THE WILTSHIRE BRANCH OF THE CARPENTER FAMILY APPEARS TO BE THE
ANCESTRAL FAMILY OF THE EARLY NEW ENGLAND CARPENTER SETTLERS IN
AMERICA. IT IS KNOWN THAT RICHARD CARPENTER OF AMESBURY,
WILTSHIRE LEFT HIS SON, WILLIAM CARPENTER OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE
ISLAND, PROPERTY IN FROG LANE, AMESBURY. IT HAS ALSO BEEN LONG
RECOGNIZED THAT WILLIAM OF PROVIDENCE WAS A COUSIN OF WILLIAM
CARPENTER OF REHOBOTH, MASSACHUSETTS (WHICH IS OUR LINE OF
DESCENT) AND MUCH EVIDENCE POINTS TO THEIR PATERNAL HOME HAVING
BEEN IN WILTSHIRE.
THE WILL OF ROBERT CARPENTER OF HARDEN, WILTSHIRE, WHO DIED IN
1607, SHOWS SONS WILLIAM AND RICHARD AND A GRANDSON, WILLIAM JR.
MARDEN IS A SMALL VILLAGE 12 MILES NORTH OF AMESBURY AND THIS
ROBERT CARPENTER WAS A WELL-TO-DO SHEEP PROPRIETOR. HE MARRIED
HIS COUSIN, ELEANOR CARPENTER, AND HIS WILL LISTS HIS CHILDREN AS
WILLIAM, RICHARD, JOHN, CHARLES, ROBERT, EDITH AND ALICE.
ROBERT CARPENTER BEQUEATHED CERTAIN GOODS TO HIS ELDEST SON, WILLIAM ANDHIS GRANDCHILD, WILLIAM JR. AS WELL AS TO HIS SON, RICHARD. HE APPEARS TOHAVE PUT HIS OTHER SONS TO TRADES AND MENTIONED THE APPRENTICESHIP OF HISSON JOHN.
BEFORE SUMMARIZING WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE ANCESTRY OF ROBERT
CARPENTER, SHEEP RAISER, IT IS APPROPRIATE TO FOCUS MORE
ATTENTION ON Robert's SON WILLIAM AND THE GRANDSON, WILLIAM JR.,
AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF OTHER WILTSHIRE FAMILIES WHO WERE CLOSE TO
THEM.
MOST AMERICAN CARPENTER DESCENDANTS WHO HAVE TAKEN AN INTEREST IN
OUR FAMILY GENEALOGY REALIZE THAT A WILLIAM CARPENTER, BORN IN
1576, AND HIS SON WILLIAM, BORN SOMEWHERE AROUND 1605, CAME TO
AMERICA ON THE SHIP DEVIS IN 1638. THE BEVIS CARRIED 61
PASSENGERS, MANY OF THEM HAILING FROM WILTSHIRE. PERHAPS ONE OF
THESE FAMILIES PROPOSED EMIGRATIONS TO AMERICA, THE IDEA WAS
DISCUSSED AMONGST THEM AND IT WAS AGREED THEY SHOULD GO TO
AMERICA. PERHAPS THE ELDER WILLIAM AGREED TO SEE THEM SAFELY OVER
AND RETURN TO THEIR ENGLISH FAMILIES WITH WORD OF THEIR WELL
BEING. THE BEVIS PASSENGER LIST GAVE THE CARPENTER FAMILYS
RESIDENCE AS HORWELL. WILLS OF THE OSGOOD AND SPENCER FAMILIES OF
MARDEN, WILTSHIRE AND HORWELL ESTABLISHED THAT THIS IS THE
VILLAGE NOW KNOWN AS WHERWEELL IN HAMPSHIRE AND THE SAME COMMUNITY
WHERE THE REV. STEPHEN BACHILER AND RICHARD DUMMER WERE ACTIVELY
ENGAGED IN PERSUADING RELIGIOUS DISSENTERS TO FOLLOW THEM TO NEW
ENGLAND. IT SEEMS PLAUSIBLE THAT THE ELDER WILLIAM CARPENTER,
ALONG WITH HIS MARDEN NEIGHBORS, THE OSGOODS AND SPENCERS. WENT
FROM WILTSHIRE TO HORWELL TO MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR THE MOVE TO
AMERICA AND DEPARTURE FROM THE NEARBY PORT OF SOUTHAMPTON.
THE BEVIS PASSENGERS INCLUDED MEMBERS OF THE BATT FAMILY, A WILTSHIREFAMILY CLOSELY ALLIED TO THE CARPENTERS IN THE VILLAGE OF
NEWTON TONY AND AT OLD SALISBURY (SARUM). CARPENTER WILLS IN
THOSE COMMUNITIES SHOW MEMBERS OF THE BATT FAMILY WITNESSING THE
CONTENTS AND ACCURACY. A WILLIAM CARPENTER WAS MARRIED IN 1605 TO
MARY BATT AT ST. THOMAS CHURCH, SALISBURY, WILTSHIRE. THE YOUNGER
WILLIAM CARPENTER SAILING 0N THE BEVIS WITH HIS WIFE, ABIGAIL,
WAS BORN IN 1605. ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE BATT FAMILY SAILING
ON THE BEVIS WAS ALSO NAMED ABIGAIL. THIS WAS THE FAMILY OF
CHRISTOPHER BATT FROM THE WILTSHIRE DISTRICT OF SALISBURY.
CHRISTOPHER PROBABLY WAS A NEPHEW OF ROBERT BATT, VICAR OF THE
NEARBY NEWTON TONY CHURCH, WHO MENTIONED A CARPENTER IN HIS OWN
WILL AND WHO HAD WITNESSED THE 1599 WILL OF ROBERT CARPENTER AND
THE 1614 WILL OF RICHARD CARPENTER, BOTH OF NEWTON TONY. THOMAS
BATT, WHO MARRIED A BAILEY, WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN A BROTHER
OF ROBERT AND THE FATHER OF CHRISTOPHER. THERE WERE ALSO MEMBERS
OF THE BAILEY FAMILY ON THE BEVIS.
THERE IS YET ANOTHER SET OF FACTS WHICH TIES THESE FAMILIES
TOGETHER, AN AGNES CARPENTER, WHO IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN A
SISTER TO WILLIAM CARPENTER SR.'S GRANDFATHER, WED ROGER
LAVINGTON. THEY HAD A SON, WILLIAM LAVINGTON OF MARDEN, WILTS;
THEIR SON MARRIED CICILIA, DAUGHTER OF ROBERT BAILEY (BYLEY). A
THOMAS LAVINOTON AND ROBERT BATT JOINTLY WITNESSED A CARPENTER
WILL.
ALSO ON THE BEVIS WERE THREE CHILDREN OF A FAMILY NAMED POORE.
THE POORE FAMILY OF DURRINGTON WAS ALLIED, EITHER BY FRIENDSHIP
OR KINSHIP, TO THE CARPENTER FAMILY WITHIN THE AMESBURY DISTRICT.
PHILLIP POORE OF DURRINGTON WAS AN OVERSEER FOR THE 1599 WILL OF
ROBERT CARPENTER OF WILTSHIRE. THE POORES ON THE BEVIS WERE
SAMUEL, 16, DANIEL, 14, AND ALICE, 20. SOME RESEARCHERS HAVE
CLAIMED THE POORE CHILDREN WERE SERVANTS OF THE DUMMER FAMILY SAILIN ONTHE BEVISAND SAY THEY CAME FROM HAMPSHIRE. WE DOUBT THIS. IT SEEMS MORELIKELY THEY WERE FRIENDS OF THE CARPENTERFAMILY AND DESCENDANTS OF THEPHILLIP POORE MENTIONED IN ROBERTCARPENTERS 1599 WILL.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH ON OUR CARPENTER ANCESTRY HAS
STATED THAT THE SENIOR WILLIAM CARPENTER WHO SAILED ON THE BEVIS
WAS THE SON OF A WILLIAM CARPENTER OF LONDON? THIS WOULD HAVE
MADE THE CARPENTER'S ON THE BEVIS ODD MEN OUT, SO TO SPEAK, WITH
NO CONNECTION TO THE OTHER PASSENGERS EXCEPT THAT THEY HAPPENED
TO BE MAKING THE SAME VOYAGE. BY CONTRAST, THERE ARE WILLS AND
MARRIAGE RECORDS WHICH PROVE THERE WAS A CARPENTER FAMILY FROM
WILTSHIRE WHICH WAS CONNECTED BY TIES OF BOTH FRIENDSHIP AND
MARRIAGE TO VARIOUS FAMILIES SAILING ON THE BEVIS. WE THINK IT
WOULD BE FOLLY TO IGNORE THESE TIES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT HAS BEEN
PROVEN THAT THE WILTSHIRE CARPENTER FAMILY INCLUDED A WILLIAM SR.
AND WILLIAM JR. OF THE SAME AGES AS OUR ANCESTORS NAMED WILLIAMCARPENTER WHO SAILED ON THE BEVIS.
WE KNOW THAT THE WILTSHIRE CARPENTERS HAD A BACKGROUND OF ENGLISH
GENTRY AND DEVOTED RELIGIOUS PRACTICE. YET, AT THIS POINT IN
TIME, THEY WERE SOMEWHAT DISTANT KIN TO THE TITLED CARPENTERS OF
THE TYRCONNEL LINE AND THE COMFORTABLY SETTLED CARPENTERS OF
LONDON WHO SHARED THEIR ANCESTRY SEVERAL GENERATIONS BACK. IT WAS
PERHAPS THIS POSITION OF BEING LESS WORDLY AND MORE FIRMLY
ENTRENCHED IN THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT INSPIRED THE TWO
WILLIAM CARPENTERS TO SEEK NEW OPPORTUNITIES, AS WELL AS FREEDOM
OF WORSHIP, IN THE NEW LAND ACROSS THE OCEAN.
BECAUSE RESEARCH ON OUR ANCIENT ENGLISH ANCESTRY IS STILL BEING
CONDUCTED, IT IS FELT THAT IT IS WISEST TO GIVE ONLY A SUMMARY OF
THE DIRECT LINE, WITH A FEW NOTES ON OTHER BRANCHES OF THE
FAMILY, AT THIS TIME. WHEN ALL SOURCES HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED AND WE
FEEL THE RESEARCH HAS REVEALED AS MUCH AS CAN EVER BE DETERMINED
ABOUT THE ENGLISH CARPENTERS OF THE 1300-1600'S, THAT MATERIAL
WILL BE PUBLISHED SEPERATELY AND IN DETAILED FORM.
SUFFICE IT TO SAY HERE THAT WILLS HAVE BEEN LOCATED LINKING THE
GENERATIONS IN OUR DIRECT LINE, ALTHOUGH IT IS POSSIBLE FURTHER
RESEARCH MAY SHED MORE LIGHT ON WHETHER RICHARD CARPENTER, VICAR
-OF RAMSBURY, WAS A SON OR BROTHER OF WILLIAM CARPENTER OF
HEREFORD, WHO DIED IN 1520.
RETURNING TO ROBERT CARPENTER OF MARDEN, WILTSHIRE, THE SHEEP
RAISER WHO HAD A SON, WILLIAM AND GRANDSON, WILLIAM; ROBERT WAS
THE SON OF WILLIAM CARPENTER OF MARDEN, WILTSHIRE, AND HIS WIFE,
ELIZABETH. WILLIAM WAS BORN ABOUT 1520 AND DIED IN 1567. HIS WILL
MENTIONED HIS WIFE AND LEFT SHEEP TO HIS GRANDCHILDREN. CHILDREN
MENTIONED IN THE WILL WERE ROBERT, JOHN, RICHARD, WILLIAM, ALICE
DYKE AND MAUD WELLING. THE RESIDUE OF THE ESTATE WAS LEFT TO
ROBERT AND THE WILL SPECIFIED A BEQUEST TO ROBERT'S ELDEST SON,
WILLIAM.
RESEARCH HAS ALSO UNCOVERED THE WILL OF THE SON JOHN OF MANNINGS-FORDBRUCE, WILTSHIRE, AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT HE HAD DAUGH-TERS ALICE ANDAGNES, NAMES COMMON IN PRIOR GENERATIONS OF THIS
CARPENTER FAMILY.
WILLIAM CARPENTER, FATHER OF ROBERT, THE SHEEP RAISER, CAME FROM
ESKYDMORE SEPTON, WILTSHIRE, A PLACE NOW KNOWN AS UPTON-SCUDAMORE. HE WASTHE SON OF ROBERT CARPENTER AND HIS WIFE, ELIZABETH. ROBERT CARPENTER WASBORN ABOUT 1495 AND DIED IN 1545. HE IS LISTED AS A HUSBANDMAN AND HISWILL GAVE SHEEP TO HIS CHILDREN WHO WERE, IN ADDITION TO THE WILLIAMLISTED ABOVE, THOMAS, JOHN, AMBROSE, CHRISTOPHER, AGNES, ALICE ANDELIZABETH.
AT THIS POINT IT IS INTERESTING TO SPECULATE ON WHO SOME OF THE
CHILDREN OF THE BROTHERS OF OUR ANCESTER, THE WILLIAM CARPENTER
WHO DIED IN 1587, MIGHT HAVE BEEN. READERS MUST BE WARNED,
HOWEVER, THAT THIS IS MORE SPECULATION AND AS OUR RESEARCH
EFFORTS ARE CHANNELED AWAY FROM OUR OWN DIRECT LINE, PROOF MAY OR
MAY NOT SUPPORT ANY SUPPOSITIONS NOW BEING MADE.
DOZENS OF FAMILY RESEARCHERS HAVE WONDERED OR ATTEMPTED TO GUESS
HOW THE FAMED ALICE CARPENTER WHO WED PLYMOUTH COLONY GOVERNOR
WILLIAM BRADFORD WAS RELATED TO US AND OUR ANCESTORS. WE KNOW
THAT SHE HAD SISTERS NAMED AGNES, MARY, BRIDGET, JULIANNA AND
PRISCILLA. ALL BUT AGNES, WHO DIED AFTER HER 1613 MARRIAGE TO DR.
SAMUEL FULLER, CAME TO AMERICA. ALICE WED EDWARD SOUTHWORTH IN
1613 AND IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND AND WILLIAM
BRADFORD'S WIFE THAT SHE CAME TO PLYMOUTH TO BECOME GOVERNOR
BRADFORD'S SECOND WIFE. JULIANNA HAD WED GEORGE MORTON AT LEYDEN,
HOLLAND, WHERE MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY AND OTHER RELIGIOUS REFUGEES
HAD FLED TO ESCAPE THE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS THEN SWEEPING
ENGLAND; SHE AND MORTON RETURNED TO LONDON TO AID OTHERS IN PLAN-NINGVOYAGES TO THE NEW WORLD AND ABOUT 1623 THEY SET SAIL FOR
THE COLONY. JULIANNA'S FIFTH CHILD WAS BORN DURING THE VOYAGE AND
HER HUSBAND DIED THE FOLLOWING YEAR. THE ELDEST SISTER,
MARY, CARED FOR HER AGED PARENTS IN ENGLAND AND AFTER THEIR DEATHS
CAME TO AMERICA TO LIVE WITH THE BRADFORDS.
PRISCILLA CAME TO AMERICA ABOUT THREE YEARS AFTER THE LANDING OF
THE MAYFLOWER AND MARRIED WILLIAM WRIGHT, WHO HAD ARRIVED ON THE
SHIP ANNE IN 1623.
THE SIX CARPENTER SISTERS WERE DAUGHTERS OF ALEXANDER CARPENTER,
A WELL TO-DO LAND OWNER OF WRINOTON, SOMERSETSHIRE, WHO HAD
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SEPARATISTS WHO WISHED TO SEPERATE FROM
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH AND WORSHIP GOD ACCORDING TO THE DICTATES OF
THEIR CONSCIENCES. ALEXANDER, HIS FAMILY AND VARIOUS FRIENDS FLED
TO HOLLAND SOMETIME PRIOR TO 1606.
IT WOULD APPEAR THAT IF THIS ALEXANDER CARPENTER DOES FIT INTO
OUR ANCIENT CARPENTER FAMILY TREE, IT WOULD BE AS A NEPHEW OF OUR
ANCESTOR WILLIAM CARPENTER; THAT IS, ALEXANDER MAY HAVE BEEN A
GRANDSON OF OUR ANCESTOR ROBERT CARPENTER WHO LIVED AT UPTON
SCUDAMORE AND DIED IN 1545.
IT IS ALSO BELIEVED THAT THE AGNES PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED AS
MARRYING ROGER LAVINGTON IS THE AGNES WHO WAS THE DAUGHTER OF
ROBERT CARPENTER WHO DIED IN 1545. THIS WOULD MEAN BOTH HER
BROTHER, WILLIAM AND HER SON, WILLIAM, SETTLED AT MARDEN IN
WILTSHIRE.
THE NAME AGNES, WHICH APPEARS SO FREQUENTLY IN THESE GENERATIONS
OF THE CARPENTER FAMILY, MAY COME FROM AGNES OF GODALMING. SHE
WAS THE WIFE OF A WILLIAM CARPENTER FROM HEREFORD WHO DIED BEFORE
1546 AND HAD CHILDREN ROBERT, WILLIAM, THOMAS AND RICHARD. IT IS
NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR AT THIS POINT WHERE THE WILLIAM WHO MARRIED
AGNES FITS INTO THE FAMILY TREE AND EVEN THOSE OF US WHO HAVE
RESEARCHED AND PREPARED THIS MATERIAL HAVE DIFFERING OPINOINS. IT
APPEARS THAT WITHIN THIS GENERAL BRANCH OF THE CARPENTER FAMILY
THERE WERE, IN THE TWO GENERATIONS IMMEDIATELY PRECEEDING ROBERT
CARPENTER OF UPTON SCUDAMORE, TWO OR MORE WILLIAM CARPENTERS WHO
WERE CONTEMPORARY WITH EACH OTHER AND THE FATHER AND GRANDFATHER
OF ROBERT. AS NOTED BEFORE, MUCH OF THE RESEARCH TO DATE HAS
FOCUSSED ON OUR DIRECT LINE, LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF OTHER
CARPENTERS ARE INVOLVED WHEN IT COMES TO TRACING THE BROTHERS OF
OUR ANCESTORS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS AND THE ANCESTRY RECORDS FOR
ASSIGNING EACH OF THEM THEIR PROPER PLACE IN AN EXTENDED FAMILY
TREE WHICH WOULD COVER ALL THE ENGLISH CARPENTERS OF THE 1300-
1600'S HAVE NOT YET BEEN ENTIRELY RESEARCHED.
RESUMING OUR DIRECT LINE WITH ROBERT CARPENTER WHO DIED IN 1545,
WE ARE SOON BACK INTO THE 1400'S. INDEED, ROBERT WAS PROBABLY
BORN WITHIN A FEW YEARS OF COLUMBUS' 1492 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.
THE FATHER OF ROBERT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS RICHARD CARPENTER,
VICAR OF RAMSBURY, WHO WAS BORN ABOUT 1470 AND DIED IN 1503.
ACCORDING TO OXFORD UNIVERSITY RECORDS, RICHARD CAME FROM
HEREFORD. HE HAD BROTHERS JAMES, JOHN AND WILLIAM. REV. RICHARD
CARPENTER WAS CANON OF WESTEURY ON TRYM IN GLOUCESTER AND WAS
VICAR AT MIXBURY IN OXFORD AND TROTTESCLIFFE, KENT. HE WAS ALSO
VICAR GENERAL TO THE BISHOP OF SALISBURY. FOLLOWING IN THE
FOOTSTEPS OF JOHN CARPENTER, BISHOP OF WORCESTER, WHO PROBABLY
WAS EITHER HIS UNCLE OR GREAT-UNCLE, HE WAS EDUCATED AT OXFORD
AND '~ERVED THE SAME CHURCH IN WESTBURY. HIS WILL MENTIONS SONS
ROBERT AND PETER CARPENTER. THE JAMES CARPENTER RECOGNIZED AS THE
FOUNDER OF THE TYRCONNELL LINE OF THE CARPENTER FAMILY WAS EITHER
A BROTHER TO REV. RICHARD CARPENTER OR HIS NEPHEW.
THERE IS SOME DISPARITY AMONG THE COMPILERS OF THIS WORK AS
REGARDS TO THE NEXT GENERATION IN OUR DIRECT ANCESTRAL LINE BUT
WE RECOGNIZE THE VALIDITY OF THE OLD SAYING "TWO HEADS ARE BETTER
THAN ONE" AND FEEL THAT IT IS TO THE ADVANTAGE OF FUTURE FAMILY
RESEARCHERS TO PRESENT BOTH POSSIBILITIES AND KEEP AN OPEN MIND.
WE ARE UNANIMOUS ABOUT THE ANCESTOR WITH WHOM THE LINE RESUMES
AND THE VERY EARLIEST GENERATIONS OF OUR LINE ARE VERIFIED BY
SUCH SCHOLARLY INDEAVORS AS BURKE'S VARIOUS 19TH CENTURY WORKS;
THE "LIFE OF LORD GEORGE CARPENTER," PRINTED IN 1736; PLAYFAIR'S
FAMILY ANTIQUITIES, AND THE DAVIS AND OWEN PEERAGE.
OUR OWN DISAGREEMENT CENTERS AROUND WILLIAM CARPENTER OF HEREFORD
WHO WAS BORN ABOUT 1440 AND DIED IN 1520. THIS WILLIAM, ALSO SOME
TIMES REFERRED TO AS WILLIAM OF HOMME, IS MENTIONED IN VARIOUS
WORKS OF PAST CENTURIES. THE PROBLEM IS THAT HE IS REFERRED TO AS
AN ANCESTOR OF THE TYRCONNEL LINE OF CARPENTERS AND THESE EARLY
GENEALOGICAL WORKS DO NOT FOCUS ON THE DESCENDANTS OF HIS OTHER SONS.
KNOWING THAT OUR ANCESTOR RICHARD CARPENTER HAILED FROM HEREFORD
AND HAD A BROTHER JAMES, WHEREAS WILLIAM OF HEREFORD WAS FATHER
TO JAMES CARPENTER OF HEREFORD, WE FEEL RICHARD WAS A SON OF
WILLIAM OF HEREFORD. THE DIFFERING OPINION IS THAT REV. RICHARD
CARPENTER MAY HAVE BEEN A BROTHER TO WILLIAM OF HEREFORD AND THUS
ONE GENERATION CLOSER IN RELATION TO HIS UNCLE, BISHOP JOHN
AND IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT RICHARD, WHO ENTERED OXFORD IN 1486, WAS
HIS BROTHER, EVEN THOUGH IT IS POSSIBLE RICHARD WAS HIS UNCLE. WE
DO KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT OUR RICHARD HAD BROTHERS NAMED JAMES,
JOHN AND WILLIAM. SINCE IT IS CERTAIN THAT WILLIAM OF HEREFORD'S
FATHER WAS JOHN CARPENTER, WE SHOULD KEEP AN OPEN MIND TO THE
POSSIBILITY THAT RICHARD'S BROTHER MAY, INDEED, HAVE BEEN WILLIAM
FATHER. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO TRACE OF ANY OTHER CARPENTER
FAMILY IN HEREFORD DURING THIS PERIOD. THIS MEANS THE CRUX OF OUR
PROBLEM IS WHETHER REV. RICHARD AND WILLIAM OF HEREFORD WERE
BROTHERS OR WERE FATHER AND SON.
THE NEXT GENERATION IN OUR ENGLISH ANCESTRAL LINE IS JOHN
CARPENTER WHO HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED IN VARIOUS PEERAGES AS THE
FATHER OF WILLIAM CARPENTER OF HEREFORD. FOR A FULL UNDERSTANDING
OF THE ANCIENT FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AS GIVEN IN THE PEERAGE BOOKS
-AND SUBSTANTIATED BY A 1441 CARPENTER WILL, IT IS NECESSARY TO
TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CUSTOM IN THOSE DAYS OF NAMING TWO CHILDREN
BY THE SAME NAME, EVEN WHEN BOTH LIVED TO ADULTHOOD. MANY OF THE
FAMILY RESEARCHERS AMONG US KNOW THAT IT IS QUITE COMMON IN DAYS
GONE' BY TO NAME A CHILD AFTER AN OLDER CHILD WHO HAD ALREADY
DIED. ENGLISH SCHOLARS CONFIRM, HOW EVER, THAT IN THE MIDDLE AGES
TWO ADULT BROTHERS OFTEN BORE THE SAME NAME AND WERE
DIFFERENTIATED BY THE WORDS "ELDER" AND "JUNIOR."
OUR ANCESTOR JOHN CARPENTER LIVED IN LONDON AND MOST LIKELY WAS
THE YOUNGER BROTHER OF JOHN CARPENTER, BISHOP OF WORCESTER, WHO
DIED IN 1476. IT IS CERTAIN THESE TWO JOHN WERE VERY CLOSELY
RELATED.
THIS JOHN CARPENTER WHO FATHERED WILLIAM CARPENTER WAS A SON OF
JOHN CARPENTER THE ELDER OF LONDON. HE IS REFERRED TO AS JOHN THE
ELDER NOT BECAUSE HE HAD A SON NAMED JOHN, BUT BECAUSE HE HAD A
YOUNGER BROTHER, ALSO NAMED JOHN. THIS YOUNGER BROTHER WAS THE
FAMED JOHN CARPENTER, TOWN CLERK OF LONDON, ALSO REFERRED TO AS
JOHN CARPENTER JUNIOR. IN ADDITION TO HIS SON JOHN. THROUGH WHOM
WE DESCEND, JOHN CARPENTER THE ELDER OF LONDON ALSO HAD A
DAUGHTER MARGERY.
BECAUSE OF HIS POSITION AS TOWN CLERK OF LONDON, JOHN CARPENTER JUNIORWAS IN THE PUBLIC EYE AND MANY RECORDS PERTAINING TO HIM
HAVE SURVIVED TO OUR OWN DAY. MUCH ATTENTION WAS PAID TO HIS WILL
BECAUSE OF PROVISIONS WHICH, MANY YEARS LATER, WAS THE BASIS FOR
ESTABLISHING A FREE SCHOOL FOR THE EDUCATION OF POOR LONDON BOYS.
THROUGH THE YEARS THE SCHOOL EDUCATED MANY MEN WHO BECAME FAMOUS
LEADERS IN ENGLAND AND IT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE CITY OF LONDON
SCHOOL.
THANKS TO THE 1441 JOHN CARPENTER WILL, WE CAN PIECE TOGETHER
MANY OF THE EARLY FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS. THE TOWN CLERK AND HIS
WIFE WERE CHILDLESS. IN HIS WILL, JOHN CARPENTER, CITY OF LONDON
CLERK, MENTIONS HIS BROTHER JOHN AND HIS CHILDREN, MARGERY AND
JOHN (OUR ANCESTORS) OF LONDON. HE ALSO MENTIONS MASTER JOHN
CARPENTER (WHO BECAME BISHOP) AS A KINSMAN. AT ONE TIME DURING
HIS CAREER IN PUBLIC OFFICE, JOHN CARPENTER RECEIVED FROM THE
KING A GRANT OF LAND IN HEREFORD AND, SINCE HE HAD NO CHILDREN TO
PASS IT ON TO, THIS MAY EXPLAIN WHY A SON OF HIS NEPHEW JOHN IS
FOUND LIVING IN HEREFORD.
AS LONDON CLERK, JOHN CARPENTER THE YOUNGER (OR JUNIOR) COMPILED
A BOOK OF THE LAWS AND MAJOR LEGAL CASES OF LONDON FROM THE TIME
OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR (1042-1066) TO HENRY V (1419). THIS WORK,
IN LATIN AND FRENCH, WAS ORIGINALLY CALLED THE LIBER ALBUS, OR
WHITE BOOK, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS SO FREQUENTLY USED BY LONDON
ADMINISTRATORS IT BECAME SOILED, IT LATER WAS COMMONLY KNOWN AS
IHE LIBER NIGER, OR BLACK BOOK.
THE TWO JOHNS--JOHN THE ELDER, THROUGH WHOM WE DESCEND AND JOHN
THE YOUNGER, THE LONDON CLERK--HAD A BROTHER, ROBERT, WHO HAD
CHILDREN JOAN, RICHARD AND KATHERINE, THE LATTER BEING RAISED BY
HER FAMOUS UNCLE.
THE PARENTS OF ROBERT AND THE TWO JOHNS WERE RICHARD AND
CHRISTINA CARPENTER. RICHARD WAS A LONDON GOLDSMITH, WAS BORN
ABOUT 1335 AND DIED IN 1395. HE AND HIS WIFE WERE BURIED IN THE
CHURCH OF ST. MARTIN OUTWICH AT BISHOPSGATE. STREET.
ENGLISH WRITERS OF LONG AGO BELIEVED RICHARD CARPENTER OF LONDON
TO HAVE BEEN A SON OF JOHN CARPENTER OF LESKARD (LISKEARD),
CORNWALL, WHO WAS A MEMBER OF PARLIMENT IN 1323 DURING THE REIGN ~
OF EDWARD I, BUT THE DOCUMENTATION FOR SUCH A RELATIONSHIP IS NOT
GIVEN IN THEIR WORK, NOR HAS IT YET BEEN DISCOVERED BY PRESENT
DAY FAMILY RESEARCHERS. JOHN CARPENTER WOULD HAVE BEEN BORN
BEFORE 1300 AND IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN OF NORMAN DESCENT. IF
INDEED THIS JOHN CARPENTER BORN IN THE 13TH CENTURY WAS OUR~
ANCESTOR, THEN THE YOUNGER WILLIAM CARPENTER WHO SAILED ON THE
BEVIS IN 1636 AND LATER SETTLED IN REHOBOTH, MASS., WOULD HAVES
BEEN HIS DESCENDANT IN EITHER THE 10TH OR 11TH GENERATION. 5OME~
OF THE YOUNGER MEMBERS OF OUR 20TH CENTURY CARPENTER FAMILY ARE
10TH AND 11TH GENERATION DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM CARPENTER
10TH AND 11TH GENERATION DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM CARPENTER
REHOBOTH, THUS PLACING WILLIAM, OUR COLONIAL ERA ANCESTOR, MIDWAY
BETWEEN US AND THE JOHN CARPENTER WHO SAT IN PARLIMENT MORE THAN
650 YEARS AGO.
THE COAT OF ARMS USED BY JOHN CARPENTER JR. TOWN CLERK OF LONDON
AND SHOWN ON THE COVER OF THIS BOOK, SEEMS TO BE THE COAT-OF-ARMS
THAT SHOULD BE USED BY THE AMERICAN CARPENTERS WHO DESCEND FROM
JOHN CARPENTER SR., BROTHER OF JOHN CARPENTER JR., TOWNCLERK OF
LONDON, IT IS FELT IT IS MORE IN KEEPING WITH TRADITION TO
UTILIZE THIS ANCIENT FAMILY ARMS. IT IS FOR THIS REASON, WE WILL
USE THE COAT-OF-ARMS SHOWN ON THE COVER OF THIS BOOK.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE WERE TEN GENERATIONS OF OUR CARPENTER
FAMILY THAT REMAINED IN ENGLAND. WILLIAM CARPENTER *9-3 DID COME
TO AMERICA BUT HE RETURNED TO HIS HOME LAND AFTER SEEING HIS SON,
WILLIAM *16 AND FAMILY SETTLED IN THE NEW WORLD.
FROM THIS POINT WE WILL FOLLOW OUR DIRECT LINE, ADDING THEIR
FAMILIES AS WE FIND THEM. TO DATE WE HAVE NO EXTRA INFORMATION ON
THE FAMILIES UNTIL WE COME TO SAMUEL CARPENTER *1528 AND HIS
WIFE, RHODA CARPENTER *1917 AND THEIR CHILDREN, GRAND CHILDREN
GREAT GRAND CHILDREN AND SO ON DOWN AS FAR AS GLADYS WAS ABLE TO
GO.
THE ABOVE INFORMATION ON THE ENGLISH ANCESTRY OF THIS CARPENTER
FAMILY WAS TAKEN FROM THE BOOK, "THE ANCESTRY AND DESCENDANTS OF
COL. SOLOMON CARPENTER OF GOSHEN NEW YORK", RESEARCHED, COMPILED
AND ISSUED BY THE CARPENTER FAMILY ASSN. LIMITED EDITION, PRINTED
PRINTED IN 1974.
PUBLISHER: THE NEWS-JOURNAL, P.O. BOX 398, MACHIAS, MAINE, 04654
THE WILTSHIRE BRANCH OF THE CARPENTER FAMILY APPEARS TO BE THE
ANCESTRAL FAMILY OF THE EARLY NEW ENGLAND CARPENTER SETTLERS IN
AMERICA. IT IS KNOWN THAT RICHARD CARPENTER OF AMESBURY,
WILTSHIRE LEFT HIS SON, WILLIAM CARPENTER OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE
ISLAND, PROPERTY IN FROG LANE, AMESBURY. IT HAS ALSO BEEN LONG
RECOGNIZED THAT WILLIAM OF PROVIDENCE WAS A COUSIN OF WILLIAM
CARPENTER OF REHOBOTH, MASSACHUSETTS (WHICH IS OUR LINE OF
DESCENT) AND MUCH EVIDENCE POINTS TO THEIR PATERNAL HOME HAVING
BEEN IN WILTSHIRE.
THE WILL OF ROBERT CARPENTER OF HARDEN, WILTSHIRE, WHO DIED IN
1607, SHOWS SONS WILLIAM AND RICHARD AND A GRANDSON, WILLIAM JR.
MARDEN IS A SMALL VILLAGE 12 MILES NORTH OF AMESBURY AND THIS
ROBERT CARPENTER WAS A WELL-TO-DO SHEEP PROPRIETOR. HE MARRIED
HIS COUSIN, ELEANOR CARPENTER, AND HIS WILL LISTS HIS CHILDREN AS
WILLIAM, RICHARD, JOHN, CHARLES, ROBERT, EDITH AND ALICE.
ROBERT CARPENTER BEQUEATHED CERTAIN GOODS TO HIS ELDEST SON, WILLIAM ANDHIS GRANDCHILD, WILLIAM JR. AS WELL AS TO HIS SON, RICHARD. HE APPEARS TOHAVE PUT HIS OTHER SONS TO TRADES AND MENTIONED THE APPRENTICESHIP OF HISSON JOHN.
BEFORE SUMMARIZING WHAT IS LNOWN ABOUT THE ANCESTRY OF ROBERT
CARPENTER, SHEEP RAISER, IT IS APPROPRIATE TO FOCUS MORE
ATTENTION ON ROEIERTS SON WILLIAM AND THE GRANDSON, WILLIAM JR.,
AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF OTHER WILTSHIRE FAMILIES WHO WERE CLOSE TO
THEM.
MOST AMERICAN CARPENTER DESCENDANTS WHO HAVE TAKEN AN INTEREST IN
OUR FAMILY GENEALOGY REALIZE THAT A WILLIAM CARPENTER, BORN IN
1576, AND HIS SON WILLIAM, BORN SOMEWHERE AROUND 1605, CAME TO
AMERICA ON THE SHIP DEVIS IN 1638. THE BEVIS CARRIED 61
PASSENGERS, MANY OF THEM HAILING FROM WILTSHIRE. PERHAPS ONE OF
THESE FAMILIES PROPOSED EMIGRATIONS TO AMERICA, THE IDEA WAS
DISCUSSED AMONGST THEM AND IT WAS AGREED THEY SHOULD GO TO
AMERICA. PERHAPS THE ELDER WILLIAM AGREED TO SEE THEM SAFELY OVER
AND RETURN TO THEIR ENGLISH FAMILIES WITH WORD OF THEIR WELL
BEING. THE BEVIS PASSENGER LIST GAVE THE CARPENTER FAMILYS
RESIDENCE AS HORWELL. WILLS OF THE OSGOOD AND SPENCER FAMILIES OF
MARDEN, WILTSHIRE AND HORWELL ESTABLISHED THAT THIS IS THE
VILLAGE NOW LNOWN AS WHERWEELL IN HAMPSHIRE AND THE SAME COMMUNITY
WHERE THE REV. STEPHEN BACHILER AND RICHARD DUMMER WERE ACTIVELY
ENGAGED IN PERSUADING RELIGIOUS DISSENTERS TO FOLLOW THEM TO NEW
ENGLAND. IT SEEMS PLAUSIBLE THAT THE ELDER WILLIAM CARPENTER,
ALONG WITH HIS MARDEN NEIGHBORS, THE OSGOODS AND SPENCERS. WENT
FROM WILTSHIRE TO HORWELL TO MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR THE MOVE TO
AMERICA AND DEPARTURE FROM THE NEARBY PORT OF SOUTHAMPTON.
THE BEVIS PASSENGERS INCLUDED MEMBERS OF THE BATT FAMILY, A WILTSHIREFAMILY CLOSELY ALLIED TO THE CARPENTERS IN THE VILLAGE OF
NEWTON TONY AND AT OLD SALISBURY (SARUM). CARPENTER WILLS IN
THOSE COMMUNITIES SHOW MEMBERS OF THE BATT FAMILY WITNESSING THE
CONTENTS AND ACCURACY. A WILLIAM CARPENTER WAS MARRIED IN 1605 TO
MARY BATT AT ST. THOMAS CHURCH, SALISBURY, WILTSHIRE. THE YOUNGER
WILLIAM CARPENTER SAILING 0N THE BEVIS WITH HIS WIFE, ABIGAIL,
WAS BORN IN 1605. ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE BATT FAMILY SAILING
ON THE BEVIS WAS ALSO NAMED ABIGAIL. THIS WAS THE FAMILY OF
CHRISTOPHER BATT FROM THE WILTSHIRE DISTRICT OF SALISBURY.
CHRISTOPHER PROBABLY WAS A NEPHEW OF ROBERT BATT, VICAR OF THE
NEARBY NEWTON TONY CHURCH, WHO MENTIONED A CARPENTER IN HIS OWN
WILL AND WHO HAD WITNESSED THE 1599 WILL OF ROBERT CARPENTER AND
THE 1614 WILL OF RICHARD CARPENTER, BOTH OF NEWTON TONY. THOMAS
BATT, WHO MARRIED A BAILEY, WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN A BROTHER
OF ROBERT AND THE FATHER OF CHRISTOPHER. THERE WERE ALSO MEMBERS
OF THE BAILEY FAMILY ON THE BEVIS.
THERE IS YET ANOTHER SET OF FACTS WHICH TIES THESE FAMILIES
TOGETHER, AN AGNES CARPENTER, WHO IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN A
SISTER TO WILLIAM CARPENTER SR.'S GRANDFATHER, WED ROGER
LAVINGTON. THEY HAD A SON, WILLIAM LAVINGTON OF MARDEN, WILTS;
THEIR SON MARRIED CICILIA, DAUGHTER OF ROBERT BAILEY (BYLEY). A
THOMAS LAVINOTON AND ROBERT BATT JOINTLY WITNESSED A CARPENTER
WILL.
ALSO ON THE BEVIS WERE THREE CHILDREN OF A FAMILY NAMED POORE.
THE POORE FAMILY OF DURRINGTON WAS ALLIED, EITHER BY FRIENDSHIP
OR KINSHIP, TO THE CARPENTER FAMILY WITHIN THE AMESBURY DISTRICT.
PHILLIP POORE OF DURRINGTON WAS AN OVERSEER FOR THE 1599 WILL OF
ROBERT CARPENTER OF WILTSHIRE. THE POORES ON THE BEVIS WERE
SAMUEL, 16, DANIEL, 14, AND ALICE, 20. SOME RESEARCHERS HAVE
CLAIMED THE POORE CHILDREN WERE SERVANTS OF THE DUMMER FAMILYSAILING ONTHE BEVISAND SAY THEY CAME FROM HAMPSHIRE. WE DOUBT THIS. IT SEEMS MORELIKELY THEY WERE FRIENDS OF THE CARPENTERFAMILY AND DESCENDANTS OF THEPHILLIP POORE MENTIONED IN ROBERTCARPENTERS 1599 WILL.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH ON OUR CARPENTER ANCESTRY HAS
STATED THAT THE SENIOR WILLIAM CARPENTER WHO SAILED ON THE BEVIS
WAS THE SON OF A WILLIAM CARPENTER OF LONDON? THIS WOULD HAVE
MADE THE CARPENTER'S ON THE BEVIS ODD MEN OUT, SO TO SPEAK, WITH
NO CONNECTION TO THE OTHER PASSENGERS EXCEPT THAT THEY HAPPENED
TO BE MAKING THE SAME VOYAGE. BY CONTRAST, THERE ARE WILLS AND
MARRIAGE RECORDS WHICH PROVE THERE WAS A CARPENTER FAMILY FROM
WILTSHIRE WHICH WAS CONNECTED BY TIES OF BOTH FRIENDSHIP AND
MARRIAGE TO VARIOUS FAMILIES SAILING ON THE BEVIS. WE THINK IT
WOULD BE FOLLY TO IGNORE THESE TIES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT HAS BEEN
PROVEN THAT THE WILTSHIRE CARPENTER FAMILY INCLUDED A WILLIAM SR.
AND WILLIAM JR. OF THE SAME AGES AS OUR ANCESTORS NAMED WILLIAMCARPENTER WHO SAILED ON THE BEVIS.
WE KNOW THAT THE WILTSHIRE CARPENTERS HAD A BACKGROUND OF ENGLISH
GENTRY AND DEVOTED RELIGIOUS PRACTICE. YET, AT THIS POINT IN
TIME, THEY WERE SOMEWHAT DISTANT KIN TO THE TITLED CARPENTERS OF
THE TYRCONNEL LINE AND THE COMFORTABLY SETTLED CARPENTERS OF
LONDON WHO SHARED THEIR ANCESTRY SEVERAL GENERATIONS BACK. IT WAS
PERHAPS THIS POSITION OF BEING LESS WORDLY AND MORE FIRMLY
ENTRENCHED IN THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT INSPIRED THE TWO
WILLIAM CARPENTERS TO SEEK NEW OPPORTUNITIES, AS WELL AS FREEDOM
OF WORSHIP, IN THE NEW LAND ACROSS THE OCEAN.
BECAUSE RESEARCH ON OUR ANCIENT ENGLISH ANCESTRY IS STILL BEING
CONDUCTED, IT IS FELT THAT IT IS WISEST TO GIVE ONLY A SUMMARY OF
THE DIRECT LINE, WITH A FEW NOTES ON OTHER BRANCHES OF THE
FAMILY, AT THIS TIME. WHEN ALL SOURCES HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED AND WE
FEEL THE RESEARCH HAS REVEALED AS MUCH AS CAN EVER BE DETERMINED
ABOUT THE ENGLISH CARPENTERS OF THE 1300-1600'S, THAT MATERIAL
WILL BE PUBLISHED SEPERATELY AND IN DETAILED FORM.
SUFFICE IT TO SAY HERE THAT WILLS HAVE BEEN LOCATED LINKING THE
GENERATIONS IN OUR DIRECT LINE, ALTHOUGH IT IS POSSIBLE FURTHER
RESEARCH MAY SHED MORE LIGHT ON WHETHER RICHARD CARPENTER, VICAR
-OF RAMSBURY, WAS A SON OR BROTHER OF WILLIAM CARPENTER OF
HEREFORD, WHO DIED IN 1520.
RETURNING TO ROBERT CARPENTER OF MARDEN, WILTSHIRE, THE SHEEP
RAISER WHO HAD A SON, WILLIAM AND GRANDSON, WILLIAM; ROBERT WAS
THE SON OF WILLIAM CARPENTER OF MARDEN, WILTSHIRE, AND HIS WIFE,
ELIZABETH. WILLIAM WAS BORN ABOUT 1520 AND DIED IN 1567. HIS WILL
MENTIONED HIS WIFE AND LEFT SHEEP TO HIS GRANDCHILDREN. CHILDREN
MENTIONED IN THE WILL WERE ROBERT, JOHN, RICHARD, WILLIAM, ALICE
DYKE AND MAUD WELLING. THE RESIDUE OF THE ESTATE WAS LEFT TO
ROBERT AND THE WILL SPECIFIED A BEQUEST TO ROBERT'S ELDEST SON,
WILLIAM.
RESEARCH HAS ALSO UNCOVERED THE WILL OF THE SON JOHN OF MANNINGS-FORDBRUCE, WILTSHIRE, AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT HE HAD DAUGH-TERS ALICE ANDAGNES, NAMES COMMON IN PRIOR GENERATIONS OF THIS
CARPENTER FAMILY.
WILLIAM CARPENTER, FATHER OF ROBERT, THE SHEEP RAISER, CAME FROM
ESKYDMORE SEPTON, WILTSHIRE, A PLACE NOW KNOWN AS UPTON-SCUDAMORE. HE WASTHE SON OF ROBERT CARPENTER AND HIS WIFE, ELIZABETH. ROBERT CARPENTER WASBORN ABOUT 1495 AND DIED IN 1545. HE IS LISTED AS A HUSBANDMAN AND HISWILL GAVE SHEEP TO HIS CHILDREN WHO WERE, IN ADDITION TO THE WILLIAMLISTED ABOVE, THOMAS, JOHN, AMBROSE, CHRISTOPHER, AGNES, ALICE ANDELIZABETH.
AT THIS POINT IT IS INTERESTING TO SPECULATE ON WHO SOME OF THE
CHILDREN OF THE BROTHERS OF OUR ANCESTER, THE WILLIAM CARPENTER
WHO DIED IN 1587, MIGHT HAVE BEEN. READERS MUST BE WARNED,
HOWEVER, THAT THIS IS MORE SPECULATION AND AS OUR RESEARCH
EFFORTS ARE CHANNELED AWAY FROM OUR OWN DIRECT LINE, PROOF MAY OR
MAY NOT SUPPORT ANY SUPPOSITIONS NOW BEING MADE.
DOZENS OF FAMILY RESEARCHERS HAVE WONDERED OR ATTEMPTED TO GUESS
HOW THE FAMED ALICE CARPENTER WHO WED PLYMOUTH COLONY GOVERNOR
WILLIAM BRADFORD WAS RELATED TO US AND OUR ANCESTORS. WE KNOW
THAT SHE HAD SISTERS NAMED AGNES, MARY, BRIDGET, JULIANNA AND
PRISCILLA. ALL BUT AGNES, WHO DIED AFTER HER 1613 MARRIAGE TO DR.
SAMUEL FULLER, CAME TO AMERICA. ALICE WED EDWARD SOUTHWORTH IN
1613 AND IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND AND WILLIAM
BRADFORD'S WIFE THAT SHE CAME TO PLYMOUTH TO BECOME GOVERNOR
BRADFORD'S SECOND WIFE. JULIANNA HAD WED GEORGE MORTON AT LEYDEN,
HOLLAND, WHERE MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY AND OTHER RELIGIOUS REFUGEES
HAD FLED TO ESCAPE THE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS THEN SWEEPING
ENGLAND; SHE AND MORTON RETURNED TO LONDON TO AID OTHERS IN PLAN-NINGVOYAGES TO THE NEW WORLD AND ABOUT 1623 THEY SET SAIL FOR
THE COLONY. JULIANNA'S FIFTH CHILD WAS BORN DURING THE VOYAGE AND
HER HUSBAND DIED THE FOLLOWING YEAR. THE ELDEST SISTER,
MARY, CARED FOR HER AGED PARENTS IN ENGLAND AND AFTER THEIR DEATHS
CAME TO AMERICA TO LIVE WITH THE BRADFORD
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