Roger Conant and the Early Settlements on the North Shore of Massachusetts

ROGER CONANT AND THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS ON THE NORTH SHORE OF MASSACHUSETTS "Experience hath taught us that as in building houses the first stones are buried under ground and are not seen, so in planting Colonies, the first stockes employed are consumed, al though they serve for a foundation to the worke.'' This philo sophical view was expressed in the Planters Plea, written in 1630 by the Reverend John White of Dorchester, "under God, one of the chief founders of the Massachusetts Colony in New England." But not only the "stockes" sunk in the foundations were lost to view but the spade work done and the pioneers who laboured, remained to a great extent unrecognized throughout three centuries. Now that the Tercentenary of the settlement of a permanent colony has arrived it is well to set out a description of that enterprise as full as the material now at our disposal allows. The work accomplished by these early settlers has been completely overshadowed by the greater undertaking of those who emigrated in 1630, as well as by the adventures of the Pil grim Fathers, and while in no way minimizing the work done by these famous men, a meed of praise, denied to the pioneers largely because their religious views did not coincide with those of members of the '' Great Migration,'' must be given to the Ad venturers of the Dorchester Company and to Roger Conant and his colleagues who encountered such difficulties in establishing the settlement at Nahum Keike, afterwards called Salem. These pioneers, unlike the settlers at New Plymouth and Boston who came from the East Coast, were for the most part from Devonshire and the neighbouring counties. Seafaring was in the bones of the Westcountry-men; for a long period the fishing fleets "off the Banks" were sent out by Westcountry mer chants and manned by Westcountry men. It must be re membered that the wave of religious feeling that swept over that part of England was of a different type from that which affected the East Coast. Broadly speaking, Devonians were Puritans—the East Anglians were more inclined to '' the Separa.- 3 tion;" and this difference in regard to the forms of worship made a distinct line of cleavage between the colonists from the two districts and was a large factor in the dissensions existing in the early days of Massachusetts. At the close of the sixteenth century and in the early years of the seventeenth there were many influences at work to turn the thoughts of Devonians towards the colonization of the New World. Sir Humphrey Gilbert and John Davis had attempted to find the North West Passage. Sir Walter Raleigh's adven tures were familiar to all; the glamour of the story of Sir Richard Grenville had fired their imaginations. Soon after the new century began two books dealing with the Western Conti nent must have formed favourite reading throughout the country; the first was "A Discovery of the Barmudas, otherwise called the He of Divels," written by Silvester Jourdain and pub lished in 1610. It was from this volume that Shapespeare drew much material for "The Tempest." The other, "A Discourse and Discovery of New-found-land," by Captain Richard Whit- bourne, was issued in 1620 "for the incouragement of Adven turers vnto the plantation there." Jourdain was a native of Lyme Regis, on the borders of Devon, but he was closely con nected with Exeter. Whitbourne was an Exmouth man. There can be little doubt that these books were conned by nearly every resident in the district who was able to read. For the moment attention must be concentrated upon this part of the country for at the side of the road leading from Exmouth towards Lyme Regis lies the little village of East Budleigh, which has not only a claim to fame as the birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh, but was also that of Roger Conant, who played an important part in laying the foundations of the Old Bay State. Raleigh bore an exceptional affection for the place of his birth and when the opportunity came for the purchase of Hayes Barton in 1584 he eagerly seized it, '' for the naturall disposition I have to that place being borne in that howse I had rather seat myself there than any wher els.'' It may, therefore, be assumed that courtier and traveller though he was, and afterwards own ing the stately and beautiful residence of Sherborne Castle, he frequently sought refuge, with his " 'scallop shell of quiet," in the charming house at East Budleigh, built, according to the fancy of the day, in the shape of the letter E. It was not far from Hayes Barton that Roger Conant was born in 1592; he was baptized in the neighbouring church on 4 19th April of that year, so it is probable that he often saw Sir Walter and frequently heard repeated, at his father's fireside and in the village, tales of that hero's adventures and of his efforts to establish settlements in the New World. When Conant was a lad of eleven years the village must have been stirred to its depths by news of Raleigh's trial for treason and his imprison ment in the Tower, whence, after fourteen years, he was released in 1616 in order to undertake that ill-fated venture which proved his last throw against Fate; as is well known, his execution took place on 29th November, 1618. All this was familiar to Roger Conant, who would have watched the career of one from his own village with the most intense interest. It may well be that Conant knew also Whitbourne, his near neighbour, and Jourdain, who would have been often in Exeter where his brother Ignatius took a prominent part in municipal affairs. Brought up amid such influences Roger's mind would have been full of the schemes for colonizing the New World so it is not surprising to find that he was ready to accept an early opportunity to emigrate. But there were other influences at work. Devonians, as has been said, were for the most part Puritans rather than Separa tists; the movement as it developed in Exeter was towards the purifying of the Church of England. A great part was taken in this by Ignatius Jourdain, mentioned above. He had been "new borne" in his early years and, we are told, he began his devotions on the coldest mornings between two and three o 'clock and found time, in spite of his business and official occupations, to attend the daily services in the Cathedral church. He talked freely with his fellow citizens about religion, even reproving the market people because they could rise so early to gain the world but not to gain Jesus Christ. His high sense of Christian duty made him remain in Exeter whenever, in the early years of the seventeenth century a visitation of the plague occurred; even when all other magistrates fled he stayed to care for the suf fering, to comfort the widows and orphans and provide for their wants. He is represented as standing at the door of his shop distributing food and money. A character such as his had a great influence upon those around him with the result that the Puritans in Exeter and its vicinity, following his example, ac cepted the new line of thought but retained their affection for the liturgy of the Church of England. Conant, as events proved, was of the same way of thinking. 5 However, at an early age, Roger Conant left Devonshire for London, perhaps accompanying his brother, Christopher, four years his senior, or following him soon after. Familiar as Roger had been with the "salterns" near his native village, it was quite natural that he should become apprenticed to a Salter and in due course be made a freeman of the Salters' Company at some period prior to 1616. In that year he was residing in the parish of St. Lawrence Jewry in London and was of sufficient standing to be accepted, with Christopher, as a guarantor of the bond his brother John had to give in connection with the church living received at that time. On 1st November, 1618, he married, at St. Ann's, Blackfriars, Sarah Horton; two of their children, Sarah and Caleb, were baptized in St. Lawrence's church in 1619 and 1622, respectively. Towards the end of the year 1623 Roger's thoughts were turned to the consideration of his own emigration to New Eng land ; his friend, Thomas Weston, had been actively engaged in the settlement of Plymouth and his brother, Christopher, had joined that colony in that year, and from either he might have heard that there was an opening there for a man in his line of business. Conant, as has been said, joined the exiles, Lyford and Oldham, and with them went to Nantasket, "an uncoth place" occupied by "some stragling people," where were Walter Knight and John and Thomas Gray, probably part of Weston's company, among whom Conant would have found a friendly welcome. But his stay there was brief, as he was offered a better position in the charge of the settlement at Cape Ann, the origin of which deserves a short notice. It had long been the custom for the ships sent out by the Western Merchants to fish in the harbour there and to cure their takings on its shores. In order to have enough for both navi gation and fishing these ships were double-manned. It was sug gested that the surplus men, not needed for navigation, should be left on shore with sufficient supplies for the winter so that they need not go back and forth to England; they could occupy themselves between seasons in trapping game and raising corn for the use of those who returned in the spring with the fishing fleet.

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