Salem, 1626

TL;DR -- The 250th is well-known by now. So, it's time to get back to the 400th. 

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The 250th is everywhere now getting attention which is great. We are not yet to the Day of the Declaration of Independence so ought to be paying attention to the events that came before July 4 of 1776. Our last post on "Knox Sunday" is an example. We will have more posts with the team but have been covering the 250th for over a decade. 

May we step back to the 400th? With regard to Essex County of Massachusetts, the initial settlement attempt was in the 1623/24 timeframe. Gloucester celebrated their 400th in 2023. 

As the story goes (told by many), the crew that came over with Thomas Gardner attempt for a couple of years to make a go of it without much success. For one thing, the land was not suitable for farming. Evidently the fishing went well for subsistence, but that did not please the "money" behind the effort. So, Roger Conant came to town to correct things. He could not provide a miracle and got permission to move to what became Salem. 

Roger and some of his crew did that move in 1626. So, we have been waiting for this year. We wrote of the transition earlier in a post about Massey's Cove in 2019. We included this painting which was done in the 20th century to accompany an article on the perils of this attempt. 

Of course, later there were various criticisms of the painting. For one, the houses were better configured than we know from reality. We wrote of that recently quoting the reaction of Anne Bradstreet as she got off the ship that was with the Winthrop Fleet. This was her introduction to Salem.  

Anne noted that some in London had mislead them: Hype, 1600s. What we got out of the stories was that Winthrop was feated in the "Governor's" great house. Anne and others went to Cape Ann to pick wild strawberries. The Governor would have been John Endicott who came in to replace Roger Conant. 

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Where was Thomas? Evidently, he had returned with the first year to London. He and his family returned sometime before 1635 as his last child was born here. At the time of Cape Ann, it would have been Margaret and the older boys. See "Themes that persist" to watch for particulars as we go along. 

We have mentioned Roger Conant several times and will relook at the start of Massachusetts this year as we continue with the 250. As the commemoration of the Revolution continues through 2033, we will step through the early years of Naumkeag which became Salem and which Winthrop didn't like. So, he went further down the coast to Boston. 

Ann is a descendant of Roger as well as of Thomas Gardner. Those relationships will be looked at as well, as we go forward. 

With technology as a major focus, we will use some of the modern stuff. Mainly, it would be to discuss the issues related to use and misuse which is a common characteristic of people and their involvement with all matters of life, it seems. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/08/2026

03/08/2026 --  Some correction of typos and phrasing mishaps (as in, touch typist - fingers walking the keys following ruminations in the mind - one reason that publishing processes have proofreading - rather than the know-it-all-ish nature ot the buckets'o'bits).