Dear Maxie

Roger Conant arrived in Plymouth, Mass in 1623 (3 years after the Mayflower) and founded Salem, Mass a couple of years later. Gary Canant is his 12^th generation direct descendant about 400 years later.

Roger was governor of the Massachuetts Bay Colony, founder of Salem, Mass, a peacemaker at Plymouth (see below) and a resonable man in a time of great discontent.

Roger Conant’s Face

 There are no known contemporaneous images of Roger Conant since the Puritans considered statues, portraits and selfies to be idolatry and prohibited. I speculate that the artist used one of Roger’s descendants as a model for his face since he looks a lot like me, a 12^th generation grandson.

• Blessed are the Peacemakers by John Washington, copyright 2021

It takes courage to stand in front of one angry armed man. It’s takes even more courage to place one’s self between two angry and nervous armed groups looking for a confrontation.  Yet, that is exactly what Roger Conant did. Not giving in to fear, he choose not to get caught up with the moment and join in the violence. Roger courageously placed himself, unarmed, between the groups and negotiated a peaceful solution.  This moment is captured in a beautiful new painting “Blessed are the Peacemakers” by English artist John Washington. 

Roger Conant’s courageous stand successfully defused the situation. In doing so, he set the example of settling political disputes with patience, peace, cooperation and non-violence. This painting, sponsored by the the village of East Budleigh in honor of his 400th anniversary of his journey to America, is a far more fitting tribute to Roger Conant than his statue in Plymouth.

Much was uncertain in the English colonies of North America in the early days of the 17th century. Would they survive? If they did survive, how would they be governed? Would they fall into tyranny and fanaticism? It was no sure thing but the roots of the best of what became the United States have their beginnings with courageous and farsighted men and women like Roger Conant. He gave the fledgling country to be the sturdy foundation of Patience, Humility, Tolerance, Compromise and Civil Discourse. His spirit lives on today in our democracy

RogerConant.com

 The website is dedicated to the life, ancestors and descendants of Roger Conant. It is not intended to usurp any other efforts to document Roger’s life and will contain links to identified locations. Since there are often conflicting details about Roger’s life, the most plausible option will be posted first and other versions will be noted.

 The site contains only information about Roger and his extended family. Descendants and interested parties can submit content and the site will recognize sources. Direct posting to the site will not be allowed and all submissions will go through the webmaster or assigned administrators. Any profane, political or hateful comment will be ignored and not posted. 

Ownership and Copyright 

The domain name rogerconant.com and the hosting package are owned by Gary Canant. The copyright applies to the website and a copyright notice will be displayed at the bottom of each page. Submitted material will have author’s name posted along with any applicable copyright notice.

 The website is a volunteer project of Gary Canant who created the site and bears is responsible for its content.

I was ahead of fashion with my holey jeans, now they are the rage and sold by Walmart!

During my recovery from an emergency appendix operation a couple of weeks ago, I have been taking a fresh look at my age of 78 years. I have discovered that my very great grandfathers lived long lives from John Conant b 1480 to Roger Conant 1592 who lived to ages 79, 77, 82 and 87 years. Wow. Great genes.

I am showing signs of my age: I cannot hike mountains, go out in the ocean in a kayak, climb ladders, smoke Cuban cigars, etc, etc any longer. But that is ok. I am proud of my age and have found a new goal to record my and my ancestors' history for my children, grandchildren and beyond.

I am that little boy in holy jeans and much more. I am me.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Michael Downes of East Budleigh (Roger’s birthplace) who has been a valuable guide through the mountains of credible and not so credible information about Roger Conant, life in East Budleigh and the 400^th celebration of Roger’s arrival in America.

 Also, a special thanks to Dr. William J. Calvert, of blessed memory, my English professor who gave me a background in English literature and history of the times of Roger and his immediate family.

 Of course, a special, special thanks to my wife, Maxie, who puts up with my long, lonely hours of research and writing.

 And a thanks to 14 year old malt Scotch for helping me digest some of the tedious tomes about the Conant family.