M. (1) 9 Nov 1749 in Coventry, Connecticut
Husband: Joshua Boynton
M. (2) 5 Sep 1754 in Coventry, Connecticut
Husband: Ebenezer French
D. 28 Feb 1816 in Westhampton, Massachusetts
Like many 18th-century mothers in colonial Massachusetts, Rachel Carpenter experienced the American Revolution through the service of her sons, with one of them involved in some of the most important events of the war.
Rachel was born on March 29, 1729 in Coventry, Connecticut to Amos Carpenter and Deborah Long, the sixth of their thirteen children. At age 20, she married Joshua Boynton, also from Coventry. The wedding took place on November 9, 1749, and a year later, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter Phebe. Within two years, she had another daughter, but Joshua passed away on October 16, 1752.
Rachel remarried to Ebenezer French on September 5, 1754. They had eight children together born between 1755 and 1770. Ebenezer was from Northampton, Massachusetts, and in about 1762, the family moved near there. They settled in an area that would one-day become Westhampton, a place that had only one other family. Rachel’s husband cleared some land in the wilderness and built a log cabin. In 1764, they owned 20 acres of land, a horse, a “yoke of oxen,” a cow and a hog. By 1766, the family seems to have moved from that location, but they returned in 1773 as the area became more settled.
When the American Revolution was brewing in early 1775, Rachel had two sons who were reaching the age to serve in the military. The town militia was training to be ready on a minute’s notice to fight the British, and 16-year-old Ebenezer was old enough to join them. After the first shots were fired at Lexington, Ebenezer, along with his father Ebenezer, were among the Minutemen who marched to Concord. Young Ebenezer was stationed in Boston until after the Battle of Bunker Hill when he then enlisted in the Continental Army. He marched to Long Island and served with Washington’s troops as they retreated into New Jersey. He was said to have crossed the Delaware and injured a finger which had to be amputated. Later, he was present after the Battle of Saratoga when General Burgoyne surrendered to the Americans.
Rachel’s second son, Nathan, also enlisted in the army, serving as a private from July 1777 to August 1780. Sadly, Rachel lost two of her children, 12-year-old Asenath and 6-year-old Amariah, on or about March 17, 1776. Another child, Hannah also died around this time, suggesting that they must have been the victims of the same illness. The gravestone for Asenath and Amariah is the oldest one in Center Cemetery in Westhampton.
Rachel remarried to Ebenezer French on September 5, 1754. They had eight children together born between 1755 and 1770. Ebenezer was from Northampton, Massachusetts, and in about 1762, the family moved near there. They settled in an area that would one-day become Westhampton, a place that had only one other family. Rachel’s husband cleared some land in the wilderness and built a log cabin. In 1764, they owned 20 acres of land, a horse, a “yoke of oxen,” a cow and a hog. By 1766, the family seems to have moved from that location, but they returned in 1773 as the area became more settled.
When the American Revolution was brewing in early 1775, Rachel had two sons who were reaching the age to serve in the military. The town militia was training to be ready on a minute’s notice to fight the British, and 16-year-old Ebenezer was old enough to join them. After the first shots were fired at Lexington, Ebenezer, along with his father Ebenezer, were among the Minutemen who marched to Concord. Young Ebenezer was stationed in Boston until after the Battle of Bunker Hill when he then enlisted in the Continental Army. He marched to Long Island and served with Washington’s troops as they retreated into New Jersey. He was said to have crossed the Delaware and injured a finger which had to be amputated. Later, he was present after the Battle of Saratoga when General Burgoyne surrendered to the Americans.
Rachel’s second son, Nathan, also enlisted in the army, serving as a private from July 1777 to August 1780. Sadly, Rachel lost two of her children, 12-year-old Asenath and 6-year-old Amariah, on or about March 17, 1776. Another child, Hannah also died around this time, suggesting that they must have been the victims of the same illness. The gravestone for Asenath and Amariah is the oldest one in Center Cemetery in Westhampton.
Grave of Asenath and Amariah.
In 1778, Westhampton became an incorporated town, and a minister was chosen, Enoch Hale, the brother of Nathan Hale. Before a meetinghouse could be built, Rachel and Ebenezer’s barn was used for the ordination the new minister in 1779.
Ebenezer was recorded on the 1800 U.S. Census living only with Rachel in their old age. He probably died before 1810. Rachel lived to be almost 87-years-old, dying on February 28, 1816. Her gravestone in Center Cemetery identifies her as “Mrs. Rachel F.” widow of her first husband Joshua Boynton, but oddly doesn’t mention Ebenezer.
Children by Joshua Boynton:
1. Phebe Boynton – B. 23 Nov 1750, Coventry, Connecticut; D. 30 Nov 1847, Easthampton, Massachusetts; M. Benjamin Clapp (1738-1815), 1765, Easthampton, Massachusetts
2. Anne Boynton – B. 24 Mar 1752, Coventry, Connecticut
Children by Ebenezer French:
1. Mary French — B. 1755, Southampton, Massachusetts; D. 11 Jan 1832; M. Thomas Elwell (1752-1803), 24 Oct 1775, Northampton, Massachusetts
2. Ebenezer French — B. 5 Apr 1759, Coventry Connecticut; 17 Nov 1844, Otisco, New York; M. (1) Rachel Patrick; (2) Lucy Bostwick (1760-1808), 11 Jan 1781, Westhampton, Massachusetts
3. Nathan French — B. 3 Feb 1760, Coventry, Connecticut; D. 30 Aug 1847, Westhampton, Massachusetts; M. (1) Persis Sheldon (1765-1796), 8 May1790; (2) Mary Tharp (1772-1855), 18 May 1799, Northampton, Massachusetts
4. Rachel French — B. 12 Mar 1762, Southampton, Massachusetts; D. Mar 1826, Otisco, New York; M. Elias Thayer (1752-1828), 1779
5. Asenath French — B. 12 Apr 1764, Southampton, Massachusetts; 17 Mar 1776, Southampton, Massachusetts
6. Hannah French — B. 27 Apr 1766, Southampton, Massachusetts; 1776, Southampton, Massachusetts
7. Joshua Boynton French — B. 20 Jan 1768, Southampton, Massachusetts; D. 26 Sep 1802, Westhampton, Massachusetts; M. Anna Brockway (1774-1863)
8. Amariah French — B. about 1770, Southampton, Massachusetts; about Mar 1776, Southampton, Massachusetts
Sources:
Births, Marriages and Deaths from the records of the town and churches in Coventry, Connecticut, 1711-1844, Susan Whitney Dimock, 1897
History of Western Massachusetts, Volume 2, by Josiah Gilbert Holland, 1855
Memorial of the Reunion of the Natives of Westhampton, Mass., 1866
The Descendants of Andrew Warner, 1919
Onondaga’s Centennial: Gleanings of a Century, Volume 1, Dwight Hall Bruce, 1896
Find-A-Grave.com
