Miriam Saile / Searles

Biography

Miriam Sale entered the Carpenter household in February 1664, marrying William Carpenter after the death of his first wife. Their children included Josiah, Nathaniel, Daniel, Noah, Miriam, Obadiah, Hannah and Abigail. William also had children from his earlier marriage, so Miriam's household brought together two groups of children whose interests would later meet in his estate.

When William died in 1703, Miriam became the executrix of his will. Her work is visible in surviving transactions, rather than merely inferred from her status as widow. On May 21, 1703, she and her stepson John, William’s eldest son, transferred a land entitlement to her son Daniel. The published deed describes four acres still to be surveyed and laid out under a town order from Rehoboth, then a larger settlement spanning parts of today’s southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island. Miriam's mark and John's signature appear in the transcription.

Eleven years later, another deed records Miriam acting over property William had left without a specific bequest. The published deed is dated July 19, 1714, although its regnal-year wording conflicts; it records that she granted her son Nathaniel a quarter share of undivided North Purchase land, in the northern tract acquired by Rehoboth that later became Attleborough, together with two allotments totalling twelve and a half acres. The document identifies her as William's widow and sole executrix. Other heirs surrendered their claims to the property as part of the transaction.

These were different kinds of property: a right to a future division, an undivided share and specific allotted acreage. Miriam's recorded actions helped turn those interests into holdings assigned to individual sons. She lived until May 1, 1722, surviving William by nineteen years, and was buried beside him in the cemetery now known as Newman Cemetery in East Providence, Rhode Island.

The family chronology places Miriam’s marriage at Rehoboth on February 10, 1664 and her death there in 1722.

The scholarly family reconstruction estimates Miriam’s birth around 1644–1646 and identifies Edward Sale as her father. Saile and Searles are other recorded surname forms.