Samuel Carver was born in Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts in 1704. At age 14, Samuel moved with his parents from Weymouth to Canterbury, Connecticut in 1718 and he worked on his father's farm.
He met Esther Church in Canterbury and they were married in 1727. In 1735, he and his wife and first three sons moved to Bolton, CT and lived there for the rest of his life. He and Esther owned the covenant at Bolton as of 29 Aug 1731, and she was admitted to the Congregational church there on 19 Mar 1733. Here is the list of their children below, all born in Connecticut:
1730 David, our ancestor
1732 Samuel
1734 John
1736 Sarah
1738 Esther
1740 Ebenezar
1743 Jonathan
1744 Submit
1747 Mary
1751 Joseph
Esther (Church) died about 1755 and soon after her death Samuel married Rachel Loomis and had 5 more children. Rachel died in 1775.
Samuel's last will and testament, signed on 1 May 1, 1779, probated 12 Jun 1780 in Hartford County, CT, reads in part:
"Imprimis, I give and bequeath unto my eldest son, David Carver, of Hebron, the sum of five shillings money for his part of my estate, to be paid to him by my executors in a convenient time after my decease."
Sons Samuel, John, Ebenezar, and Joseph, all of Bolton, and married daughters, Esther Berdman, of Norwich and Mary Williams of Hartford, were each to receive the same amount and under the same conditions as David. The remainder of the real and personal property was to go to the daughters Sarah and Submit Carver. They were named executors of the testament which was signed in the presence of Benjamin, Sarah, and Anna Talcott. An inventory of the estate of 14 Jun 1780 taken by Benjamin Talcott and Samuel Cooley, appraisers, revealed a house and land, a beaver hat, deerskin breeches, six pewter plates, a porringer, a trammel, an hour glass, four sermon books and a few animals. The total value of the estate was nearly 100 pounds.
Note: Porringers were commonly used for containing a wide variety of food and drinks such as bread, vegetables and milk. The bowl and handle style was traditionally silver or pewter. We can trace the original form of the porringer back to the 1600’s. Back then they were crafted without any intent for a cover or lid. This indicates that they were primarily intended for fairly solid food, which would have been less vital to keep warm (than soup or stew for example).
According to researcher, Bruce F. Bond, Samuel was buried at Ludlow, Hampden, Massachusetts.
SAMUEL CARVER
BORN: 4 Nov 1704 in Weymouth, Norfolk, MA
MARRIED: 1) Esther Church in 1727 in Canterbury, Windham, CT
2) Rachel Loomis in 1755 in Bolton, Worcester, CT
DIED: 7 May 1780 in Bolton, Tolland, CT
ESTHER CHURCH
BORN: 4 Nov 1711 in Canterbury, Windham, CT
DIED: abt 1755 in Bolton, Worcester, CT
SOURCES: Connecticut Church Record Abstracts 1630-1920; New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1847-2011.
