John Carpenter

Biography

John Carpenter and Nancy Bishop married on March 3, 1805. A farmer and a son of Asa Carpenter and Abigail Follett, John established a household in which six children were born between 1805 and 1817: Hannah, Abigail, Namon Bishop, Asa Follett, William Henry and Lewis Smith. Their names preserved connections to both the Carpenter and Bishop families.

The death of Asa Follett Carpenter gave the family property a lasting new purpose. Born in August 1811, Asa died on March 1, 1816. The cemetery account identifies his burial as the earliest use of the Carpenter family burial ground. The official description from North Attleborough, Massachusetts, independently dates the cemetery to 1816 and associates it with John Carpenter's family.

The cemetery lies east of Mendon Road, between the present Monticello and Montclair streets. Its modern location makes visible a decision made within John's household more than two centuries ago: a place on family land became a place for burial and remembrance.

John died on May 18, 1851. His youngest son, Lewis, remained associated with the homestead and its agricultural work. The house and burial ground preserved different aspects of John's family life: one continued in daily use, while the other accumulated the memorials of relatives who followed the young Asa there.

Nancy survived John until 1863.

The family chronology places John’s birth around 1774; a census age suggests about 1778 instead. His exact birthday is uncertain.