In answer to Bruce Carpenter:
<< If the "8 July" is a "typo" as Gene suggests then it is a
gross one. >>
Concerning 8 July 1776--given in Fred Murphy's posting as the date on which
the administrators of Benajah Carpenter's estate sold his lathe and
tools--it's not "8 July" but "1776" that I assume is a typo.
This is not because the
day, month, and year, taken together, predate the death on Long Island of
Revolutionary officer Benajah Carpenter, but because "letters of administration
were granted to John Carpenter and Mrs. Sarah Carpenter, both of Providence,
on the estate of Capt. Benajah Carpenter, Gent., May 9, 1777" (Amos B.
Carpenter [1898]). It stands to reason that the administrators' sale of estate
assets occurred after that date (probably on 8 July 1777 or 1778).
<< If Benajah was married to Sarah at death, then why was his property on
public auction in 1778, a year before she remarried? >>
Estate assets, particularly real estate, were commonly sold at public
auction (vendue) when debts accruing to the estate were too great to be paid by
other means.
On 21 February 1794 "[a] petition of Sarah Smart, of Providence, in the
State of Rhode Island, late widow of Benajah Carpenter, deceased, was presented
to the House and read, praying relief in consideration of the loss of her said
husband, who was killed while an officer in the Continental Army, in an
engagement with the enemy on Long Island, the twenty-sixth [_sic_] of August, one
thousand seven hundred and seventy-six" (_Journal of the House of
Representatives of the United States_, 2:68). The petition was referred to the
Secretary of War and was ultimately denied.
<< Actually Carpenter was a Captain-lieutenant, a rank equivalent to a first
lieutenant today, one rank below captain. Amo Carpenter's reference to him
as a "captain" may have refereed to him as a ships captain. >>
For the present discussion, his actual rank is less important than his
perceived rank. Apparently almost all contemporary records in which Benajah's
rank is mentioned refer to him as "Capt.," which raises the possibility that
the
"mariner" label comes from a misinterpretation of his military title.
(It's
likely that Amos B. Carpenter's description of Benajah as "captain and
mariner" came from one of the many Carpenter-descendant informants with whom he
corresponded and who furnished much of the data he presents.) As I indicated
previously, however, if a contemporary record were to be found that describes
him as a mariner, it would not preclude his having been primarily a
chairmaker.
There is but _one_ birth record for a Benajah Carpenter in New England prior
to 1778; _one_ marriage record at Providence (or elsewhere) of a Benajah
Carpenter during this period; _one_ Providence death record of a Benajah
Carpenter (he is called "Capt."); and _one_ record of letters of administration
granted at Providence on the estate of a Benajah Carpenter (he is again called
"Capt."). And I gather from Fred Murphy's posting that only _one_ Benajah
Carpenter, described in one or more deeds as a chairmaker, purchased real estate
in Providence, and that the estate of only _one_ Benajah Carpenter was
administered after letters of administration were granted to John Carpenter and
Mrs. Sarah Carpenter in May 1776 (none before that). Considering also the
rarity of the forename Benajah, it is highly unlikely that there were two Benajah
Carpenters of Providence (is there any local record in which the name is
accompanied by "Sr." or "Jr."?), much less two of similar age who
also died at
about the same time.
If the deed of sale involving the lathe and tools names the same
administrators as the letters of administration, or if the deed pertaining to the real
estate sold at public auction describes the same property as a deed of
purchase in which Benajah is described as a chairmaker, it would be positive
evidence that the Revolutionary officer and the chairmaker were the same person.
I'm reasonably certain that one or both of these "ifs" will be confirmed.
[Fred Murphy: Do you have copies of the relevant documents?]
<< The senior-junior problem could be easily solved by someone with access
to Rehoboth records. >>
Stephen Carpenter was born at Rehoboth on 7 June 1696, son of James
Carpenter and his second wife, Grace Palmer; they had married there on 15 April 1695
(Arnold, _VR of Rehoboth_). He appears to have been the oldest Stephen
Carpenter at Rehoboth. Despite having married twice and fathered 13 children, the
only vital record in which his name appears with the generational identifier
"Jr." is for son Benajah's baptism. Stephen may not have been the oldest
member of the church in which the baptism occurred, however: he and wife Martha
joined the First Congregational Church of Rehoboth (the so-called Newman
Church, now in Rumford, R.I.) on 4 July 1731. Another Stephen Carpenter and a
Mary Carpenter (his wife?) had joined the church on 10 July 1726. This _may_
explain Stephen's being identified as "Jr." in Benajah's baptismal
record.
A look at the original church record, on the other hand, may indicate that
Arnold's transcription (in which "Jr." appears) is not accurate.
<< I wouldn't like Captain-lieutenant Carpenter made into a chairmaker, if
he really wasn't. >>
Nor would I.
Gene Z.