Dear Bruce, Sarum was the old walled fortress town that is now in ruins and outside the present day city of Salisbury. Salisbury grew up around the Salisbury Cathedral. Captain William Carpenter of Rehoboth, MA (b. 1605) was a well educated man with influences. He was friends with Gov. William Bradford who married his cousin. His extended family had intermarried with the Batt family at least twice in the immediate generation. His family owned land in England and had money to secure land and influences in New England. As we discussed before, William had enough influence to use his influence to "buy" the current area of Rehoboth. NOTES: OTHER INFORMATION INCLUDES BUT NOT LIMITED TO: DEPUTY TO THE GENERAL COURT FROM WEYMOUTH IN 1641-43 AND FROM REHOBOTH IN IN 1645, CONSTABLE IN 1641. HE WAS A CLOSE FRIEND TO GOVERNOR WILLIAM BRADFORD, WHO MARRIED HIS COUSIN ALICE CARPENTER. HE BOUGHT THE AREA NOW CALLED REHOBOTH (8 MILES SQUARE) FROM THE INDIANS. PROPRIETORS' CLERK FROM 1643-1649. CONTRIBUTED TOWARD THE EXPENSES OF KING PHILLIPS WAR. IN 1647, A SELECTMAN FROM REHOBOTH. HE WAS A CAPTAIN OF MILITIA. Clarification: "HE BOUGHT" - William was a member of the General Court of Plymouth and used his influence to make a purchase of this land. The Court conceded to all that he asked as appears from an extract from the Proprietor's Record (See Vol. I., page 1). The Court appointed Mr. John Brown and Mr. Edward Winslow to purchase the aforesaid tract of land of Asamacum, the chief sachem and owner thereof ... See page 38 in the Carpenter Memorial. The Will of Captain William Carpenter, in case you missed it, was posted by Donna Tivner. Please note the books left to his wife and one daughter will get books upon the decease of a brother. This indicates that the family was well educated and well read. For the females also (unusual at this time) to be educated and well read is notable. SEE WILL POSTED BELOW. Not bad for William Carpenter of Rehoboth, MA who is listed as a "Farmer." I hope this answered your questions, Sincerely, John R. Carpenter La Mesa, CA !WILL: Will of William Carpenter, 1659 Posted by Donna Tivener <dtivener@richnet.net> on Thu, 27 May 1999 WILLIAM OF REHOBOTH'S 1659 WILL The William Carpenter will reads, in part: "In the name of God, Amen, I, William Carpenter, Sr. of Rehoboth, being in perfect memory at present, blessed be God, do make my last Will and Testament. --I give to my son, John Carpenter, one mare, being the old white mare, and my best doublet and my handsomest coat, and new cloth to make him a pair of breeches. ---I give unto his son beside twenty shillings to buy him a calf. ---I give to him Mr. Ainsworth's upon the five books of Moses, Canticles and Psalms, and Mr. Brightman on Revelations, and my concordance. --I five to my son William, the young grey mare of two yearling colts, and five pounds in sugar or wampum, and my (passett) coate, and one suit of apparel, and Mr. Mahew on the four Evangelists upon the 14 chapters of Saule (or Paul). --I give him my Latin books, my greek grammar and Hebrew grammar and my Greek Lexicon, and I give him ten (or 5) pounds of cotton wool; and his son, John twenty shillings to be paid to him a year after my decease. --I give to my son, Jospeh two of the youngest steers of the four that were brought to work this year; and to his son, Joseph twenty shillings, and to Joseph I give one of Perkins' works and of Barrows upon private contentions called harts (cq) divisions. __I give to Jospeh a suit of better cloths to be given at his mother's discretion, and I give him a green serge coat and ten pounds of cotton wool, and a match lock gun. --I give to my daughter, Hannah half of my Common at Pawtuxet, and one third of my impropriate, only my meadow excepted, and my home lot, and that land I had laid out to cousin that I had for the low lands cousin Carpenter that I had by. (NOTE: dmt. No doubt refers to exchange of lands or land purchased of Joseph Carpenter, son of William Carpenter of Providence, Rhode Island.) --I give to my daughter Hannah one yearling heifer, also I give to Hannah her Bible, the practice of piety and the volume of prayer, and one ewe at the island, and twenty pounds of cotton, and six pounds of wool. --I give to my son Abiah (Abijah) the rest of my lands at Pawtuxet, and the meadow, after my decease; and his mother and Samuel to help him to build a house because Samuelhas a house built already. Only if my wife marry again, she shall have nothing to do with that land. --I give to my daughter, Abigail, one young mare, a three-year old bay mare, and if the mare should be dead at Spring, she shall have fifteen pounds in her stead, within one year after my decease. --I give twenty shillings to John Titus, his for to be paid a year after my decease; but if John Titus coems to dwell and take the house and land, which I sent him word he sall have if he come. then he shall have the land and not the money. --I give to my son Samuel one-half my land which I now live upon (and two pens of the young sheep, two cows, one bull) and he now lives on, with his furniture and half of my working tools; and Abish, the other half; and Samuel to have on book of Psalms, a Dictionary, and a Gun and my best coat, and one ewe at the island. --I give to my wife the other half of the land I now live upon, for her life time, and the use of my household stuff, carts and plows, if she marry not. But if she marry, she shall have a third part in my land and Samuel, the rest; and she shall have four oxen, one mare, which is called the black mare, four cows, one bed and its furniture, one pot, one good kettle and one little, and one skillet, and half of the pewter her lifetime, and then to give it up to the chidlren; and if she does not marry, to have the rest of my land at Pawtuxet, which remaineth, that which is left which is not given to my daughter, Hannah, and that which is left Abiah to have after my wife's decease; if she marry, to have it the next year after. --I give to my wife those books of Perkins, called Christ's Sermon on the Mount, the good Bible, Burroughs Jewell of Contntment, the oil of Gladness. I give her two hundred of sugar. __My wife is to have the room I now lodge in, and the chamber over, and to have liverty to come tothe fire and do her occasions, and she shall have the meadow that was made in John Titus lot because it is near, and she is to have a way to the swamp through the lot. And if John Titus come, Samuel is to have two acares out of hislot that is not broken up, and my wife is to have the rest; and Samuel to break it up for her. Also, I give to my wife (corn) towards housekeeping and the cloth in the house toward the clothing herself, and children with her, and twine that she hath to serve towards housekeeping, and three acres at the Island. --I give to Abiah a yearling mare colt, being the white mare's colt, and one yearling heifer, and Dr. Jarvi's Catechism, and Helens History of the World, and one ewe...about my wife's occasion when she was at the Island. (Abiah was to care for her when at the Island.) --When the legacies are paid out, the remainder is to be disposed among the children at the discretion of my wife and the overseers. Memorandum:---If my son Titus come and do possess the land, I said he should have, as namely the house land and orchard, and corn. Joseph had the land in two divisions, the fresh meadow, salt one last laid out, and not the fresh I fenced in, and to pay the reates for, for that he do agree, and if he go from it, he shall not sell it to any but his brother Samuel or his mother. --This is my Will and Testament, to which I set my hand. William Carpenter of Rehoboth, the day and year before written. --I make my wife the Executrix, and my Overseer to be Richard Bowen, and John Allen is to be helpful to my wife, and I appoint my brother Carpenter to help, and to have ten shillings for their pains.." The above Will of William Carpenter of Rehoboth, Mass. was attested on April 21, 1659. The original copy at the Plymouth, Mass. courthouse can still be read, but with difficulty. The Transcript of the 1659 Will of William Carpenter of Rehoboth, Mass. is from a clipping funished by Capt. W.N. Mansfield of Livermore, Ca. of a 1963 story in the Taunton Mass. Gazette. "Carpenter Family New-Journal" end Bruce E. Carpenter wrote: > > Thanks for Batt data. I found FTM's English Origins CD on my shelf > and happily various Batt wills are transcribed.The brother of > the Oxford John Batt, Richard Batt,also had a daughter Mary, named > in a 1600s will. > > I don't exactly understand the expression 'Sarum'.Does this > mean Salisbury? Has the father(William) of the Robert Carpenter, who was the > grandfather of Rehoboth William, been associated with a town? > > I was doing some reading on late 1500s Wilts. The whole area > was hit with economic depression.People with previous education and money > found > themselves on the street. Rehoboth William shows up in MA with boxes of > books. > Odd for a house carpenter. Sheep rancher Robert might have been > an educated man. > > The lady who wrote my History of Wiltshire (Oxford Univ. Press) can't say > enough about the Devizes Batts. For a while they ran the town. > > BC