In the John Carpenter the town clerk's will his nephew Richard is mentioned,
an underage son of Robert Carpenter. If Richard survived,what happened to
him? Two possibilities exist from historical records. First is a
Kent/Canterbury Richard Carpenter. This Richard left various documents as he
was Sheriff of Canterbury. However the Kent Carpenters seem descended from a
John Carpenter who left a 1444ish will. Richard came well after this and
seems a descendant.
The other Richard Carpenter in historical documents was a Richard Carpenter
of Reading in county Berkshire. A Thomas Carpenter of Reading has been
reported on previously. A study of all the material makes the case for
Richard as the father of Thomas i.e. Richard preceded Thomas in Reading
while Thomas remained in a more rural subsidiary town. After references to
Richard cease references to Thomas continue.
In all the documents concerning Richard are analyzed Richard can be
identified as a man of very considerable wealth and influence. No other
Carpenters can be associated with Reading before him. The implication is
that Richard came from elsewhere with much investment capital.
The interesting possibility begins to emerge that we Massachusetts
Carpenters may be the descendants of Robert Carpenter the brother of John
the town clerk.
Bruce Carpenter
Nara, Japan