTS:  Despite Roger Conant's prominence and his reputation as the leader among the Old Planters, there are a number of disquieting questions which still hover about him.  Although we do not claim to have resolved these questions here, we would like to propose an interpretation that would provide a relatively simple answer.

The questions come in two groups.  First, did Roger Conant reside at Plymouth when he first arrived, and was he the salter who arrived in 1624 with Rev. JOHN LYFORD and who was described uncharitably by Bradford?  Second, given the great advantages available to Conant, including his many prominent connections in English Puritan circles, and his appointment in 1625 to direct the activities of the Dorchester Adventurers at Cape Ann, why did he not take a larger part in the affairs of Massachusetts Bay after the early 1630s?

Attempts to place Conant and his family on one ship or another face an inconsistency in the records that defies certain resolution.  The 28 May 1671 petition of Roger Conant places his arrival in New England before May of 1623:

The humble petition of Roger Conant of Bass River alias Beverly, who have been a planter in New England forty-eight years and upward, being one of the first, if not the first, that resolved and made good my settlement under God, in matter of plantation with my family, in this colony of the Massachusetts Bay, and have been instrumental, both for the founding and carrying on of the same, and when in the infancy thereof, it was in great hazard of being deserted, I was a means, through grace assisting me, to stop the flight of those few that then were here with me, and that by my utter denial to go away with them, who would have gone either for England or mostly for Virginia, but hereupon stayed to the hazard of our lives.  Now my humble suit and request is unto this honorable court only that the name of our town or plantation may be altered or changed from Beverly and be called Budleigh.  I have two reasons that have moved me to this request.  The first is the great dislike and discontent of many of our people for this name of Beverly, because (we being but a small place) it hath caused on us a constant nickname of "beggarly", being in the mouths of many, and no order was given or consent by the people here to their agent for any name until they were sure of being a town granted in the first place.  Secondly, I being the first that had house in Salem (and never had any hand in naming either that or any other town) and myself with those that were then with me, being all from the western part of England, desire this western name of Budleigh, a market town of Devonshire and near unto the sea as we are here, in this place and where myself was born.  Now in regard of our firstness and antiquity in this so famous a colony, we should humbly request this little privilege with your favors and consent, to give this name abovesaid unto our town.  I never yet made suit or request unto the General Court for the least matter, tho' I think I might as well have done, as many others have, who have obtained much without hazard of life or prefering the public good before their own interest, which I praise God I have done ... [Conant Gen 116-17, citing MA Arch 112:217].

Hubbard would have Conant at Plymouth initially, either contradicting Conant who said he came before May 1623 or the Plymouth Colony records which make no allotment of land to Conant in 1623 when even single women who came on the Anne and refugees from the failed settlement at Wessgusset received their shares by name [PCR 12:5-6].

Robert Cushman wrote to Bradford 24 January 1623[/4] saying "the salt-man [we have sent] is a skillful & industrious man, put some to him that may quickly apprehend the mystery of it ..." [Bradford 373], but Bradford refers to this person in less glowing terms:...he whom they sent to make salt was an ignorant, foolish, selfwilled fellow ... he caused them to send carpenters to rear a great frame for a large house, to receive the salt & such other uses.  But in the end all proved vain.  Then he laid fault of the ground, in which he was deceived; but if he might have the lighter to carry clay, he was sure then he could do it ... he could not do anything but boil salt in pans, and yet would make them that were joined with him believe there was so great a mystery in it as was not easy to be attained, and made them do many unnecessary things to blind their eyes, till they discerned his subtlety.  The next year he was sent to Cape Anne and the pans were set up there where the fishing was; but before summer was out, he burnt the house, and the fire was so vehement as it spoiled the pans ... [Bradford 146-47].

Hubbard says:  There (Nantasket) Mr. Roger Conant, with some few others, after Mr. Lyford and Mr. Oldham were, for some offence, real or supposed, discharged from having anything more to do at Plymouth, found a place of retirement and reception for themselves and families for a space of a year and some few months, till a door was opened for them at Cape Anne, a place on the other side of the Bay, whither they removed about the year 1625 [Hubbard 102].

He further says: ... Mr. White with the rest of the Adventurers, hearing of some religious and well-affected persons ...of which number Mr. Roger Conant was one, a religious, sober and prudent gentleman, yet surviving about Salem till the year 1680, wherein he finished his pilgrimage, having a great hand in all these forementioned transactions about Cape Anne ... [Hubbard 106].

From these remarks it is assumed that Hubbard was acquainted with Roger Conant and had at some time perhaps discussed the history with him.  To go on,... they pitched upon him, the said Conant, for the managing and government of their affairs at Cape Anne.  The information he had of him was from one Mr. Conant, a brother of his, and well known to Mr. White; and he was so well satisfied therein, that he engaged Mr. Humphrey, the treasurer of the joint Adventurers, to write to him in their names, and to signify that they had chosen him to be their governor in that place, and would commit unto him the charge of all their affairs..

It must here be noted, that Mr. Roger Conant, on the foresaid occasion made the superintendent of their affairs [at Cape Ann], disliked the place as much as the Adventurers disliked the business; and therefore, in the meanwhile, had made some inquiry into a more commodious place near adjoining, on the other side of a creek, called Naumkeag, a little to the westward, where was much better encouragement as to the design of a plantation, than that which they had attempted upon before at Cape Anne, secretly conceiving in his mind, that in following times (as since is fallen out) it might prove a receptacle for such as upon the account of religion would be willing to begin a foreign plantation in this part of the world; to which he gave some intimation to his friends in England [Hubbard 106-07].

Hubbard would have "Mr. Roger Conant" settle briefly at Nantasket with Mr. Oldham (whom Conant certainly knew and respected, yet no direct evidence supports his presence), then choose Cape Ann "a place on the other side of the Bay (more convenient for those that belong to the tribe of Zebulon than for those that chose to dwell in the tents of Issachar), wither they removed about the year 1625" [Young 20, 25]. Hubbard further says that Mr. Roger Conant was present at Cape Ann in 1625 and helped to resolve the dispute between Capt. Standish and Mr. Hewes over the fishing stages at Cape Ann [Young's Pilgrim Fathers 33-4; MD 5:80].

The dispute grew to be very hot, and high words passed between them; which might have ended in blows, if not in blood and slaughter, had not the prudence and moderation of Mr. Roger Conant, at that time there present, and Mr. Peirce's interposition, that lay just by with his ship, timely prevented [Young's Pilgrim Fathers 33].

These events closely parallel Bradford's history of the salter, but no one agrees on the personal traits of this individual.  Hubbard again casts Conant in the role of peacemaker when Mr. Endicott and his company come to take the reins from the old planters in 1628 and a controversy arose over the changing of the name of the settlement from "Nahumkeik" to Salem: ...the late controversy that had been agitated with too much animosity betwixt the forementioned Dorchester planters and their new agent, Mr. Endicot, and his company then sent over, being by the prudent moderation of Mr. Conant, agent before for the Dorchester merchants, quietly composed ... [Young's Pilgrim Fathers 31].

A possible resolution of the seeming conflict among all these accounts is that they do indeed refer to one man, Roger Conant, but as seen through different sets of eyes.  If Conant were one of Hubbard's regular informants, as seems quite likely, then he could well have fed the historian with slanted versions of his part in the early history of Massachusetts Bay.  Bradford, on the other hand, with no stake in Conant's reputation, was speaking his mind, even though he did not name the subject of his wrath, perhaps out of respect for the living.

This combination of great promises but little results (as reported by Bradford) and the willingness to distort his actions in hindsight (if we are interpreting correctly Conant's influence on Hubbard) may be the collection of character faults which prevented Conant from rising beyond local importance in the later history of Massachusetts Bay, despite his great early advantages.

Another point should be made here.  Bradford is speaking of a salter, and we do know there was at least one other salter in Plymouth in these early years, William Hilton.  But Hilton had already arrived in Plymouth in 1621 and could not have been the man sent over by Cushman in 1624.  On the other hand, to suppose that Conant is not the man castigated by Bradford we would have to assume that there were three salters in Plymouth and vicinity during this brief time, which seems an excess.

We take the position, then, that Conant arrived in 1624 (and therefore made an error of one year in his petition nearly half a century later), resided briefly at Plymouth, Nantasket and Cape Ann, and then settled Salem.

Roger Conant deposed on 29 November 1664 about being one of the first inhabitants of the town of Salem, and one of the lot layers there [EQC 3:207].

In depositions some twenty years after the fact, we learn that Roger Conant was in partnership in the 1630s with Peter Palfrey, Anthony Dike and Mr. Francis Johnson, in an enterprise to collect and ship beaver skins and other goods [EQC 1:409, 2:22-4].

At court 25 June 1678 "Mr. Roger Conant, aged about eighty-six years" deposed that about six or eight years since, William Hoar's two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth came to his house to buy apples.  While he was in the cellar, he had enough canvas stolen to make a lady's apron, no one being in the house but them.  Later he met one of them and asked why they had stolen his canvas, and she replied that it was not she, if anybody, it was her sister [EQC 7:50].

On 4 June 1679 "Mr. Roger Conant, aged about eighty-seven years" deposed that sixteen years ago Benjamin Balch and Mary Balch, widow of John Balch, now wife of William Dodge, came to an agreement [EQC 7:390].

BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE:  The basic treatment of the Conant family was published in 1887 by Frederick Odell Conant [A History and Genealogy of the Conant Family in England and America (Portland, Maine, 1887), cited above as Conant Gen].  Mary Walton Ferris wrote at length about Conant [Dawes-Gates 2:221-28].  The identity of the wife of Roger Conant and the consequent extensive Puritan connections of Roger Conant are explored by Robert Charles Anderson [NEHGR 147:234-39, 148:107-29].  Roger Conant cuts a romantic figure in Hawthorne's "Main Street."

1st Govenor of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Source from The Improvement ERA of 1950 page 269 by Archibald F. Bennett

Roger was the youngest of eight children born to Richard and Agnes (CLARK) CONANT. He and his family came to New England on the "Ann", arriving in Plymouth Massachusetts in Jul 1623. Though Puritan, he was non-Separatist in ideology and as such did not get along too well with the Pilgrims at Plymouth. The Chronological History of Massachusetts relates the role that Roger played in early New England:

"1623 - Myles Standish successfully conducted the first organized war against the Indians who had been stirred to form a conspiracy against the English by the behavior of Andrew Weston's men in June of 1621 and other troublemakers among the colonists. It was another lean year but boats came over from England every season. Some 200 or more Separatists would join the group on four different ships. .. Meanwhile, in England, a group of wealthy English merchants formed the Dorchester Company of Adventurers, of whom the less-radical Puritan conformist clergyman John White was prominent. Another member was Mistress Elizabeth Poole of Taunton, Somerset, who later founded Taunton, Massachusetts. With a patent from the council of New England, a group of fishermen and planters took the Fellowship to Cape Ann where they constructed a house and fishing stage at Stage Fort Point...Sometime during the year, non-Separatist Roger Conant and his wife arrived in Plymouth.

"1624 - Plymouth colonists, tired of their 'common course and condition,' convinced Bradford to end the annual practice of drawing for plots of land and, instead, to grant permanent allotments. Later expanded, the new practice spurred colonists to work harder and produce more as they were assured of enjoying the fruits of their own labors. In July, when a fierce drought threatened to destroy the crops, the colonists were driven to "seek the Lord in humble and fervent prayer," according to Bradford, "and He was pleased to give them a gracious and speedy answer, both to their own and the Indians' admiration that lived among them." The gentle rains came and stayed so that, as Bradford wrote, "instead of famine now God gave them plenty .. . so as any general want or famine has not been among them since to this day (1644)." Excluded by the Separatist Pilgrims, a disgruntled Roger Conant drew a number of non-Separatists to himself and removed up the coast to found Nantasket.   "1625 - In England, Charles I succeeded the wildly extravagant and scandalous James I whose reign had encouraged a rampage of the rich and opportunistic, unsettling the balance of the economy. Now Charles gave ear to the highly ritualistic, anti-Puritan, Anglican Bishop William Laud. Those Puritans who had wished to reform England and its Church from within began to lose hope. Bradford wrote friends in his homeland that the colonists had 'never felt the sweetness of the country till this year. ' Roger Conant was summoned from Nantasket to Cape Ann to manage the floundering outpost, followed by his loyal group of non-separatist Puritans. Having unknowingly acquired a scurrilous title to a part of Cape Ann, the Plymouth residents commenced building in the area a fishing stage of their own which was seized by the Cape Ann interests. Captain Myles Standish almost fought the group but Conant cooled the soldier's temper by offering to build a new fishing stage for the Pilgrims.
Hostilities continued to build between the Separatists and non-Separatists. The same year, Captain Wollaston founded a colony at Passonagessit. Among the colonists was Anglican Thomas Morton who would change Mount Wollaston to Merrymount and cause grave concern among settlements from Maine to Nantasket.  "1626 - ...In the autumn, Roger Conant led the remnant of the Cape Ann expedition, some 20 to 30 persons, down the coast to a place the Indians called Naumkeag, where a number of rivers formed a safe harbor and good farmland was close by. Soon to be known as the Old Planters, these were the hardy souls who declined the dissolved Dorchester Company's offer of return passage to England. Meanwhile in England, the undaunted clergymen John White and John Conant looked for new settlers and capital."

The settlement called Naumkeag by the Indians and founded by Roger Conant and his group of "Old Planters" was renamed Salem in 1628 by a consortium of the old group and a new one headed by John Endicott. The "Old Planters" were allotted land in what is now Beverly Massachusetts. Salem erected a statue of him, a picture of which can be seen on Welcome to Salem

Biographical information, undoubtedly penned by a descendant and submitted to the 1903 Biographical tome for Tolland and Windham Counties, Conn reads as follows:

"His reputation was that of a pious, sober and prudent gentleman and as he was more strongly Puritan than the people around him he was chosen to head the settlement at Cape Ann, near Stage Head, on the north side of what is now Gloucester Harbor. Though not recognized as the first governor of Massachusetts, it seems he should be, as the colony over whose destinies he so ably provided made the first real advance toward a permanent settlement within the limits of what is now the State. Roger Conant was a man of intelligence, and historians pay glowing tributes to his ability, integrity and honor. He was a member of the second representative assembly ever held in America, very shortly following a similar gathering in Virginia.(Apparently refers to the October, 1630 meeting of the General Court of Boston. Though in violation of their charter, leaders of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts decided that the governor and deputy governor would be elected by the freemen of the Colony, including the "Old Planters", by demand of those in attendance, granted May 1631) The record of his active labor in forming that system of government which has made the U.S. great and mighty in every field of labor, or department of thought, was the noblest heritage he could leave his children. Many important offices were held by him in Salem, and for many years his services were continually in demand by the people. He and his wife were among the members who assisted in forming the 1st Church at Salem in 1637, and both signed the Covenant.

Fellow Conant researcher, Betty I. Ralph tells me that Roger Conant was mentioned in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Main Street, Salem" and that Governor's Island in Boston Harbor was once known as Conant's Island.

Sources: "Chronological History of Massachusetts", Flying the Colors: Massachusetts Facts: John Clements, 1987; Tolland and Windham Counties, Connecticut Biographies - 1903; Mayflower Gedcom; LDS Ancestral File; Research of John F. Chandler and Betty I. Ralph

Sarah HORTON [Parents] was born on 19 Sep 1595 in St Ann Blackfriars, London, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom. She died ¹ before 1677 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Sarah married ^{2, 3} Roger CONANT ^{4, 5} on 11 Nov 1618 in St Ann Blackfriars, London, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom.

"Chronological History of Massachusetts", Flying the Colors: Massachusetts Facts: John Clements, 1987; Tolland and Windham Counties, Connecticut biographies - 1903; Mayflower Gedcom; LDS Ancestral File; Research of John F. Chandler and Betty I. Ralph.

Rev. William WALTON [Parents] ¹ was born in 1601 in Seaton, Devonshire, England, United Kingdom. He died on 6 Nov 1668 in Marblehead, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. He was buried on 9 Nov 1668. William married ^{2, 3} Elizabeth COOKE on 10 Apr 1627 in Dorchester, Holy Trinity Church, Dorset, England, United Kingdom.

William's will was probated ⁴ on 24 Nov 1668 in Marblehead, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

of Seaton
First minister of Marblehead.

Administration on the estate of Mr. William Walton, intestate, granted 24:9:1668, to Elizabeth Walton, the widow, who brought in an inventory. The house and land in Marblehead were to be held for security. Salem Quarterly Court Records 5:18

Debts of Mr. William Waltun: To Mr. George Corwin, £ 8 14s 8d; to Mr, William Browne, sr., £ 10 12s 1d; to Mr. Moses Mavericke, £ 73 1s 4d; to Mr. Samuel Ward, £ 12 7s; to Mr. Phellep Cromwell, £ 2 12s 9d; to Mr. Walter Price, £ 1 15s; to Dockter Checkaren, £ 1 4s; to Mestress Woodcock, £ 8; to William Huet, £ 1 12s; to James Denes, 8s: total £ 120 6s 10d. Due from the town £ 39.

Inventory of the estate of Mr. William Waltun of Marblehead, lately deceased, taken Nov. 23, 1668, by John Peach, sr. and Samll. Ward: Dwelling house with a garden & orchard, £ 120; parcell of land bounded with Mr. Mavericks land on ye one side & Rich. Rowlands land on the other side, with an old barn, £ 80; £ 10 in the first purchase in ye farme neere the towne, £ 20; 2 Cowes pastoridge in the twone Commons, £ 10; 2 heifers at £ 6; 1 Cow at £ 4, £ 10; his Library Viewed by Mr Higginson and Mr. Hale, £ 20; 1 bed and bedsted, £ 5; 2 fetherbeds, £ 7; 4 pewter platters, 16s; 3 small old dishes, 3s; 4 Candlesticks, 8s; 1 paire of Andriosns, 12s; 1 Spitt, 1 paire tongs, 1 Crooke, 7s; 1 Chamber pott, 1 drinking pott, 4s; 1 silver bowle & 1 saltseller, £ 3; 2 potts being defective, 12s; 1 table Cloth, 6s 6d; napkins, 6s, 12s 6d; 2 stills, £ 1 5s; 1 Gun, £ 1; 2 tables, 1 forme, £ 1 6s; 1 trunke, 5s; wearing Clothes, viz; 2 Cloakes, 1 Coate, 1 paire Stockings, 1 old paire breeches & 1 old Dublett, £ 5; total £ 287 10s 6d. Essex County Quarterly Court Files 13:138,139

Elizabeth Walton, relict of Mr. William Walton, was ordered June 19, 1779, to keep the whole estate in her hand during her ilfe, she being administratrix, with the consent of all thechildren. She was to pay all the debts of the estate, and at her death, said estate was to be divided among the children, Nathaniell, the eldest, to have a double portion, of which he had already received £ 30, and Samuell having had £ 8 of his portion. Salem Quarterly Court Records, 5:25

"Wee whoes names are underwritten being desired by nathanill Waltown to vew a parsell of medow and upland lying in marblhead which acordinglie we did and to the best of our Judgment it is worth the sum of fortie pounds." Dated June 25, 1669, and signed by John Peach, sr. and Samll. Ward. "the Charges that I haue ben out vpon the mash for fencing and daming aginst the see: 20:00:00"
Moses Mavericke and Samll. Ward, on June 29, 1669, appraised for Samuel Waltown, a parcel of land at marblehead, called Williams' lot at £ 10, and the parcel on which his house stands at £ 8. Essex County Quarterly Court Files, 14:132

Whereas by an order of the County court held at Salem June 29, 1669, the estate of our father mr. William Walton, deceased instate, was left in the hands of our mother and the remainder at her decease to be divided among the six children left, viz. Nath., Samiel and Josiah Walton, Elizabeth Mansfeild, Martha Munjoy and Mary Bartlett, the eldest to have a couble portion and our mother having died the last year and by means of the death of our brother Josiah Walton, his part by will and what he had of his own was bequeathed to be divided amongst us, we have made the following agreement and settlement; the accounts shall stand and the debts shall be paid out of the estate; the bill of slae made by our mother for one half of the lot sold to our brother nathaniel Walton and Martha munjoy for £ 40 of debt was confirmed; Robert Bartlett shall for £ 20 of debt paid by him have that quarter part of the lot whereon his house stands; the books shall be shared equally, the eldest son to have his double share; Sam. Walton shall have one cow lease at £ 5 to be allowed out of his £ 25 and one cow; the whole remainder of the estate to Nathaniel Walton and Martha Munjoy they to pay to us £ 25 each, which we accept as our portion.

Signed and sealed march 29, 1683 by Andrew Mansfeild, Nathaniel Walton, Marth, Munjoy, Robart Bartlett. Witness: Samuel Cheever, William Bartlett. Essex County Quarterly Court Files, 45:12

Elizabeth COOKE [Parents] was born ¹ in 1602 in of Seaton, Devonshire, England, United Kingdom. She died in 1682 in Marblehead, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Elizabeth married ^{2, 3} Rev. William WALTON ⁴ on 10 Apr 1627 in Dorchester, Holy Trinity Church, Dorset, England, United Kingdom.

Andrew MANSFIELD [Parents] ¹ was born ² in 1623 in England, United Kingdom. He died ³ in 1683 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Andrew married ⁴ Elizabeth WALTON on 10 Jan 1680/1681 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Andrew worked ⁵ as farmer.

Other marriages:

, Bethiah
LAWES, Mary

The following is quoted from Mansfield Genealogy by Daland and Mansfield:

ANDREW MANSFIELD (Robert1) was born in England about 1620. He came to Boston in 1636 and to Lynn in 1639 before his father (Lewis and Newhall, p. 187). On 26 March 1661 being then about 38 years old, he made affidavit to the Court at Ipswich, Mass., that he had been an inhabitant of Lynn about 22 or 23 years and in June 1669 "about 49 years old, he testified in court concerning the estate of Frances Axey." (Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Mass. Vol. VIII 1680-1683 p. 256-257, also Warner).

Andrew was very active in Town affairs. He was made freeman 8 July 1645. He was a selectman, was on committees for laying out roads and settling land disputes. He served as trial juror and on Grand Jury 1650-1677. He was called "sergeant" from 15 March 1663. This showed the confidence which the people had for his legal ability. "There are many letters on file in the clerk of the courts office of Essex County in his clear legiable handwriting showing his ability and that the esteem in which he was held was well merited. He was deputy to the General Court from l880-1883 inclusive. By reference to the Court records it wilt be seen that he was entrusted by that body with important commissions." (Moulton).

Andrew was married three times; 1st about 1850 to BETHIAH who died 2 July 1672. Bethiah's maiden name may have been Gedney (Lynn Hist. Register 1913) or  Townsend (Warner-Harrington Genealogy). He married second 4 June 1673, MRS. MARY NEAL, widow of John Neal and only child of Francis Lawes, a wealthy citizen of Salem. She died 27 June 1681. He married third, 10 Jan. 1661-82, MRS. ELIZABETH CONANT widow of Lot Conant of Beverly and daughter of Rev. Wm. and Elizabeth Walton of Marblehead. She was born in England, baptized at the Parish of Seaton, Devonshire 27 Oct. 1629. She died 29 Sept. 1674. She had 10 children by her first marriage and two of her sons, Nathaniel and John Conant had previously married two of Andrew's daughters. Andrew lived in Beverly for a time after he married Elizabeth Conant.

Andrew's will was dated 1 June 1679, with a codicil dated at Boston 19 Nov. 1683. It seems that while attending the General Court he was taken suddenly and seriously ill, as the codicl was witnessed by members of the court then in session. The Exact date of his death is not known but the inventory of his estate was returned to the Probate Court 28 Nov. 1683, nine days after the codicil was made (Moulton).

©All information on this page is quoted directly from and remains the property of Mansfield Genealogy, Complied by Geneva A. Daland, a descendant of Andrew, and James S. Mansfield, M.D., a descendant of Joseph 1980.

Elizabeth WALTON [Parents] was born ¹ on 27 Oct 1629 in Seaton, Devonshire, England, United Kingdom. She was christened ² on 27 Oct 1629 in Seaton, Devonshire, England, United Kingdom. She died in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Elizabeth married ³ Andrew MANSFIELD ⁴ on 10 Jan 1680/1681 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Other marriages:

CONANT, Lot

Elizabeth WALTON CONANT's second husband, Andrew MANSFIELD was the father-in-law of her two oldest sons.

Sources: LDS Ancestral File; Research of John F. Chandler

John CONANT [Parents] was born ¹ on 15 Dec 1652 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. He was christened ² on 26 May 1662 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. He died on 30 Sep 1724 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. John married Bethiah MANSFIELD on 7 May 1678 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Bethiah MANSFIELD [Parents] was born ^{1, 2} on 7 Apr 1658 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. She died on 27 Jul 1720 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Bethiah married John CONANT on 7 May 1678 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Lot CONANT [Parents] ¹ was born ² on 16 Feb 1657/1658 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. He was christened ³ on 26 May 1662 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Lot married Elizabeth PRIDE on 14 Jun 1698 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Other marriages:

, Abigail

Served in King Philip's War.

Elizabeth PRIDE. Elizabeth married Lot CONANT on 14 Jun 1698 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Lot CONANT [Parents] ¹ was born ² on 16 Feb 1657/1658 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. He was christened ³ on 26 May 1662 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Lot married Abigail.

Other marriages:

PRIDE, Elizabeth

Served in King Philip's War.

Abigail. Abigail married Lot CONANT.

George Parkin ALDOUS [Parents] [scrapbook] was born ¹ on 30 Oct 1836 in Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England, United Kingdom. He died ² on 13 Feb 1918 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. He was buried on 15 Feb 1918 in Ogden City Cemetery, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. George married Christiane Magdalina THURSTON on 24 Dec 1865 in Huntsville, Weber, Utah, United States.

Christiane Magdalina THURSTON [scrapbook] was born ¹ on 13 Jan 1848. She died ² on 9 Dec 1915 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. Christiane married George Parkin ALDOUS on 24 Dec 1865 in Huntsville, Weber, Utah, United States.

Christiane was also known as Magdalona THORSTENSEN.

Luke PERKINS was born ¹ on 18 Mar 1667 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Luke married ² Martha CONANT on 31 May 1688 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Martha CONANT [Parents] was born ¹ on 15 Aug 1664 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. She was christened ² on 12 Oct 1664. She died on 2 Jan 1754 in Plympton, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. Martha married ³ Luke PERKINS on 31 May 1688 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.