ROGER CONANT’S HOUSE, SALEM, MASS., 1628, FIRST GOVERNOR OF MASS. BAY COLONY.
BARCLAY, CLARK & CO. LITHO. TORONTO
appointed Governor, it being taken down and removed to Salem. The exact site of Roger’s house, the first built in Salem, cannot be ascertained. Subsequent records go to show that the stability, the permanency and good government of the colony were largely dependent upon the influence of Conant, although after the appointment of Endicott as Governor, under the new patent, he was no longer the head. During the rivalry between the members of the old and the new company his self-denial and upright character won him friends on both sides and secured that harmony which resulted in the public good; he “quietly composed that the meum and tuum which divide the world should not disturb the peace of good Christians.”
There has been some controversy among the antiquarians on Roger Conant’s claim to the title of first Governor of Massachusetts. He is, however, entitled to the honor, for the colony of which he was the recognized head for three years was the first permanent settlement in the territory, and from it the other colonies sprung. There are many documents extant, besides entries in the records of the Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay, which go to prove how frequently Roger Conant was called upon to fill offices and do his share in the numerous works inseparable from the building up of a country, the knowledge and experience as well as the influence of the “prudent Christian gentleman” being invaluable to his fellow-townsmen and settlers.
In 1668 that part of Salem known as Bass River, on the Cape Ann side, was incorporated under the name of Beverley, and one of the most interesting incidents of his long and active life is Roger Conant’s effort to change this name for that of Budleigh. The original petition, which however was not granted, is among the Massachusetts archives. It is interesting as showing how the memory of his birth-place still remained fresh in his affections. He died November 19th, 1678, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. From this date until that of the Revolution the succeeding generations of Conants have left individual records of worth, as landed proprietors in the State of Massachusetts; but it is unnecessary here to enter into their history. Several of them were graduates of Harvard University, and many of them mill-owners, thus carrying on the calling and talents of their ancestor, as we shall see, to the seventh, eighth and ninth generation; Hezekiah Conant, of Pawtucket, being a large owner of the great thread works of J. P. Coates, employing five thousand hands; and Daniel Conant, the author’s father, also a mill-owner in Upper Canada, a property which contributed largely to his success.
CHAPTER II.
The American Revolution—Personal rule of King George III.—Washington’s politeness—Valley Forge—Washington’s prayer—Raw New England levies—John Hancock—Other leaders and generals—Colonel Butler—Murder, not war—Roger Conant removes to Canada—An old deed—Governor Simcoe—York (Toronto).
“There are moments, bright moments, when the spirit receives
Whole volumes of thought on its unwritten leaves;
When the folds of the heart in a moment unclose,
Like the innermost leaves from the heart of the rose;
And thus when the rainbow had passed from the sky,
The thoughts it awoke were too deep to pass by;
It left my full soul like the wings of a dove,
All flutt’ring with pleasure, and flutt’ring with love.”