The Carman Family

Section I
The Carmans In The Colonial Period

There were three distinct groups of colonists in America before 1660--
 The English in Virginia
The English in the Boston area
The Dutch and English in New Amsterdam
The Carman Family of this discussion were involved with the English in Massachusetts, in Connecticut and with the Dutch and English in New Amsterdam (New York).

History
Life
Long Island
Family (1)
Chronology
Family (2)

Colonial Period Family line: John(1)

..... they were men seeking homes in a land where they might enjoy greater political and religious liberty ..... .. John Dean Fish

John Carman
c. 1606 - 1654
The Immigrant Grandfather


The story of our Carman family in America takes a dramatic turn when two men in a small boat crossed Long Island Sound from the New Haven colony in Connecticut to Nassau Island (now known as Long Island), then under control of the Dutch. These men are English and they are related by marriage. Their names; the Reverend Robert Fordham and John Carman. It is the autumn of 1643.

These men were advance agents of a new emigration, representing families who had settled at Stamford, Connecticut, only five years earlier, but who were again seeking homes in a land where they might enjoy greater political and religious freedom. That year they secured from the Sachems of the native tribes of Indians a quit-claim deed of a section of land (120,000 acres) on the south shore of Long Island, which is now part of the town of Hempstead (John Dean Fish--History of Hempstead, L.I., New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume 54 (1923) p. 21.)

Later, these men and their followers, were to secure a broad charter for their new home from the Dutch Governor William Kieft, granting them rights and liberties of colonization on the Island. Twenty years in the future, English were to oust the Dutch from control not only of Long Island but all of New York state. John Carman had helped lay the basis for this event, but was not to live to see its culmination.

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History


John Carman is best classified as an adventurer who first associated himself with the Puritans in Massachusetts. The date of his arrival in the New World is July 4, 1631. Many references on colonial New England mention him. He occupied a position of some prominence in the Plymouth colony but gained greater recognition as a leader in the English colonization of New Amsterdam, now called New York.

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One year after his arrival in the New World, in 1632, his wife Florence joined him, together they established their new home. They were parents of four children that lived to become adults, three boys and a girl. It is from these American-born children that the Carmans of this history are descended.

For three hundred years, researchers have advanced information about John and Florence Carman: where they came from; where they lived; their children and various facts about their lives. In 1939, two family researchers gathered the information together and published a four-page life of John Carman in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (October, 1939, pp. 332-336) and even then there were some disputed conclusions.

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Life


What do we know for sure about John Carman? First, he was an Englishman; second, he was a sea captain and finally, that he was not a rigid dissenter from the Church of England, rather he was one who was venturesome, ready to seek a new life in America. He moved about, he became a freeman, he held office in Massachusetts; he left the Plymouth colony to live in Connecticut, and finally he settled on Long Island---all this to be able to live a less-restricted personal life.

To give a full accounting of what is known of his life would require many pages and to record all the controversial items that family historians have struggled over would greatly lengthen the present discussion. To assist the interested reader, the author has made a chronological summary of his life at the end of this chapter.

John Carman was a sea captain and came with a group to Massachusetts to establish a community there. He apparently was not a religious migrant and soon withdrew his stake in the original group, which was sizeable, and during the next several years lived in several Massachusetts communities. There is controversy over that part of England from which he came and, of course, about his ancestry.

We can say that he was a ",liberal" for his time, which led to his subsequent movements which eventually led him to Connecticut. It was from Connecticut that the venture to Long Island developed. Long Island was then held by the Dutch and the principal inhabitants were Indians.

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Long Island


From what can be determined by the records, John Carman and the 'Reverend Robert Fordham acted as agents for the principals, Puritans from Stamford, Connecticut and obtained by treaty and gifts 120,000 acres of land at the western end of the Island.(They obtained the Great Hempstead plain from the Merrick, Massapeaciue, and Lockaway Indian tribes.) Key man in the final arrangements was the Dutch Governor, William Kieft. The Indians accepted trade goods and very likely didn't understand what it was all about. These early settlers had to build stockades for protection and the first settlement was at Hempstead, the origins of which had been made by the Dutch.

Inevitably, there was the conflict between the Dutch and the English on Long Island---with the English finally dominating. the terms of the colonization were very broad, so the English brought their system of town planning and respect for law and order. Eventually, their common interests in farming and commerce resulted in inter-marriage as evidenced in the Carman family.

The nature of the island led to whaling, boat building and many of the early Carmans followed the sea. Milling became a major trade with them followed by other crafts, which they carried with them as they migrated throughout the island and out of it.

The amalgamation with the Dutch was easy. The Indians, of course, lost out. There was some slavery, both blacks and Indians. With the Indians slavery did not work, so those that remained became servants.

Religion


Religion was important to these early colonists. Some were members of the Dutch churches, others the Episcopalian, followed by Presbyterianism and still later many became Quakers, an important factor in the author's family history.

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Family


One of the more controversial items of John Carman's life was the name of his wife. All that is known for sure, is that her given name was Florence. Family tradition has it that it was Florence Fordham, daughter of the Reverend Robert Fordham. Later researchers say that she was Florence Dummer (if so, the Dummer family was also a distinguished group); more logically, assuming that there is substance to tradition, she may have been a sister of the Reverend Fordham.

John Carman founded a family that for three and-one-half centuries has been a part of American life. A family that spread itself over the land, some becoming Canadians and others following various migration paths in the United States. They were to be part and parcel in the political, religious and economic life of the nation, of which the family branch discussed in this history, made its own unique contribution.

From the Carmans that first lived behind the stockades at Hempstead, L.I. have come thousands of descendants of which we can catch only glimpses from the town and church records that have survived the years. Their legal records are important sources of information. Long Island, New York State and other areas of the country are dotted with landmarks that the family created. At each place on the map where groups of them settled for any length of time, there is usually a nest of their descendants surviving.

For the group that eventually settled in the Sangamon country of Illinois which in their Quakerism had wandered westward there is an intimate relationship with the story of Abraham Lincoln who like his Carman friends had come from an English and eastern background and was a commoner, like them, in his inheritance.

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Name Notes

In the Plymouth colony John Carman was referred to as: John Kirman.

In the New York Dutch-English records the name appeared as: Carreman

In America a slightly different spelling was used among related families to distinguish themselves for one reason or another. Also, by the census takers who reported what they thought they heard. The same differences creep up in present-day communications. etc,

The name sometimes appears in hyphenated form such as, Carman-Rykes, etc.

When spelled Karman, the name has an entirely different connotation. (see: Carman - Historical Romance)

Researchers have noted that Hempstead was the English version of the original name Heem-sted or some Dutch equivalent. Apparently there was an earlier settlement at the Long Island site where the Carmans lived.

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Chronology---John Carman---The Immigrant Ancestor ca. 1606 - 1654
ca. 1606Born - England, possibly in Bishop Stoke's Parish., Hampshire, England He follows the sea, eventually qualifies as a ship's captain and acquires sufficient capital to migrate to America.
4 July 1631Arrives on the Plough at Natascott, Mass., with a party of "Familists." (a liberal Puritan sect)
18 Oct 1631The General Court of Massachusetts issues an order separating John Kirman's share of the party's pooled assets. 5 Je 1632 valued about 25 pounds.
4 Mar 1632/33He becomes a Freeman - a legal honor.
26 May 1632Possible dates of arrival of John's wife- Florence.
5 June 1632The family settles at Roxbury, Mass., now a part of the greater Boston area.
8 July 1633 First child, son John born. (Recorded date at Roxbury, Mass.)
3 Sep 1634 Serves on Town boundary committee
4 Mar 1634/35 Becomes Deputy to the General Court of Mass. colony (a distinguished honor)
? July 1635 Daughter, Abigail born (recorded date at Roxbury, Mass.)
7 Dec 1636 As Deputy, referred to as; "Goodman" Carman - an honor.
1636/37 Family removes to Sagus, now Lynn, Mass. Carman becomes interested in forming a new town called Sandwich.
1 July 1639 Son, Caleb born. (Recorded date at Roxbury, Mass.)
16 Apr 1640 On town committee; receives a grant of land in the Plymouth colony.
3 June 1640 Receives additional land at Sandwich
1640 Carman is thought to be at Stamford, Conn., then called Colony of New Haven.
1640/43 Is believed to have resumed his sea career, involved in commerce and having some adventures at sea,
1641/43 Involved in colonization and acquisition of land on Nassau Island (Long Island, N.Y.). From 1641 on he was a prominent citizen in the settlement of western L.I.
16 Nov 1644 Group receives Hempstead, LI-Patents from Dutch
9 Jan 1645/46 Son Joshua born blind. Possibly the first white child born at Hempstead, L.I.
4 July 1647 Final purchase of land from Indians. Son John is a witness
? ?1647 The Long Island land is divided. Carman is a freeholder and is known as "Mister" Carman.
1649/1650 Active in governmental affairs at Hempstead
3 Mar 1653 Legal action at New Amsterdam (New York City) involved in a millstone case, indicating that he is changing from sea to land activities
-16S4 Approximate date of his death
1654 - 1658 His widow Florence remarries to John Hicks. This creates estate problems
31 Oct 1656 Legal action at New Amsterdam
1660/61 Carman's widow dies in this period.
7 Apr 1661 John's children institute an estate suit with John Hicks, Florence's second husband. Benjamin Coe, son-in-law, acts for Abigail and the blind Joshua. This suit conducted at New Amsterdam.

Members of the Carman family continued to hold portions of John Carman's original Hempstead land for several generations. Hicks married again and eventually some settlements were made in the Carman holdings.


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Family of John and Florence Carman
(Only those children that survived to adulthood)
all generation (2)
1. John Carman 1633 - 16E4, is discussed in the next chapter
2. Abigail Carman, 1635 - e. 1704,
m. 1. c. 1660 to Benjamin Coe of an old and distinguished family; many prominent descendants.
Benjamin Coe, c. 1630 - 1696, was a farmer and miller. He was from England in a family that can be traced back to about 1400.
Benjamin and Abigail (Carman) Coe had four sons: Benjamin, 1660-1707 Joseph, b.c. 1665; John (?), b.c. 1670; William (?), b.c. 1675.
Coe lived first in Massachusetts, then Connecticut and finally Long Island, following the same migration route as John Carman (1). In 1660 he was active in the English takeover of New Amsterdam. From the records he apparently got along well with his Carman kin.
m.2 - Major Daniel Whitehead, no issue.
3. Caleb Carman, 1639 - 1693, migrated to Cape May, Near Jersey.
Caleb m. Elizabeth ___, went from Hempstead, L. I. to Jamaica, L.I. and later to Cape May, New Jersey, following the whaling trade. Some of his descendants later settled in the middle New Jersey counties; others including his son of the same name stayed on Long Island
4. Joshua Carman, 1645 - 1, 20, born blind, never married. Joshua, thought to be the first white child bore at Hempstead, L.I., owned property and was apparently cared for by relatives (see the Will of his brother John). He spent his life at Hempstead, L.I

Descendants of John Carman (1) are eligible for membership is various hereditary societies based on the Colonial American Period.





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