William Waters Carpenter (1878 - 1968)

Born 15 Jan 1878 in Grandview Township, Lyon, Minnesota, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (MacGillivray) Carpenter — married 20 Mar 1901 in Grand Forks, ND

Descendants

Died 24 Aug 1968 at age 90 in Portage, Columbia, Wisconsin, United States

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Biography

Will Carpenter was born in Minnesota in 1878; his parents had relocated there from Sutton, MA, where the Carpenter family had a long history. Will and his brothers engaged in several businesses as well as farming; they had a broom factory on the grounds of the famiy farm, which was destroyed by fire in the early 1900's. After the destruction of the broom-making facility, the brothers established a traveling threshing business. The Carpenter brothers owned the equipment needed to harvest wheat, and would travel throughout the midwest from Mexico to Canada helping farmers bring in their crops. When the business began, the rigs were pulled by teams of horses; later they were mechanized. Will Carpenter had many practical accomplishments; he could ride and drive horses, knew broommaking, carpentry, and when motorized vehicles came along became a competent mechanic. In 1900, on a visit to his older sister, Mary "Mame" Clark, who lived in Grand Forks, ND, Will met Margaret McGillivray; the two of them fell in love and became engaged almost immediately, and were married in March, 1901. They were married for 67 years.

Sources

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177789686/william-w-carpenter : accessed 01 January 2022), memorial page for William W “Will” Carpenter (1878–1968), Find a Grave Memorial ID 177789686, citing Crystal Lake Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA ; Maintained by Jen Shaffer (contributor 48755245).