Thomas Preston Carpenter (April 19, 1804 – March 20, 1876), was a lawyer and judge of the

Supreme Court of New Jersey The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

.John W. Jordan, ed.: ''Colonial Families of Philadelphia'', Lewis Publishers, New York, 1911.

Personal

Carpenter was born at Glassboro,

Gloucester County, New Jersey Gloucester County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county was the state's List of counties in New Jersey, 14th-most populous county

, where his father Edward Carpenter operated a

glassworks Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container p ...

. He was descendant of

Samuel Carpenter Samuel Carpenter (4 November 1649 – 10 April 1714) was a Deputy Governor of Province of Pennsylvania, colonial Pennsylvania. He signed the historic document "The Declaration of Fealty, Christian Belief and Test" dated 10 September 1695; the ...

, Thomas Lloyd, and Samuel Preston, prominent men in the early days of Pennsylvania. His father dying when he was quite young, Thomas Preston Carpenter spent his early life with his grandfather, at Carpenter's Landing (now

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

). He married on November 27, 1839 to Rebecca Hopkins of

Woodbury, New Jersey Woodbury is a city in and the county seat of Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. They were the parents of four children. He was an active member of the

Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

, serving as

vestryman A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body.Anstice, Henry (1914). ''What Every Warden and Vestryman Should Know.'' Church literature press He is not a member of the clergy.Potter, Henry Codman (1890). ''The Offices of W ...

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

, and deputy to the diocesan and general conventions.

Career

After receiving a liberal education, Carpenter studied law with Judge John Moore White of

Woodbury, New Jersey Woodbury is a city in and the county seat of Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, and was admitted as an attorney in September 1830. On October 26, 1838, he was appointed prosecutor of pleas of

and took a prominent part in several important trials. In 1845, he was appointed by Governor Charles C. Stratton one of the associate judges of the

, his circuit comprising Burlington, Camden, and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

Counties. At his retirement from the judgeship he devoted himself to the practice of law, principally as a counselor, and was eminently successful. At the breaking out of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he joined the

Union League The Union Leagues were quasi-secretive men's clubs established separately, starting in 1862, and continuing throughout the Civil War (1861–1865). The oldest Union League of America council member, an organization originally called "The Leagu ...

of Philadelphia, and gave his entire sympathies to the Union cause.

Death

Thomas Preston Carpenter died at his home in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

on March 20, 1876.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Thomas Preston 1804 births 1876 deaths Lawyers from Gloucester County, New Jersey Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey People from Glassboro, New Jersey 19th-century New Jersey state court judges 19th-century American lawyers