Samuel Carpenter Genealogy

DESCENT OF SAMUEL CARPENTER, JUNIOR

SAMUEL CARPENTER, JR., was a merchant of Philadelphia, and employed in the affairs of Provincial Government. He married Hannah Preston, 1711. and left five children-Samuel, Rachel, Preston, Hannah and Thomas.

I.-SAMUEL CARPENTER (3d), died in Jamaica, 1747, leaving three children Samuel, Hannah and Thomas. He was a merchant, residing in Kingston. His two sons were educated in Edinburgh, and died in Kingston. Thomas left nine children-four boys and five girls.

II RACHEL CARPENTER, born 1716, died 1794; unmarried.

III.-PRESTON CARPENTER, born 1721; died October 20th, 1785. He married, 1742, Hannah, daughter of Samuel Smith, of Salem County, N. J. She was born 1723. He married, secondly, Hannah Mason.

IV.-HANNAH CARPENTER, married Samuel Shoemaker, 1746, and died 1766. V.-THOMAS, died 1770, unmarried.

ADDENDA TO THE CARPENTER FAMILY

According to J. Smith's collection of Memorials, " Samuel Carpenter came to Philadelphia from Barbadoes in 1683. The tradition among the oldest of his descendants is that he came from England. It is therefore probable that he was a native of that country, but had resided awhile in Barbadoes, for the purposes of trade. Of his parentage and early history nothing is now known. His papers appear to have been entirely lost, and the few facts relating to his life which are here collected have been gleaned from the MSS. of his contemporaries.

John R. Carpenter, in his MSS. collection, says:

"The following particulars, few and imperfect. are all that I have been able to obtain, after much research and inquiry, of the life of my ancestor Samuel Carpenter."

The " Globe Tavern;" owned by Samuel Carpenter, was in aftertimes called "Peg Mullins' Beef Steak House." It was oh the west side of Water Street, corner of Wilcox's Alley. The late aged CoL Morris says it was the fashionable house of his youthful days. Gov. Hamilton and other Governors held their Clubs here, and here the Freemasons met, and most of the public parties and societies.

Samuel Carpenter (2d) was born 9th February, 1688, and died Nov., 1748, aged 60 years.

Preston Carpenter, second son of Samuel Carpenter 2d, married Hannah, daughter of Samuel and Hannah Smith, and granddaughter of John Smith, of Hedgefield, Salem County, New Jersey.

In 1693 Samuel Carpenter was one of the members of the Provincial Assembly, but when elected, or how long he served, is uncertain.

In 1697 he was one, of the. Governor's Council of State, and continued to serve in that capacity until his death, 1714. At that time, and for several years previous, he was Treasurer of the Province. Gov. Penn and his deputies for many years sustained a violent and able opposition from a numerous party in the Provincial Assembly, who demanded a .more democratic form of Government than the

Executive thought proper to allow.

JOSHUA CARPENTER.

So far as I have been able to ascertain, Samuel Carpenter was accompanied by but one of his family-a brother named Joshua when he came to Pennsylvania. Joshua was a member of the Church of England. His wife's name was Elizabeth. They. resided in Philadelphia, and left one or more children.

Some of his descendants resided near Dover, Delaware, one of whom had in his possession several old family portraits which had belonged to Joshua Carpenter. He _(Joshua) built that ancient house which until recently stood in the rear of Judge Tilghman's residence on Chestnut. Street, and was known as Graeme Hall. It was intended as Joshua Carpenter's summer residence. The Arcade was subsequently erected on the site of this mansion.

It is claimed by the Carpenters of Elsenboro, Salem Co., N. J., that William Carpenter, grandson of Joshua, removed to Salem County about the year 1750, where he married Mary, daughter of Jeremiah Powell, who left four children-Mary, William, Powell and Abigail. Mary married Job Ware; William, Flizabeth Ware; Powell, Eliza Slaughter (and secondly, her sister, Ann Slaughter); Abigail. married Edward Hancock. Powell was wounded at the massacre by the British, at Hancock's Bridge, Salem County, during the Revolution of 1776. William Carpenter, the head of this branch, was a n Episcopalian, and buried in St. John's Episcopal Churchyard, Salem.

ABRAHAM CARPENTER.

The following is a copy of a letter written by J. E. Carpenter, 710 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, May 2d, 1879, to Charles Perrin Smith, Esq..

TRENTON, N. J.

MY DEAR SIR:-I have just found some valuable material to assist in locating the family of our ancestor, Samuel Carpenter, in the old country. I had known before that Samuel and Joshua Carpenter had a brother Abraham, who was with them here in Philadelphia, but whether he was permanently a resident of Philadelphia, or whether he died here, I did not know. Recently, . in making some investigations in the office of Register of Wills, of this city, I found the Will of Abraham Carpenter. Most fortunately, it gives more information respecting the members of the family in England than any authentic document in existence that I know of. Thee following are briefly some of its provisions:

It is called the Will of Abraham Carpenter, Merchant. He leaves all of his estate to his brother Samuel, and his brother Samuel's son Samuel, in trust to pay legacies, &c.

A legacy is left to his sister Mary (widow) in Lambeth, England. A legacy to Damaris, wife of David Hunt, of the borough of Southwark, his sister.

A legacy to the children of his brother, John Carpenter, late of Horsham, in Sussex.

A legacy to his cousin (perhaps a grand-niece, as the term is used in another place in his Will in this sense) Susanna, daughter of John and Ann Welch, of Southwark. (Ann Welch was perhaps the daughter of his sister Damaris Hunt.)

A legacy to the children of his sister Deborah Jupp, deceased.

A legacy to the children of his sister Mary.

A legacy to the children of his sister Damaris. A legacy to his kinsman, Thomas Mitchell.

A legacy to his cousin, Robert Story, to be paid when twenty-one years of age or married.

Robert Story was the son of Enoch Story, who married Sarah, the daughter of Joshua Carpenter. He was therefore the son of Abraham Carpenter's niece, or what is now termed a grand-nephew.

A legacy to his cousin, Sarah Fishbourn, when 21 or married. (Sarah Fishbourn was probably the daughter of William Fishbourn, who married Hannah, daughter of Samuel Carpenter, Sen' r, and the same relationship appears a grand-niece, and evidently this is the case, because all of these cousins are minors.)

A legacy to Samuel, son of his brother Joshua.

A legacy to Samuel and John, sons of his brother Samuel.

A legacy to his brother Joshua.

A legacy to Hannah Hardiman. (She was probably a daughter of Benjamin Hardiman, brother of Hannah Hardman, who married Samuel Carpenter, Sen'r.

A legacy. to his sister-in-law Elizabeth, wife of his brother Joshua.

A legacy to Hannah, wife of his brother, Samuel Carpenter, Sen'r.

His negro woman, Hagar, to live with his brother Samuel and his wife, and her son Ishmael shall live with her; gives Ishmael to his brother Samuel; appoints his brother Samuel and his brother Samuel's son, Samuel, Executors. Dated March 27, 1708. Registered Philadelphia Will Book, C, p. 87. Proved April 14, 1708.

You will observe that the relationship is proved in every particular, the names of brothers, brothers' wives and children correspond exactly, and the names of Hardiman, Fishbourn and Story, make it impossible that he could belong to any other family than our own: but having started this rich mine of information, I was curious to follow the clue, and so searched for and found the Will of Joshua Carpenter.

It is called the Will of Joshua Carpenter, Brewer, and makes the following provisions:

A legacy to his grandson, Robert Story, the son of his daughter Sarah, to be paid him at twenty-one years of age.

A legacy to his grand-daughter, Patience Story, daughter of his daughter Sarah, -to be paid her at eighteen, or at her marriage.

A legacy of one shilling to his son-in-law, Enoch Story.

A legacy to each of his sisters Mary and Damaris, near London, in Great Britain, to be remitted to them, if they then be living.

A legacy to his cousin, Anne Busnl, and to her children, William, Mary, Mercy and Joshua Busfil, each to be paid when sons are 21, and daughters 18, or married.

A legacy to his cousins Abraham and Thomas Mitchell, and residue to his wife, Flizabeth.

Dated Aug. 27, 1720. Proved Aug. 2, 1722. Registered at Philadelphia in Book of Wills, D, p. 325.

You have probably seen the Will of Samuel Carpenter, the elder. It mentions his brother Joshua, but makes no mention of Abraham, who died before him. In fact, his entire estate being divided: among his widow and children, he makes no mention whatever of his collateral relatives, and only mentions his brother Joshua's name as owning a lot adjoining his property, in describing the boundaries of the property devised.

Yours very truly, (Signed) J. R CARPENTER.