Inherited Craziness
A place to share all the nuts found on my family tree

Showing posts with label Carpenter (surname). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carpenter (surname). Show all posts

Tuesday 5 September 2023

Thomas Stone and Dolly Carpenter

Fore Street, Kentisbeare
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Derek Harper - geograph.org.uk/p/2793712

The earliest Stone ancestors I can document a link to in Devon are Thomas Stone (b. 1766) who married Dolly Carpenter (bap. 15 Jul 1764), daughter of Edward Carpenter and Mary Winter, at St Mary'sKentisbeare, Devon, on 5 Sep 1787. These were a pair of my 4th great-grandparents. 

There are records for nine children, all baptised in Kentisbeare: 

  1. Sally Stone bap. 20 Apr 1788
  2. John Stone, b. 6 Jan 1790, bap. 22 Jan 1792
  3. Henry Stone bap. 22 Jan 1792
  4. Hugh Stone bap. 25 Jul 1793 (buried 19 Nov 1802)
  5. William Stone bap. 26 Apr 1795 (buried 4 Apr 1796)
  6. Mary Stone bap. 2 Apr 1797 (buried 11 Apr 1813)
  7. William Stone bap. 3 Nov 1799
  8. Hugh Stone bap. 15 Feb 1803 (buried 13 Jan 1804)
  9. Elizabeth Stone bap. 7 Sep 1806

Dorothy Stone died, aged 49, and was buried at Kentisbeare on 9 May 1813. 

Thomas Stone remarried, also in Kentisbeare, on 17 Apr 1814 to Mary Hill (probably born around 1773-6). Witnesses to this marriage were Thomas Farnell and Elizabeth Hill. Thomas and Mary had three more children.

  1. Robert Stone bap. 16 Oct 1814
  2. John Stone bap. 10 Mar 1816
  3. Thomas Stone bap. 13 Sep 1818

Thomas Stone Sr died in 1838, aged 72 (from exhaustion, I shouldn't be surprised), and was buried in Kentisbeare on 26 Jan 1838.

In 1841, Mary Stone (65) was living in "Kentisbeer Village" with her sons Robert (30), John (26) and Thomas (23). And Mary Stone (78), Widow, Pauper, was still living in the village in 1851, but disappears after that.

In 1799, the year my 3rd great-grandfather, William Stone, was born in the village, Betty Limpany was executed in Exeter for burning down the house of her master, William Leech of Kentisbeare. According to Trewman's Exeter Flying Post of April 11th 1799, "She acknowledged her guilt, was very penitent, and behaved in a manner becoming her unhappy situation." 

But the film, Betty Limpany (1997), claims "Betty was said to be pregnant with the master's child and framed for a crime she didn't commit ..." It's also said that she was the last girl (at around 17) to be hanged in England.

It's a small enough village, so the Stones must have known about the house fire. Could they even have known Betty Limpany? Was she seduced by her master? Was she framed, or was she guilty? We'll never know, but for the people of Kentisbeare, it must have been the talk of village for a long time.

The film of the story apparently has a character named "Village Idiot". Gotta wonder which family member was the inspiration for that role?😀

Tuesday 11 April 2023

Edward Carpenter and Mary Winter

St Mary, Kentisbeare, Devon - Chancel
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/1726294

Edward Carpenter, baptised 31 May 1730, son of Hugh Carpenter and his wife Joan [maiden name unknown], married Mary Winter on 11 Apr 1748 at the Parish Church of St MaryKentisbeare. Edward and Mary Carpenter were a pair of my 5th great-grandparents: my earliest ancestors in Devon [so far].

Records suggest the couple had seven children: 
  1. William Carpenter bap. 25 Apr 1749
  2. Dorothy Carpenter bap. 29 May 1752 (buried 25 Jul 1752)
  3. Jenney Carpenter bap. 24 Aug 1755
  4. Thomas Carpenter bap. 18 Jun 1758
  5. Edward Carpenter bap. 9 Nov 1760
  6. Dolly Carpenter bap. 15 Jul 1764
  7. Hugh Carpenter bap. 6 Jan 1769
There's nothing in the records I've seen to date to suggest what occupation Edward had, neither has it been possible to find a record of his death. There are several deaths for a Mary Carpenter in Kentisbeare between 1774 and 1796, any of which could relate, but it hasn't been possible to identify which one it is. Likewise, trying to trace each of their children forward has either provided no further records beyond their baptisms, or where several records exist and no clues to narrow it down. Frustrating, but common problem.