A statue of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem, stands outside the Salem Witch Museum. Due to the statue’s hat, cloak, and proximity to the museum, Roger Conant is often mistaken for a participant in the Salem witch trials.Roger Conant was baptized in All Saints Church in the parish of East Budleigh, Devonshire, England on April 9, 1592. His father was the leading merchant of Clayton, a neighboring parish. Family tradition says that as a boy young Roger met Sir Walter Raleigh. Later Conant and his young family came to New England probably arriving in Plymouth in 1622.The Dorchester Company established a fishing settlement on Cape Ann during the winter of 1623-24 under a charter with England. Located at Stage Point, now Gloucester, the company invited Roger Conant to join them in 1625 as their governor “for the management and government of all their affairs at Cape Ann.”After a year’s residence, Conant became convinced of the need for a more permanent settlement and found an ideal site...
