Robert Carpenter, 'the elder', of Marden

Richard Carpenter, of Amesbury was not his son.

Robert 'of Marden' Carpenter

• Sex: M
• Birth: ABT 1545 in England
• Death: 1607 in Marden, England
• Father: William of Marden CARPENTER b: ABT 1520 in England
• Mother: Elizabeth b: ABT 1520 in England

Robert was a well-to-do sheep proprietor.

Easily Confused:

• Robert Carpenter of Plymouth, Devon
• Robert Carpenter of Marden, Wiltshire

Notes:

• Robert Carpenter of Marden married his cousin Eleanor Carpenter;
• will mentions eldest son William and grandchild William,
• plus sons Richard, John, Charles, Robert and Daughters Edith and Alice.
• Even though he came from a family of sheep farmers, he appears to have put his children to trades.
• His will speaks of them completing their apprenticeships. (Marden is a small village 12 miles north of Amesbury.)

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Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Carpenter-155

Robert Carpenter of Marden was born about 1545 in England, son of William Carpenter of Marden and Elizabeth Unknown. He was named as a son, residual legatee and sole executor of the 1586 will of his father William Carpenter. [1]

He married Eleanor Unknown. In some cases you see her described as his cousin, but no evidence has been provided for that statement.

Children

Children known from his will include:

1. William
2. Robert
3. John
4. Charles
5. Edith Carpenter
6. Alice Carpenter
7. Richard

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Source: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/e/r/Dana-K-Berry/WEBSI...

Children

1. Richard CARPENTER b: ABT 1575 in Nettlecomb, Somerset, England ??
2. William of Wherwell CARPENTER b: ABT 1576 in Horwell, Lincoln, England ??
3. Robert CARPENTER b: ABT 1578 in England
4. Charles CARPENTER b: ABT 1580 in England
5. Alice CARPENTER b: ABT 1582 in England
6. John CARPENTER b: ABT 1584 in England
7. Edith CARPENTER b: ABT 1586 in England

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Notes

https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Richard_Carpenter_%2838%29

Gene Zubrinsky writes: Among the children named in the will of Robert Carpenter of Marden (dated in 1607) are sons William and Richard. While it has been claimed that these were William1 Carpenter of Shalbourne and Richard Carpenter of Amesbury, there is no evidence whatsoever to support this. In fact, what evidence there is militates against it, as may be seen in Gene Zubrinsky's notes for (1) Richard Carpenter of Amesbury, MARRIAGE and COMMENTS sections (par. 2 in each), and (2) William Carpenter of Shalbourne, COMMENTS (par. 1).

Found elsewhere in Zubrinsky's notes for these two men are the following additional facts that similarly cast doubt on the claim that they were sons of Robert of Marden:

• While the Marden Carpenters were sheepmen, William of Shalbourne was a carpenter and subsistence farmer, and Richard of Amesbury was a townsman, probably a tradesman (perhaps a carpenter like his son, William1 Carpenter of Providence).
• And although William2 Carpenter of Rehoboth (son of William1 of Shalbourne) and William1 Carpenter of Providence each had six sons and many more grandsons, none is named Robert. (end comment)

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Will

1606 Will of Robert Carpenter
Robert left a will dated 12 Jan 1606/07 and proved 21 May 1607.[2] He described himself as Robert Carpenter the elder and requested burial in the churchyard at Marden. He made bequests to and mentioned:

• the cathedral church of Sarum
• the church at Marden
• my son William
• my son Robert
• my son John, when his apprenticeship expires
• my son Charles
• my daughter Edith Carpenter
• my daughter Alice Carpenter
• my brother Richard Carpenter
• my son's child William
• my wife Eleanor, exec and residual legatee
• my son Richard, exec and residual legatee
• The overseers to the will were Nicholas Henton, James Clarke and Roger Stowte. The will was witnessed by John Leake and Richard Carpenter the elder.

The will of Robert Carpenter, the elder, of Marden is transcribed in its entirety below, retaining the original spelling, punctuation, capitalization (and lack thereof), etc. Certain non-essential formatting features dropped out in the copy-and-paste process.

The Will of Robert Carpenter of Marden In the name of God: Amen. / The Twelfthe daie of Januarye Anno millesimo Sexcentesimo sexto [i.e., 1606 (1606[/7?])], I Roberte Carpenter the ellder of marden beinge sicke in bodye but perfecte of mynde and remembrance (thancks be geven to God) doe make and ordaine this my laste will and testamente in maner and forme followinge. / Firste I bequeathe my soule unto Allmightie God my maker and Redeemer. And my bodye to be buryed in the Churche yarde of marden. / Item I geve to the Cathedrall churche of Saru[m] Twelve pence. / Item to the Churche of marden Twelve pence. / Item I geve to my sonne Will[ia]m Carpenter Thirteene ponndes sixe shillinges eighte pence to be payde unto him within one yeare after my decease. / Item I geve to my sonne Roberte Carpenter Thirteene ponndes sixe shillinges eighte pence to be payde him at Saincte James tyde nexte comenge, and one score of sheepe goinge at Compton to be delyvered him at shere tyme in their woolle. / Item I geve to my sonne John! Carpenter Tenne powndes to be payde him when the yeares of his apprentishippe are expired. / Item I geve to my sonne Charles Carpenter Tenne ponndes and tenne sheepe whereof nyne of them are goinge at Compton. / And if yt [i.e., that] fortune either of thes my chilldren to dye before they doe receave their legacies, that then I will it shall remayne to the other that are lyvinge to be equallye devided betweene them. / Item I geve to my daughter Edithe Carpenter Twentye ponnds and a cowe to be payde her at the daye of maryage. / Item I geve and bequeathe to my daughter Alice Carpenter Twentye ponnde and a cowe to be payde her at the daye of her mariage. / And if yt fortune that either my twoo daughters doe dye before that tyme (as God defend [i.e., forbid]) that then I will that her or their porcons to be equallie devided to the other that are lyvinge. / Item I geve to my brother Richard Carpenter one busshell of barley. / Item I geve to my sonnes childe Will[ia]m a heiffer.! All the reste of my goods moveable and unmoveable unbequeathed I ge ve to my welbeloved wife Elinor Carpenter and my sonne Richard Carpenter whom I make my Executors ioynctlye [i.e., jointly] of this my laste will and testamente, and they to see my debts and legacies trulye payde and performed. / Item I will that my wife shall not at anye tyme geve of the goods w[hi]ch remaynes in the house moveable or unmoveable to anye person or persons. / Item I will to be my Overseers nicholas henton, James Clarck, and Roger Stowte, wytnes hereunto John Leache, Richard Carpenter thellder [sic] and others. /

Probatum fuit huiusmodi ... [This paragraph, written entirely in Latin, indicates that probate was granted at London on “vicesimo primo die mensis maij Anno domini millesimo Sexcentesimo Septimo” (i.e., 21 May 1607) to “Elinore Relicte, et Richardi Carpenter filij” (i.e., Elinor, widow, and Richard Carpenter, son).]

Transcribed by Eugene Cole Zubrinsky, 5 October 2001, from Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Registered Wills, Vol. 109, 42 Huddleston (1607); FHL film #92029.

Occupation Robert was a well-to-do sheep proprietor.

Even though he came from a family of sheep farmers, he appears to have put his children to trades. His will speaks of them completing their apprenticeships. Marriage Robert Carpenter of Marden married his cousin Eleanor Carpenter; Eleanor Elizabeth Carpenter (Reade) b: ABT 1545 in England

1607 Will and Death Death: 1607 in Marden, England (Marden is a small village 12 miles north of Amesbury.)

1606 Will of Robert Carpenter There is a will of a Roberte Carpenter of Marden, Wiltshire, in National Archives of England, dated 12 Jan 1606/07 and proved 21 May 1607. A transcription posted on an Ancestry family tree (that is difficult to read) names sons; William, Robert, John, Charles & Richard, daughters Edith and Alice and also a brother Richard. It names his wife Elinor Carpenter and his son Richard as executors.

His 1607 will lists his wife, who was his cousin Eleanor Carpenter, their children (William, Richard, John, Charles, Robert, Edith, and Alice); a grandson named William and a brother named Richard. He bequeathed money [to] Salisbury Cathedral (Old Sarum), which is added evidence for his descent from Vicar Richard Carpenter who had served as Vicar General to the Bishop of Salisbury. He also bequeathed certain lands to his oldest son William and grandson William as well as to his son Richard Carpenter.

This Will, copy now at the Carpenter Museum in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, is the only one ever found in England that agrees with all the proven facts about the American Carpenter Family. The success in proving this lineage after 300 years of failure was achieved through the superlative work of English genealogist Harry F. Rogers of Abington, England.[citation needed]

Research Notes

Robert is not the father of Richard Carpenter English clergyman and theologian.

Note: This identification is not accepted by the Carpenter Association and the work of Eugene Cole Zubrinsky FASG as the parents of William Carpenter of Shalbourne. There are a number of other possibilities, and the fact that they had a son William does not show these are the correct parents.[4][5]
COMMENTS of Eugene Cole Zubrinsky FASG: The will of Robert Carpenter of Marden, Wiltshire, dated 12 January 1606[/7?] and proved 21 May 1607, names (among others) adult sons William and Richard. It has been claimed that these brothers were William1 Carpenter (father of William2 of Rehoboth) and RichardA Carpenter of Amesbury, Wiltshire (father of William1 of Providence, R.I.). While it is not impossible that William1 of Shalbourne was the son of Robert of Marden, evidence of it has not been found; it is unlikely that Richard of Amesbury was Robert’s son. Genetic testing of agnate descendants of William of Shalbourne and Richard of Amesbury has established with a high degree of probability that the two were in fact related but far more remotely than generally believed. For more-detailed discussions of these matters, see NEHGR 159 (2005):64–66, 67n63; William2 of Rehoboth sketch,

COMMENTS.
In Carpenters’ Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2001 (CECD 2001), compiler John R. Carpenter presents an extensive ancestry for the subject William1 Carpenter and RichardA Carpenter of Amesbury, beginning with the aforementioned Robert Carpenter of Marden and his widow, Elinor, as their parents. Most of this ancestry—back from Rev. Richard Carpenter of Herefordshire and Wiltshire (d. 1503)—has been proven invalid (NEHGR 159:65n53–66n53[contd.]); as above, the remainder is unsubstantiated and, particularly for the Amesbury man, dubious. Earlier versions of this ancestry, which differ from it for the first few generations (beginning with parents), are even more improbable than the CECD 2001 version (see, for example, Carpenter [1898] 1, 34). The ancestry of William1 Carpenter, including his parentage, is unknown (as is that of RichardA).

Caution

Richard Carpenter, Theologian, who married Susanna Trevelyan did not have a son William and is not associated with either William who migrated to New England. If this Robert had a son Richard who IS associated with either of the New England Williams, than Robert's Richard is NOT the Richard who married Susanna Trevelyan.

Sources

1. ↑ Will of William Carpenter: "Wiltshire, England, Wills and Probate, 1530-1858"
2. Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre; Chippenham, Wiltshire, England; Wiltshire Wills and Probates; Reference Number: P2/7Reg/71D; Reference Number: P2/7Reg/71D
3. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 61333 #51286 (accessed 10 April 2024)
4. Will of William Carpenter Sr of Marden, Wiltshire, England, granted probate in 1587.
5. ↑ Will: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
6. The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 109
7. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 5111 #1012232 (accessed 10 April 2024)
8. Will of Roberti Carpenter, granted probate on 21 May 1607. Died about 1607 in Mardon.
9. ↑ Will of Robert Carpenter of Marden. Transcribed by Eugene Cole Zubrinsky, 5 October 2001, from Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Registered Wills, Vol. 109, 42 Huddleston (1607); FHL film #92029.
10. ↑ The American Genealogist, vol. 70 no. 4 (October 1995): pages 193-204. "The English Origins of William2 Carpenter of Rehoboth, Massachusetts: with the English Origin of the Rehoboth Carpenters," by Eugene Cole Zubrinsky FASG. Free online copy, AmericanAncestors,org link].
11. ↑ Carpenter Cousins website. William Carpenter of Shalbourne page. "WILLIAM1 CARPENTER OF NEWTOWN, SHALBOURNE, WILTSHIRE (BEVIS, 1638)," by Eugene Cole Zubrinsky FASG. (2008, Last revised 4 April 2018).
12. See Also:
13. The American Genealogist, vol. 70 no. 4 (October 1995): pages 193-204. "The English Origins of William2 Carpenter of Rehoboth, Massachusetts: with the English Origin of the Rehoboth Carpenters," by Eugene Cole Zubrinsky FASG. Free online copy, AmericanAncestors,org link].
14. Carpenter Cousins website. William Carpenter of Shalbourne page. "WILLIAM1 CARPENTER OF NEWTOWN, SHALBOURNE, WILTSHIRE (BEVIS, 1638)," by Eugene Cole Zubrinsky FASG. (2008, Last revised 4 April 2018).
15. https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Robert_Carpenter_%281%29 shows 13 children

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