2143.
Charles Morris Carpenter
2148.
Lewis Edgar Carpenter
2153.
Sarah Eliza Carpenter
From: W Franklin Reed
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2013 9:09 PM
To: wrprice
Cc: 'W Franklin Reed' ; jrcrin001@cox.net
Subject: Re: T.S. Carpenter
I have found the handwritten note of my grandmother and the letters of my great-grandmother among my mother's papers. The note of my grandmother (Stella Jane Ray) is original in ink and in her handwriting, but the letters of my great-grandmother (Sarah E. Carpenter Ray) are xerox copies of her own letters in her handwriting (I do not know who has the originals, but they must have been in my grandmother's possession). Possibly one of my cousins got them when she passed away. Anyway, the sole reference to a "grandfather Riley Carpenter" who married a Miss Stewart is in my grandmother's handwritten note, but the letters written by Sarah Carpenter Ray consistently refer to her own grandfather as Solomon Carpenter and her father as Temple Carpenter. These letters were written in 1932-33. One of these letters states that Solomon was born and raised in Scotland, and "when old enough to take care of his self" came to New York with 5 other boys, and then "he and Jason Muse" went to Tennessee and the others went somewhere else. The letter also states that Solomon married and raised three girls (Mary, Betsy and Sallie) and 4 boys (John, George, Temple and William), and that the youngest son, William, when "old enough to take care of his self" left home and was never heard from again and "they thought he might have gone to Scotland to his Father's People". One of my mother's notes states that Sarah E. Carpenter is buried in the cemetery at Thompson Creek next to Amos and a child who died in infancy. I have a picture of Amos Gore's and Sarah's gravestones at Bomar Cemetery, but was not aware of the unnamed infant child. My parents took photos at Bomar Cemetery. If I find them, I'll look for evidence of the infant's grave.
Sarah Carpenter Ray's letters are the best evidence we have that Temple's father was Solomon. My grandmother (Stella Jane Ray) would not have known her great-grandfather Solomon, as he most likely died well before she was born in 1890. Her own grandfather (Temple) died in 1905 when she was only 15. So her note (based on her memory alone) is less credible than Sarah's own letters, and in any event my grandmother's grandfather who married a "Miss Stewart" would have been Temple, not Solomon. I think her reference to a grandfather Riley is simply an error, based on confusion (her note was probably written during the 1970s when she was well into her 80s at my mother's request, when my mother started trying to track the Carpenters). Sarah Carpenter's letters stating that Solomon went to Tennessee is consistent with my Aunt Ethel's statement to my mother that Temple Carpenter lived at Thompson Creek, Bedford County, Tennessee in the 1850s.
Hope this is helpful,
Frank
2154.
Martin Judson Carpenter
CENSUS: 1880 US Census
Household:
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
M. J. CARPENTER Self M Male W 23 MS Farmer MS TN
Francis CARPENTER Wife M Female W 17 MS Keeping House MS MS
Luella CARPENTER Dau S Female W 2 MS At Home MS MS
Henry M. CARPENTER Son S Male W 7M MS At Home MS MS
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Source Information:
Census Place Beat 3, Tallahatchie, Mississippi
Family History Library Film 1254665
NA Film Number T9-0665
Page Number 115A