Joshua Conant (1678 - aft. 1707)

Born 12 May 1678 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

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Biography

Joshua Conant was the only child of Joshua Conant and Christian More. He was born 12 May 1678, just a couple of years before his mother's death in 1680. ^[1] There are some researchers that claim he married Sarah Newcomb, but she was the second wife of his father. There is no record of a marriage for Joshua Conant who was born in 1678.

Not much is known about the life of Joshua Conant. Some have supposed that he may have died young. Historic Beverly is in possession of a collection of "Conant Family Papers" that include a journal written by a Joshua Conant who participated in the futile siege of Port Royal in 1707. ^[2]

Governor Joseph Dudley was obsessed with the notion of "subduing" Canada and sought aid from the Queen to further this end. ^[3] By 1707 he had lost all hope of receiving effective aid and he had also suffered wounds to his reputation by those who said he sent Benjamin Church to lay siege to Port Royal, a fool's errand. ^[3] He must have settled on one last attempt because on 26 May 1707 1,000 men landed in Port Royal, about 7 or 8 miles from the fort. After about five days it was determined that the attack had been unsuccessful and the English retreated. ^[3] Additional companies were raised and a second landing was made 10 August 1707. It was of this that Joshua Conant wrote about in his journal. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, database and digital images, "Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850," AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/, accessed 25 November 2020); citing Vital records of Salem, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1916, Volume I. Salem Births, pg. 198 <https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7791/198/0>. Cit. Date: 25 Nov 2020.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Calkins, Peggy, processor. "Conant Family Papers," Historic Beverly, abstract of collection MSS: #027, Volume I Box (https://www.historicbeverly.net : accessed 30 May 2021); citing pg. 5. View
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Drake, Samuel Adams. The Border Wars of New England, Commonly Called King William's and Queen Anne's Wars, New York, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1910; digital images, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Border_Wars_of_New_England/L_AXAAAAIAAJ? : accessed 30 May 2021); citing pg. 225-234.

• Mayflower Families Through Five Generations Vol. 15 Richard More
• Mayflower Society Application Database: "Community Trees," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:QDJ4-W5P : accessed 22 August 2021), entry for Joshua Conant, cites sources; "Mayflower Pilgrim Genealogies" file (2:2:2:MMXD-DP8), submitted 24 February 2020 by FamilySearch. Source: Robert Moody Sherman, CG, FASG; Robert S. Wakefield, FASG; and Lindia Dow Finlay, CALS, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations - Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass December 1620 (Vol. 15) ([Plymouth, Massachusetts]: General Soci
• A History and Genealogy of the Conant Family in England and America, Thirteen Generations, 1520 1887: Containing Also Some Genealogical Notes on the Connet, Connett and Connit Families, Page 163