John CONANT^[1]

1713 - 1756  (~ 42 years)

• Name	John CONANT
  Birth	c.1713
  Baptism	4 Oct 1713	Beverly, Essex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [1]
  	John was baptized at the First Parish Church in Beverly, Massachusetts on 4 Oct 1713.
  Gender	Male
  admin of estate	Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [2]
  	John died intestate. The Probate Court of Middlesex County appointed his widow, Sarah, as administratrix of his estate. The various probate papers refer to John as "miller".
  Occupation	16 Feb 1737/8	Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay
  	On 16 Feb 1738, John purchased the Townshend mills from his father for £150. He was the only miller in the area until his death in 1756.
  OFFH	1739 - 1755	Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [3, 4]
  	John served as town treasurer from 1739 through 1746, and he was a selectman in 1745, 1754 and 1755. He was appointed hog-reeve and deer-reeve at various times. "Reeve" derives from the same root as the "riff" in sheriff; ie. a hog-reeve rounded up stray hogs.
  Death	26 Aug 1756  [5]
  	John died on 26 August 1756.
  inventory	28 Feb 1757	Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [2]
  	An inventory of John's personal goods was made on 28 Feb 1757, and an appraisal of his real property was made on 28 Mar 1757. Of interest in John's inventory was the listing of two slaves, a woman and a boy, valued at a total of £200.
  resided	c.1733	Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [6]
  	John was a resident of Townshend by January 1734/5 when his marriage entry in the Concord Register noted that he was "of Townshend". It is likely that he had resided there as early as the Fall of 1733 and had acted as his father's manager during the damming of the Squannocook River and the building of the saw and grist mills.
  Burial	Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [7]
  	His body was interred at the Old Cemetery in Townshend, Massachusetts.
  Person ID	I2707	mason
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

  Father	Lot CONANT,   b. c.1679, Massachusetts Bay Colony d. 20 Sep 1767, Concord, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay (Age ~ 88 years)
  Mother	Martha CLEAVES,   b. c.1681, Massachusetts Bay Colony d. 13 Feb 1725 (Age ~ 43 years)
  Marriage	16 May 1698	Beverly, Essex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [8]
  	"Lot Conant Junr & Martha Cleause Both of this Towne ware marriad by the Revernd Mr. John Hale Minister of the Gospele in This place on ye sixteenth day of may in ye year of our Lord God 1698".
  Family ID	F197	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Sarah FARRAR,   b. 19 Jan 1714/15, Concord, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay d. 27 Mar 1799, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA (Age 84 years)
  Marriage	28 Jan 1734/5	Concord, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [9]
  	The couple was married in a civil ceremony conducted by Justice Flint on 28 January 1734/5 in Concord, Massachusetts. The Concord Register entry for their marriage notes that John was "of Townshend" and Sarah was of "of Concord".
  Children	1. Sarah CONANT,   b. 19 Nov 1735, Townsend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay d. 31 Dec 1735, Townsend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay (Age 0 years)   2. Sarah CONANT,   b. 12 Sep 1737, Townsend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts d. 4 May 1825 (Age 87 years)   3. John CONANT,   b. 17 Dec 1739, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA d. 27 Mar 1798, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA (Age 58 years)   4. Lieut. Nathan CONANT,   b. 30 Jul 1743, Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay d. 26 Jun 1820, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA (Age 76 years)   5. (stillborn daughter) CONANT   bur. Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   6. Molly CONANT,   b. 17 Apr 1748, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA d. Bef 12 Nov 1799 (Age < 51 years)   7. (stillborn son) CONANT   bur. Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   8. Hannah CONANT,   b. 22 May 1750, Townsend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay d. 27 Mar 1771, Townsend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay (Age 20 years)   9. Daniel CONANT,   b. 8 Nov 1752, Townsend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay d. 6 Sep 1753, Townsend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay (Age 0 years)   10. Daniel CONANT,   b. 12 Sep 1755, Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay d. 27 Sep 1798, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA (Age 43 years)
  Photos		Conant House & Tavern.
  		Conant Tavern sign.
  Family ID	F200	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

• Sources

  [S4259] Vital Records of Beverly, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. 2 vols., ((Topsfield, MA: Topsfield Historical Society, 1906 - 1907)). Vol. I - Births, p. 84. [S5122] John Conant, Middlesex Co, MA probate file no. 4868 (1756). [S106] Frederick Odell Conant, M. A., compiler, Conant, A History and Genealogy of the Conant Family in England and America, Thirteen Generations, 1520-1887., ((Portland, ME: Privately printed by the Press of Harris & Williams, 1887)), p. 211. [S1696] Ithamar B. Sawtelle, Sawtelle, History of the Town of Townsend, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, From The Grant of Hathorn's Farm, 1676 - 1878, ((1878, Rpt. Salem, MA:Higginson Book Co, 2007)), pp. 260-262. [S148] Henry C. Hallowell, transcribed & edited by; assisted by Lee K. Kugler and Caroline Lewis Kardell. , Hallowell, Vital Records of Townsend, Massachusetts: Town Records to 1850 with Marriage Intentions to 1873 and Cemetery Inscriptions., ((Boston: NEHGS, 1992)), ISBN 0-8808-2030-6. p. 225 [Deaths - Book I] & p. 351 (Records of the Old Cemetery) [S142] Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1635 - 1850., ((Boston: T. Todd, printer, 1895)). p. 131. (Concord Registers - Book II). [S148] Henry C. Hallowell, transcribed & edited by; assisted by Lee K. Kugler and Caroline Lewis Kardell. , Hallowell, Vital Records of Townsend, Massachusetts: Town Records to 1850 with Marriage Intentions to 1873 and Cemetery Inscriptions., ((Boston: NEHGS, 1992)), ISBN 0-8808-2030-6. p. 351 (Records of the Old Cemetery) [S5128] Augustus A. Galloupe, transcriber, Galloupe, Early Records of the Town of Beverly, Essex County, MA, ((Boston: Eben Putnam, 1907)). p. 65. [S142] Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1635 - 1850., ((Boston: T. Todd, printer, 1895)). p. 131. (Concord Registers - Book II)