Let me explain the nature of the Curia Regis Rolls, from which all that I know of the very early (1200s) merchant Carpenters in England, is derived. The Curia Regis was the early court system in England. It has a long history. The written records exist from 1196. All of the medieval papers were collected into sixteen volumes. The first covers 1196-123l. The Regis Rolls has records of land transfers. These nearly always involve people of influence or power, such as barons, gentry, rich merchants and the like. The Regis Rolls are one of the few really superb sources for English history along with the Close Rolls and the Patent Rolls. The fact that the merchant Carpenters figure prominently in these historical sources is testament of their distinguished place in history. Unrelated individuals such as carpenters of trade do not appear in these documents. This is probably unfair, but a fact of history and life. In order to have a name in history you must be someone or do something to ensure your name in the record. A family line with economic influence gets its name in the record. A more humble family does not. This can be a kind of litmus test for family history in earlier periods. The rich Smiths of the 1400s were descended from the rich Smiths of the 1300s and so on. It is undemocratic, but a fact of history. A strict genealogical history of the Carpenter (Carpentier) family cannot be reconstructed. There are constant gaps along the way. However, a history of a family group sharing time, place and historical circumstance can be written. While the genealogical connections can be unclear at many junctures back through time, the family group as a whole can be quite distinct in shared time, place and historical circumstance. BC