David T. Carpenter

        D. T. Carpenter, farmer and molder in the Ninth District, was born July 9, 1827, in Grafton County, N. H. When twenty-six years of age he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained one year, and then went back to New Hampshire and married Miss Miranda Parkhurst, of Andover, Vt., daughter of John and Hannah (Johnson) Parkhurst. Mrs. Carpenter was born in Vermont in 1831, and by her marriage became the mother of nine children, viz.: Ella (Mrs. W. S. French), Clarence A., Clara E., Flora B., George E. (deceased), Grace L., Jettie A. and George E. Mrs. Carpenter is a member of the Presbyterian Church. D. T. Carpenter is a son of Asa and Anna (Turner) Carpenter. The father was born in New Hampshire and died in 1863. The mother was also a native of Now Hampshire and died in 1843. They were both of English descent. The father was a descendant of one of three brothers who came to Connecticut from England about the time of the revolutionary war. He was a captain of State militia for many years, and he and his wife were zealous Christian workers in the Congregational Church. After marriage our subject moved to Chicago, where he worked at molding in a foundry for three years. In 1856 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he was foreman in a foundry for the next sixteen years, after which he moved to Columbus, Ohio. He came to Chattanooga in 1873 to look for a suitable place to locate, and in 1874, moved his family down, settling in Chattanooga, where he secured an appointment as foreman in a foundry, in which capacity he continued until 1883. Here he with others organized what is known as the " Phoenix Foundry Co., " of which Mr. Carpenter is president and his son, C. A. Carpenter, and Mr. French are managers. They have enjoyed excellent success, continuing to run during the entire time of the stagnation in business of the past three or four years,. Mr. Carpenter began life in very limited circumstances, but by economy and judicious management is now in a very comfortable condition. Besides the interest he owns in the Phoenix Foundry he has a fine farm of 100 acres, nicely located on Mission Ridge near East Lake Station, on the Belt railroad. He enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Fiftieth Ohio National Guards in 1864, and served as one of the 100 days' men. He was fifth sergeant of his company, and at the end of the 100 days was brought home sick. Mr. Carpenter's grandfather, Jesse Carpenter, was a soldier in that mighty struggle for independence.
Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887