This biography may answer some questions about Isaac Carpenter. Note,
this was published three years berfore Amos published his book. Also
note, Maj. John Decker mentioned here had a daughter, Margaret, who
married Benjamin Carpenter, said to be a son of Solomon Carpenter, Jr.
Dennis F. Carpenter
*****
Portrait and biographical record of Orange County, New York : ... ,
Chapman Bros., 1895, p. 1185-6
DANIEL REEVE, deceased, was born in the town of Minisink, January 1,
1814, and was the son of Jeremiah and Hannah (Decker) Reeve, natives,
respectively, of Long Island and Orange County. On the maternal side
he traced his ancestry to Anthony and Hannah (Decker) Van Etten, members
of pioneer families of this County. They resided in a stone house on
a large farm, in what history calls the "lower" neighborhood, near the
home of her brother, Maj. John Decker. In July, 1779, Captain
Brandt, with a company of Tories and Indians, invaded this neighborhood,
and Anthony, who was Commissary for a company of American soldiers, was
killed by a gunshot on going to duty.
Mary, a daughter of Anthony, married Isaiah Decker in
1783, and at his death she was left with three children, namely:
Elizabeth, who became the wife of Joseph Davis; Isaac, who died at the
age of eighty-four; and Hannah, who married Jeremiah Reeve, son of
Daniel and Martha (Russell) Reeve, of Suffolk County, L. I. Jeremiah
and Hannah Reeve had three children, those besides our subject are
Isaiah, who grew to manhood and was accidentally killed by being thrown
from a horse in 1832; and Martha G., who remained at home.
The subject of this sketch grew to manhood on the old
farm and was educated in the public schools, and in 1839 married Ruth
Ann Carpenter. They became the parents of five children, one of whom
died in infancy. Daniel C., who was graduated with honors from Union
College, Class of '63, and from Albany Law School, practiced law in
Middletown for a period of six years, until a sudden cold developed into
lung trouble, resulting in his death, February 9, 1871, at the age of
thirty years. Valentine H., a successful farmer, resided on the old
homestead until his death in 1885. Martha J. makes her home on the
farm where her grandparents settled in 1804. Ruth A. is the wife of
Edward Silk, of Middletown, and is the mother of one son, Reeve A. Silk,
an academic student.
The first representative of the Carpenter family in
the United States was William Carpenter, born in 1576, who came from
Wherwell, England, in the good ship "Bevis" to New England, in May,
1638. His ancestry in England is traced back to Richard, father of
John Carpenter, who was Town Clerk of London and a great promoter of
education; he died in 1442. The descendants of William are (2d) William,
(3d) John, (4th) John, (4th) John, (6th) Isaac. The last named was
born in Goshen, March 31,
1747. His father, who was an early settler of Orange County, was in
July, 1721, one of the men who gave land for the village of Goshen to be
laid out, with its church, parsonage, cemetery, etc. He had eight
children.
Isaac was married to Mrs. Susannah (McKinney)
Thompson, of Scotch-Irish descent, a lady several years younger than
himself. Her parents were Edward and Mary (DeKay) McKinney.
Isaac Carpenter and his wife lived on his large estate, a part of which
is nw known as the Reeve homestead, two and one half miles south of
Middletown. To them were given two daughters, Susan and Ruth Ann,
also a son, Isaac, who died in childhood. Long before the
abolishment of slavery, Isaac, feeling it an unjust principal, gave
entire freedom to those he possessed, though he retained them in his
service for years afterward. His daughter Susan married James Van
Duzer and reared a son, Isaac, who occupies a handsome residence upon
part of the original tract od his grandfather; also four daughters, all
of whom married farmers and settled near their old home. The
Carpenter family have a coat-of-arms, and the present representatives
are eligible to membership in the Society of Colonial Daughters.
For many years our subject resided on the old
Carpenter homestead, where his death occurred October 29, 1878; His
remains were interred in the Hillside Cemetery at Middletown. He was
a charter member of the Second Presbyterian Church at Middletown and was
active in religious work. He was a patriotic man, interested in his
country's welfare, and in politics was a Republican. His death was
mourned, not alone by his family, but by a large circle of friends, who
knew and loved him. A quiet and retiring, he went forward in the
discharge of such duties as disolved upon him in such a manner as to win
and retain the friendship of every acquaintance.