Our Family Story

The Draper family was originally from the Netherlands. John  le Drapour and his brothers, William and Henry, were cloth weavers by trade.  They moved to England six hundred years ago, and established their business in Yorkshire.

Three Hundred years later, in the late17th century, Samuel Draper ran away from the home of his father, Thomas Draper, an English Clergyman. He became a Pirate, who sailed the "Seven Seas", eventually settling his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

It was the custom of the Captain to name his sons after the port in which they were born, or to which the ship was bound. His son Boston Draper was our ancestor.

There are three main components to this part of the site: Descendants of his son, Boston,  Samuel's Yorkshire ancestors, and the family of James Draper, a descendant of James "the Puritan" Draper. 

Ari Draper's pedigree chart maps the ancestry of this line. 

The Ancestors of Tryphena Brown - The Thomas Brown family came to Concord, Massachusetts in about 1638 from England. Eventually their Great Great Granddaughter Tryphena, married Boston Draper and they raised their family in Boxborough, Massachusetts.

The Carpenter pages have two main sections. The Descendants of Reuben S. Carpenter and the Ancestors of Robert N. Carpenter, Reuben's father. Robert's ancestor, Captain William Carpenter, came to America in the ship "Bevis" in 1638, and settled in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Nearly three hundred of his descendants fought in the Revolutionary war. Reuben's daughter Harriet, married into the family of Ari Draper.

The Pennocks of Madison County - Ira and Freelove Pennock came to Madison County, New York in the early 1800s. They were born in Washington County NY. Their son Ebenezer, became one of the largest property holders in central New York State. Their daughter Hannah, married Reuben S. Carpenter.

Our Madison County Families - The Bender, Carpenter, Draper and Pennock families started moving to Madison County, New York in the 1830's. Many of their descendants still live there.