Alonzo Philetus Carpenter (January 22, 1829 – May 21, 1898) was an associate justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court from 1881 to 1896, and was chief justice of that court from 1896 to 1898.

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Waterford, Vermont Waterford is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,268 at the 2020 census. History The town was formed by the Vermont charter on November 8, 1780, and was originally called Littleton, but the name was chang ...

, Carpenter attended

St. Johnsbury Academy St. Johnsbury Academy (SJA) is an independent, private, coeducational, non-profit boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in the United States. The academy enrolls students in grades 9-12. It was founded by Thaddeus Fairbanks ...

, entered Williams College in 1845 and graduated in 1849.Clark Bell, ed., ''The Medico-legal Journal'', Vol. 18 (1900), Supplement, p. 82-83."Judge Alonzo P. Carpenter", ''Brattleboro Evening Phoenix'' (May 24, 1898), p. 1. He then became principal of the high school in

Bath, New Hampshire Bath is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2020 census, unchanged from the 2010 census. Now a tourist destination and commuter town for Littleton, the town is noted for its historic architectu ...

, where he also

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in the office of Ira Goodall, gaining admission to the bar in New Hampshire in 1853. He entered the private practice of law in Bath, also serving as County Solicitor (the prosecuting officer) for

Grafton County Grafton County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,118. Its county seat is North Haverhill, a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices ...

from 1863 to 1873. A Republican, Carpenter became "one of the foremost lawyers of the State, if not one of the leaders of the Bar".

Judicial service

In September 1881, Governor Charles H. Bell appointed Carpenter to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and Carpenter therefore moved to Concord, the state capital. On March 26, 1896, Governor Charles A. Busiel elevated Carpenter to the office of Chief Justice, which had been vacated by the death of Chief Justice

Charles Cogswell Doe Charles Cogswell Doe (April 11, 1830 – March 9, 1896) was an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of New Hampshire from 1859 to 1874, and then, after a brief period when the court was dissolved to be reorganized as the New Hampshire ...

. This was "in response to the almost unanimous voice of the Bar of the State". Carpenter assumed the office on April 1, 1896, and remained until his death. Carpenter was prominently mentioned in connection with the vacancy on the bench of the United States Circuit Court, in the First Circuit, caused by the resignation of Judge John Lowell in 1884. His appointment was "urged with great vigor by the entire New Hampshire Bar," but President Chester A. Arthur appointed

LeBaron B. Colt LeBaron Bradford Colt (June 25, 1846 – August 18, 1924) was a United States senator from Rhode Island and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and of the United States Circuit Courts for the ...

of Rhode Island instead.

Personal life and death

Carpenter married Julia R. Goddall in Bath in 1852. She had been one of his students during his time as principal of the high school there. Of their five children, four were living at the time of his death, among them Philip Carpenter, who practiced law in the city of New York, having been in partnership with his father before Carpenter's appointment to the bench. His second daughter, Edith, the wife of Bond V. Thomas, of Millville, New Jersey, wrote a prize-winning story for a competition sponsored by the ''New York Herald''.

Lilian Carpenter Streeter Lilian Carpenter Streeter (July 22, 1854 – March 29, 1935) was an American social reformer, organizational founder, clubwoman, and author. She founded the Concord Woman's Club, and the New Hampshire Federation of Woman's Clubs. Having lived in ...

was a social reformer, clubwoman, and author. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon Judge Carpenter by Williams College in 1889. He suffered a paralytic stroke while on the bench at Concord, and died a few days later."Chief Justice Dead", ''The Meriden Journal'' (May 21, 1898), p. 8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Alonzo P. 1829 births 1898 deaths People from Caledonia County, Vermont St. Johnsbury Academy alumni Williams College alumni U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law New Hampshire Republicans Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court 19th-century American judges