Résumé

Architectural Apprentice, England, c. 1875-1878; Draftsman/Architect-Office Manager, Edmund G. Lind, Architect, Baltimore, MD, c. 1883-1887; Partner, [John J.] Stewart and Carpenter, Architects, El Paso, TX, c. 1887-1889; Principal, William J. Carpenter, Architect, Spokane, WA, 1889-1891; Residence in Mexico, c. 1891-1898; Principal, William J. Carpenter, Architect, Pittsburgh, PA, c. 1898-1902; Partner, Carpenter and Crocker, Architects, Pittsburgh, PA, c. 1903-1910; Principal, William J. Carpenter, Architect, Beaver, PA, c. 1914-1920; Principal, William J. Carpenter, Architect, Saint Petersburg, FL, c. 1920-1922; Principal, William J. Carpenter, Architect, DeLand, FL, c. 1922-1926; his office in DeLand was Room #512 First National Building. Carpenter was credited with designing the Saint Johns Masonic Lodge, Deland, FL (1925) with another architect named Bent. Principal, William J. Carpenter, Architect, Daytona Beach, FL, c. 1937-1950. Here he worked at 222A Ocean Boulevard. (See Daytona Beach City Directory, 1937, p. 354.) He changed his professional address to 29 North Wild Olive Avenue in Daytona Beach by 1941. (See Daytona Beach City Directory, 1941, p. 529.) In 1950, Carpenter officially retired from architecture.

Professional Service

In 1924, Carpenter indicated in the R.L. Polk and Compnay DeLand, FL, City Directory that he was a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He remained a member of the AIA until 1950. Carpenter was a Registered Architect in the State of FL from the 1920s until about 1950, although he didn't practice much in his later years.

Relocation

William J. Carpenter lived a peripatetic life. Born in England, he immigrated to the US with his family in 1878 or 1879, and worked in several cities in succession, including Baltimore, MD, El Paso, TX, Spokane, WA, Pittsburgh, PA, and later in FL. He and his wife, Christina, lived in or near Pittsburgh, PA, from around 1900 until sometime in the mid-to-late-1910s. The 1910 US Census noted Carpenter and his family living at 129 Dutch Ridge Road, Brighton, PA. The census form listed his occupation as "Farmer." (In 1914, a city directory indicated Carpenter living at 331 4th Avenue, Beaver, PA.) In the late 1910s, Carpenter and his wife apparently relocated to Southern CA, residing on Beech Street in Hollywood, before relocating to Florida, first settling in Saint Petersburg, FL. Carpenter was drawn to FL during the frenetic real estate and building boom of the early-to-mid 1920s. He and his family lived in Saint Petersburg until 1923 and then moved to DeLand, FL, at which time he worked on the large Putnam Hotel commssion. He worked in that city from at least 1922-1926. He and Agnes lived at 737 North Woodland Boulevard in DeLand in 1924. (See R.L. Polk & Company's DeLand City Directory, 1924-1925, p. 95.)

Parents

His father was William Carpenter (d. 1896) and his mother, Annie Gillette (d. 1896); they emigrated from England to the US in 1878 or 1879 and died in Baltimore, MD in 1896 months apart. William and Annie married in England, and had six children, one of whom was Edward Wallace Carpenter (d. 1896).

Spouse

Carpenter married Agnes Christina Coe (born c. 1869 in PA) on 11/12/1900 while they lived in Pittsburgh, PA.

Children

He and Christina had four sons: Edward Coe (born c. 1903 in PA), Robert (born c. 1904 in PA), Richard and Clarence (twins born 1908 in PA).

Biographical Notes

According to the US Census of 1920, the family lived in a rented home at 218 (or 228) East Michigan Avenue, DeLand. This information may not have been accurate, as Jack Carpenter, William J.'s grandson indicated. He stated that the Carpenter Family resided in Saint Petersburg until 1923, when the architect obtained the commission for the Putnam Hotel in Deland, FL. (Thank you to Jack Carpenter, author of the web site, The Unforgotten Man William James Carpenter, AIA, for relaying this information in a telephone call with the author, 08/31/2015.)