10015.
Parker Carpenter
18915.
Luther Carpenter
18916.
Elizabeth Carpenter
10016.
Ephraim Carpenter
10018.
John Carpenter
10019.
Willard Carpenter
CENSUS: 1850 US Census - See image: RIN 44045 Willard Carpenter 1850 ... jpg (page 2 is 1850B)
Name: Willard Carpenter (Merchant)
Residence: Vanderburgh , Indiana
Age: 47 years
Estimated birth year: 1803
Birthplace: Vermont
Gender: Male
Race or color (on document):
Race or color (expanded):
Death month:
Death date:
Film number: 442954
Image number: 00357
Reference number: 41
Dwelling: 50
Household id: 50
Marital status: married
Free or slave:
Collection: United States Census, 1850
NOTE: His niece Elizabeth, age 19 is listed.
CENSUS: 1860 US Census - RIN 44045 Willard Carpenter 1860 ... jpg
Name: Willard Carpenter
Residence: Vanderburgh, Indiana
Minor civil division: City Of Evansville Pigeon Township
Age: 57 years
Estimated birth year: 1803
Birthplace: Ind
Gender: Male
Page: 135
Family number: 1030
Film number: 803302
Digital GS number: 4218023
Image number: 00139
NARA publication number: M653
Collection: United States Census, 1860
CENSUS: 1870 US Census - See image: RIN 44045 Willard Carpenter 1870 ... jpg
Name: Williard Carpenter
Estimated birth year: 1803
Gender: Male
Age: 67y
Race or color (expanded): White
Birthplace: Vermont
Residence: Indiana, United States
Collection: United States Census, 1870
CENSUS: 1880 US Census
Household:
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
Willord CARPENTER Self M Male W 78 VT VT VT
Lucima CARPENTER Wife M Female W 63 NY Keeping House NJ RI
Harvy S. CLIFFORD Other S Male W 30 NY Clerk NY VT
William GENTREY Other S Male W 19 IN Clerk IN IN
Caroline BAUMAN Other S Female W 20 IN Servant GER GER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source Information:
Census Place Evansville, Vanderburgh, Indiana
Family History Library Film 1254317
NA Film Number T9-0317
Page Number 379B
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/in/county/vanderburgh/portraits/pages/carpenter.htm
Early Evansville Portraits And Biographies
From History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana by Brant & Fuller 1889
Willard Carpenter
( See image: RIN 44045 Willard Carpenter.jpg )
WILLARD CARPENTER, an enterprising pioneer, citizen and benefactor of Evansville, was born in Strafford, Orange County, Vt., on the 15th of March, 1803. His father, Willard Carpenter, Sr., was born April 3, 1767, and died at Strafford, November 14, 1854. He was married at Woodstock, Conn., February 23, 1791, to Polly Bacon, who was born March 15, 1769, and died March 4, 1860. also at Strafford. All the children, twelve in number, were born and reared on the same farm. Mrs. Carpenter lived to see twelve children, fifty-two grand-children, fifty-three great-grand-children, and one great-great-grand-child; in all, 118 lineal descendants.
There was much of the remarkable in the life of Willard Carpenter the younger, whose name, even at this time in southern Indiana, is a synonym for skill and sagacity. When a young man, he received the sobriquet of "Old Willard." The leading feature of his career was his zeal for public interests, and it is readily conceded that the general prosperity of the district in which he lived was largely due to his individual efforts. As a typical Yankee, he possessed sturdy independence and tenacity of purpose to an unusual degree. Always thrifty and energetic, with great powers of physical endurance, pluck and perseverance, a strong and comprehensive mind, and great business ability, it is not strange that he rose from the hardest poverty to great wealth. When a boy he spent his days on a farm, in the manner common to pioneer lads, for his father was one of the first settlers of Orange County, building his cabin in the forests, and with the help of his boys making a clearing and conducting his farm. School privileges were meager. To read, write and cipher was regarded as the ultirna thule of a school education; and three months a year for four or five winter in the primitive log school-house, was considered sufficient time for him to spend upon his early mental training.
He remained at home with his father until he was eighteen years old. Now and then, doing odd jobs, he turned a penny. His first twenty-five cents was made by digging snake-root and selling it to his uncle. This money was immediately put out at six per cent interest, and in process of time, through additions made to it, he found himself in possession of seven dollars. He then determined to go west. With a pack on his back he made his way to the Mohawk, and passed through Troy about the time of the great fire in 1822. Upon reaching Albany he turned his capital of seven dollars into a stock of Yankee notions, and from there sturdily tramped up the valley of the Mohawk, on his way to Buffalo. He then went down the lake shore, and into Ohio as far as Salem, where, having disposed of his wares, he rested, while visiting an uncle, who had moved to this place some years previous.
Not content with being idle, he went to work in the woods with two other men, and in the summer and autumn of that year, 1822, they cleared eighty acres of forest land, for which they received five dollars an acre. Owing to the scarcity of money he was paid in notes of hand, payable in grain. These he disposed of and went to teaching a district school. His salary in the spring amounted to $140, which was also paid in grain notes. He then concluded to learn tanning and shoemaking, but became dissatisfied after a six months' trial and gave it up.
He was now about twenty years old and ready to begin life in earnest. Disposing of all his effects, he bought a horse and a watch, and with about sixteen dollars in his pocket turned his face eastward to find a wider field in New York state. On his way to Buffalo he was taken in by some sharpers on the "little joker," who won his watch and all his money but one dollar. They returned him four dollars, and with this he was glad to mount and get away. Before reaching Buffalo he was attacked with a severe illness, but continued his journey, passing through Buffalo to Manlius, town lying some miles east, where he found an old schoolmate with whom, on account of his illness and the depleted condition of his purse, he was glad to remain for a week or so.
In a short time he engaged to assist in floating a raft down the Mohawk to Schenectady. He was to receive sixteen dollars a month for his services, but upon reaching his destination the raft was attached for debt, and he received nothing. He walked back to Manlius for his horse which had been left with his friend, when to his dismay, he found that the animal had died in his absence. He next engaged to work with pick and shovel on the Erie Canal with a company of about 1,000 Irishmen and Ben Wade, of Ohio. Here the work and wages were fair, but the accommodations were so unendurable that after; short time he sought other employment.
While at Glenfield Corners he was offered the position of teacher in the school at that place. The school had been a troublesome one, the last teacher had been unceremoniously ejected by the larger boys, and in a few days a conspiracy was formed against the new pedagogue; but being determined to rule, he managed to subdue the ringleader, older and larger than himself, by the union of stratagem and force, and had no further trouble. In 1824, his father, to induce his return home, presented him with a farm, and later offered him $600, but these he refused, determining to make his way through life unaided. Two years' after, he visited his father and returned with his brother John to Troy, where they engaged in merchandising. Mr. Carpenter prosecuted his business interests with vigor and at one time with such boldness as to dismay his brother, and a dissolution followed. Ephriam, another brother similar in character to Willard, succeeded John, and they continued in Troy ten years.
In 1837 Willard came to Evansville at the solicitation of A. B. Carpenter, whom he joined in the wholesale dry goods and notion business. They began under favorable auspices, but suffered in the widespread financial crash of 1837. Upon his arrival here, after a trip to Troy, where he had gone to settle his business there, he found the business of the firm in a deplorable state. Owing to the crash, their county correspondents were in a precarious condition and sharp work was necessary to realize anything out of their accounts.
Mr. Carpenter, however, was equal to the emergency. He reached here on Sunday and at once took in the situation. Learning that a company of merchants was to leave for the upper country, by the way of Vincennes and Terre Haute, he saw that his only chance was to outstrip them. He left here at nine o'clock that night; at Vincennes employed Judge Law to take charge of his business there; pushed on to Terre Haute; employed Judge Farrington there, and by Tuesday morning, at daybreak, was closeted in Danville, Ill., with an attorney of that place. He then started home, and by Wednesday noon met the other merchants on their outward journey, between Vincennes and Terre Haute. The result was that the Carpenters received their claims in full, while the others hardly realized ten cents on the dollar. This feat practically introduced Mr. Carpenter to Evansville, and the energetic spirit shown in it characterized his subsequent conduct.
In February following, he was married to Miss Lucina Burcalow, of Saratoga County, N.Y. When the state of Indiana found herself almost hopelessly in debt, after the failing of the internal improvement system, Mr. Carpenter violently opposed every suggestion of repudiation, and took a prominent part in providing means of an honorable satisfaction of all obligations. At a public meeting held in this city in 1842, it was resolved to ask an appropriation of lands to aid in the completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal. Mr. Carpenter circulated the petitions for this purpose in seventeen different states and through five different legislatures, defraying his expenses out of his own pocket. The bill, after much opposition, passed both houses of congress, to be ratified, however, by the legislature of Indiana. Here there was great opposition, and again Mr. Carpenter made himself useful in advancing the public good. In 1849 he was one of the principal movers in the Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad enterprise subscribing largely, and taking more stock than any other two men in the County. I was intended that this road should run the White River valley to Indianapolis; but in 1853 Mr. Carpenter resigned as a director, and with ex-Senator O. H. Smith entered into an agreement to build a railroad from Evansville to Indianapolis, later known as the "Straight Line." Mr. Carpenter threw his whole intellectual vigor into this work. Over $900,000 were procured on the line Mr. Carpenter himself having subscribed $65,000 the work of grading progressed rapidly, the road-bed was completed for fifty-five miles, and Mr. Carpenter went to Europe to purchase the rails.
At this juncture opposition sprang up, a pamphlet containing many misrepresentations was published and distributed among the banks and rail-makers in London, Paris and Wales, and when the negotiations were completed excepting the details, he was thwarted in the great undertaking. He then called upon Vorse, Perkins & Co., who had a house in London and also one in New York, doing a commission business for railroad companies in America, and after much negotiation, made a contract with that firm, agreeing to pay them $12,000 of mortgage bonds per mile upon the road-bed, $100,000 worth of real estate bonds, and $100,000 of Evansville city bonds, which the city had subscribed, but not then delivered. All excepting the Evansville bonds he had with him; and these latter were to be handed over, in July of the same year, to the commission-house of Vorse, Perkins & Co. in New York city. Mr. Carpenter now wrote in full to the vice-president, Mr. H. D. Allis, urging him to call the city council together immediately and ask them to deliver the $100,000 bonds to Vorse, Perkins & Co. in New York.
The enemies of the road were now at work in his own city, and the council refused. Mr. Carpenter then offered, if they would consent, to secure them by mortgaging all the real estate he held in the city and County, which was extensive, indemnifying the city, so that the road should be built and cars should be running over the first fifty-five miles to the Ohio and Mississippi crossing by the next December, 1859. This the council very unwisely refused to do, owing to the selfishness of the opposition party. This caused the failure of the Straight Line railroad a great detriment to Evansville and a great mortification to Mr. Carpenter, who had spent five years of his time, had been once to Europe and fourteen times to New York, all at his own expense. This was thirty years ago. Since that time the business citizens of Evansville have had time to reflect on the mistake they made, and have rectified the same, so far as possible, by at last building the road.
In 1865 through Mr. Carpenter's donations, the Christian Home was founded. It consisted of grounds and a large new house of twelve rooms. This act of charity was for the reform of homeless girls who had gone astray. His donations in this behalf amounted to about $10,000. To the various churches of Evansville he gave over $14,000.00. In 1840 he erected a building upon his own land and established the poor house system, whereby the paupers were kept at a great saving to the County. This was accomplished during his five years' service as County Commissioner.
He also advanced liberally of his own means for repairing and corduroying roads, and as an evidence of the appreciation of his worth in this particular, he was elected the second term to his office over his own protest. In 1851 he was elected a member of the legislature, and served during the long term of the session of 1851-2. While here he was active in getting through several important measures, among them bills for the equalization of taxation; for lowering the salaries of county officers. and for raising those of state officers. The Willard library is an example of munificence seldom witnessed. The history of this benefaction is elsewhere recorded in these pages. The endowment of this institution was the crowning success of the noble life-work of this unpretending and unassuming man.
Foremost in all enterprises intended for the general good, taking an active part in all questions of state and County policy, he invariably threw his influence in favor of what was right and advantageous for all the community. The latter years of his life were devoted almost entirely to philanthropic purposes. He died November 6, 1883, full of years and full of honor. His wife, who was to him a helpmeet in all that the word implies, died June 30, 1884. Five children were born to them, of whom only two survive, Louisa and Albert W.
end
http://www.willard.lib.in.us/
Willard Library web page
http://hauntedhalls.com/?tag=willard-carpenter
Willard Library Hauntings
Scrappy Kat
Copyright 2004 Dana Cormaney
Largely known for its wonderful collection of art books and research materials but it’s famous for its ghosts…..
Willard Carpenter was a citizen and benefactor of Evansville, Indiana beginning in 1837 and was best known for his philanthropist lifestyle. He was a generous man, with a diverse history who was instrumental in the development of several community projects, all geared towards the betterment of Evansville and it’s residents.
One of his most notable contributions is the Willard Library for which he donated land and paid construction costs. Located at 21 First Avenue in Evansville, Indiana, Willard Library is an impressive Victorian Gothic style building dating back to 1885. It is the oldest public library in the state (being nearly 120 years old at the time of this writing) and was inducted into the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The building itself has changed over time but continues to exhibit many points of detail including high ceilings, large windows for light, stained glass windows, and beautifully carved wood staircases. The library is widely known for its incredible Thrall Art Book Collection, which includes rare and valuable volumes and magazines, many that are still in circulation on a limited basis. It also houses a tremendous amount of research, area history and genealogy materials in the Regional and Family History Center, which is visited by about 18,000 people annually.
Willard Library may be largely known for its wonderful collection of art books and research materials but it’s famous for its ghosts…..
The most notable apparition is known as “The Grey Lady.” A former janitor first reported a “Grey Lady” sighting in the building’s basement in a winter month sometime in the 1930s. The ghost was seen just after 3 am and was clothed in early 1800s style attire. The janitor promptly quit and was replaced. The second janitor’s first encounter with the Grey Lady was when he bumped into her in the basement around the same hour. After numerous similar encounters, he quit too.
The basement was almost destroyed by a storm in 1977. After undergoing extensive renovation in 1980, the room was dedicated to Margaret Maier because of her 40 year employment service to the library. Ironically enough, Margaret Maier had seen the Grey Lady ghost many times herself. Helen Kamm, a well liked storyteller and Children’s Room assistant from 1957-1980, also saw the ghost on a regular basis. The Grey Lady apparently liked the librarians so much that it moved into Margaret’s home that she shared with her sister, Ruth. This continued during the 4 month library renovation. Both sisters saw the ghost on a regular basis during its stay. She would materialize in full at times, at other times turning on the clothes dryer, and sometimes by the overpowering scent of her unmistakable perfume (strange aromas are commonly reported at haunted sites). The ghost returned to the library after the construction ended.
After Margaret Maier retired, the haunting slowed but did not stop. To this day, The Children’s Room remains a popular haunting spot for residing spirits and people continue to report sightings. It is thought by some that children have the ability to communicate with ghosts and maybe that can explain the popularity of this room for spirits.
Many believe the Grey Lady spirit to be that of the deceased Louise Carpenter, Willard’s estranged daughter. Upon Willard’s passing, Louise thought she would inherit a large fortune. Instead, she received nothing and the library received a handsome amount. Louise was furious and took the issue to court 1890’s hoping to claim what she felt was hers. To her dismay, she lost. It is thought that she haunts the library that took her inheritance. Others disagree with this theory because the ghost’s clothing is of an earlier period than the 1890s, and believe that the ghost is a confused and gentle soul, not that of the more hardened and resentful Louise Carpenter. But who could it be?
Well-known parapsychologist Lucille Warren conducted an investigation at the library in 1985, hoping to learn more about the Grey Lady ghost. After the spirit materialized in the Children’s Room, Mrs. Warren was able to give a full description of the ghost. While the ghost did not communicate directly with Warren, Lucille felt that the ghost was not intending to haunt the library. Warren envisioned the ghost as a woman staring into a pool of water, possibly the canal located nearby that she may have committed suicide by drowning in, although this has never been historically confirmed. Warren felt that the spirit was originally haunting the field that the library was built on and is now confused by the library’s presence.
Is there only one spirit at the Willard Library? Could former employees love the library so much that they refuse to leave? In the Early 1990s, a child claimed to have seen the ghosts of Margaret Maier and the Grey Lady in the Children’s Room. Other paranormal happenings besides sightings of apparitions continue to occur on a regular basis, such as the unmistakable and strong aroma of the Grey Lady’s perfume, the opening and closing of facility doors, and the turning on and off of lights and bathroom faucets when there is no one present. Since, the library has installed several web cams and created a very popular website, the Evansville Courier & Press Ghost Cam – Willard Library. Visitors to the site have been very successful in capturing numerous apparitions on film.
RESOURCES Willard Library photo courtesy of Library Images Page content compiled from the official Willard Library , Evansville Courier & Press Ghost Cam , Willard Carpenter Biography , and Eerie Indiana web sites.
(pictures on web page)
http://www.realhaunts.com/united-states/the-gray-lady/
The Gray Lady
Evansville , Indiana
When this building was an abandoned train station, many drifters and hobos used it for shelter. During that time, a woman was murdered on the premises, and she haunts the building today. Her presence is most often felt in the children’s library, and the scent of her perfume is present on Halloween.
http://www.willardghost.com/?content=whoistheghost
Who is the Ghost?
Popular lore considers Louise Carpenter, daughter of Willard Carpenter, to be the ghost.
Willard left the bulk of the family fortune to support the library. While he provided for his family, Louise was unhappy and she sued the library over her father’s estate; she considered it her inheritance. She lost. Louise questioned her father’s sanity during the trial and was apparently quite angry over the whole situation. Louise was very much like her father, which is probably why they didn’t get along very well. Some say she held a grudge against the library and its trustees, and that might explain why she haunts the Willard Library to this day.
However, Louise died in 1908, in Newark, NJ, 29 years before the first reported sighting of the Grey Lady.
Others say the ghost has something to do with the property, or the land. Their thinking is that the ghost has never been seen as a malevolent figure. Some who have worked at the Willard Library for a number of years actually regard the Grey Lady as just another staff member. They just take it for granted that they would see the Lady in Grey every so often.
Some psychics who have visited the library have said yes, it’s Louise; others say no, it’s not.
One psychic went into a long trance when she visited Willard Library. She was in the trance so long that her husband had to coax her out of the spell. She said she had communicated with a woman, and while this woman couldn’t actually speak, she was sure it was not Louise. The woman was overwhelmed with grief, perhaps due to the loss of a loved one. She said she could sense the image of a child near a body of water. She also said the ghost wore her hair in a chignon, which is a roll or knot of hair worn at the back of the head; this is exactly the same way Margaret Maier describes the Grey Lady’s hair.
While there are nearby bodies of water, there has never been an indication of water on this property. The Ohio River is nearby, and the terminus of the Wabash & Erie Canal is close to where the old court house used to stand. There are some who speculate the psychic may have seen a watering trough for horses near the Willard property.
18928.
Harvey Carpenter
10033.
Timothy E Carpenter
10034.
Harvey Carpenter
http://www.interment.net/data/us/ny/washington/woodland/woodland%5Fblca.htm
Woodlands Cemetery
Cambridge, Washington County, New York
Contributed by Linda Marra, [shewhocan@earthlink.net]
Carpenter, Bertha, b. 1878, d. 1914, par: Elias Carpenter, Flora Ray, Sec. "O 58, 60"
Carpenter, Calvin E., b. 1859, d. 1912, par: Chas. H. Carpenter, Waity Cottrell, Sec. O 212
Carpenter, Charles Henry, b. 1852, d. 1927, sp. Eva J. Harsha, par: Harvey Carpenter, Mary Elizabeth, Sec. T 66
Carpenter, Elias, b. 1845, d. 1924, sp. Flora E. Ray, par: John Carpenter, Sarah, Sec. O 58
Carpenter, Emma S., b. 1861, d. 1933, sp. Calvin Edgar Carpenter, par: Israel SHerman, Nancy Filk, Sec. O 212
Carpenter, Eva Carrie, b. 1883, d. 1954, par: Charles Henry Carpenter, Jeanette Harsha, Sec. T 66
Carpenter, Eva J. Harsha, b. 1854, d. 1907, sp. Chas. H. Carpenter, par: Charles G. harsha, Lilly M. Patten, Sec. "T 66, 68"
Carpenter, Flora E., b. 1852, d. 1928, sp. Elias Carpenter, par: Jarvis Ray, Amanda Young, Sec. O 58
Carpenter, Guy, b., d. 1935, sp. Marion Collins, par: Calvin E. Carpenter, Emma Sherman, Sec. O 212
Carpenter, Harvey, b. 1819, d. 1897, par: Ephraim Carpenter, Elizabeth Prescott, Sec. C 43
Carpenter, Mary Elizabeth, b. 1864, d. 1957, par: Harvey Carpenter, Mary Livingston, Sec. C 42
Carpenter, Maud Haywood, b. 1876, d. 1954, sp. Winifred H Carpenter, par: Henry Haywood, Rosanna Brady, Sec. O 60
Carpenterr, Mary E., b. 1824, d. 1890, sp. Harvey Carpenter, par: Wm. Livingston, Elizabeth A. Paterson, Sec. C 41