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Carpenter Family Papers
The Carpenter family papers include Brigadier General Louis Henry Carpenter's military papers and Civil War-era correspondence, as well as more than 200 years of correspondence, genealogical material, and other papers related to the Carpenter family of New Jersey. The Carpenter family was among...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Collection: | Carpenter Family Papers |
| Collection Number: | 0115 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects and Genres: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
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| Item Description: |
Processing Information: This collection was formerly titled "Louis H. Carpenter estate papers." The content of the collection has not changed, but the title was changed in 2010.
At some point, a 1780 broadside belonging to Thomas Carpenter was moved to the HSP Broadsides Collection (Call number Ab 1780-15). |
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| Physical Description: |
5.3 Linear feet ; 5 boxes, 18 volumes, 1 flat file |
| Access: |
This collection is open for research. |
| Summary: |
The Carpenter family papers include Brigadier General Louis Henry Carpenter's military papers and Civil War-era correspondence, as well as more than 200 years of correspondence, genealogical material, and other papers related to the Carpenter family of New Jersey. The Carpenter family was among the first settlers of the Philadelphia area and established several towns in Salem and Gloucester counties, New Jersey. They also had ties to numerous prominent families in the Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic region during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The collection offers insights into a variety of topics, including the Revolutionary War in the Philadelphia region; the early history of Haddon Township, N.J.; medicine in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; and life as a Union soldier during the Civil War. The Carpenter family papers include Brigadier General Louis Henry Carpenter's military papers and Civil War-era correspondence, family correspondence, miscellaneous family papers, and genealogical materials. The collection offers insights into a variety of disparate topics, including the Revolutionary War in the Philadelphia region; the early history of Haddon Township, N.J.; medicine in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; and the Civil War. This collection was processed according to the "more product, less processing" model, and is not arranged into series. Folders are arranged alphabetically by folder title, with oversized items grouped in Box 5 and Flat File 1. Louis Henry Carpenter's military papers span his entire thirty-eight-year U.S. Army career. Two bound volumes (vols. 17-18) contain his correspondence home to his mother, father, and occasional other correspondents during the Civil War, and provide a detailed account of his life as a soldier. Five bound volumes (vols. 8-12) preserve his military orders, commissions, and other correspondence. Volume 13 is a scrapbook of newspaper clippings related to the battles and campaigns in which Carpenter was involved. A folder of loose military papers (Box 3, Folder 8) includes a handwritten history of Carpenter's military service. The collection also includes more than 200 years of family correspondence concerning topics as varied as the Revolutionary War, the early history of Haddon Township, N.J., and assorted news of acquaintances, family happenings, and health issues. Correspondents include Samuel Carpenter, John Estaugh, Isaac Norris, Preston Carpenter, Dr. James Stratton, Mary Stratton, Edward Carpenter, Charles C. Stratton (Box 2, Folder 5), and Thomas P. Carpenter, among many others. The collection contains a fair amount of Carpenter family genealogical material. A folder of genealogical research (Box 3, Folder 7) includes correspondence and records related to research conducted in London about the Carpenter family, while other genealogical materials include reminiscences and family notes (Box 3, folders 5-6); an obituary for Thomas P. Carpenter (Box 4, Folder 3); and pamphlets and programs related to family history (Box 4, Folder 4). Volume 14 appears to be a handwritten copy of Edward Carpenter's 1912 book on Samuel Carpenter and his descendants (listed in the bibliography), and includes illuminated initial letters and scroll work done by Edward. Volumes 15-16 contain Thomas P. Carpenter's memoranda on the Carpenter family, including printed ephemera, newsclippings, and some correspondence. The rest of the collection is a highly miscellaneous mix of family papers. Financial and legal papers include bills and receipts (Box 1, Folder 2); various account statements, including the estate settlements of Samuel Carpenter, William Hicks and John Carpenter (Box 1, Folder 1); numerous wills (Box 4, Folder 10; Box 5, Folder 6); a copy of Thomas Carpenter's affidavit concerning his service in the War of the Revolution (Box 1, Folder 3); and legal papers from a case that Thomas P. Carpenter argued in 1843-1844 regarding allegations that a county sheriff assaulted a woman. Property records include deeds (Box 3, folders 1-4); surveys, agreements and transfers (Box 4, folders 7-8); a plan of Carpenter's Landing (Flat File 1); and documents describing the 1807 division of Glassborough, N.J., real estate owned by Thomas Carpenter and Thomas Heston, including maps of the lots (Box 1, Folder 1; Box 5, Folder 3). A small group of family photographs can be found in Box 1, Folder 5, and other miscellaneous photographs, portraits, and prints can be found in Box 5 (folders 2, 4-5), including a single photo of James Edward Carpenter with his Dining Club of the Loyal Legion. Other notable materials in the collection include broadsides regarding the sale of timber near Glassborough, N.J. (Box 5, Folder 1); miscellaneous newsclippings and printed material; Thomas Carpenter's account book circa 1811-1812 (Box 4, Folder 9); and 1759 provision tables for His Majesty's forces in North America (Box 4, Folder 6). A printed biography of Elizabeth Haddon Estaugh (Box 1, Folder 8) describes one of the first residents of what is now known as Haddonfield, N.J. Seven volumes belonging to Dr. James Stratton (vols. 1-7) provide a glimpse into the work of a late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century doctor, recording his patients' payments, medicines, and services received. |