John CONANT

1739 - 1798  (58 years)

• Name	John CONANT
  Birth	17 Dec 1739	Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   [1]
  Gender	Male
  anecdote	17 Mar 1766	Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [2]
  	Though still a minor at the time of his father's death, John reached legal age in Dec 1760. As his father's heir, he began increasing the Conant holdings in the surrounding area. On 16 Sep 1766, he purchased a potash mill from Jonas Cutler and Samuel Ward of Groton. The mill was located across the road from the Conant homestead, and it produced soap and dyes for use in Townshend.
  OFFH	1770 - 1771	Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [3]
  	John served as a Townshend Selectman in 1770 and in 1771.
  anecdote	17 Mar 1771	Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay
  	There is evidence that John owned a blacksmith shop; a description of its location and boundaries being found on a scrap of paper [now badly mutilated] among the town records.
  anecdote	5 Jan 1773	Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay   [4]
  	On 5 Jan 1773, John was one of thirty-five Townshend residents who, having previously purchased a pew on the floor of the meeting house, on that day drew a number determining the location of the pew. John received pew No. 2.
  anecdote	15 Jun 1792	Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   [2]
  	By the 1790s, John found himself in financial problems due to his many property acquisitions. On 15 Jun 1792, he entered into a lease with Silas Lawrence of Hollis, NH, granting him limited water rights at the dam on the Squannocook River. Lawrence established a fulling mill at the Harbor on land also leased to him by John Conant.
  Death	27 Mar 1798	Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   [5]
  Person ID	I2723	mason
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

  Father	John CONANT,   b. c.1713   d. 26 Aug 1756 (Age ~ 42 years)
  Mother	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   [6]
  	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".
  Photos		Conant House & Tavern.
  		Conant Tavern sign.
  Family ID	F200	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Sarah FARRAR,   b. 9 Jun 1748, Townshend, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay d. Aft 11 Apr 1809 (Age > 61 years)
  Marriage	15 Aug 1771	Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   [7]
  Children	1. John CONANT,   b. 24 Oct 1772, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   2. Daniel CONANT,   b. 12 Oct 1774, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   3. Hannah CONANT,   b. 4 Jul 1776, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA d. 23 Sep 1866 (Age 90 years)   4. Noah Farrar CONANT,   b. 24 May 1778, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   5. Sarah CONANT,   b. 10 Sep 1780, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   6. Joel CONANT,   b. 4 Mar 1783, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   7. Mary CONANT,   b. 27 Oct 1785, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   8. Olive CONANT,   b. 19 Feb 1788, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA   9. Josiah CONANT,   b. 6 Apr 1791, Townsend, Middlesex Co, MA
  Family ID	F5272	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

• Sources

  [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. 206 (Births - Book I) [S5121] Richard N. Smith, Smith, Divinity and Dust, A History of Townsend, Massachusetts., ((Lancaster, MA: The College Press, 1978)). p. 32. [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)), p. 364. [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. 1. [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. 259 [Deaths - Book 2] [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. 51 [Marriages - Book I]