M. 28 Apr 1625 in Shalbourne, England
Wife: Abigail Briant
D. 7 Feb 1659 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Unlike other colonial migration groups, the majority of Puritans who came to New England in the 17th century were of the middle class. This set them apart from those who settled in colonies such as Virginia, who were either from the top or the bottom of society.
William Carpenter of Rehoboth, Massachusetts was a strong example of this. He was born in about 1605 in Shalbourne, England. During the 17th century, Shalbourne straddled three English counties, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire, and it isn’t known which county William was born in. His father was also named William, but his mother’s name is unknown. On April 28, 1625, William married Abigail Briant at St. Michael’s and All Angels Church in Shalbourne. The couple settled in the village, and between 1626 and 1637, they had five children, with the youngest dying as an infant.
St. Michael's and All Angels church, where William got married.
William’s father was a carpenter, and appears to have passed this trade onto his son. (It’s hard not to notice that the profession matched their surname, but there’s no way of knowing if that’s significant.) Evidence suggests that William’s work involved the construction of houses. As with tradesmen of this era, William also had a farm, and it’s likely that building houses was only a part-time job.
The region where William lived in England was populated with many religious non-conformists, also known as Puritans. William’s family were also followers, and as others left for what they believed would be a better life in America, he decided to join them. At the time, he was 33-years-old, fairly typical for Puritan migrants. His father also came along, but may have died on the journey, since there’s no record of him in New England. Before they left, the Carpenter family seems to have made a temporary home in the town of Wherwell, halfway between Shalbourne and Southampton, where the ship was docked. Wherwell was known to have connections to Puritan activism through a leader named Stephen Bachiler.
William and his family migrated on the ship Bevis, which sailed from England in May 1638, and arrived in Massachusetts Bay in about June or July (there is a claim that the Bevis was possibly delayed by the king in order to prevent the Puritans from leaving England). William settled in the Plymouth colony in the town of Weymouth, where his youngest two children were born. In 1641 and 1643, he was named as representative to the General Court of Plymouth, which suggests that he held a respected status among the men of Weymouth.
In about 1644, William joined a company led by Reverend Samuel Newman that split off to form a new community called Rehoboth. At first the town didn't align itself with either Plymouth or Massachusetts Bay, but then voted to join the Plymouth colony. As he did in Weymouth, William continued serving his new community; he was elected in 1645 to be Rehoboth’s representative to the General Court. He was also named as one of those empowered to hear and decide on grievances in regard to the division of land by lots.
It should be noted that there was another man about his same age also named William Carpenter, who settled at Providence, Rhode Island, not far from Rehoboth. It’s been thought that the two men were closely related, possibly first cousins. The other man had a son Joseph who married William’s daughter Hannah in about 1658. Y-DNA testing has backed up the idea that the two Williams were close cousins.
William owned a collection of academic books; some were in Latin, Greek or Hebrew, and others were on biblical or legal topics. There's no evidence that he had any higher education in England, so this was unusual. When William made out his will, he specified which books went to each family member, giving a sense that they were treasured by him. It’s been speculated that as he became more involved with Puritanism, he may have been tutored by someone in the clergy.
First page of William's will with bequests of books to family members.
Children:
1. John Carpenter — B. 8 Oct 1626, Shalbourne, England; D. 23 May 1695, Rehoboth, Massachusetts; M. Hannah Smith (~1635-?), about 1655
2. Abigail Carpenter — B. before 31 May 1629, Shalbourne, England; D. 5 Mar 1710, Rehoboth, Massachusetts; M. (1) John Titus (~1627-1689), about 1659, Rehoboth, Massachusetts; (2) Jonah Palmer (?-1709), 9 Nov 1692, Rehoboth, Massachusetts
3. William Carpenter — B. 22 Nov 1631, Compton Bassett, England; D. 26 Jan 1703, Rehoboth, Massachusetts; M. (1) Priscilla Bennett (~1631-1663), 5 Oct 1651, Rehoboth, Massachusetts; (2) Miriam Searles (~1646-1722), 10 Dec 1663, Rehoboth, Massachusetts
4. Joseph Carpenter — B. about 1634, Shalbourne, England; D. 6 May 1675, Rehoboth, Massachusetts; M. Margaret Sutton (1637-1700), 25 May 1655, Rehoboth, Massachusetts
5. Samuel Carpenter — B. before 1 Mar 1637, Wiltshire County, England; D. 20 Apr 1637, Wiltshire County, England
6. Samuel Carpenter — B. about 1638, Weymouth, Massachusetts; D. 20 Feb 1683, Rehoboth, Massachusetts; M. Sarah Readway (1642-1718), 20 May 1660, Rehoboth, Massachusetts
7. Hannah Carpenter — B. 3 Apr 1640, Weymouth, Massachusetts; D. before 8 Jun 1673, (probably) Musketa Cove, New York; M. Joseph Carpenter (~1638-~1683), about 1658, Rehoboth, Massachusetts
8. Abiah Carpenter — B. 9 Apr 1643, Weymouth, Massachusetts; D. about 1689, Pawtuxet, Rhode Island; M. (1) Mary Readway (1646-1667), 1667, Patuxet, Rhode Island; (2) Ann Weeks (~1645-?), 1668
Sources:
Representative men and old families of southeastern Massachusetts, J.H. Beers & Co., 1912
A genealogical history of the Rehoboth branch of the Carpenter family in America, Amos Bugbee Carpenter, 1898
"William2 Carpenter (William1) of Rehoboth Massachusetts," Eugene Cole Zubrinsky, 2008, revised 2018
Rehoboth Carpenter Family (Wikipedia article)
Bevis (ship) (Wikipedia article)
Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America, David Hackett Fischer, 1989
WikiTree
Famous Kin (website)
