Kelleys Island Ancestry

Obituary

Charles Carpenter was a prominent citizen of Kelleys Island, where he re-sided for over thirty-five years, was born at Norwich, Connecticut on October 19, 1810. His ancestor, on his father's side, came to America in the ship Bevis, about 1655.

His father, Gardner Carpenter, a resident of Norwich, Connecticut was for a short time paymaster under General Washington; was postmaster of Norwich for fifteen years; was an extensive merchant and ship-owner in the West India and European trade; but, by disasters at sea during 1812-1815, lost nearly all his property. He died April 26, 1815.

He married Mary Huntington, Oct, 29,1791. This lady, mother of Charles Carpenter, was descended from the first white male child born in South- eastern Connecticut. The Carpenter family was heirs to the great Carpenter estate in England, and the family coat-of-arms is cut upon some of the tombstones in Massachusetts. Mr. Carpenter was a prominent horticulturist, and was appointed by the Grape-growers' Association.

He assisted F. R. Elliott in organizing the fruit and floral department of the first Ohio State Fair at Cincinnati, and has since been identified more or less with it, -frequently solicited to superintend it. He is an honorary member of the Cincinnati and other horticultural societies.

From an early day he took a deep interest in the artificial propagation of fish; was active and prominent in inducing the State to experiment in the propagation of white-fish, and at present has charge of the branch of the State Fish Hatchery, on Kelleys Island. He was an enthusiastic advocate of grape-culture, and the pioneer in this portion of Ohio, having planted the first acre of grapes on the island; and, perhaps, no person has had a greater variety under cultivation at one time.

Charles Carpenter married Caroline Kelley, second daughter of Datus and Sarah Kelley, at Kelleys Island, November 7, 1844. Mr. Carpenter resided on the farm purchased by him nearly thirty-five years ago. Much of the success in fruit culture, to which Kelleys Island is a part of, can be attributed to Charles Carpenter.