Nicholas Vincent, Sr. (parents are still debated) was born about 1610 possibly in Nettlecomb, Somerset, England.[1] Frittisweed (Fritheswith, Frideswide, Fridizweed) Carpenter was born about 1609 in Ambesbury, Wiltshire, England to Richard Carpenter and possibly Alice Knight.[2][3] Nicholas Vincent, Sr. married Frittisweed Carpenter before 16 SEP 1632 when their daughter Joan was baptized. Nicholas was buried on 17 JUL 1671 in Ambesbury, Wiltshire, England.[4]
Frittisweed's father is Richard Carpenter, and her mother is possibly Alice Knight married on 07 AUG 1603 in Newton Tony, Wiltshire, England.[5]. Her mother is not Susanna Trevilian.[6]
NOTE: Many sources list Nicholas Vincent as "Thomas Vincent" or "Thomas Nicholas Vincent". However, the baptismal records of the Church of England in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England clearly show the parents of William (chr. 1638), Thomas, Joane, and Nicholas, as Nicholas and Frittisweed Vincent. (The source of "Thomas" is apparently mistaken information from Rev. Phelps of Amesbury that was published in 1901 by D. H. Carpenter.)
William Vincent and Joan Vincent both emigrated to America from Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, about 1660, and settled in Provience, Rhode Island.[8]. Their uncle William Carpenter was one of the 13 original settlers of Providence Rhode Island.
Joane Vincent married John Sheldon in 1660 and had five children. Their daughter Mary married Stephen Arnold and their son Nicholas Sheldon married Abigail Tillinghast.
William Vincent married Priscilla Carpenter and had three children. Their son Nicholas married Elizabeth Reynolds and located in Westerly as early as 1724. A son William by the latter union (one of ten children), married Zeruiah Rtidd, to whom were born ten children. Joseph, one of the sons by this union, married Phalla Hinckley and settle in Stonington, Conn. Thomas Hinckley, one of their five children, born March 14th, 1811, died December 26th, 1864, resided first in Pawcatuck and later in Westerly. He married Lydia Chesebrough Bradford, daughter of Alexander and Lois (Pendleton) Bradford. She was born April 6th, 1800, and died December 26th, 1864. [9]
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Nicholas is 19 degrees from Herbert Adair, 20 degrees from Richard Adams, 16 degrees from Mel Blanc, 24 degrees from Dick Bruna, 20 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 31 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 21 degrees from Sam Edwards, 18 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 22 degrees from Marty Krofft, 16 degrees from Junius Matthews, 15 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 19 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
From Richard Vincent [email address removed] : Regarding files on Rootsweb that make one or more of the following statements related to the pedigree of William Vincent, of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, who immigrated to Providence, RI, around 1660:
-- The father of William was Thomas Vincent. -- The mother of William was Fridgswith Carpenter . -- The parents of Fridgswith were Richard Carpenter and Susanna Trevelyan* of Nettlecombe, Somersetshire, England.
I think that the first and third of these statements are doubtful. I know of no primary documentation for either, but there is credible information that is inconsistent with each of them. The second statement is reasonable (I accept it) but unproven.
The records of the Church of England in Amesbury (FHL film 1279337 item 25) show William Vincent, baptized 17 June 1638, as the son of Nicholas and Frittisweed Vincent. The Vincent family in Amesbury heavily "recycled" the names Nicholas, Thomas, and William. There were Thomases contemporary with Nicholas. It seems likely that one became confused with the father of William who was baptised in 1638.
It is clear that there was a Fridgswith Carpenter who married a Vincent in Amesbury; there is a record (Austin; "Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island", p.213) of her receiving title in 1671 to her father's house in Amesbury from her brother William Carpenter of Rhode Island. "Frittisweed" is a known variant of "Fridgswith" (The original Anglo-Saxon spelling of the name is not possible in modern English, so variants are inevitable.) Given the infrequent use of the name, it is logical to assume that Frittisweed in the baptismal record was the same person as Fridgswith in the real estate record. However, that is just an assumption, so far as I know.
The same record of title to the home in Amesbury shows the father of Fridgswith to be "Richard Carpenter". It is also known that there was a contemporary Richard Carpenter in Somersetshire, the husband of Susanna Trevelyan of Nettlecombe. However, the will of Richard of Somersetshire (cited in "The Arnold Memorial: William Arnold of Providence and Pawtuxet, 1587-1675, and a Genealogy of His Descendants", Rutland, Vt., c1935), while listing 9 children of himself and Susanna, does not mention either a Fridgswith or a William.
I have been provided considerable information on the life of Richard Carpenter from Somersetshire, none of which connects him with Amesbury, which is rather distant (75 miles, as the crow flies).
These facts counter the idea that Richard and Susanna of Somersetshire were the parents of William and Fridgswith Carpenter of Amesbury.