Samuel Carpenter (4 November 1649 – 10 April 1714) was a Deputy Governor of
colonial Pennsylvania. He signed the historic document "The Declaration of Fealty, Christian Belief and Test" dated 10 September 1695; the original is in the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...
. Samuel was also called the "First Treasurer" of Pennsylvania, and was a partner and friend of proprietor
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
.
Early life
Born in
Horsham
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, England, Samuel was baptised in the Church of St. Mary's Horsham on 20 December 1649. He was the youngest son of John Carpenter, the Sheriff of Horsham, who was murdered while attending his duties in Horsham on 9 August 1671, by his second wife Sarah (maiden name unknown). His ancestry, claimed by General
Louis H. Carpenter
Louis Henry Carpenter (February 11, 1839 – January 21, 1916) was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars.
He dropped out of his junior year at Dickinson College t ...
, claims descent from a Thomas Carpenter who married Ales or Alice Fiste, a widow, at St. Mary's Parish Church in Horsham on 20 May 1565.
Samuel Carpenter and his Descendants
' compiled by Edward Carpenter & his son, Gen. Louis H. Carpenter
Louis Henry Carpenter (February 11, 1839 – January 21, 1916) was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars.
He dropped out of his junior year at Dickinson College t ...
, published by J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 1912.[Morris, Henry, M.D. "Samuel Carpenter, Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, 1694-98" - page 111 in the book "Publications - Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Governors" published 1916. Retrieved 10 July 2009 and on line at: https://books.google.com/books?id=4rQBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA111&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=6.]
In 1671, when Samuel was twenty-one years old, his father was murdered. This may have caused him to review and question who and what he was. He apparently embraced the doctrines of
George Fox
George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691) was an English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a Leicestershire weaver, he lived in times of social upheaval and ...
and the
Quaker faith about this time before leaving England for
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
about 1673. Most of his siblings remained in England as members of the Church of England. His half-brothers Abraham and Joshua came to Philadelphia where they became prosperous and influential citizens while remaining stout members of the Church of England.
Samuel then joined himself to a colony of Quakers on the island of Barbados, where he stayed about ten or eleven years. While there, he was fined in 1673 "one thousand one hundred and ten pounds of sugar" for not appearing or not sending men in arms to render military service. It was the religious principles of the early Friends that caused them to refuse military service and pay for the "Church tax" of the National Church.
He and other members of the Society of Friends saw the introduction of African slaves as "distasteful." The slave owners of that island were instrumental in passing laws to force the Friends to cease preaching Christianity to the slaves in 1676 and causing most Friends to leave due to severe persecution by 1683. He is, however, known to have enslaved
Alice of Dunk's Ferry
Alice of Dunk's Ferry (–1802) was an African-American slave, toll collector and centenarian who was "one of Black America's early oral historians".
Early life
Alice was born enslaved around 1686 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to enslaved pare ...
, toll collector and oral historian.
In early 1683, Samuel was once again fined for not sending men with arms for military service. He and a Henry Whately were fined "6,673" pounds of sugar. In consideration of leaving Barbados, the fine was suspended.
Samuel Carpenter availed himself of the opportunity with other Quakers to sail to Pennsylvania. William Penn, in great liberality, invited not only those of his own sect, but others of different beliefs to come and worship God according to their own belief and faith.
Philadelphia and family
Samuel came to Philadelphia about 10 July 1683. Being prosperous, by having sold his Barbados property and still having much of his inheritance from his father, he had considerable money which he invested in plantations, mines, mills, wharves and other property.
In the record of the
Race Street Friends' Meeting of Philadelphia is preserved a certificate from the "Friends' Monthly Meeting at Bridgeton" in the Island of Barbados dated "23rd, 6 mo., 1683" (not June but about August on the current calendar) attesting to the good standing of Samuel Carpenter. In the same record book is recorded a certificate that was received and accepted from the "Haverford West Meeting" in Wales dated "2nd of 6 mo., 1683" concerning Hannah Hardiman. Samuel Carpenter married Hannah Hardiman (Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, 1645 – 24 May 1728, Philadelphia) on 12 December 1684 in Philadelphia. She was well known for her intellectual ability and influence in the Society of Friends. Their marriage certificate is in the possession of the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...
and is the earliest in existence of that city. They had six known children.
* Hannah Carpenter (c. 3 March 1685/1686 – 25 July 1728, Philadelphia) married William Fishbourne (Maryland, 25 June 1677 – 27 May 1742, Philadelphia) on 8 January 1701 in Philadelphia. He was a member of the
Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
, and a merchant and the
Mayor of Philadelphia
The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney.
History
The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...
1719–1720.
* Samuel Carpenter (2nd) (Philadelphia, 9 February 1687/1688 – will dated 11 November 1748, died soon after in Philadelphia) married Hannah Preston (Philadelphia, 1693 – 6 March 1772, Philadelphia). He was a merchant, Justice of the Peace (1715–1725) for Philadelphia county and a member of the Philadelphia Assembly (1720–1722).
* Joshua Carpenter (28 March 1689 – 16 April 1689) died as an infant in Philadelphia.
* John Carpenter (Philadelphia, 5 May 1690 – 1724, Philadelphia) married Ann Hoskins (c. 1690 – 20 March 1718, Philadelphia) on 11 November 1710. He was a member of the Philadelphia Common Council from 7 October 1718 until his death in 1724. His name appears for the last time in those minutes on "9th mo., 13, 1723."
* Rebecca Carpenter (Philadelphia, 26 April 1692 – 1713, Philadelphia) never married.
* Abraham Carpenter (Philadelphia, c. 1694–1702, Philadelphia) died as a young boy.
Most members of this family are buried at the
Society of Friends (Quakers) Burial Ground at Fourth and Arch Streets in Philadelphia.
Notable half-brothers
Two of Samuel Carpenter's half-brothers arrived, it is believed but not proven, on different ships in Philadelphia in 1683. One may have accompanied or followed Samuel from Barbados. The dates they arrived and from the ports from which they sailed have not been found. Joshua, Samuel and Abraham were each born of a different mother, but they remained close throughout their lives.
[''Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2009'' (DVD format), Samuel is RIN 1582, Joshua is RIN 1734 & Abraham is RIN 1616; this work contains updates to the 1912 book on "Samuel Carpenter and his Descendants".]
Joshua Carpenter (baptised in Horsham, 26 August 1638 – 1722,
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
) was the son of Mary Somervale, the first wife of Sheriff John Carpenter. Joshua married an Elizabeth Story and later moved to the state of Delaware. He had at least two children and two grandchildren by the time he died.
He was one of the founders of
Christ Church in Philadelphia. He was a brewer whose Philadelphia Ale was well known. Despite ending his days in Delaware, he was buried in the center of
Washington Square under an apple tree. In an enclosed ground measuring forty feet square lies the interred members of Joshua's family and that of the related Story family. The story of this small "Potter's Field" burial was caused by the death in the latter family by suicide, which excluded her from burial in the common church grounds of the city.
Abraham Carpenter (baptised in Horsham, 18 November 1652 – 10 April 1708, Philadelphia) from Elizabeth (maiden name unknown), the third wife of Sheriff John Carpenter of Horsham. Abraham was a merchant and married later in life, yet remained steadfast to the Church of England. Despite this he was buried in the Friends Burial Ground in Philadelphia. His wife's name is unknown other than she died about the "3rd Mo. 1705" and was a Quaker. He made several trips back to England and kept in contact with the family there. He helped build
Christ Church in Philadelphia. His efforts in creating and restoring trade with the mills in England insured financial success for Philadelphia. He became sick after returning from a difficult journey in the winter of 1707-1708 and died before seeing the financial recovery he helped prepare for in Philadelphia.
Carpenter's Wharf
Samuel Carpenter bought a lot in Philadelphia extending from King (later called Water) Street to Front Street and on to Second Street. This lot extended to Ton or Tun Alley which was once between Chestnut and Walnut Streets east of Front Street. On the east side of this lot on the Delaware front, he built the
wharf
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
or "a fair key" (dock) as mentioned by William Penn. This, the first wharf built in Philadelphia, became known as "Carpenter's Wharf" and could handle ships of 500 tons or more.
[ Holme, Thomas, "Portraiture of Philadelphia 1683–1684", which is an early city chart or map, shows the location of building lots of over 1,000 acres. See also Harry Kyriakodis, ''Philadelphia's Lost Waterfront'' (The History Press, 2011), at 88-89, 143, 161.] It was expanded and modernised over the years with numerous storehouses built adjacent to support the wharf, as well as other commercial structures, some of which stood for over a century. Today, this spot is covered by
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
where it passes along
Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing is a waterfront area of Center City Philadelphia along the Delaware River. Its name commemorates the landing of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania in 1682. The actual landing site is farther south in Chester, Pennsylvani ...
.
Not far from Carpenter's Wharf on King (Water) Street, Samuel built one of the first brick mansions for himself and his family. The house, which faced the Delaware River, was taken down by 1830.
On "No. 16" Second Street, Samuel Carpenter subsequently built the historic "
Slate Roof House," the first of its kind and which was occupied by many notables in Philadelphia's history.
This mansion stood from 1687 until 1867 when it was demolished.
In 1686, Carpenter and his brother Joshua established the
Tun Tavern
Tun Tavern was a tavern and brewery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was a founding or early meeting place for a number of notable groups. It is traditionally regarded as the site where what became the United States Marine Corps held its fi ...
brewhouse at Carpenter's Wharf, traditionally regarded as the site where the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
held its first recruitment drive.
File:Samuel Carpenter's store, dwelling-house and wharf circa 1714.jpg, Samuel Carpenter's Store, House & Wharf, c. 1718.
Image:OldSlateHousebuiltbySamuelCarpenter.jpg, The old Slate Roof House built by Samuel Carpenter.
Image:Sketch of Tun Tavern in the Revolutionary War.jpg, Sketch of the original Tun Tavern.
Image:St Mary's ChurchHorhsamSussexEnglandCHRRegisterofSC.jpg, Photo of part of St. Mary's Parish Register in 1649 showing Samuel Carpenter's Christening date.
Duties to the colony and city of Philadelphia
* Member of the Governor's Provincial Council, 9 September 1686, 1687–1689, 1695–1697, ?-1713.
* Provincial Treasurer (
First Treasurer), 4 June 1704 – 1710, 1711–1713.
* Member of the Assembly, 1693–1694, 1696.
* Member of the Assembly (
Bucks county
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
) 1705.
Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania 1694-1698
Carpenter was the
Deputy for the Governor William Penn who was known as "The Proprietor." Samuel served from 24 November 1694 to 3 September 1698. Governor Penn was often unable to govern his possessions acquired under Royal Charter directly. The day-to-day operations devolved to his deputy governors. "It is generally conceded that, next to Penn himself, Samuel Carpenter was at this time the most wealthy and influential citizen in the colony. He was a man of great force in every sense of the word, and being a Quaker of the most pronounced views, he, of course, proved to be of the greatest value and assistance to Penn during the latter's enforced absence in England."
Financial setback
Due to the privations of pirates and war, the financial situation in Philadelphia became difficult starting in 1702. Heavy losses in trade caused Samuel Carpenter and others to be affected by a loss of capital. In various letters Samuel seems embarrassed and was obliged to sell much of his properties.
In 1704, James Logan, speaking of their joint losses, says, "thy success at sea is so very discouraging, that I should never be willing to be concerned more this way : --- and William Trent, who has hitherto been a partner in most of thy losses, almost protests against touching with any vessel again where a proprietary holds a part!"
Samuel Carpenter, in a letter of 1708, to Jonathan Dickinson, thus speaks of their embarrassments of trade, saying, "I am glad thou didst not come this summer, for craft from Martinico and several vessels here have been detained some time in fear of the enemy, and now by this conveyance to Jamaica, they are hurrying off 16 vessels to join convoy at the capes under the York man of war". By 1709, trade was up and profits were up.
[ By the time of his death in 1714, Samuel Carpenter had paid off almost all of his debts allowing his family to be well established in property.
]
Patron and partner of Philadelphia
Samuel Carpenter was not only involved in multifarious transactions and endeavors in building up his beloved adopted city, but was an early philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
toward all things public in Philadelphia.[ Indeed, many early records testify to his generosity and involvement in creating Philadelphia.
In the Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania by John F. Watson it describes in Chapter 7, "The Landing at Penn at Chester." In the late 1840s, from the bottom of Chester Creek was found "an iron vane of that mill, curiously wrought into letters and dates." The following picture is direct from page 25 of the Samuel Carpenter book of 1912. The "He" described is William Penn.][
The initials express the original partners, to wit: ]William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, Samuel Carpenter, and Caleb Pusey
The Caleb Pusey House, built in 1683 in Upland, Pennsylvania, is the second oldest English house in Pennsylvania open to the public ( Wall House in Cheltenham Township is the oldest). Built in a vernacular English yeoman's style, it is the onl ...
when the mill was rebuilt. This "Weather Vane" was kept for some years before it was donated to the Philadelphia Historical Society. At one point it was "gilded" and spent years on a roof in Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...
. Then it was given to the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia
The Philadelphia History Museum was a public history museum located in Center City, Philadelphia from 1938 until 2018. The museum occupied architect John Haviland's landmark Greek Revival structure built in 1824–1826 for the Franklin Institute. ...
. This historical artefact is occasionally on display. Efforts over the years to return or loan this item to "Caleb Pusey House and Landingford Plantation" (probably the oldest structure in Pennsylvania) which is adjacent to the old mill site is pending.
Death and honours
Samuel Carpenter died at the house of his son-in-law, William Fishbourn, at Sepviva plantation (380 acres are now part of Fairhill), Philadelphia, on 10 April 1714.
His friend James Logan wrote in a letter dated "2 mo. 11th, 1714" (now known as 11 April 1714) to William Penn: "We have now lost our dear friend, Samuel Carpenter. He departed last night about 11, at his daughter Fishbourn's where he lodged when taken ill. He lay about twelve days ill of a violent rheumatism and fever, in great pain, but just before his departure he took leave of all his friends about him and went quietly away." "And further, of his honour, integrity and the high estimation in which he was held ... sincere honesty and public spirit ..." "He was universally beloved and esteemed here as I always loved him and his generous disposition."
The Friends meeting, after his death, said of him: "He was a pattern of humility, patience and self denial; a man fearing God and hating covetousness, much given to hospitality and good work. He was a loving affectionate husband, tender father and a faithful friend and brother."[Scharf and Westcott, "History of Philadelphia" Volume 1, page 159.]
Samuel Carpenter was laid to rest at the Society of Friends (Quakers) Burial Ground at Fourth and Arch Streets in Philadelphia the day after James Logan's letter dated "2 mo. 11th, 1714."
Samuel Carpenter, the immigrant, left numerous posterity, many of whom became distinguished in the affairs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. Many leading families of Philadelphia (DuPont, Lloyd, Preston, Story, Wharton, Wright and others) can trace their ancestry back to Samuel Carpenter.
See also
* Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Horsham Township is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is located ten miles north of Center City Philadelphia. The township, incorporated in 1717, is one of the oldest original municipalities in Montgomery County. Altho ...
was named in honour of the birthplace of Samuel Carpenter "purchased 5,000 acres (20 km2), 4,200 acres (17 km2) within the present boundaries of the township. In 1709, Carpenter, then Treasurer of Pennsylvania, began to sell tracts of land to migrating Quakers. In 1717, Horsham Township was established as a municipal entity by a vote of the people."
References
Further reading
* Proud, Robert (1728–1813) "History of Pennsylvania" - 2 vols. 1797 & 1798.
* Bronner, Edwin B., "Quaker Landmarks in Early Philadelphia", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Ser., Vol. 43, No. 1 (1953), pp. 210–216.
External links
*
*Th
Carpenter Family papers
including Louis H. Carpenter's military papers and some Samuel Carpenter material, are available for research use at th
Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Samuel
1649 births
1714 deaths
Politicians from Philadelphia
Colonial governors of Pennsylvania
People from Horsham
People of colonial Pennsylvania
Burials in Pennsylvania
English emigrants
American Quakers