Journeys (1661-1765) - Chapter 1: 1661-1675, A Bristol merchant and his son

Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred … unto a land that I will show thee (Genesis 12:1)

Robert Cann’s father had been mayor of Bristol when the king had been beheaded and the Commonwealth was proclaimed. As a consequence, Robert was doing all that he could now to ingratiate himself with the newly restored King Charles II to protect his family’s interests in that city. Sure, he was wealthy, but he knew that that would be of little consequence if he was regarded as an enemy by the new regime.

2 “Why are you lending money to the king that you know will never be repaid?” his son asked him. “John, we must demonstrate our friendship and support,” Robert explained. “The king has the power of life and death, both for us and our commerce.” “If we’re paying the king for his favors, does not that make him a whore?” John demanded. “I would not say such things aloud, son,” his father warned him.

3 In spite of his son’s misgivings, Robert’s strategy bore substantial fruit in 1662. He became mayor and received a knighthood from the king. Then, that fall, came even more obvious proof that he had been right to court the king’s favor. Charles II made him Baronet Cann of Compton Green.

4 Even so, as his wealth and prestige continued to grow, Robert’s desire for ostentation and approbation grew with it. “We are the first family of Bristol, and we must act like it,” he told his wife and children. By the close of the decade, he had completed construction of a magnificent new home at Stoke Bishop. In addition to that stupendous piece of real estate, Robert could also boast about his home in Bristol proper and his sugar plantation in Barbados.

5 There were, however, storm clouds on the horizon. John posed a direct threat to his father’s interests in England. Like his maternal grandfather and namesake, he was a vocal nonconformist; and Charles II was not enamored of anything which threatened the prosperity and tranquility of his realm.

6 In short, John simply was not enchanted with the life which his father had carved out for himself and his family in Bristol. “It is all so superficial and transient,” he explained to his new friend. “Though, I believe your father is kindly disposed towards our beliefs,” John Fenwick replied. “Yes, at least he tolerates our Society,” Cann admitted. “Unhappily, as you well know, there are not many here who are so tolerant,” Fenwick reminded him.

7 “That is why I am so interested in your venture in West Jersey,” Cann continued. “Are you certain that you are willing to give up your advantages here?” Fenwick pressed. “I am a simple tailor, and I am content with that,” Cann persisted. “We will be leaving for America soon,” Fenwick told him. “And Mary and I still want to be aboard that ship when it departs England,” Cann assured him.

8 Thus it was that, in the summer of 1675, John Cann met Fenwick and the other Quaker emigrants in London. And, at the end of July, they set sail aboard The Griffin for West Jersey.

9 They reached their destination in early October. “We will find peace here,” Fenwick assured them all. 

10 Now these are the generations of Robert Cann of Bristol, England:

11 Robert married his cousin Deliverance Cann, the daughter of the Reverend John Cann (the leader of the English Nonconformists in the Netherlands). Together, Robert and Deliverance had a son whom they named after her father.

12 And John begat William. Then William married Jane Lewis, and they had a daughter named Susanna.

13 Susanna married James McMasters and had sons: David, Daniel, William, Andrew, Samuel, Jonathan, Simeon and Lewis.