Roger Conant and the Salem Dream Connection

The Conant Connection and the Salem Dream

Have you ever felt connected to some place or a certain time period but couldn’t explain why? Have you ever had vivid dreams about that place, or could smell it? Have you ever felt you lived in a place or time period and were sure of it? Have you ever felt out of sync, out-of-time or knew you knew a place without ever having been there?

I have.

I will start with the dream. I have had the same reoccurring dream for many, many years now.  I’m not sure when it began but it crops up often and is always the same.  I am standing in an early saltbox home, although I never ‘see’ the outside of the house I just know that it is a light brown in parts and dark brown in other areas.  It isn’t a big home but small and cozy.  My reoccurring dream is the same no matter how much I try to move around.  I am always rooted in front of a low table or wooden counter space.  The only think I see is the stained glass window that features yellow, golds and some browns and the pattern seems to be a wheat stalk or flower of muted colors.  It’s the only bright distinguishing feature.  I can tell I am wearing a dress but I never see the actual dress.  If I move away from the window I always loose the dream.  The smell of the house is a mixture of bread dough, not yet baked and a hearth fire that isn’t quite ready.  I’m not sure what I am doing with my hands but I know they are busy.  And, as I said I am not sure what I am wearing but I also sense that my hair is strawberry red/blonde mixed and it’s pulled back and covered in a cap of sorts.  I can see this dream, feel this dream and I can even smell this dream. Once in a while, if I am out and about in the here and now, and I smell that certain scent it’ll take me back to the spot… to that time period.  It’s as if I am home for only a few brief moments.  The only other concrete thing is that from the beginning of this dream I knew I lived in Essex County, Massachusetts and was not located within a village but we weren’t far from Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts.  I also knew and could sense it was early in colonial history, as though we were still under the British crown.  Far from the years of the Revolution, and in fact, far from the years of the Salem Witch Trials.

So when it came time for me to research my family history I was expecting to find Massachusetts relatives but what I was not expecting to find was my 11^th great grandfather was Roger Conant.  Governor Roger Conant, founder of Salem.  I knew I was connected to him.  I knew it as easily as I know my own address right now.  It was like a lightbulb for me.  A connection so deep that I held my breath with each of my Massachusetts relatives within his line.  I felt so much a part of this family.  I felt at home.  Massachusetts is a place I know I lived once before.  It’s why I am an ardent ancestral digger.  I have always felt deeply connected to the past but where it concerns the Salem area, I know I KNOW I have lived there once in a past life and my brain has allowed, or was able to save just one tiny scrape of my previous life. 

This line means a lot to me and I have researched many of these folks and they led incredible lives.  They were immigrants, farmers, distinguished men and women, and were pioneers of the America we know and love today.

Conant Line:

Governor Roger Conant was born in April of 1592 in East Budleigh, Devon, England.  He was an immigrant, arriving in Massachusetts where he settled what is now Salem.  He married Sarah Horton and together they had my 10^th great grandfather Lot Conant. 

Statue of Roger Conant, founder of Salem, Massachusetts, photo taken in 2004. Image provided by: Wikipedia)

Lot Conant (1624 – 1674) married Elizabeth Mansfield (1629 – 1650).  Together they had:

Roger Conant, Jr. (1668 – 1745) who married Mary Raiment/Raymond (1684 – 1783).  Together they had:

Mehitable Conant (1715 – 1814) and she married Josiah Piper, Sr. (1708 – 1758).  Together they had:

Josiah Piper, Jr. (1708 – 1758) who married Mary (surname unknown); together they had:

Mary “Polly” Piper (1769 – 1846) who married Walsingham Bosworth (best name EVER) (1777 – 1821), together they had:

Olive Bosworth (1801 – 1875) who married Samuel Willis Cowden (1786 – 1873), together they had:

Elizabeth Betsy Cowden (1816 – 1866) who married Charles M Scates (1810 – 1891) and together they had:

Charles Luther Scates (1844 – 1899) who married the widow, Alice Elizabeth James (nee Lampson); who together had:

Luther Bertcell Scates (1868 – 1940) who married Emma Catherine Pitzer (1869 – 1947) and together they had my great grandpa Charles Edward, who married Velma and who together had my lovely little granny Evelyn Velma.

The first six family members after Gov. Roger Conant were all Massachusetts born and/or died. It’s simply amazing that I’m connected to my dream through my family and through relatives I didn’t know existed but could only feel in spirit.  I’ve often prided myself on not being religious but being spiritual and this only strengthens my resolve.

XOXOXO,

Nellie Hull

Picts and Vikings Line

Working on my Pict/Celt and Viking line is always a fun ride.  With lineages that go back this far it is important to note that new information always comes up and sometimes changes have to happen in a line that directs the whole ballgame onto a new direction.  I once worked on a Shelton line in which I had a major error in one of the names of my ancestors that unraveled probably a good 6 months worth of work. Ugh. Super frustrating but it does happen. I work really hard on lines, ancestry, and trees but errors occur.

**Note: When I use the word lines as opposed to trees it is because I am working on straight lineage connections to myself, omitting spouses and siblings.  In no way shape or form should you do this when working on actual trees because not only can siblings and spouses tell you much valid information but they can also provide information about what happened to the family after the persons death (as in probate records, deeded lands, and remarriages). This paints an incredible picture of the lives of many ancestors.  I only provide lines after I've worked on the actual tree enough to provide a good snapshot of my ancestors' heritages.

And like all ancestry work... IT. WILL. NEVER. BE. FULLY. COMPLETED! Also, I am an amateur so anything you take away from this line needs to be fully researched and investigated on your own time.

So here are my two heritage lines (they are the same until #28):

Viking  Heritage Line:

Sea-faring Danes depicted invading England. Illuminated illustration from the 12th century Miscellany on the Life of St. Edmund. Pierpont Morgan Library. Image Provided by (Wikipedia).

1. Me
2. Mom
3. Grandmother
4. Velma Tanner (1890 in Nebraska – 1986 in Lancaster, CA)
5. Mary Hygiana Deuel (1852 in Beloit, WI – 1930 in Ventura County, CA)
6. Theodore Cross Deuel (1824 in New York – 1909 in Fullerton, CA)
7. Betsy Cross (1799 in Weare, NH – 1891 in Afton, WI)
8. Theodore Cross (1765 in Methuen, MA – 1833 in Antwerp, NY)
9. John Cross III (1711 in Haverhill, MA  – 1769 in Methuen, MA)
10. John Cross II (1681 in Methuen, MA – 1746 in Methuen, MA)
11. John Cross I (1644 in Ipswich, MA – 1697 in Methuen, MA)
12. Robert Cross (1613 in Charlinch, Somersetshire, England  – 1693 in Ipswich, MA) *Immigrant*
13. Thomas Cross (1580 in Somersetshire, England  – 1640 in Ipswich, MA) *Immigrant*
14. Anghard Ellis (1565 in Charlinch, Somersetshire, England   – 1682 in England)
15. Mary Dutton (1516 in Dutton, Cheshire, England  – 1580 in St. Giles Cripplegate, London, England)
16. Eleanor Legh (1480 in Adlington, Cheshire, England  – 1522 in Adlington, Cheshire, England )
17. Katherine Savage (1458 in Clifton, Cheshire, England  – 1515 in England)
18. Knight: Sir John Savage, Lord of Clifton (1403 in Clifton, Cheshire, England  – 1463 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England)
19. Knight: Sir John Savage I (1370 – 1450; b/d in Clifton, Cheshire, England )
20. Margaret Danyers (1347 in Cheadle, Cheshire, England – 1428 in Clifton, Cheshire, England)
21. Isabel Baggiley (1325 – 1364; b/d in Cheadle, Stockport, Cheshire, England )
22. Sir William de Baguley (1305 – after 1325; b/d in Cheadle, Stockport, Cheshire, England )
23. Lucy Corona (illigimate daughter but claimed*) (1250 – 1316; b/d in Cheshire, England)
24. King Edward I, Plantagenet (1239 in Westminster Abbey, London, England – 1307 in Burgh by Sands, Cumberland, England)
25. King Henry III, Plantagenet (1207 in Winchester, City of Winchester, Hampshire, England  – 1272 in Westminster, City of Westminster, Greater London, England)
26. King John “Lackland” Plantagenet (1166 in Beaumont Palace, Oxfordshire, England  – 1216 in Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England )
27. King Henry II, Plantagenet (1133 in Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays De La Loire, France – 1189 in Chinon, Departement d'Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France)
a. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 in France – 1204 in Mirabell Castle, France)
28. Matilda, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of France & Germany (1102 in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, England – 1167 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France)
29. King Henry I (1068 in Selby, Yorkshire, England – 1135 in Saint-Denis-en-Lyons, Normandy )
30. King William “The Conqueror” [First Norman King of England] (1028 in Falaise, Normandy  – 1087 in Priory of Saint Gervase, Rouen, Normandy )
31. Robert I, Duke of Normandy (1000 in Normandy, France – 1035 in Nicaea, Turkey [now Iznik] )
32. Richard II, Duke of Normandy (963 – 1026; b/d in Normandy, France)
33. Richard I, Duke of Normandy (933 – 996; b/d in Fécamp Normandy, France)
34. William “Longsword” I, Duke of Normandy (893 in Bayeux or Rouen, France – 942 in Picquigny on the Somme in France)
35. Rollo [also known as Hrólfr or Granger Hrólf in Icelandic Sagas] (846 in Møre og Romsdal, Norway – 932 in Normandy, France)
36. Rögnvaldr “The Wise” Eysteinsson, Jarl of Møre, Norway (d. 890)
37. Eystein “The Clatterer” Ivarsson, Jarl of Oppland & Hedmark, Norway (805 – 846 b/d in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway)
38. Ivar “Vidfame” Halfdansson, King of Sweden (780 in Oppland, Norway  – 824 in Vestfold, Norway) [Also known as Eyestein the Fart]
39. Halfdon “The Aged” Sveidasson, Jarl of Upland (750 in Oppland, Norway– 800 in Borri, Norway)
40. Sveidi "Sea King" Heytirsson, Norse King (650 in Romsdal, Møre og Romsdal, Norway – 710 in Oppland, Norway)

“According to both the Heimskringla Saga and the Orkneyinga Saga, Eystein Ivarsson Glumra was the father of Rognvald. The Orkneyinga Saga says Eystein Glumra's earliest ancestor was Fornjot, King of Finland and Kvenland. Fornjot's great-great-grandson was Thorri who had two sons, Norr and Gorr, who emigrated westward. Norr took the mainland called Norway and Gorr took the islands. Gorr's son Heiti was the father of Sveithi (Sveide), the Sea King, who died about 760. Sveithi's son, Halfdan the Old, who died in 800, was the father of Ivar, Earl of the Uplands. And Ivar, in turn, was the father of Eystein Ivarsson Glumra.”

Therefore, the line would be furthered as follows
41. Heiti
42. Gorr
43. Thorri

For additional Research:

Source: Excerpts from the Saga of Hardrada

Source: The Orkneying Saga

Source: Descendants of Fornjotur Kvenland King

Source: Eystein Glumra & Viking Line

Celtic/Pict Heritage Line:

The Aberlemno Serpent Stone, Class I Pictish stone with Pictish symbols, showing (top to bottom) the serpent, the double disc and Z-rod and the mirror and comb.  Image provided by (Wikipedia). 

1. Me 

2. Paula Vance

3. Grandmother

4. Velma Tanner (1890 in Nebraska – 1986 in Lancaster, CA)

5. Mary Hygiana Deuel (1852 in Beloit, WI – 1930 in Ventura County, CA)

6. Theodore Cross Deuel (1824 in New York – 1909 in Fullerton, CA)

7. Betsy Cross (1799 in Weare, NH – 1891 in Afton, WI)

8. Theodore Cross (1765 in Methuen, MA – 1833 in Antwerp, NY)

9. John Cross III (1711 in Haverhill, MA  – 1769 in Methuen, MA)

10. John Cross II (1681 in Methuen, MA – 1746 in Methuen, MA)

11. John Cross I (1644 in Ipswich, MA – 1697 in Methuen, MA)

12. Robert Cross (1613 in Charlinch, Somersetshire, England  – 1693 in Ipswich, MA) *Immigrant*

13. Thomas Cross (1580 in Somersetshire, England  – 1640 in Ipswich, MA) *Immigrant*

14. Anghard Ellis (1565 in Charlinch, Somersetshire, England   – 1682 in England)

15. Mary Dutton (1516 in Dutton, Cheshire, England  – 1580 in St. Giles Cripplegate, London, England)

16. Eleanor Legh (1480 in Adlington, Cheshire, England  – 1522 in Adlington, Cheshire, England )

17. Katherine Savage (1458 in Clifton, Cheshire, England  – 1515 in England)

18. Knight: Sir John Savage, Lord of Clifton (1403 in Clifton, Cheshire, England  – 1463 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England)

19. Knight: Sir John Savage I (1370 – 1450; b/d in Clifton, Cheshire, England )

20. Margaret Danyers (1347 in Cheadle, Cheshire, England – 1428 in Clifton, Cheshire, England)

21. Isabel Baggiley (1325 – 1364; b/d in Cheadle, Stockport, Cheshire, England )

22. Sir William de Baguley (1305 – after 1325; b/d in Cheadle, Stockport, Cheshire, England )

23. Lucy Corona (illigimate daughter but claimed*) (1250 – 1316; b/d in Cheshire, England)

24. King Edward I, Plantagenet (1239 in Westminster Abbey, London, England – 1307 in Burgh by Sands, Cumberland, England)

25. King Henry III, Plantagenet (1207 in Winchester, City of Winchester, Hampshire, England  – 1272 in Westminster, City of Westminster, Greater London, England)

26. King John “Lackland” Plantagenet (1166 in Beaumont Palace, Oxfordshire, England  – 1216 in Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England )

27. King Henry II, Plantagenet (1133 in Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays De La Loire, France – 1189 in Chinon, Departement d'Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France)

a. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 in France – 1204 in Mirabell Castle, France)

28. Matilda, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of France & Germany (1102 in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, England – 1167 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France)

29. Matilda of Scotland (1080 in Dunfermine, Scotland – 1 May 1118 in Westminster Palace, England)

30. Malcolm III “Canmore” King of Alba (1031 in Scotland – 13 Nov 1093 in Alnwick, England)

31. Duncan I, King of Alba (d. 14 Aug 1040 in Pitgaveny near Elgin)

32. Bethoc MacAlpine (984 in Perth and Kinross, Scotland – 1043 in Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland)

33. Malcolm II “The Destroyer”, King of Scots (d. 25 Nov 1034 in Glamis, Scotland)

34. Kenneth II “The Fratricide” King of Alba (954 – 995 in Fettercairn)

35. Malcolm I, King of Alba (900 – 954)

36. Donald II, King of Picts and Alba (d. 900 in Forres or Dunnottar)

37. Constantine I, King of Picts (d. 877 in Atholl)

38. Kenneth I (Kenneth MacAlpine), King of Picts (810 in Iona Island, Scotland – 13 Feb 858 in Cinnbelachar, Scotland)

39. Alpíne Mac Echdach {Pictish Name: Ælfwine} (d. 836 in Galloway, Ireland [Killed])

40. Possibly Eochaid

Lots of names, lots of work and it will never fully be completed but man, isn't it fun to know who you are in the end? I fill very connected to history and to these people as if I have always known them and felt them in my spirit.  The tree I am working on lately is Roger Conant's and he is my 11th Great-Grandfather.  He is also the founder of Salem, a place I have always felt a deep spiritual connection even when I was very young. Perhaps his soul and the souls of all my ancestors dwell in my cosmetic and genetic makeup. They are somewhere in my soul. And as such, ancestry is very much alive to me and my ancestors are always deep within me and around me.  I feel them and I hope someday you feel yours too. 

My favorite quote and I truly believe this quote.

The past is alive because we are, our ancestors love...

XOXOXO,

Nellie Hull

1.   

Britain's Love of Curry + Super Easy Coconut Curry Recipe

Curry is a complex dish that can trace it's origins to Eastern and Southern Asia.  And using spices, herbs, and chilies, curry is a very robust and flavorful dish, one that is extremely popular all over Britain.  Featured as either dry or wet, curry is cooked utilizing a variety of techniques depending upon who is making the dish. But where did Britain's love of curry come from?

Curry can, in some form, trace it's roots back in ancient history, "Archaeological evidence dating to 2600 BCE from Mohenjo-daro suggests the use of mortar and pestle to pound spices including mustard, fennel, cumin, and tamarind pods with which they flavoured food. Such dishes are also recorded during the Vedic Period of Indian history, roughly 1700 to 500 BCE" (Wikipedia).  So, when and how did curry become so intertwined in the British landscape?  

Coat of Arms of The East India Trading Company (Wiki Picture)

According to 'Go For An English, website' "When the British first established trading posts in India in the mid 17th century they were simply trading partners. The food eaten by the employees of the East India Company would have been largely the same as the food eaten by the local Indian population. And there appears to have been plenty of choice; one East India Company employee wrote in 1759 "The currees are infinitely various". By the time the British had become the colonial rulers of India in the mid 1800's there had been a huge influx of British nationals into India to administer British affairs. The British colonials were by now eating predominantly British-style food although they found that they had to adapt to local conditions and use local produce. Numerous books were written to help newly arrived young British wives advising them how and what to cook and how to manage a household in India" (goforanenglish). 

Due to large demand for the new dish, back home in the British empire, but the lack of ingredients needed to reproduce the curries found within the colony of India, a curry powder, which could be transported easily, became the 'go-to' staple for much of the British curries in the late colonial and up into the Victorian era.  Mrs. Beeton's Victorian book of Household Management, which wiggled it's way into many a households and kitchens had a prized recipe for curry beef using the powder (MrsBeetonHousehold):

CURRIED BEEF (Cold Meat Cookery).

620. INGREDIENTS – A few slices of tolerably lean cold roast or boiled beef, 3 oz. of butter, 2 onions, 1 wineglassful of beer, 1 dessertspoonful of curry powder.

Mode.—Cut up the beef into pieces about 1 inch square, put the butter into a stewpan with the onions sliced, and fry them of a lightly-brown colour. Add all the other ingredients, and stir gently over a brisk fire for about 10 minutes. Should this be thought too dry, more beer, or a spoonful or two of gravy or water, may be added; but a good curry should not be very thin. Place it in a deep dish, with an edging of dry boiled rice, in the same manner as for other curries.

Time.—10 minutes. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d.

Seasonable in winter.

Curry was just about everywhere in Britain, including at the table of Queen Victoria, "Kitchen archives at the Queen’s favourite residence, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, reveal that curries featured on the menu every Sunday during lunchtime. “Had some excellent curry, prepared by one of my Indian servants,” the Queen remarked in her diary later that summer" (Revealed).  

Queen Victoria with Family (note the Indian servants behind)

With the influx of Britain's going to and from India, as well as the influx of Indian's arriving in Britain and soon opening restaurants and becoming chefs and cooks, it is no large surprise that curry became an integral dish of Britain. 

Wiki Picture

Sake Dean Mahomed by Thomas Mann Baynes (c. 1810) Wiki Picture

And it has remained an integral part of the British food scene ever since, "Almost 200 years before the Indian restaurant became a fixture on the British high street, [Sake Dean] Mahomed, a Muslim soldier, founded the first curry establishment in Britain, the Hindoostane Coffee House in Portman Square, London. It gave the gentry of Georgian England their first taste of spicy dishes. Two centuries later, the British are still in love with dishes flavoured with cumin, coriander, ginger, fenugreek, cayenne pepper and caraway. We spend an extraordinary £2.5bn in Indian restaurants every year. Around 80 per cent of "Indian" restaurants are actually owned by Bangladeshis, and their cuisine derives not just from India but Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. And curry describes not just one dish, but a meal and the cooking of an entire subcontinent" (Independent).  

In keeping with our curry theme, I present an easy (and I mean EASY) coconut curry recipe.  All ingredients are from Trader Joe's.

 Ingredients:
1 Can Coconut Cream (you'll only need 1/2)
1 Jar Thai Red Curry Sauce
1 Package of Rice (the box comes with 3, just use 1 packet)
1/2 an onion, chopped
Salt and pepper, optional
1 package of garlic naan bread
1 package of chicken, 2 lbs or thereabouts, cubed
Pat of butter or olive oil for frying

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 (or whatever your naan bread directions say).  Shake a little pepper over the cubed chicken.  Fry the chicken in butter or olive oil, when nearly cooked, toss in onions and cook until translucent. Cook rice per package directions. Toss rice, 1/2 can of coconut cream, and 1 jar of Thai Red Curry Sauce in the pan.  Mix well and bring the curry sauce to boiling. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.  Put naan bread in the preheated oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Once done, serve and enjoy.  Super easy and feeds 3-4 (ingredients can be doubled as needed).

Curry simmering away.

Curry always smells so delicious and it is truly one of my favorite dishes to make.  Of course, I always plan to make an elaborate curry but, like everyone else, time slips away from me and in the end I use Trader Joe's ingredients and to be honest, it's just as tasty! Plus, knowing that Queen Victoria had her own love of curry makes me smile even more.
It warms my little Anglophile heart...
XOXO,
TheHistoryGirl

Sources: 

http://www.goforanenglish.com/oldenglish/curry.html

http://www.mrsbeeton.com/13-chapter13.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Karim_(the_Munshi)

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-revealed-queen-victorias-secret-love-for-her-indian-servant-1679137

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/sake-dean-mahomed-the-man-who-opened-britains-first-curry-house-nearly-200-yars-ago-509028.html

(And many more than are linked within the blog post).