Carrier Name Study

Profile managers: One Name Studies WikiTree [send private message] and Vic Watt [send private message]

Welcome to the Carrier One Name Study. We are trying to collect together in one place everything about the Carrier surname and the variants of that name. The hope is that other researchers like you will join our study to help make it a valuable reference point for people studying lines that cross or intersect. Please contact the project leader, add categories to your profiles, add your questions to the bulletin board, add details of your name research, etc.

Project Coordinators

• Vic Watt
• Roger Carrier

Template and Categories

The template for the Carrier Name Study is: {{One Name Study|name=Carrier}} Put this at the top of a profile included in the study.

The category for Carriers included in the study is: [[Carrier Name Study]]. If you have included the Template on the profile, there is no need to add the category unless you want to be more specific about the location. In that case, add the state or country to the category. EX: [[Category: Connecticut Carriers]] or [[Category: Canada Carriers]]. If you only know the country and not the state, province or county, just use the country. (Not all states and countries have been set up, so the category may appear on the profile in RED. If that happens, just drop me a line and I will fix it.Watt-266 01:26, 6 October 2015 (EDT) )

Origins of Name

The name Carrier has at least two origins in Canada. 1) Those who descend from Jean Carrier and Barbe Halay. Jean Carrier came to Canada from Saint-Georges-des-Angouts, France and married Barbe Halay 04 november 1670 at Quebec City. The name of their numerous descendants is Carrier. Source : Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec by René Jetté, page 204.

2) Those who descend from Noël De Bremme and Anne Brochu. Noël De Bremme (baptized Debrham) came to Canada in 1696 from Boulogne-sur-mer, France and married Anne Brochu 04 Feb 1697 in Saint-Jean parish on Orléans Islang near Quebec City. The name of their numerous descendants is also Carrier. Here is why: This family name was De Bremme but was changed to Le Brun at the first generation in Canada by notary François Genaple. Notary Genaple was French speaking while Noël De Bremme was speaking Picard. Picard is a Germanic language close to today Dutch. Genaple wrote by ear Lebrun the closest French equivalent he knew. To Lebrun a “dit Carrier” (alias) was added by reference to the trade or occupation of this pioneer. Noël De Bremme was a tool maker (making chisels) for a quarry near Quebec City. Hence the name of carrier (working in a carrière). At the census of 1851 it was strongly suggested to limit everyone to only one name. Carrier was chosen over Lebrun. So, since then Carrier has been mainly used.

Sources: Régistres de la paroisse Saint-Jean, Île d’Orléans, Nouvelle-France. Marriage contract 08 July 1696 by notary François Genaple.

The name Carrier seems to have a single origin in France. In England, the name came from France with Norman Conquest. It was occupational: carriers were those who transported goods. In southern France, carriers were people who built carts.

Alternate Spellings

Carrier, Carryer, Carriere, le Cariour (1332 Lancashire), Kerrear (1379 Yorkshire), Cariar (1559, London), de Carier (1332 Cumberland)

To-Do List

This list is not exhaustive, but it gives some ideas for where to start. You can find the Carrier To-Do List HERE.

The most important thing is to get sources for the Carrier profiles already on WikiTree. You can find a list of Unsourced Carriers HERE

It is also very important to connect Carriers to their ancestors. You can find a list of Carriers who need ancestors HERE.

Location

In the United States, Carriers were originally concentrated in the northeastern states and in Louisiana. Currently in the United States, the name is found statistically more often in Colorado and New Jersey. Over 88% of the Carriers are Causasian, although almost 8% are African-American.

In Canada, they are mostly found in Quebec, and the name came directly from France.

In England, they are found in the middle north, in Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.

Carriers in the Military

The following Carriers fought for the American Colonies during the American Revolution:

• Amaziah Carrier, b. 17 July 1754; d. 25 Dec 1832
• David Carrier, b. 5 Dec 1756; d. 28 June 1828
• Thomas Carrier, b. 24 Dec 1741; d. 30 July 1824
• Titus Carrier, b. 23 Aug 1733; d. 25 July 1795
• Uriah Carrier, b. 21 Aug 1756; d. 13 May 1826
• Jean Carriere, b. France ca. 1730; d. Aug 1784
• Michel Carriere, b. 10 May 1760; d. 15 Oct 1815
• Pierre Carriere, b. ca. 1760; d. after 15 Nov 1833

The following fought for United States during the War of 1812:

• David Russell Carrier, m1. Betsey Tompkins; m2. Hannah Bucklin; d. 7 April 1880
• Isaac Carrier, m1. ?; m2. Elgelana Elderbeck; d. 24 Dec 1881
• John M. Carrier, m. Eunice
• Jonathan D. Carrier
• Jesse Carrier
• Thomas Carrier

Notable Carriers

Wikipedia shows the following notable Carriers:^[1]

• Corey Carrier (born 1980), American child actor, at Wikipedia
• Darel Carrier (born 1940), American professional basketball player, at Wikipedia
• George F. Carrier (1918-2002), American mathematician and Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, at Wikipedia
• Jean-Baptiste Carrier (1756-1794), French Revolutionary, at Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica
• Albert-Ernest Carrier de Belleuse (1824-1887), French sculptor, at Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica
• Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse (1848–1913), French painter and sculptor, at Wikipedia
• Mark Carrier (wide receiver) (born 1965), American football player, at Wikipedia
• Mark Carrier (safety) (born 1968), American football player, at Wikipedia
• Martha (Allen) Carrier (hung as a witch at Salem, 1692) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Carrier_(Salem_witch_trials))
• Richard Carrier (born 1969), American historian and philosopher
• Robert Carrier (chef) (1923–2006), American chef, restaurateur and cookery writer, at Wikipedia
• Robert Carrier (politician) (born 1941), Canadian politician, at Wikipedia
• Roch Carrier (born 1937), Canadian novelist and author, Wikipedia
• Scott Carrier (born 1957), American author and radio producer, Wikipedia
• Willis Carrier (1876-1950), American inventor of air-conditioning

DNA Study

A Carrier Y DNA Study Group has been set up at https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/carrier. In Dec 2022 it has 49 members.

Resources

There is a good website, Carrier Genealogy, run by Neal F. Carrier at Carrier Genealogy. The webmaster has a special interest in the witch trials.

This typescript follows the descendants of Thomas Carrier. It is shy on sources and can be very difficult to follow, but it provides great clues that you can flesh out:

• George Steven May. Some descendants of Thomas Carrier of Andover and Billerica, Massachusetts, who died in Colchester, Connecticut, May 16, 1735 : and his wife, Marth (Allen) Carrier. [S.l. : s.n.], 1978. CarrierGenealogy.com

I have not been able to find other books on Carrier genealogy and history online. The following books may be available at your library, and they are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

• Descendants of George S. Carrier and Mariah Foresman, by Wilma May Myers

• History of the Carrier family (New England), by C.C. McLean, Jr. 9p., typescript. n.d. Out of print book.