Guide to the Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers 1880-1972
Cage 171

Summary Information

Repository
Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections
Creator
Carpenter family
Title
Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers
ID
Cage 171
Date [inclusive]
1880-1972
Extent
8 Linear feet of shelf space, 16 Boxes
Language
Collection materials are in English.
Abstract
Correspondence and other papers of the Carpenter and Richardson families of Cle Elum, Washington.

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers, 1880-1972 (Cage 171)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Biography/History

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.

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Scope and Content

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.

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Arrangement

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.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections  © 2022

https://libraries.wsu.edu/masc/

Terrell Library

P.O. Box 645610

Pullman, WA, 99164-5610 USA

509-335-6691

mascref@wsu.edu

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open and available for research use.

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Acquisition Information

The Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers, were gifted to the Washington State University Library by the University of Oregon Library, in January 1975.

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Related Materials

Related Material

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)

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Names and Subjects

Corporate Name(s)

Subject(s) :
  • Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma, Wash.) -- Students -- Archives.
  • Cle Elum State Bank (Wash.)

Family Name(s)

  • Carpenter family -- Archives.
  • Richardson family -- Archives.
  • Richardson family

Geographic Name(s)

  • Cle Elum (Wash.) -- History.

Personal Name(s)

Subject(s) :
  • Carpenter, Norah Carr, ca. 1875-1962.
  • Richardson, Margaret Carpenter, 1910-1973.
  • Carpenter, Frank, 1871-1959.
  • Richardson, John Purver, 1892-1953.
Creator(s) :
  • Richardson, Margaret Carpenter, 1910-1973.
  • Carpenter, Norah Carr, ca. 1875-1962.
  • Carpenter, Frank, 1871-1959.
  • Richardson, John Purver, 1892-1953.

Subject(s)

  • Bankers -- Washington (State) -- Cle Elum -- Records and correspondence.
  • Physicians -- Washington (State) -- Records and correspondence.
  • Home and Family
  • Businesses and Corporations
  • Washington (State)

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Detailed Description of Collection

Series 1: Correspondence 

Subseries 1.1: Carpenter-Richardson Correspondence 

box folder

 1901-1907 50 items.

1 1

 1908 50 items.

1 2

 1909-1921 50 items.

1 3

 1922-1925 50 items.

1 4

 1926 50 items.

1 5

 1927 50 items.

2 6

 1928 50 items.

2 7

 1929 50 items.

2 8

 1930 50 items.

2 9

 1931-1935 50 items.

2 10

 1936-1942 50 items.

3 11

 1943-1947 50 items.

3 12

 1948-1951 50 items.

3 13

 1952-1972 50 items.

3 14

 undated 30 items.

3 15

Subseries 1.2: Letters received 

box folder

A's 1943-1963  10 items.

3 16

Allen, Bruce 1908-1942  8 items.

3 17

Allen, Mrs. Frank DeWitt 1896-1930  100 items.

3 18

Allen, Frank Carr 1943-1958  30 items.

4 19

Allen, Frank DeWitt 1896-1909  9 items.

4 20

Allen, Vera Ann 1954-1960  18 items.

4 21

B's 1897-1972  35 items.

4 22

Bartlett, Emaline 1922-1968  5 items.

4 23

Bergman, Erma 1948-1972  8 items.

4 24

Bon, Frances 1947-1963  15 items.

4 25

Bond, Edna 1956-1959  8 items.

4 26

Bowen, Ruth 1933-1965  13 items.

4 27

Bowersox Family 1897-1911  8 items.

4 28

Bowles, Helen 1944-1956  5 items.

4 29

Burkhalter, Babs 1953-1958  8 items.

4 30

C's 1899-1966  25 items.

4 31

Campbell, Mary 1944-1956  14 items.

4 32

Carpenter, Charles 1915-1926  7 items.

4 33

Carpenter, Mayme 1908-1967  45 items.

4 34

Carr Family 1876-1912  10 items.

4 35

Carr, Harmen 1891-1899  20 items.

4 36

Chalkey, Dell 1940-1971  20 items.

4 37

Cook, Anna 1924-1963  65 items.

4 38

D's 1910-1966  20 items.

5 39

Davidson, Gertha 1945-1966  60 items.

5 40

Diller, Elizabeth 1911-1943  15 items.

5 41

Donaldson, Georgia 1923-1969  40 items.

5 42

Dunham, George 1941-1944  15 items.

5 43

E's 1952-1971  15 items.

5 44

F's 1908-1956  12 items.

5 45

Fisher, Ella 1924-1948  20 items.

5 46

Frederick, Frank 1929-1931  200 items.

5 47

Frierson, Rowenna 1930-1968  20 items.

6 48

G's 1897-1966  10 items.

6 49

Gage, Kate 1940-1968  15 items.

6 50

Garretson Family 1931-1969  25 items.

6 51

Griggs Family 1942-1943  10 items.

6 52

H's 1897-1962  20 items.

6 53

Haak, Noralee 1936-1967  50 items.

6 54

Harlan, Elizabeth 1906-1942  12 items.

6 55

Hoover, W. D. 1947-1958  20 items.

6 56

Houser, Ruth 1953-1966  20 items.

6 57

Houser, Clifford 1960-1969  8 items.

6 58

Houser, Harold 1940-1960 

6 59

Houser, Vera 1902-1927  50 items.

6 60

Houser, Vera 1928-1957  220 items.

7 61-63

Houser, Vera 1958-1971  140 items.

8 64-66

J's 1908-1943  4 items.

8 67

Jaloneck, Edwin 1948-1960  15 items.

8 68

Jamison, Neil 1951-1952  15 items.

8 69

Johnson, Anna 1911-1913  6 items.

8 70

Johnsone, Charles 1935-1959  8 items.

8 71

Jones, L. P. 1942-1956  12 items.

8 72

K's 1936-1962  12 items.

8 73

Kaden, Mary 1926-1965  25 items.

8 74

Kay, Judith 1916-1930  14 items.

8 75

Kearby, Alice 1911-1947  15 items.

9 76

Kenworthy, June 1928-1948  10 items.

9 77

Kine, Mary 1908-1955  20 items.

9 78

L's 1915-1966  35 items.

9 79

LeMoyne, Clara 1933-1957  15 items.

9 80

Liebes, Dorothy 1940-1941  10 items.

9 81

Loveless, Minerva 1935-1956  20 items.

9 82

Low, Roland & Mary 1948-1959  15 items.

9 83

M's 1895-1961  50 items.

9 84

Melly, John 1935-1936  10 items.

9 85

Menaglia, Catherine 1930-1967  35 items.

9 86

Mergentive, Marguerita 1936-1941  15 items.

9 87

Mounts, Walter 1887-1914  20 items.

9 88

N's 1895-1968  15 items.

10 89

Newgord, Jules 1936-1946  15 items.

10 90

O's 1909-1952  15 items.

10 91

Orr, Helen 1909-1971  30 items.

10 92

Ottiano, Bessie Richardson 1950-1955  15 items.

10 93

P's and Q's 1911-1962  25 items.

10 94

R's 1909-1969  25 items.

10 95

Reed, Charles 1910-1944  15 items.

10 96

Richardson, Margaret Sloan 1935-1950  3 items.

10 97

Russell, Katie 1947-1967  15 items.

10 98

S's 1908-1966  65 items.

10 99

Simmons, Mary 1908-1949  20 items.

10 100

Slasor, Roy 1950-1953  15 items.

10 101

Sloan, W. & J. 1951-1952  10 items.

10 102

T's 1911-1955 

10 103

Tolan, Ella 1908-1933  25 items.

10 104

Univeralist Church 1945-1958  15 items.

11 105

Vernaid, Mary 1897-1917  10 items.

11 106

W's 1908-1971  55 items.

11 107

Walker, Turnley 1952-1960  10 items.

11 108

Wallace, Gertrude 1930-1960  15 items.

11 109

Walker, Maxine 1897-1953  20 items.

11 110

Warren, Stryker 1942-1945  40 items.

11 111

Wesson, Miley 1957-1965  45 items.

11 112

Whitaker, Wendy and Skip 1931-1960  50 items.

12 113

Whiting, Bill 1952-1963  15 items.

12 114

Woods, Kate 1940-1960  12 items.

12 115

X's, Y's and Z's 1930-1967  10 items.

12 116

Unidentified 1898-1964  20 items.

12 117

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Series 2: Subject File 

Subseries 2.1: Frank Carpenter 

box folder

Cle Elum State Bank 1910-1958  120 items.

12 118-119

House 1910  20 items.

12 120

Estate 1958-1962  30 items.

12 121

Material relative to death of father, Charles Carpenter 1934-1935  25 items.

13 122

Subseries 2.2: Norah Carr Carpenter 

box folder

Early life and education 1880-1900  60 items.

13 123-124

Marriage 1908  15 items.

13 125

Material relative to death of father,Harmen Carr 1897  35 items.

13 126

Subseries 2.3: John Purver Richardson 

box folder

Medical papers 1935-1950  20 items.

13 127

Business papers 1935-1950  30 items.

13 128

Subseries 2.4: Margaret Carpenter Richardson 

box folder

Advertising 1900-1920  15 items.

14 129

American Red Cross 1918-1919  12 items.

14 130

Biographies undated  4 items.

14 131

Cle Elum Historical Society 1963-1968  30 items.

14 132

Clippings 1910-1945  15 items.

14 133

Displaced persons 1947-1955  50 items.

14 134

Dogs 1944-1952  5 items.

14 135

Doctors 1928-1964  20 items.

14 136

Education 1918-1935  120 items.

14 137-141

Education 

15 142

Genealogies 1935  5 items.

15 143

Girard, Illinois 1910-1960  20 items.

15 144

Golden Gate exposition 1939-1940  15 items.

15 145

Marriage 1943  15 items.

15 146

Property 1900-1970  50 items.

15 147

Richardson, Susi, adoption 1960  3 items.

15 148

Small Towns Institute 1968-1969  10 items.

15 149

Subseries 2.5: Business Records 

box folder

Account books and note books, most from Carr family business at Girard, Ill. 1880-1895  8 items.

16 150-157

Accession folder, including preliminary inventory prepared at the Library of the University of Oregon. 1974  5 items.

16 158

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