We believe the John Carpenter found in Nash County North Carolina was the father of Willis but unsure.

The only record we find of Willis is in Grainger County Tennessee where he enlisted in the war of 1812 along with future brother in law 'Maston Ross.

Willis & Elizabeth named their 1st son James Madison after President Madison, 2nd son John Charles after both grandchildren John Carpenter & Charles Ross, 3rd son Willis O. Carpenter after his father ?

THIS LINE HAS BEEN TESTED THRU THE FAMILY TREE Y-DNA PROJECT - https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/carpenter-cousins-dna/about

FOUR GENERATIONS OF WILLIS'S GRAND-SONS HAVE BEEN TESTED AND ARE 100% MATCH. THEREFORE WE KNOW WILLIS' & HIS FATHER JOHNS Y-DNA RESULTS. https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/carpenter-cousins-dna/about

WILLIS CARPENTER & ELIZABETH ROSS MARRIAGE BAINS LIST WILLI'S last name as CHARPENTER A VARIANT OF CHARPENTIER - FRENCH FOR CARPENTER or it could have been an error in spelling.

THERE IS NO RECORD OF A MIDDLE NAME FOR WILLIS nor is there a death record............

Willis & Betsy Ross Carpenter's children were:

• 1. James Madison Carpenter (1814-1890)
• 2. John C. Carpenter (1815-1874)
• 3. Katie Carpenter 1817 AL., died young
• 4. Willis O. Carpenter, born Aug. 10, 1818 AL, d. 1905 in Choctaw Dist., Oklahoma (some show him as Willis C. Carpenter)
• 5. Diana ("Dicy") Carpenter Walls Provence born 1819-21 AL
• 6. Gideon Carpenter born 1822 died young
• 7. Meshach Carpenter, born 1824 Al.
• 8. Sarah, born 1825 Al. married Lewis Miller
• 9. Thomas born 2-13-1826
• 10. Elizabeth (Betsy) born 1830 Al, married Silas Madison Hunt (b.1827 AL)
• 11. Francis Jane Carpenter Baker (1831 - 1920)
• 12. Martha born 1832 Al. married William Honea
• 13. William Lewis Carpenter, born 1833 Al
• 14. Nancy Ann "Nina" Carpenter Parkhill(1835-1904)
• 15. Caroline Carpenter born 1840 Al, married John Minzy Byrd

DNA results: Four male descendants of his sons Thomas, Willis Jr., and Shadrach Meshach Carpenter have participated in "The Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA testing Project" and all three match 100% in their Y- Chromosome DNA. They do not match other Carpenters currently in the project and so Willis Carpenter is believed to the lone descendant of the Charpentier line from France currently in the DNA project.

Biography

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43823217/willis-carpenter

We know that Willis enlisted in the War of 1812, at Rutledge Tennessee (Grainger County) 10-14-1813. He served in the 2nd Regiment East Tennessee Volunteer Militia in Captains Thomas Sharps’ Company.

Willis enlisted for a period of 90 days. This regiment of about 700 men was assigned to fill the ranks at Fort Strother for Andrew Jackson after the December 1813 “mutiny” of his army. This regiment was used to keep the lines of communication open and to guard supply lines.

http://www.tenessee.gov/tsla/history/military/1812reg.htm He joined his company at Fudge Plains, marched from there to Campbell’s Station, from there to Fort Armstrong and from there to Fort Strother on the Coosa River, (what is present day Ohatchee, Alabama). He remained at Fort Strother until about the 20th day of April 1814 then marched back to Knoxville Tennessee and remained at Knoxville until he received his discharge June 1814. (This information taken from pension application records.)

The story about him helping blaze a trail for Andrew Jackson, that later became Old Gurley Pike is probably true as he cleared land & squatted near the trial after the war; but not the story that he served in the Battle of New Orleans. The New Orleans Campaign didn’t begin until December 1814, Willis was already discharged. I
Willis served with the same regiment as Maston Ross, Elizabeth’s brother. They enlisted together & served together. Evidence points to the families knowing each other. Willis & Elizabeth were married in Grainger County Tennessee 5-1-1814. Their first two sons were born in Tennessee. They traveled by covered wagon & by flatboat down the Tennessee River. A third infant child - Katie - died during the move to Alabama abt. 1816-1817. We believe they first settled in Cotaco County - Morgan County as Willis appears on court documents there.. Their 3rd Son Willis C. Carpenter was born in Alabama 1818.

They later settled in the Cave Spring area of Owens Cross Roads, on what is now Low Gap Road adjacent to “The Trail" ,Old Gurley Pike, as squatters. low Gap road runs thru the original home place.They later bought 40 & 18/100 acres tract of land in New Hope 11-8-1838, known by various names in the early 19th century to include Clouds Town and Vienna from George Russell so that the younger children could attend public school. They sold this tract of land to Stephens Hastings January 6, 1847. They received a land grant from the government, Paten United States Certificate # 602 dated August 4, 1850. They sold this land to son Thomas. On March 5, 1855 Willis applied for and received bounty land under The Bounty Land Act Of 1855. (According to deed book CC-P 403-Madison County Court House Records he and Elizabeth sold 40-18/100 acres to Thomas Carpenter for $450.00, 1-11-1860). On June 13, 1871 he applied for a pension under the Act of February 14, 1871.

He married in Grainger County, Tennessee, May 1, 1814, to Elizabeth Ross and moved to Alabama with the Ross family (ref. ALABAMA SOLDIERS by Pauline Gandrud, vol. 4, p. 39). This was about 1816-1817. Their 3rd son Willis C. Carpenter was born in Alabama 1818.
Willis and Betsy Carpenter were the parents of 16 children, eight boys and eight girls, thirteen of which lived to adulthood.

On Feb. 5, 1821, Willis Carpenter served on a jury panel in Cotaco County (renamed Morgan Co. later in 1821), the earliest documentation of him in Alabama after his 1813-14 war record which shows several months of service were spent at Ft. Strother.

Nov. 8, 1838, he bought 40 acres from George Russell, one of first settlers in New Hope, Madison County, in Sec. 35, Township 5, Range 2 East. He sold this Jan. 16, 1847, to Stephen Hastings.

Willis Carpenter acquired a tract of land in the low gap area of New Hope, known by various names in the early 19th Century to include Clouds Town and Vienna. Descendants today still own this property. On March 5, 1855 he applied for and received bounty land under The Bounty Land Act Of 1855. On Jan. 11,1860, Willis and Elizabeth Carpenter sold this 40.18 acres to their son Thomas Carpenter for $450.00 (Madison County Deed Book CC, p. 403). This was the farm near Byrd Cemetery where granddaughter Hester Vann grew up.