History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. Page: 616

616 HThTORY OF TEXAS.

Carpenter and family, with many others,
passed through this dark time and sowed the
seed. of civilization which their posterity now
enjoy. A man of intelligence, good judginent,
progressive and public-spirited, Mr.
Carpenter was frequently called upon to fill
positions of honor and trust. Of high moral
character, he won the confidence and esteem
of all by his upright dealings and correct living.
lie was an active and consistent member
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, contributing
of his means and influence to the
advancement of its cause. Ile married Mary
Long, and they had eight children: Andrew,
deceased; Isaac, deceased; Joseph Asbury,
who died in the Confederate army during the
late war. Wiley, the present clerk of Caldwell
county; Calvin, deceased; Amelia, wife
of J. 1I. Fleming, a minister of the Baptist
Church; Bettie, widow of B. F. Fry, who
died in the army; and John, who also died in
the Confederate service.
Of these, Joseph Asbury Carpenter was
the father of the subject of this sketch. He
was born in Alabama, October 23, 1829, and
was seven years of age when his parents removed
to the Lone Star State. Owing to the
newness of the country and consequent
scarcity of schools, he enjoyed but limited
educational advantages, but of a naturally
quick intelligence and observing disposition,
with a reflective turn of thought, he became
well informed, while his character was molded
to habits of industry and truth by enlightened
and God-fearing parents. His youth was
pasted in helping his father clear and improve
wild land for their frontier home. On reaching
man's estate, he was married to Elizabeth
May, daughter of A. G. and Margaret (Caldwell)
May, prominent pioneer settlers and respected
residents of Texas, mention 9f whom
is made in this volume. After marriage,

Mr. Carpenter was overseer of a plantation
for a time, but finally purchased a tract of
land, on which he erected a residence and was
beginning to clear his farm when the ominous
clouds of war began to overshadow the
country, and an appeal was made to the
patriotic men of the South to go to war in
defense of her time-honored institutions. Mr.
Carpenter was one of the first to respond to
the call, and enlisted in 1861 in Company K.
of Colonel Allen's regiment, being assigned
to duty in the Department of the West. In
1862, he was detailed to the recruiting service
and returned to his home county. While
here he was taken ill with a severe attack 'of
measles, but, being ambitious to faithfully
perform his duty to his country, he did not
wait to recover, but arose from his bed and
accompanied his recruits to the seat of war.
He arrived in camp on the White river, near
Little Rock, Arkansas, but disease was still
lurking in his system, and he was soon afterward
stricken with pneumonia, from which
he never recovered. He died in camp, November
14, 1862, and filled a soldier's grave,
away from his loved ones and all most near
and dear. Mrs. Carpenter was thus left in
the early days of the war, with five children,
the oldest of whom was but eight years of
age, and in almost destitute circumstances in
a country where nearly all the able-bodied
men were in the war and everything in an
unsettled condition. This brave woman,
however, courageously struggled with poverty,
enduring all hardships with Christian fortitude,
and made a home for herself and little
ones, rearing her children in such a manner
that they have all become usef*u members of
society and a blessing to her name. These
children were: A. W., whose name heads this
sketch; Joseph A., also of Williamson county;
Mary, wife of T. W. Kelley, of Travis county;

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HISTOR Y OF TEXAS.