Re: Batt-Hatt (sounds like Dr. Seuss)
In my search of Hungerford and Great Bedwin parish records, I found Batts in
both. (The difference between B and H in 17th-century handwriting is quite
distinct.)
The marriage of William Carpenter and Mary Batt, however, occurred at St.
Thomas the Martyr, Salisbury, Wiltshire. In a March 1998 letter, David
Kendall Martin, FASG, indicated to me that Batt family records published in
the NEHG REGISTER in 1897 (vol. 51) show that this Mary Batt "would be no
more than a distant cousin of the Christopher Batt of the BEVIS." (I haven't
seen the article.)
While it would be a mistake to jump to any conclusions, I know of no evidence
allowing us to rule out the POSSIBILITY that this marriage was between the
eventual parents of Rehoboth William. When Abigail (Briant) Carpenter's age
was recorded on the BEVIS passenger list as 32, she was actually either 34 or
only days short of that age (bap. Shalbourne, 27 May 1604). If husband
William, whose age is recorded on the passenger list as 33, was actually a
year or so younger than that, it would comport with the likelihood that the
first child of William and Mary (Batt) Carpenter (m. 18 April 1605) was born
about 1606, rather than about 1605, as the passenger list implies. One
wonders if perhaps they fudged their ages slightly, so as to conceal the
unconventional fact that Abigail was a couple of years older than William.
THIS, HOWEVER, IS PURELY SPECULATIVE.
The aforementioned David Martin has found that a Mary Batt was baptized at
St. Thomas the Martyr on 7 August 1584, daughter of Richard Batt, who had
married at St. Edmund's, Salisbury, 4 September 1581, Agnes Danyell. Richard
was buried at St. Thomas the Martyr, 2 September 1600; wife Agnes had been
buried at St. Martin's, Salisbury, 28 February 1587. Perhaps Mary was sent
to live with relatives in the vicinity of Shalbourne but returned to
Salisbury to be married. AGAIN, THIS IS NOTHING BUT SPECULATION. WHILE
TANTALIZING, IT IS NOWHERE NEARLY SUFFICIENT TO CONCLUDE THAT SHE WAS
REHOBOTH WILLIAM'S MOTHER!!!
Gene Z.