This one is an interesting one..

[Crissynorah]

Previously ive been working on my Dads side of the family(Burges), thought id move on over to my Mums (Carpenter).

Ive traces back all the way to:
WILLIAM JOHN CARPENTER of DILWYN
BIRTH 3 SEP 1495 • Dilwyn, Hereford, England
DEATH 1540 • Bath, Somerset, England

now this where ia m getting confused, as everyone seems to be called 'William of Dilwyn, William of Mardon and Willian of Wrighton' then their 7000 siblings?

I am so confused! and their wives all seem to be Abigail, Joan or elizabeth? i am totally lost, dont knwo if their mother has same names as their wives.

The closest member of the family I am confident in is:
William Carpenter
B:1583 Wroxton Oxfordshire
D:7 Nov 1642 Wroxton, Oxfordshire, England

if this is a good start point?

[rosie99]

You say you have traced back to 1495.  Is this doing your own research or using information from online trees.

[Stanwix England]

I had a look to see if I could find similar trees on Ancestry and I turned up the following.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/191683683/sir_john-carpenter

This says that Sir John Carpenter was baptised on 3rd September 1495 in Dilwyn Herefordshire and died 15th October 1540.

It says, 'burial details unknown', so it's not clear here how this information was determined.

It says that the source of this information was a book by Amos B Carpenter called 'A genealogical history of the Rehoboth branch of the Carpenter family in America, brought down from their English ancestor, John Carpenter, 1303, with many biographical notes of descendants and allied families', which seems to be available here.

The book seems to have been published in 1898. Glancing through it, he appears to have taken some of his information from wills.

https://archive.org/details/genealogicalhist00carp

[Stanwix England]

First line made me smile.

"Very few people have the slightest idea of the labour entailed in compiling an honest genealogical work"

I think everyone on Rootschat feels your pain Amos Carpenter! How everything changes but also stays the same!

[Crissynorah]

I dont have many means available to me asides from information my family have given me (my nan is still around and has my grandads belongings) and followed census entries, and birth records.

And yes, very few people actually know the labour involved, yet everyone asks the question 'where are my roots'.

I'll have a look at that book! Resources like this is amazing 👏  thank yoy

[Ruskie]

There’s a big jump between family owned documents and census records which you have found yourself and the 1583 birth of William Carpenter. It can be confusing to follow someone else’s research.

Be mindful of biographies by American based researchers who tend to all find titled or landed gentry in their family histories. Similar with some family histories written in Victorian times. By all means use these biographies and trees as a guide but they’re not always accurate, so try to chase up the supporting documentation for yourself.