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On July 7th, Gary Canant, retired resident of Shell Beach, California, celebrated his 80th birthday by giving a Zoom presentation of Roger Conant’s life in the ancient church that Roger and his ancestors attended in East Budleigh, Devon, England. On September 13th at 6:00 PM, Gary will give a live, big screen presentation of Roger’s life at Congregation Beth David in San Luis Obispo; congregational members and friends of the community are invited to attend.
Roger and his young family sailed on a ship from London to Plymouth, Massachusetts a couple of years after the Mayflower pilgrims. He soon became the first governor of Massachusetts, a peacemaker at Cape Ann and the founder of Salem. Today a large statue of Roger stands in the center of Salem honoring his role as founder.
Since little is known about Roger’s early life in East Budleigh and London, the presentation estimates his early years using historical records, wills and inventories of his ancestors, educated wild guesses, and Gary’s childhood experiences in a small village bubble in Bynum, Alabama similar to Roger’s East Budleigh village bubble.
Gary Canant is a 12th generation direct descendant of Roger Conant. Gary was able to trace his ancestry back to Roger’s great grandfather, John Conant who was born in 1480 (544 years ago!) and who paid taxes to Henry VIII.
Roger and his young family sailed on a ship from London to Plymouth, Massachusetts a couple of years after the Mayflower pilgrims. He soon became the first governor of Massachusetts, a peacemaker at Cape Ann and the founder of Salem. Today a large statue of Roger stands in the center of Salem honoring his role as founder.
Since little is known about Roger’s early life in East Budleigh and London, the presentation estimates his early years using historical records, wills and inventories of his ancestors, educated wild guesses, and Gary’s childhood experiences in a small village bubble in Bynum, Alabama similar to Roger’s East Budleigh village bubble.
Gary Canant is a 12th generation direct descendant of Roger Conant. Gary was able to trace his ancestry back to Roger’s great grandfather, John Conant who was born in 1480 (544 years ago!) and who paid taxes to Henry VIII.