Gideon J. Carpenter

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Gideon J. Carpenter
21st Speaker of the California State Assembly
In office
December 1875–April 1876
Preceded byMorris M. Estee
Succeeded byCampbell Polson Berry
Member of the California State Assembly from the 23rd district
In office
1875-1878
Member of the California State Senate from the 18th district
In office
1856-1860
Personal details
Born
Gideon Judd Carpenter

May 4, 1823
Hartford, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 6, 1910 (age 87)
Placerville, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMary A. Whitney
Children4
RelativesCyrus C. Carpenter (brother)

Gideon J. Carpenter (May 4, 1823 - May 6, 1910) was a Democratic politician who served in the California State Senate and Assembly, also serving as the Speaker of the Assembly between 1875 and 1876. He was also the county clerk and district attorney of El Dorado County.[1]

Life[edit]

Carpenter was born in Harford, Pennsylvania in 1823 and is the younger brother of future Governor of Iowa and Congressman Cyrus C. Carpenter. He moved to California in 1850 and became a miner in the Big Bar area of the Middle Fork American River but later shifted his focus to practicing law and being involved in politics.[1][2]

Political career[edit]

Carpenter was elected to the California State Senate from the 18th district in 1856 and served until 1860. He was then county clerk and district attorney of El Dorado County in California during the 1860s. Carpenter returned to the state legislature when he was elected to the California State Assembly from the 23rd district in 1875, and was elected Speaker of the Assembly in the same year. After leaving the legislature in 1878 he was a reporter for the California Supreme Court until 1880.[1]

Later life[edit]

In 1889, Carpenter purchased the Placerville Mountain Democrat, a newspaper, alongside George E. Williams and eventually became the sole owner in 1891. Carpenter's son died in 1902, and Carpenter himself died in 1910 in Placerville.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Vassar, Alex; Myers, Shane. "G. J. Carpenter". JoinCalifornia.com. JoinCalifornia.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Guide to the Gideon Judd Carpenter Papers, 1853-1892". OAC. Online Archive of California. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
Preceded by Speaker of the California State Assembly
December 1875–April 1876
Succeeded by