Dear Bruce, Your extreme bias about having a possible ancestor, William "the carpenter" De Melun who was a sadist mass- murderer and twice deserter of the crusades is showing. William "the carpenter" De Melun, a historical figure may or may not be the ancestor of the Carpenters who went to England. If you had taken the time to read the NOTES you would have seen the word "SPECULATION" along with "BELIEVED TO BE" in the connecting generations. It is a theory, speculation or opinion that individuals from point A to point B are related. This is clearly stated in my data files. For you to ignore this, the notes which state such and with your jumping to wrong conclusions of anyone (saying John L. Carpenter is me - That Tony Carpenter in the UK is Gil for example) who begs to differ with you is inappropriate. When you resort to defamation of character, insults and mud slinging to prove or disprove something ... all you do is discredit your self and anything you submit. You come across bluntly as a bigot. I have tried to have patience with you over these last several years. You have provided bits and pieces of good data but your childish behavior is wrong. I suggest you act appropriately as fitting a man of your age and education. John R. Carpenter La Mesa, CA USA Bruce E. Carpenter wrote: > > What is the argument really about? At issue is the assertion > the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Carpenters are > descendants of an 11th century French knight William ‘The > Carpenter’ DeMelun. DeMelun was a sadist mass- murderer and twice deserter > of the crusades. The individual who is pushing this groundless and > distasteful theory intends to include it in his Year 2000 CD. This > individual is a Mormon genealogist who believes in baptism of the dead, an > ideology that hopes for the salvation of dead ancestors through proxy > baptism. Even a completely wrong list of ancestors is something to be > encouraged in the hope that, if a genealogy is correct, there then can be > religious redemption for departed relatives. This is fine for believers, but > for the rest of us, we do not wish to have our family history begin with one > of the most despicable men in history, particularly when the whole matter is > baseless. The genealogist interested in this theory will stop at nothing. He > is uninterested in historical truth and will listen to no objections to his > obsession. For myself, I feel that there is family honor involved here. This > Mornmon may think he is saving his ancestors, but he is insulting mine. Will > the Carpenter family allow this insult to the family name for the purpose of > Mormon ideology? Speak up! > > Sincerely, > Bruce E. Carpenter