Lewis Cass Carpenter (February 20, 1836 – March 6, 1908) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Born in

Putnam, Connecticut Putnam is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 10,214 at the 2020 census. History Putnam, originally known as Aspinock, then part of Killi ...

, Carpenter attended public schools before moving to New Jersey, where he taught school. He was appointed State inspector of public schools in New Jersey in 1863. At an early age he began writing for the press, and was connected with some New York papers for several years. He went to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 1864 and was employed in the Treasury Department. He studied law at Columbian University (now

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

), and after graduating he was admitted to the bar. While in Washington he was also employed as a newspaper correspondent. He moved to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, in 1867 and became editor of the

Charleston Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

after which he assisted in establishing the Charleston Republican in 1868. He also was secretary to

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

William A. Buckingham, of Connecticut from 1868 to 1873. Carpenter was elected as a Republican to the Forty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert B. Elliott and served from November 3, 1874, to March 4, 1875. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Forty-fifth Congress. He moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, in 1878, and thence, in 1879, to

Leadville Leadville ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, Lak ...

, where he edited a newspaper. He was appointed supervisor of the census for Colorado in 1880. Later he was appointed United States post-office inspector in 1881, resigning that post in 1883. In Colorado he engaged in the insurance business 1883-1890 before resuming the practice of law. He died in

on March 6, 1908. He was interred in Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Lewis Cass 1836 births 1908 deaths People from Putnam, Connecticut Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina George Washington University Law School alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives