Tracking the line of Samuel Carman has been an interesting puzzle.  Mostly because of the wrong information that has been printed over the years, and again because of an abundance of men named Samuel Carman all living around Long Island at about the same time.

Werner's "Genealogies of Long Island Families" lists Samuel of the fourth generation and as brother of Silas Carman, when he is actually of the sixth generation, a son of Silas and even mentioned in Silas's will.  Additional information about this line printed in "The Family of Richard Smith of Smithtown, Long Island: Ten Generations" is contradicted by family group sheets prepared by two different grandchildren of Samuel in the 1880s.  It is hard to believe that a man who was so influential in his time, cannot be better traced better by authors of the time.

He was probably a Loyalist, as his name appears next to Silas, (could be either his father or his brother), in the list of those who wished to show their loyalty to George III in Onkerdonk's "Revolutionary Incidents of Queens County, L.I."

Samuel was a prosperous and Influential man in the Town of South Haven, Township of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, having married into the mill-owning family on the river that now bears his name. Samuels sons were later active in the local politics of the Town of Brookhaven. The mill and the vicinity became a popular recreation area for the socialites of New York City and among the frequent guests were Daniel Webster and later Theodore Roosevelt.  While Samuel did not own the mill directly, he is often credited with it. What he did own and run was a tavern to the west of the mill which was a stopover for the weekly stage between Brooklyn and East Hampton.  Between his marriage into the Mill's owners family and his Tavern and social connections he was of some prominence in Suffolk County politics.

Samuel⁶ Carman (Silas⁵, Caleb⁴, Caleb³, John², John¹) was born 20 July 1743 in Hempstead Township, Queens, New York and died 21 December 1821 at Fireplace, Suffolk County, New York and interred at the Samuel Carman family burial grounds in South Haven, Suffolk County, New York.  He married at St George's Church in Hempstead, Queens, New York on 30 April 1777 to Theodosia Latting, born 7 October 1753 and died 31 May 1811 at Fireplace, Suffolk New York and is interred at the Samuel Carman family burial grounds in South Haven, Suffolk, New York, daughter of Benjamin Latting and Leah Simonson of Lattingtown.

Children of Samuel and Theodosia (Latting) Carman:

08/01/2007