Samuel Carpenter
| Samuel Carpenter | |
|---|---|
Samuel Carpenter (1649-1714)
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| Born |
4 November 1649 Horsham, Sussex, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 10 April 1714 (aged 64) Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania |
| Resting place | Arch Street (Quakers) Burial Ground, Fourth and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
| Residence | Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | English |
| Citizenship | English |
| Occupation | Merchant |
| Years active | 1671–1714 |
| Known for | Deputy Governor of Philadelphia, First Treasurer of Pennsylvania |
| Spouse(s) | Hannah Hardiman |
| Parent(s) | John Carpenter, of Horsham & Sarah |
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. Samuel was also called the "First Treasurer" of Pennsylvania, and was a partner and friend of proprietor William Penn.
Born in Horsham, Sussex, 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, 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.
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 and the Quaker faith about this time before leaving England for Barbados 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.
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.
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