Dewitt Carpenter

  General Notes:

(XVI) DeWitt, second son of Asaph Homer and Almira (Clark) Carpenter, was born May 30, 1832, on the paternal homestead in Homer, which be still owns, the only place in the section still held by a descendant of the original settler. He attended the local schools of the town until the age of seventeen years, when he went to Boston and learned the engravers' trade. After an apprenticeship of four years he continued two years as journeyman with the same employer and later formed a partnership with Mr. A. F. Pollock, with whom he conducted business under the firm name of A. F. Pollock & Company for two years. During his residence in Boston in going to and from over the Mill Dam road he frequently met the poet Longfellow, who was wont to take outdoor exercise on horseback. He was also thrown in contact with the historian, William H. Prescott. On account of ill-health, Mr. Carpenter was obliged to abandon his business in Boston and return to Homer. Having recuperated, he went to Northport, Long Island, and in company with his brother, Francis B. Carpenter, conducted a farm for some time. Again returning to the homestead in Homer, he was actively engaged in agriculture until 1907, when he removed to the village of Homer, his present place of residence. He was known as a progressive, industrious, up-to-date farmer, and has contributed extensively to agricultural magazines and other public prints. He has recently completed a treatise on farmings entitled, "Facts for Farmers; to the Farmers, by a Farmer, for the Farmers," and this has been widely distributed by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad. This has been warmly endorsed by acting director, H. J. Weber, of the State College of Agriculture, Cornell University, and many others. Mr. Carpenter is a member of the Congregational Church of Homer, which his father assisted in founding. He has never been an office seeker, but has always been actively interested in the conduct of public affairs and is an apostle of clean living for the home, state and nation.
He married, September 25, 1855, Adeline Ball, born June 28, 1832, in Pompey, New York, daughter of Stephen C. and Patty (Johnson) Ball. Stephen C. Ball, son of Libbeus Ball, was a soldier of the war of 1812. Children: 1. Cora Almira, born at Northport, Long Island, in 1860, resides at home with her parents. 2. Violette Augusta, born in Homer, December 30, 1861, is the wife of Orren Bugbee, of Cortland, New York, now principal of a public school in Buffalo, New York. They have a son, Kenneth Carpenter Bugbee, born in 1893. 3. Helen Marr, born in Homer, May 25, 1866, married Clarence Knapp, of Homer, and resides on the paternal homestead, having three sons: Lawrence Carpenter, Leslie Edward and Harold Clarence.
[Family History of Central NY, Vol. III, Central New York Family Histories, pages 1317-21]

  Noted events in his life were:

• Census, 1880, Homer, Cortland, NY. ¹³⁵⁶

• Residence: Carpenter Dwitt C. 165, Homer, 1889, Homer, Cortland, NY. ¹²⁷¹

Dewitt married Adeline A. Ball, daughter of Stephen C. Ball and Patricia Johnson, on 25 Sep 1855.¹⁰⁸³ (Adeline A. Ball was born on 28 Jun 1832 in Pompey, Onondaga, NY ¹⁰⁸³.)