NEW CARPENTER ARTICLES Two articles pertaining both to the Carpenter family of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and that of Providence, Rhode Island, will appear in the January 2005 issue of ­_The New England Historical and Genealogical Register_ (it might not be available until February). The highlights of each are listed below: "Three John Carpenters: A Chain of Mistaken Identities" * Identifies John Carpenter of East Greenwich, Rhode Island (c.1667-1753), as the son of Joseph3 (William2 of Rehoboth) and Margaret (Sutton) Carpenter--not of Joseph's brother Abiah3--and presents as much basic data about him, his wives, and children (Martha, Mary, Sarah, Diadema, Prudence, Cornel, Dinah, and Joseph, who are often misattributed to another John Carpenter, son of Oliver4 [Abiah3]) as available records permit * Corrects the commonly accepted year of Margaret (Sutton) Carpenter's death (1676, not 1700) * Identifies John Carpenter of Norwich, Windham, and Stafford, Connecticut (c.1694-1766), as the son of Oliver4 Carpenter (Abiah3)--not of Benjamin4 and Renew (Weeks) Carpenter--and presents as much basic data about him, his wives ([1] Sarah ______ and [2] Martha [Gould] Hibbard), and children (Sarah, Lois [not Louis], Mehitabel, Huldah, John [b. 30 April 1728], Sarah [again], and Elizabeth) as available records permit * Distinguishes John Carpenter of Swansea (and Rehoboth), Massachusetts (1691-c.1754), son of Benjamin4 and Renew (Weeks) Carpenter, from the above John Carpenter of Connecticut (the two have been treated as one, their wives confused, and their children grouped together) * Identifies the wives of John Carpenter of Swansea as (1) Sarah Thurston (1691-c.1721), daughter of John and Hannah (Cary) Thurston, (2) Sarah Hillard (1692-1744), daughter of William2 and Deborah (Warren) Hill(i)ard, and (3) widow Hannah Martin * Identifies the children of John Carpenter of Swansea as Hannah (w/ 1st wf), Barnard, John (b. 4 Jan. 1728/9), and Warren (last three w/ 2nd wf) and presents as much basic information about them and their mothers as available records permit "Abiah3 Carpenter of Warwick, Rhode Island, and His Family: With Additional Material Concerning William1 Carpenter of Providence, Rhode Island, and William2 Carpenter of Rehoboth, Massachusetts" * Extensively corrects and augments what has appeared in the secondary literature about Abiah3 Carpenter, son of William2 and Abigail (Briant) Carpenter of Rehoboth, and his family * Limits Abiah's children to the three supported by the available evidence--Oliver, Rebecca, and Joseph (the last perhaps not with wife Mary Redway)--and explicitly excludes two others mentioned in the secondary literature (John, son of Joseph3 and Margaret [Sutton] Carpenter [see previous article], and Solomon, son of Samuel3 and Sarah [Redway] Carpenter) Distinguishes Abiah's daughter Rebecca from another Rebecca, misidentified as a Carpenter by birth, who married four times (to [1] Ephraim Hunt, [2] David Carpenter, [3] Samuel Wilson, and [4] Lt. John Wilson) and died at Rehoboth in 1749, in her 85th year (the latter woman's maiden name was probably Ward) Addresses the issue of whether or not William2 Carpenter of Rehoboth and William1 Carpenter of Providence were first cousins (as is so often said) Presents irrefutable evidence invalidating from Rev. Richard Carpenter (d. 1503) backward the ancient English and French ancestry often claimed for (1) William1 Carpenter of Shalbourne, Wherwell, and the Bevis (c.1576-c.1638), father of William2 Carpenter of Rehoboth, and (2) RichardA Carpenter of Amesbury (bur. there 1625?), father of William1 Carpenter of Providence Argues that neither the respective parents nor wives of William1 of Shalbourne, etc., or RichardA of Amesbury have been established; presents evidence pointing away from Robert Carpenter of Marden, Wiltshire, as the putative father of Richard of Amesbury; introduces other evidence pointing toward the latter man's antecedents' being of Newton Toney (adjacent to Amesbury) Presents extensive evidence that William1 Carpenter of Providence came to New England as a single man and did not marry Elizabeth Arnold until about 1637, probably at Providence; evidence includes a court record indicating that their son Joseph2 Carpenter of Warwick, Rhode Island, and Musketa Cove, Long Island, was born about 1638 (not 1635, when the Arnolds left England) Discusses from the perspectives of English common law and the statutes of Plymouth Colony and early Bristol County, Massachusetts, certain rights and responsibilities acquired by minors of specific ages: moral accountability (age 7); "age of discretion" (14); and "legal age" (21 for both sexes) Note: Be sure to read the footnotes!