The Conant Courier

  On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress, representing the 13 British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown, formally approved the Declaration of Independence.   The document, which had been drafted the previous month, explained why the colonies were separating from British rule. Thomas Jefferson, who would become the third president of the United States of America in 1801, was the primary author of the Declaration. In the Autumn 2025 issue of The Conant Courier, mention was made of Thomas Jefferson’s admiration of Sir Walter Raleigh as an opponent of tyranny, and his ownership of two of Raleigh’s books.   In 1786, Jefferson was in England on official business with John Adams, who would become the U.S.A.’s second President. Possibly during a tour of the English countryside and manor houses which the two men took together in early April, Jefferson saw a portrait of Raleigh and arranged to ha...

 ‘One of the nice things about writing about local news is that you mostly don’t have to write about the terrible things that are going on at the national level,’ wrote Paul Leighton in early March this year, in his excellent Beverly Beat local news site, shortly after the U.S. attack on Iran. ‘But sometimes that stuff rolls down hill, as they say, and it’s hard to ignore when you’re standing in it knee-deep.’  Editing The Conant Courier in the peaceful surroundings of the U.K.’s East Devon, it’s easy to forget that many of our readers, especially in the U.S., have more than Conant family history or ‘parish pump politics’ on their minds at the present time. Salem-born Congressman Seth Moulton, pictured above, who represents Salem among other North Shore towns in Massachusetts, has strongly opposed the U.S. military action initiated by the Trump administration. Below you can read the statement that he issued on 5 March. “Two decades ago, Washington b...

  The General and the President: did Washington owe his life to Simcoe? As reported in the Winter 2025 edition of The Conant Courier, we know that General John Graves Simcoe wrote the first-ever documented Valentine in America. But was he also responsible for saving the life of the man who became America’s first President?   Cartoon of Simcoe by Patrick Corrigan, Toronto Star   Sir Walter Raleigh was mentioned in the Autumn 2025 issue of The Conant Courier as inspiring the founders of the United States of America. Just a mile or so from Raleigh’s birthplace of East Budleigh, a couple of centuries later, lived another important historical figure.  You might say that this individual could be seen as the U.S.A.’s saviour. For General Simcoe, whose summer residence was on Fore Street Hill in in Budleigh Salterton, is alleged to have saved the life of George Washington during the Battle of Brandywine. This was one of the grimmest encou...

The Trial of George Jacobs, August 5th, 1692, by T.H. Matteson. Jacobs was accused by his granddaughter. From the Collection of the Peabody Essex Museum. Image credit: Wikipedia    Along with 400+ and USA350 celebrations this year in both Salem and Beverly there are reminders of a darker past. ‘The term “witch hunt” is synonymous with Salem and stands as a symbol of persecution, fanaticism, and rushing to judgement,’ writes Professor Emerson W. Baker, in the recently published book Salem’s Centuries, edited by Donna A. Seger and Brad Austin. ‘We need less celebration in October, and more commemoration and sober reflection throughout the year.’ Salem’s ‘Haunted Happenings’, part of the spooky fun tourism associated with the ‘Witch City’ takes place at a darker time of the year, as winter gloom approaches. By contrast, the city’s 400+ program will this summer include a ceremony which casts light on a sad episode in American history. The Peabody Essex Museum des...

  Exeter UK’s so-called ‘Witches Mural’, on public display from 2008 until 2023  For those unfamiliar with Devon, the county city of Exeter, with a population of over 130,000 and 30 minutes by road from East Budleigh is well worth a visit. While Salem is famous as ‘The Witch City’, not too many Devonians know the story of the three so-called witches who were executed in Exeter after their trials at the city’s Rougemont Castle in the Northernhay district.   There you can read this inscription on a rather weathered plaque — complete with graffiti of course. ‘THE DEVON WITCHES In memory of Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards, Mary Trembles of Bideford Died 1682 Alice Molland Died 1685 The last people in England to be executed for witchcraft tried here & hanged at Heavitree In the hope of an end to persecution & intolerance.’    In 2023 it was decided to commission new artwork to replace the ‘sadly fading’ mural. Stuart Crewes, Creative ...

The Peace Flag, designed by Budleigh artist John Washington, with dove and olive branch, flew from the tower of All Saints Church when East Budleigh staged its first-ever Peacemaker Festival from 15 to 17 May.  Designed as a tribute to Roger Conant, the event was attended by thirteenth generation descendant Hilary Conant, who travelled from Maine in the U.S. ‘I feel lucky and blessed to have partaken in such a special occasion. Budleigh is an incredible place!’ she wrote. She was welcomed as a guest of honour, saw the sights and made new friends. Here are some souvenir photos. Supper at East Budleigh’s Sir Walter Raleigh pub, and a view of that blue plaque.  Saturday morning’s walk among some of East Budleigh’s historic buildings, led by Otter Valley Association guides Paul and Penny Kurowski, including a view of windows at Wynards Farm which may date from at least the 16th century. Saturday evening: Wise words on peacemaking from the Bishop of Exeter were fol...