El
Dorado County
Biographies
WILLIAM HENRY CARPENTER
William
H. Carpenter, who is the owner of a general store and fills the office of
postmaster at Rescue, El Dorado County, has long been regarded as one of the
leading and influential men of his community.
He was born at Adrian, Michigan, on the 19th of January,
1852, a son of George William and Mary (Harkness)
Carpenter, who came to this state in 1866 and 1892, respectively. Both are now deceased.
William
H. Carpenter received his educational training in public and private schools in
New York State, where he lived to the age of eighteen years, when, in 1870, he
came to California, arriving at Latrobe on the 8th of June. He had learned the machinist trade, and,
going to the mines, he was employed in various lines of work for about twenty
years. On June 23, 1896, he came to
Rescue, where he has since resided.
During his mining days he was in all parts of El Dorado County and his
experiences in those days were full of both romance and hardships. His step-father was the owner of the present
store in Rescue and his wife went east, in 1898, leaving the store to her son
William H., who also took over the post office.
He has conducted both store and office continuously since and is today
the oldest postmaster, in point of years of continuous service, in the state of
California. He carries a large and well
selected stock of merchandise, such as is demanded by the local trade, and,
through his courtesy and square dealing, has not only gained a good patronage,
but has retained the confidence of those who have dealt with him. Mr. Carpenter was united in marriage
to Miss Mary Turnboo, a native of Solano County, this
state, and they are the parents of seven children, George H., Minnie E., Merritt
W., Maurice, Hazel, Robert and Helen.
Mr. Carpenter takes a keen interest in public affairs, but in voting
follows his judgment as to men and measures, regardless of party lines. He is a member of the First, Third and Fourth
Class Postmasters Association and attends all of its conventions, where he is
always honored as the dean of postmasters in this state.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3, Pages 55-56. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden
Nugget Library's El Dorado County Biographies