George Moulton Carpenter, Jr.

George Moulton Carpenter, Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
In office December 18, 1884 – July 31, 1896
Nominated by	Chester A. Arthur
Preceded by	LeBaron B. Colt
Personal details
Born	April 22, 1844 Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Died	July 31, 1896 (aged 52) Netherlands

George Moulton Carpenter, Junior (1844 – 1896) was a newspaper reporter, lawyer, elected Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Providence Rhode Island and appointed as a United States District Judge for the District of Rhode Island.^[1]

Early life

Carpenter was born in Portsmouth, Newport county, Rhode Island on April 22, 1844 and is a descendant of the immigrant William Carpenter (1605 England - 1658/1659 Rehoboth, Massachusetts) the founder of the Rehoboth Carpenter family who came to America in the mid-1630s.^[2]

His father was George Moulton Carpenter (Sr.) (August 6, 1815 Rehoboth, Massachusetts - June 7, 1883 Providence county, Rhode Island) who was a Methodist Clergyman and afterwards an insurance agent. His mother was Sarah Lewis Walcott (January 27, 1821 Cumberland, Rhode Island - March 6, 1869 Providence county, Rhode Island). His parents were married on July 10, 1843 in Bristol County, Massachusetts. They had two children:

• George Moulton Carpenter, Jr. - the subject of this article
• Edmund Janes Carpenter (October 16, 1845 North Attleboro, Massachusetts - February 21, 1924 Milton, Massachusetts) was a Journalist, Author and Historian. He married and had six children.

George M. Carpenter, Jr. resided for some time in the locale of his birthplace. Then with his family he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts where he attended the public schools of that city and afterwards finishing his common education at the grammar schools of Providence.

Carpenter graduated with honors from Brown University in 1864. While attending this university he was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

He was a Reporter for the Providence Evening Press and Providence Daily Journal from 1864 to 1867.

He was admitted to the Bar in 1867 and was in private practice in Providence, Rhode Island from 1867 to 1882.^[3]

Federal service

In April 1882 Carpenter was elected to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Providence. He resigned that position on 1 January 1885, and on the next day became United States District Judge for the district of Rhode Island. Carpenter was nominated by President Chester A. Arthur on December 16, 1884, to a seat vacated by LeBaron B. Colt. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 18, 1884, and received his commission the same day. Carpenter's service was terminated on July 31, 1896, due to death. This information is from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges.

The Masonic Square and Compasses.
(Found with or without the letter G)

Untimely death

He died suddenly while on a European tour for his health in the seaside resort town of Katwijk aan Zee, South Holland, the Netherlands on July 31, 1896.^[4]

Carpenter had been involved in various historical subjects and projects.^[5][6] He had risen to the 33rd degree of Freemasonry and served as a Mason for over fourteen years before his death.^[7]

His interment was at Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Rhode Island on September 30, 1896.^[8]

References

1. Carpenter, Amos B. A Genealogical History of the Rehoboth Branch of the Carpenter Family in America, a.k.a. "The Carpenter Memorial", Press of Carpenter & Morehouse, Amherst, Mass., 1898, reprinted and duplicated by many organizations in print, CD, and DVD formats. Subject is number 7574 on page 720 in the Carpenter Memorial. See extensive notes on pages 720 to 722. *Note: This 900-plus page tome was remarkable for its day, but many corrections has been made in the genealogies it contains over the last century. The best compiled corrections to this work and related lines is in the "Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2009", data DVD format. *Note:The Boston Public Library has attempted to OCR this book in its Internet Archive. It has some OCR related errors and takes time to load the 900 plus pages. No pictures are provided on this site for this book. See: https://archive.org/stream/genealogicalhist00carp/genealogicalhist00carp_djvu.txt
2. Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2009 (DVD format), Subject is RIN 22887; this work contains updates to the 1898 Carpenter Memorial by Amos B. Carpenter
3. Carpenter, Amos B. A Genealogical History of the Rehoboth Branch of the Carpenter Family in America, a.k.a. "The Carpenter Memorial"
4. Carpenter, Amos B. A Genealogical History of the Rehoboth Branch of the Carpenter Family in America, a.k.a. "The Carpenter Memorial"
5. http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetMan?jid=380 Carpenter, George Moulton, U. S. District Court, District of Rhode Island (1884-1896) - Rhode Island Historical Society - Providence, R.I. - Papers, 1889-1890. 3 items; collection contains the text of 3 historical addresses given by Carpenter.
6. Boston Public Library has a text of these three subjects at: https://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3A"cdl"+AND+subject%3A"Washington%2C+George%2C+1732-1799"&groupby=mediatype
7. Carpenter, Amos B. A Genealogical History of the Rehoboth Branch of the Carpenter Family in America, a.k.a. "The Carpenter Memorial"
8. http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/carpenter-carper.html#RYG05Y1EO Carpenter, George Moulton (1844-1896) — of Rhode Island. Born in Portsmouth, Newport County, R.I., April 22, 1844. Justice of Rhode Island state supreme court, 1882-85; U.S. District Judge for Rhode Island, 1885. Died July 31, 1896. Interment at Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, R.I.

• George Moulton Carpenter, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.