My family tree

Samuel, the son of William and Abigail Carpenter lived in Rehoboth MA all his life. It was recorded that he advanced mo ney to carry on "Phillips War". This may refer to the Wamponpag Indian leader which led the Indians in the worst New En gland Indian war,starting in 1675, when three Wamponpag Indian warriors were executed for the murder of a Christian Ind ian, an informer of an alleged Indian conspiracy against the whites. Phillip, Indian named Pometacom or Metacomet, th e son ofMassosoit,became the sachemof the Wamponpag Indians in 1662 and followed a peaceful policy for nine years, eve n though the Indians land was expropriated and they were pushed into a smaller and smaller area. When the 3 Indians wer e tried and executed he declared war. By 1676 however the whites gained strength and destroyed the Indians crops, captured their women and children, including Phillips wife and son. Finally, through bount ies, an Indian traitor shot Philip near Bristol RI on Aug. 12, 1676. From all the gatherings, he was a man of fair abil ity, reliable, and a worthy citizen; probably not educated, as his father died when he was young, and the work of the f arm which was given to him and his mother gave him no time for schooling. 204 Samuel was one of the purchasers in the North purchase, and land was allotted to him in the division of Feb. 5, 1671. By the town council of Rehoboth it is agreed upon (as found on records of May 16, 1680) that William Blanding shall hav e one-half acre of land on the Common to build a house upon the edge of Rocky Hill. Lieut. Hunt, Samuel Carpenter and J . Peck were chosen to lay out the said land and set the expense of it and perfix the time when he shall build, which i f he neglects, he shall forfeit the land to the town again. I do not find Samuel acting as a Freeman until after the na mes of all the othershave appearedin that capacity. From all the gatherings, he was a man of fair ability, reliable, an d a worthy citizen; probably not educated, as his father died when he was young, and the work of the farm which was giv en to him and his mothergavehim no time for schooling. The will indicates that Samuel was the youngest by being the las t named; and it appears that he was left under the care of his mother. They were apparently joint owners in the home fa rm. Abiah did not have a houseontheland given to him, and there wasno indication that he had acquired a home for himsel f. The will provides that Samuel and his mother should assist him in building a house. The assistance of the mother wou ld not have been required if Samuelhadbeen of suitable age to have done the work. The circumstances tend to show that A biah and Samuel were left under the directions and care of the mother, who proved to be a very capable woman. This vie w is confirmed by the will of William Carpenter as he gave to his wife, Abigail, the cloth in the house towards clothin g herself and the children with her. Abiah and Samuel were the only ones of the family who were left at home, all the r est had homes of their own. Samuel gave atonetime towards the expense of King Philip's war ?11, 19 s., 5 d. Samuel andA biah Carpenter, sons of Samuel, in connection with the settlement of their father's real estate, mention the name of th eir uncle John Carpenter (referring to John ofJamaica); also the names of Jacob and James, Sept.12, 1618, from which w e have reason toinfer that Jacob was then living but had emigrated to parts unknown to the compiler. The following reco rds relate to the settlement of Samuel's estate: Know all men by these presents,- that I, Gilbert Brooks, and Sarah, my wife, of the Town of Rehoboth in the County of B ristol, do by these presents acknowledge the receipt in full and whole part of the third of the estate that was formerl y SamuelCarpenterSenior's, deceased, of movables and stock, which is now divided between the said children. and amounti ng to the sum of ?33, 6s. 8 d, likewise ?3, 6s., 8 d.. in goods in lieu of her third part of a piece of land at Palmer' s River, whichthe said Sarah hadof her brother, John Readaway, as appears by deed of sale all of which amounted to ?36 , 17 s.. of which we, the said Gilbert and Sarah Brooks do fully acquit, discharge and exonerate William and Samuel Car penter, administratorstothe estate of the aforesaid Samuel Carpenter Senior, deceased, their heirs, executors or administrators of the full and whole part of her third of the said estate, excepting house and land. In witness whereof, we, the said Gilbert and Sarah Brooks, both set our hands and seal this 20th day of January, 1687 o r 1688 The mark of Gilbert Brooks,-" B." Sarah Brooks,-"S." "Be it known unto all men by these presents that I, Gilbert Brooks, of the Town of Rehoboth, in the County of Bristol , Guardian unto Zachariah Carpenter and Abraham Carpenter, children to my beloved wife, Sarah Brooks, have received an d had the day of making over the estate, and portions of the said Zachariah and Abraham, which was divided to them by t he administrators of the estate of their father, Samuel Carpenter, late of Rehoboth, deceased, in lands and goods and u tensils and money amounting to the sum of ?58, 16 s., 6 d., of William Senior and Samuel Carpenter, administrators of t he estate of the said Samuel Carpenter, deceased, hereby exonerating, acquitting and discharging the said administrator s and their heirs, executors, and administrators of all due bequests and legacies due to the said children from their f ather's estate: to wit, both lands, goods and money, acknowledging ourselves fully satisfied, contented and paid. In witness whereof, I, the said Gilbert Brooks do set my hands and seal this 17th day of December, "Anno Dom" 1688 The Mark of Gilbert Brooks,-" B." Whereas Gilbert Brooks, late of Rehoboth, deceased, did on the 7th of December, 1688, retain the sum of ?58, 16s, 6d. , in lands, goods, utensils, and money of William and Samuel Carpenter, administrators to the estate of Samuel Carpente r, formerlyof Rehoboth, as guardian for two of the children of the said Samuel Carpenter; namely, Zachariah and Abraha m Carpenter, as did appear by indication of particulars for which said Gilbert Brooks gave a receipt, as appears upon r ecord upon the ninthand tenth pages of the (record) hook. Now, know ye, that I, the above, said William Carpenter, wit h the consent of Captain Nicholas Peck, guardian in trust committed to us by the Court of Bristol, for said children ha ve received in full the saidchildrens' portion, the whole thereof as above said, and do honorably, fully, and strictly exonerate, acquit, and discharge the said Gilbert Brooks, his heirs, executors, and administrators and every o f them by those presents. Witness my hands and seal this third day of July, one thousand, six hundred and ninety-five. (Signed) WILLIAM CARPENTER." Gilbert Brooks who married Sarah the widow of Samuel Carpenter, paid at one time towards the expenses of King Philip' s war ?3, 15S., 10d. Gilbert Brook's was chosen deputy to attend the General Court at Plymouth in 1679 again in 1681. I n 1680 hewas one ofthe selectmen of Rehoboth. The burying ground in Rehoboth, now East Providence, where many of the ea rly members of the Carpenter family are now buried, was visited by the compiler in 1844 and '45. He spent several day s in the yard, andfound it in a verydilapidated, condition; many of the stones were fallen, and lay on the ground, grow n over by bushes, grass and weeds, and the accumulations of soil, which completely concealed them from view. Others ha d tipped partly over, and were sunken into the ground,so that their inscriptions could not be read. As many were righte d as could well be done in the short time the compiler was there. The stones on which the slab rested on which the Carp enter Cost of Arms was engraved, (the noted stone to the memory of Daniel Carpenter) had sunken into the ground so tha t the slab was very far from being level; some portions of it resting nearly, if not quite on the ground, devoid of an y regular form. The stone of Daniel's wife Susannah was in the same condition. When he next visited the yard, about 50 years later in 1893, he found the slab on Daniel Carpenter's grave, had been ra ised to its proper height and place, but his wife Susannah's remained nearly the same as seen in 1844. He also found th e stonesthat marked our worthy father William Carpenter and his wife Miriam's grave, taken up out of the swamp of black berry bushes and vines, and now they lie at the foot of Daniel and Susannah's graves, side by side, with the letter-sid e up. The letters were very distinct, as if recently cut. On the last visit, some of the family lots showed that they h ad received special care by the descendants, and were in elegant condition, corresponding with the present style of fam ily lots. It is at thisburial ground that William Carpenter. No. 16, and wife Abigail are supposed to be buried, but th e compiler was unable to find a stone that marked their graves. William resided here only about 13 years before he died , and must have been one of thefirst buried in this yard. It is a beautiful piece of ground directly in front of the Ne wman Meeting house, only a few rods from it. The Chapel is still called the "Newman Meeting house." It has been renovat ed several times since occupied by theRev. Mr. Newman. The Newman residence was not far from this church; both being in the central part of the Common, around which, in a semi-circle, the settlers built their houses. The compiler was unable to find any stone that marked the grave of Samuel Carpenter, son of William No. 16. He found tw o stones among the vines (in '93) marked "S. C.", the letters being very plain, and concluded that one of them was prob ably forthe head,and the other the foot stone of Samuel Carpenter, on which no dates could he found. Only two of the five brothers were buried in this yard, John died at Jamaica, L. 1., Joseph at Barrington or Swansea, M ass., and Abiah at Pawtuxet, R. I. It was found recorded on the town book that the town of Rehoboth voted to fence this burying ground with stone in 1680, and this old stone fence still stands in very good condition.203, pg 48-5 0