6082.
Dr. Algernon Sidney Carpenter
DR. ALGERNON SIDNEY CARPENTER, PHYSICIAN AT KEENE,,NH
Introduction:
Our source for the following biography of Dr. Algernon Sidney
Carpenter is the 1886 History of Cheshire and Sullivan Counties,
,NH, edited by D. Hamilton Hurd and published by
J. W. Lewis & , Philadelphia, Pa. Following it are additional
notes by your editor on this branch of the Carpenter family,
plus a page of old illustrations showing Keene,,NH as it
appeared when Dr. Carpenter lived there.
ALGERNON SIDNEY CARPENTER, M.D.
Algernon Sidney Carpenter, M.D., after a long professional life, most of which
was passed in Keene, died March 4, 1885. He was son of Dr. E. and Judith
(Greene) Carpenter, and was born in Alstead, N.H., October 16, 1814.
He was descended from a somewhat noted medical family, his father having been
an able and successful physician; several uncles and other relatives were
celebrated for their professional skill.
After an academic course, he read medicine with his father and then entered the
medical college at Middlebury,,VT, graduating about 1837. He practiced his
profession a short time in Gardner and Northfield,,MA, and then settled in
Keene.
MARRIAGE: In 1859, November 30th, he married Jane F., daughter of the
Hon. Henry and Calista (Pond) Coolidge. They had two daughters, Mary
Algerniene and Caroline Sidney.
Apart from his professional duties, Dr. Carpenter felt a deep interest in all
that pertained to the welfare of Keene, and was a prominent factor in social
circles. He possessed rare conversational powers, expressing his thoughts with
well-balanced and discerning intellect and ready wit. Few surpassed him in
repartee and his satire was keen and cutting.
He took a great interest in, and gave much of his
time to, Free-Masonry. In 1855, the Social
Friends Lodge of that order having been for some
time dormant, he caused its revival and at that
time was the only Free Mason on in town who knew the
work. He was Master of the Lodge in 1856, 1857
and 1859. He was a charter member and first Mast-
er of the Lodge of the Temple. He was a member of
Cheshire Royal Arch Chapter, St. John's Council
of Royal and Select Masters, and of Hugh de Pay-
ens Commandery of Knights Templar.
In politics Dr. Carpenter was a constitutional democrat; he held to the
doctrines of Thomas Jefferson, and wished to preserve the integrity of those
principles which he considered the guiding - 15 -
stars of the republic., and believed in and earnestly advocated the success of
the Democratic party as the only way to consummate the perpetuity of our
national existence.
But it is not as a citizen or politician that Dr. Carpenter demands our chief
attention, but as the kind-hearted, successful physician. In his profession he
occupied a foremost rank. He was a scholarly man, of quick perceptions, who
made the case of his patients his own, and his success was due to his firmness,
self-reliance, excellent Judgment and discretion. He gained the confidence,
esteem and regard of his patients, and they believed in him thoroughly and
completely-. Continued on next page.
DR. ALGERNON SIDNEY CARPENTER
OF KEENE,,NH
(Continued)
In those grave and desperate cases where life and death were struggling for the
mastery, he was watchful and vigilant, skillful to meet any emergency or
change, with the best remedial agencies. Although habitually cautious, he did
not shrink from the responsibilities of his calling, and used the most heroic
treatment if he deemed the case demanded it. Quackery, in all its forms, he
most heartily despised.
Like most men of positive nature, strong will and generous impulses, he made
many devoted friends and some bitter enemies. He was, for years, a landmark in
this city, kind and charitable to the poor, genial and pleasant in his home and
society, courteous in his intercourse with his medical brethren, and in many
ways was one of the strong representative professional men of Cheshire County.
The Doctor's Pedigree
ANCESTRY OF ALGERNON S. CARPENTER
Algernon's father, Eber Carpenter (1778-1841), wed Judith Greene (1780-1841) of
Atkinson, NH, Feb. 22, 1803. Eber was for many years a doctor at Alstead, NH.
Their other children were Harvey, Asa, Eber, James, Alpheus, Pamelia, George
and Charles Carpenter. Four sons were doctors.
Eber's father, James Carpenter (1741-1813), was born in Coventry, CT & settled
at Sharon, VT. He wed in 1761 Irene Ladd (1744-1817). A Revolutionary War
soldier, he later served in the ,VT Legislature and was a grantee of the
town of Chittenden, VT. His 17 children include James, Jason, Eunice, Alpheus,
Achsah, Alanson Lucy, Pamelia, Harvey, Caroline, Stephen & Henry Carpenter.
James was a son of Ebenezer Carpenter (1709-1777) & Eunice Thompson
(1722-1777), wed in 1739; both died of spotted fever and were buried in one
grave at Hartford, VT. Children named in his will are Asa, James, William,
Bridget, Josiah , Catherine, Eunice, Phebe, Ebenezer, Amos & Betsey.
Ebenezer Carpenter was a son of Benjamin Carpenter (1663-1738) of Rehoboth,
,MA & Hannah Strong. A farmer, he moved to Northampton,,MA, then Coventry,
CT. Other children: Prudence, Freedom, Amos, Jedediah, Hannah, Eliphalet, Noah,
Elizabeth, Rebecca & Benjamin Carpenter. Benjamin was son of William Carpenter
& grandson of the immigrant, William Carpenter of Rehoboth.
EDITOR'S NOTES
There are several references to Dr. Algernon S. Carpenter in S. G. Griffin's
1904 History of the Town of Keene, published by Sentinel Printing Company of
Keene. Most of them concern his activities-in organizing and heading various
Masonic endeavors. A brief biographical sketch summarizes the data given in the
longer biography above. Griffin, however, gives* Algernon's marriage to Jane
Coolidge as taking place in 1850, which seems the most likely date. Says
Griffin: "In his profession he was skillful, kind, considerate and successful;
in his home and society he was genial, courteous and large-hearted. He was a
man of strong will and positive nature, hating sham and hypocrisy." According
to this source, Dr. Carpenter was a leading physician of Keene for 48 years.
His office was in the Briggs building below the old Unitarian Church. Most of
those years there were at least two other well-established doctors in Keene.
Griffin also has additional data on the family of Dr. Carpenter's wife, Jane.
Henry Coolidge, her father, came from ,MA to Keene as a young man to
clerk in Abijah Foster's store. He married Calista, daughter of Abiathar Pond
of Keene. Henry and a brother-in-law bought out Foster in 1809 and changed the
firm's name to Pond & Cool idge. Henry later was the last landlord of the old
Ralston tavern, became a land surveyor, served as a magistrate and, in 1837,
was a state senator. At the time of his death in 1843 at age 56 he had been for
many years clerk of the court. - 16 -
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0017404
Carpenter, Algernon Sidney, Dr.
Released 10 December 2003
Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History
Dr. Algernon Sidney Carpenter, son of Dr. Eber and Judith (Greene) Carpenter, was born in Alstead, N. H., October 16, 1814, and was descended from a family pre-eminently distinguished by the large number of skillful physicians it produced. He was educated in the common schools of his native town, and at Middlebury Medical college, from which he received the degree of M. D., in June, 1837. While acquiring his education he taught school in various places, and was, for a short time, in a store at Chesterfield. With the exception of a few years spent in Gardner and Northfield, Mass., his entire professional life of forty-eight years was passed in Keene. He stood in the front rank in his profession. and enjoyed a success which was unsurpassed by any practitioner in this part of New Hampshire. He was an honor to a profession which he reverently believed reflected high honors upon its members; and during his long, intelligent and conscientious practice, he gained, in an eminent degree, the respect and confidence of those who were the recipients of his indefatigable, ministrations. He was peculiarly sensitive to any violation of the conventional rules of medical etiquette, and was severe in his condemnation of charlatanism. He felt a deep interest in all that pertained to the welfare of Keene, and was prominent in its social life. He was a conspicuous member of the order of Free and Accepted Masons, and held official rank in many Masonic societies; but at the time of his death, which occurred March 4, 1885, was not in affiliation with them. He was a studious and thoughtful man, well known for the strength and positiveness of his views upon all subjects, especially religion and politics. In theology he was a rationalist, but not of the econoclastic school. His religious convictions were the result of reason and scientific research. He had a deep reverence for truth and sincerity, but was equally abhorrent of what he conceived to be error and hypocrisy. He was unusually familiar with Bible literature, and had memorized many favorite scripture passages. Like all liberal thinkers, he emphasized the spirit more than the letter. In politics he was an ardent Democrat of the old school; believing in the States rights doctrine, and what he regarded the "strict construction of the constitution." His active brain made him fond of literature. He was a fluent speaker and a clear and terse writer.
November 30, 1859, Dr. Carpenter was married in the Unitarian church at Keene, to Miss Jennie F. Coolidge, daughter of Hon. Henry and Calista (Pond) Coolidge, of Keene. They had two daughters, Miss Mary and Miss Carrie, who, with their mother, survive him.
Source: Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History
http://www.ci.keene.nh.us/library/vitalstatistics/births1ad.htm#C
Town of Keene, New Hampshire Vital Statistics 1753 - 1878 - Births
Carpenter, Algernon Sidney and Jane F. Coolidge. Children: Mary Algernine, b. Oct. 8, 1860; Caroline Sidney, b. Feb. 18, 1865.
BOOK: A History of the Town of Keene from 1732, when the Township was Granted by Massachusetts, to 1874, when it Became a City by S. G. Griffin, M. A. - With Events of Interest in the History of the City From 1874 to 1904. By Frank H. Whitcomb, Published in 1904, Sentinel Printing Company, Keene, N.H.
Submitted by bjwahl on Thu, 11/19/2009 - 12:06pm
http://keenepubliclibrary.org/library/griffin-history-of-keene
Page 571 for biography.
See also:
General Index
Carpenter, Algernon S 449, 542, 547, 571, 578, 688, 729
GRAVE:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=139200239
Dr Algernon Sidney Carpenter
Birth: Oct. 16, 1814
Alstead
Cheshire County
New Hampshire, USA
Death: Mar. 4, 1885
Keene
Cheshire County
New Hampshire, USA
Age 45 - Married age 32 Jane F. Coolidge on Nov. 30, 1859 in Keene, Cheshire, New Hampshire, USA.
Family links:
Parents:
Eber Carpenter (1778 - 1841)
Judith Green Carpenter (1790 - 1841)
Spouse:
Jane Frances Coolidge Carpenter (1827 - 1907)*
Sibling:
Eber Green Carpenter (1808 - 1884)*
Algernon Sidney Carpenter (1814 - 1885)
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Woodland Cemetery
Keene
Cheshire County
New Hampshire, USA
Plot: Sec. 10, Lot 12
Created by: A Helper
Record added: Nov 24, 2014
6084.
Dr. George Hamilton Carpenter
12667.
Eliza Carpenter
6094.
David S. Carpenter Jr.
6120.
Josiah Carpenter