A mountain of material is beginning to accumulate on my desk on the very beginnings of the Carpenter family in England and in France. This is most of the material from the 1200s. Before that there is really nothing. Of special interest are the state papers of Aquitaine and Gascony, of which exist a great many surviving documents related to an Elias Carpenter of Bordeux, a major wine merchant, local dignitary, companion of the elite, and with close ties to England. This is of interest because as you recall both Bishop John Carpenter of Worcester and Town Clerk John Carpenter had extremely close connections to St. Antony’s Hospital, the clergy of which were from Vienne, France in the same area. A St. Antony’s Hospital existed also in Vienne. It always seemed to me to be a Carpenter family charity with a probable history, and while other similar local French matters have continued to accumulate, my suspicions of connections have grown with them. My intuition now tells me that Herefordshire Adam Carpenter and Bordeux Elias Carpenter are two very visible members of a common Carpenter family and business group. I would like to read, translate and present this material quickly, but language difficulties will retard my progress. My own linguistic training was in Chinese and Japanese. My son, who won a national Latin prize, took a look at this documentation and just handed it back. If there is anyone with Latin skills and wishes to assist, don’t be shy. Sincerely, Bruce E. Carpenter