William Carpenter (abt. 1666 - aft. 1734)

Born about 3 Sep 1666 in Pawtuxet, Providence, Rhode Island

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 5 Aug 1734 after about age 67 in Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York

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Biography

William Carpenter was born in 1666 at Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. He was the son of Joseph Carpenter and Hannah Carpenter. William married Elizabeth — birth name unknown, see research below. William died after 5 Aug 1734 at Oyster Bay, New York.^[1]

"WILLIAM CARPENTER, b. by 3 Sept. 1666 (freeholder by 3 Sept. 1687), living Oyster Bay Township 5 Aug. 1734; m. ELIZABETH _______ (OBTR 2:337, 3:429–31, 5: 623–25; Carpenter [1901] 49n, 73).

On 13 May 1720, William sold his 81-acre Musketa Cove farm, “Reserveing to my Self Three Acres” (OBTR 3:429–31). On 8 May 1722, with son Silas (about whom more below), William purchased 375 acres on the Byram River at North Castle and Rye, Westchester Co., N.Y., of which William was then “in possession” (Carpenter [1901] 49n, 73, both citing WeLR G:215–17). Subsequent records put William on Long Island in 1728/9 and in Oyster Bay Township from 1730/1 to 1734 (NYWills 11:85 [William Jr. of Long Island (implies presence at same place of Wm. Sr.)], 3 Jan. 1728/9]; OBTR 4:366–68 [William Jr., 5 March 1730/1], 5:75 [William Jr., 5 Aug. 1734], 623–25 [William Sr., 2 April 1734]).

William sold his farm (see above) “with ye ffree will and Consent of my Wife Elizabeth Carpenter,” who added her signature (by mark) to his (OBTR 3:431). D. H. Carpenter calls it “a possibility amounting to a probability” (his emphases) that Elizabeth was the daughter of William’s uncle Ephraim Carpenter and says that she died about 1743 (Carpenter [1901] 50); he fails to support either assertion, however. G. W. Cocks says that Elizabeth’s parentage is “not certainly known, but may have been Moses and Elizabeth (Weeden) Mudge, then of Musketa Cove, who had a dau. Elizabeth, b. 28/12 mo. (Feb.) 1674” (Cock–Cocks–Cox 358, 385). Note that this is expressed as no more than a possibility. There is, moreover, no known basis for the assertion that Moses and Elizabeth Mudge had a daughter Elizabeth, let alone that she was born on the date stated (which is not to say that either is necessarily false). An Elizabeth Mudge was born at Northampton, Mass., 10 Oct. 1673 and another at Charlestown, Mass., 12 March 1674, but their respective parents and husbands are not those of the same-named woman mentioned by Cocks (see Mudge Gen 46, 49; TAG 81:25; Charlestown Gens 2:693). In the most recent and authoritative account of Moses Mudge and his family, Gale Ion Harris, FASG (citing an unpublished type- script by Harry Macy Jr., FASG) presents Mudge’s issue as consisting of two sons and no daughters (see TAG 81:18–30, at 24 [24n38 corrects Mudge Gen 48]). Elizabeth (Mrs. William) Carpenter’s maiden name is unknown. And in any case, since the one known record in which her forename appears as William’s wife is dated in 1720 (see above), it is not certain that she was the mother of his children.

The will of William’s son Silas Carpenter of North Castle, dated 3 Jan. 1728/9 and proved 13 Feb. 1728[/9], names wife Jane [his cousin, dau. of William and Hannah (Carpenter) Thornycraft; daughters Hannah and Phebe; sons William, Timothy, and Silas; and executors [brother-in-law] William Craft [formerly Thornycraft], [brother] William Carpenter Jr., both of Long Island, and wife Hannah [sic]; witnesses include [uncle] Nathaniel Carpenter (NYWills 11:80, 85 [Silas transcr. as Giles]). The will of William’s son Joseph Carpenter of Oyster Bay, dated 25 Feb. 1727[/8?] and proved 21 March 1727/8, names wife Abigail [nee Robbins]; sons Joseph and John; and executors “my wife and her brother, John Robbins” (NYWills 11:101)."

Research Notes

From the excellent research of Eugene Cole Zubrinsky (see sources).

"William Carpenter3 (Joseph2 William1) was born by 3 Sep 1666 probably in Pawtuxet (Warwick), Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (that part now Kent Co., RI). He died after 5 Aug 1734 probably in Oyster Bay, Nassau Co., NY.

William acted as one of the Proprietors after the death of his brother Joseph until 1706, when his nephew Joseph reached legal age. The Town Records show very clearly that he was a large land-owner and prominent in the affairs of the plantation. He was a blacksmith by trade, and had his homestead and shop in that part of town known as "Duck Pond." He sold this property in 1720, and probably moved to Westchester county, though he still had landed interests at Musketa Cove as late as 1734."

Sources

1. ↑ Descendants of William Carpenter of Providence http://carpentercousins.com/wc-662-desc/aqwg03.htm#97

• Eugene Cole Zubrinsky, "Joseph2 Carpenter (William1) of Warwick, Rhode Island, and Musketa Cove, Long Island, New York (2008; rev. 26 February 2013; last revised 9 June 2017), online at http://carpentercousins.com/Joseph2_RI&NY.pdf.
• Carpenter Cousins http://carpentercousins.com/carplink.htm
• Carpenter [1901] - Daniel Hoogland Carpenter, History and Genealogy of the Carpenter Family in America, from the Settlement at Providence, R.I., 1637–1901 (Jamaica, N.Y., 1901)

Acknowledgements

• Sara V Mosher
• Mala Trapp
• Long Island Genealogy. # 13 in The Carpenter family in America by Daniel Carpenter, 1901.