Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections
Cage 171
Carpenter family
Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers
1880-1972
8 Linear feet of shelf space
16 Boxes
Correspondence and other papers of the Carpenter and Richardson families of Cle Elum, Washington.
Collection materials are in English
The Carpenter-Richardson family established itself in Cle Elum, Washington in 1906
when Frank Carpenter, a native of Girard, Illinois, arrived and organized the Cle
Elum State Bank. Norah Carr, also of Girard, joined him at Cle Elum in 1908 and they
married soon after. Their daughter, Margaret, was born at Cle Elum about two years
after her parents' marriage. In 1943, she married Dr. John Purver Richardson, a
physician from Ellensburg, Washington. John Richardson died in 1953, Frank Carpenter
in 1959, Norah Carpenter in 1962, and Margaret Carpenter Richardson in 1973. During
its sixty-seven years in Cle Elum, the family's place was among the community's
relatively well-to-do elite. It was supported by Frank Carpenter's income from the
Cle Elum State Bank, a small state bank with branches at Cle Elum and Roslyn, and
from his various investments in local real estate. This income enabled his family to
conduct a style of life which included an expensive house, travel around the United
States, and boarding schools for daughter Margaret.
Margaret Carpenter, the principal figure in the Carpenter-Richardson papers, first
attended Annie Wright Seminary in Tacoma and then Sarah Lawrence College in
Bronxville, New York. Ill at ease in school, despite excellent academic performance,
Margaret left Sarah Lawrence in her sophomore year and attempted to find a career
in, successively New York, Washington D. C., and San Francisco. Meeting with little
success, she returned to Cle Elum and took a modest positon at the bank her father
managed. She continued to travel, participate in amateur theatrical productions, and
carry on correspondence with a cosmopolitan circle of acquaintances from her college
days. In 1943, she quietly married Dr. John Richardson, founder and partner in an
Ellensburg clinic, and for several years continued her life much as before, adopting
Dr. Richardson's name only in about 1948. After her husband's death in 1953,
Margaret returned to her association with her parents in Cle Elum. After their
deaths, she adopted a daughter, Susi. She also became involved in various local
volunteer activities, such as the Cle Elum Historical Society. She lost her sight in
1968, but remained active until her death in 1973.
The Carpenter-Richardson family papers consist of about 4,000 items, mostly letters
received by four members of the family: Cle Elum banker Frank Carpenter, his wife
Norah Carr Carpenter, their daughter Margaret Carpenter Richardson, and her husband
Dr. John P. Richardson. The papers concern the movement of the family from Illinois
to Washington State, the operation of the Cle Elum State Bank, the education of
Margaret Carpenter at Annie Wright Seminary and Sarah Lawrence College, the medical
practice of Dr. Richardson, and personal relations of members of the family. As each
member of the family wrote to other members, the papers accordingly contain some
letters written by the respective members and received by others. A larger portion
of the papers, however, consists of letters written by persons outside the immediate
family. Many from earlier dates are written by sisters and cousins of Norah Carr
Carpenter. Those from a later time, addressed mainly to Margaret Carpenter, are also
from cousins, aunts and so forth, but to a greater degree reflect a non-familial
pattern. Many are from college friends or Central Washington figures of social
circumstances similar to those of the family. The papers also contain some materials
relative to the education and occupations of the various family members.
The papers are arranged into two series. The first series, correspondence, is divided
into two subseries, one consisting of the letters written by members of the family,
the other of letters received by the family. The second series consists of materials
relative to the education, occupations, and interests of the family members.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers, 1880-1972 (Cage 171)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers, were gifted to the Washington State University Library by the University of Oregon Library, in January 1975.
Preliminary Guide to the Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers, circa 1870s-1970s (MS 2017.13)
United States Two-and-One-Half Dollar Coin, 1861 (Cage 5111)
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
Carpenter, Norah Carr, ca. 1875-1962.
Richardson, Margaret Carpenter, 1910-1973.
Carpenter, Frank, 1871-1959.
Richardson, John Purver, 1892-1953.
Richardson, Margaret Carpenter, 1910-1973.
Carpenter, Norah Carr, ca. 1875-1962.
Carpenter, Frank, 1871-1959.
Richardson, John Purver, 1892-1953.
Carpenter family -- Archives.
Richardson family -- Archives.
Richardson family
Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma, Wash.) -- Students -- Archives.
Cle Elum State Bank (Wash.)
Cle Elum (Wash.) -- History.
Bankers -- Washington (State) -- Cle Elum -- Records and correspondence.
Physicians -- Washington (State) -- Records and correspondence.
Home and Family
Businesses and Corporations
Washington (State)
Series 1: Correspondence
Subseries 1.1: Carpenter-Richardson
Correspondence
50 items.
1901-1907
1
1
50 items.
1908
1
2
50 items.
1909-1921
1
3
50 items.
1922-1925
1
4
50 items.
1926
1
5
50 items.
1927
2
6
50 items.
1928
2
7
50 items.
1929
2
8
50 items.
1930
2
9
50 items.
1931-1935
2
10
50 items.
1936-1942
3
11
50 items.
1943-1947
3
12
50 items.
1948-1951
3
13
50 items.
1952-1972
3
14
30 items.
undated
3
15
Subseries 1.2: Letters
received
A's
10 items.
1943-1963
3
16
Allen, Bruce
8 items.
1908-1942
3
17
Allen, Mrs. Frank DeWitt
100 items.
1896-1930
3
18
Allen, Frank Carr
30 items.
1943-1958
4
19
Allen, Frank DeWitt
9 items.
1896-1909
4
20
Allen, Vera Ann
18 items.
1954-1960
4
21
B's
35 items.
1897-1972
4
22
Bartlett, Emaline
5 items.
1922-1968
4
23
Bergman, Erma
8 items.
1948-1972
4
24
Bon, Frances
15 items.
1947-1963
4
25
Bond, Edna
8 items.
1956-1959
4
26
Bowen, Ruth
13 items.
1933-1965
4
27
Bowersox Family
8 items.
1897-1911
4
28
Bowles, Helen
5 items.
1944-1956
4
29
Burkhalter, Babs
8 items.
1953-1958
4
30
C's
25 items.
1899-1966
4
31
Campbell, Mary
14 items.
1944-1956
4
32
Carpenter, Charles
7 items.
1915-1926
4
33
Carpenter, Mayme
45 items.
1908-1967
4
34
Carr Family
10 items.
1876-1912
4
35
Carr, Harmen
20 items.
1891-1899
4
36
Chalkey, Dell
20 items.
1940-1971
4
37
Cook, Anna
65 items.
1924-1963
4
38
D's
20 items.
1910-1966
5
39
Davidson, Gertha
60 items.
1945-1966
5
40
Diller, Elizabeth
15 items.
1911-1943
5
41
Donaldson, Georgia
40 items.
1923-1969
5
42
Dunham, George
15 items.
1941-1944
5
43
E's
15 items.
1952-1971
5
44
F's
12 items.
1908-1956
5
45
Fisher, Ella
20 items.
1924-1948
5
46
Frederick, Frank
200 items.
1929-1931
5
47
Frierson, Rowenna
20 items.
1930-1968
6
48
G's
10 items.
1897-1966
6
49
Gage, Kate
15 items.
1940-1968
6
50
Garretson Family
25 items.
1931-1969
6
51
Griggs Family
10 items.
1942-1943
6
52
H's
20 items.
1897-1962
6
53
Haak, Noralee
50 items.
1936-1967
6
54
Harlan, Elizabeth
12 items.
1906-1942
6
55
Hoover, W. D.
20 items.
1947-1958
6
56
Houser, Ruth
20 items.
1953-1966
6
57
Houser, Clifford
8 items.
1960-1969
6
58
Houser, Harold
1940-1960
6
59
Houser, Vera
50 items.
1902-1927
6
60
Houser, Vera
220 items.
1928-1957
7
61-63
Houser, Vera
140 items.
1958-1971
8
64-66
J's
4 items.
1908-1943
8
67
Jaloneck, Edwin
15 items.
1948-1960
8
68
Jamison, Neil
15 items.
1951-1952
8
69
Johnson, Anna
6 items.
1911-1913
8
70
Johnsone, Charles
8 items.
1935-1959
8
71
Jones, L. P.
12 items.
1942-1956
8
72
K's
12 items.
1936-1962
8
73
Kaden, Mary
25 items.
1926-1965
8
74
Kay, Judith
14 items.
1916-1930
8
75
Kearby, Alice
15 items.
1911-1947
9
76
Kenworthy, June
10 items.
1928-1948
9
77
Kine, Mary
20 items.
1908-1955
9
78
L's
35 items.
1915-1966
9
79
LeMoyne, Clara
15 items.
1933-1957
9
80
Liebes, Dorothy
10 items.
1940-1941
9
81
Loveless, Minerva
20 items.
1935-1956
9
82
Low, Roland & Mary
15 items.
1948-1959
9
83
M's
50 items.
1895-1961
9
84
Melly, John
10 items.
1935-1936
9
85
Menaglia, Catherine
35 items.
1930-1967
9
86
Mergentive, Marguerita
15 items.
1936-1941
9
87
Mounts, Walter
20 items.
1887-1914
9
88
N's
15 items.
1895-1968
10
89
Newgord, Jules
15 items.
1936-1946
10
90
O's
15 items.
1909-1952
10
91
Orr, Helen
30 items.
1909-1971
10
92
Ottiano, Bessie Richardson
15 items.
1950-1955
10
93
P's and Q's
25 items.
1911-1962
10
94
R's
25 items.
1909-1969
10
95
Reed, Charles
15 items.
1910-1944
10
96
Richardson, Margaret Sloan
3 items.
1935-1950
10
97
Russell, Katie
15 items.
1947-1967
10
98
S's
65 items.
1908-1966
10
99
Simmons, Mary
20 items.
1908-1949
10
100
Slasor, Roy
15 items.
1950-1953
10
101
Sloan, W. & J.
10 items.
1951-1952
10
102
T's
1911-1955
10
103
Tolan, Ella
25 items.
1908-1933
10
104
Univeralist Church
15 items.
1945-1958
11
105
Vernaid, Mary
10 items.
1897-1917
11
106
W's
55 items.
1908-1971
11
107
Walker, Turnley
10 items.
1952-1960
11
108
Wallace, Gertrude
15 items.
1930-1960
11
109
Walker, Maxine
20 items.
1897-1953
11
110
Warren, Stryker
40 items.
1942-1945
11
111
Wesson, Miley
45 items.
1957-1965
11
112
Whitaker, Wendy and Skip
50 items.
1931-1960
12
113
Whiting, Bill
15 items.
1952-1963
12
114
Woods, Kate
12 items.
1940-1960
12
115
X's, Y's and Z's
10 items.
1930-1967
12
116
Unidentified
20 items.
1898-1964
12
117
Series 2: Subject File
Subseries 2.1: Frank Carpenter
Cle Elum State Bank
120 items.
1910-1958
12
118-119
House
20 items.
1910
12
120
Estate
30 items.
1958-1962
12
121
Material relative to death of father,
Charles Carpenter
25 items.
1934-1935
13
122
Subseries 2.2: Norah Carr
Carpenter
Early life and education
60 items.
1880-1900
13
123-124
Marriage
15 items.
1908
13
125
Material relative to death of
father,Harmen Carr
35 items.
1897
13
126
Subseries 2.3: John Purver
Richardson
Medical papers
20 items.
1935-1950
13
127
Business papers
30 items.
1935-1950
13
128
Subseries 2.4: Margaret Carpenter
Richardson
Advertising
15 items.
1900-1920
14
129
American Red Cross
12 items.
1918-1919
14
130
Biographies
4 items.
undated
14
131
Cle Elum Historical
Society
30 items.
1963-1968
14
132
Clippings
15 items.
1910-1945
14
133
Displaced persons
50 items.
1947-1955
14
134
Dogs
5 items.
1944-1952
14
135
Doctors
20 items.
1928-1964
14
136
Education
120 items.
1918-1935
14
137-141
Education
15
142
Genealogies
5 items.
1935
15
143
Girard, Illinois
20 items.
1910-1960
15
144
Golden Gate exposition
15 items.
1939-1940
15
145
Marriage
15 items.
1943
15
146
Property
50 items.
1900-1970
15
147
Richardson, Susi, adoption
3 items.
1960
15
148
Small Towns Institute
10 items.
1968-1969
15
149
Subseries 2.5: Business
Records
Account books and note books, most
from Carr family business at Girard, Ill.
8 items.
1880-1895
16
150-157
Accession folder, including
preliminary inventory prepared at the Library of the University of
Oregon.
5 items.
1974
16
158