Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Guide to the Carpenter-Richardson Family Papers
1880-1972
Cage 171
Table of Contents
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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)
Detailed Description of Collection
Series 1: Correspondence |
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Subseries 1.1: Carpenter-Richardson Correspondence |
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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 |
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Subseries 2.1: Frank Carpenter |
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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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