James Madison Carpenter
Encyclopedia
James Madison Carpenter, born in Blacklands, Mississippi (near Booneville
) in 1888, was a Methodist minister and scholar of American and British folklore. He received his bachelor and masters of arts degrees from the University of Mississippi
, and a PhD from Harvard in 1929. He is most known for his substantial work collecting folk songs in England, Scotland and Wales. He recorded well-known singers and musicians that other folklorists had documented, as well as some never recorded before or since such as Bell Duncan, whose repertoire (according to Carpenter) consisted of some 300 songs, including 65 Child ballads
. His collection methods included Dictaphone
recordings as well as transcriptions of lyrics.
Carpenter returned to Harvard in 1935 where he gave occasional lectures and worked on transcribing the tunes of the ballads he had collected, intending to put the material into publishable form. From 1938-1943 he taught part-time at Duke University
in the English Department. In 1943 he took another post in Virginia and finally moved to the English Department at Greensboro College
, North Carolina, where he stayed until his retirement in 1954. He returned to Booneville, Mississippi, in 1964 and remained there until his death in 1983.
In the end, only a handful of items from his collection were ever published. His extensive material eventually found a home at the American Folklife Center
at the Library of Congress
where it has been made accessible (and searchable). It is considered "a major collection of traditional song and drama, plus some items of traditional instrumental music, dance, custom, narrative and children's folklore, from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the USA, documented in the period 1927-55."http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/carpenter/index.html In 2003, the James Madison Carpenter Collection Online Catalogue, the University of Sheffield
, and the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, were jointly awarded the Brenda McCallum Prize of the American Folklore Society
for their work on the Carpenter Collection.
For a more extensive biography see "'Dr Carpenter from the Harvard College in America': An Introduction to James Madison Carpenter and his Collection" by Julia C. Bishop, Folk Music Journal, 7/4, 1998, pp. 402-420. This is the first article in a special issue of the Journal devoted to Carpenter and his collection.
Booneville, Mississippi
Booneville is a city in Prentiss County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 8,625 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Prentiss County....
) in 1888, was a Methodist minister and scholar of American and British folklore. He received his bachelor and masters of arts degrees from the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
, and a PhD from Harvard in 1929. He is most known for his substantial work collecting folk songs in England, Scotland and Wales. He recorded well-known singers and musicians that other folklorists had documented, as well as some never recorded before or since such as Bell Duncan, whose repertoire (according to Carpenter) consisted of some 300 songs, including 65 Child ballads
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
. His collection methods included Dictaphone
Dictaphone
Dictaphone was an American company, a producer of dictation machines—sound recording devices most commonly used to record speech for later playback or to be typed into print. The name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, but in some places it has also become a common way to refer to all such devices, and...
recordings as well as transcriptions of lyrics.
Carpenter returned to Harvard in 1935 where he gave occasional lectures and worked on transcribing the tunes of the ballads he had collected, intending to put the material into publishable form. From 1938-1943 he taught part-time at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in the English Department. In 1943 he took another post in Virginia and finally moved to the English Department at Greensboro College
Greensboro College
Greensboro College is a four-year, independent, coeducational liberal-arts college, also offering four master's degrees, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1838...
, North Carolina, where he stayed until his retirement in 1954. He returned to Booneville, Mississippi, in 1964 and remained there until his death in 1983.
In the end, only a handful of items from his collection were ever published. His extensive material eventually found a home at the American Folklife Center
American Folklife Center
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife" . The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the Library in 1928 as a repository for American folk music...
at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
where it has been made accessible (and searchable). It is considered "a major collection of traditional song and drama, plus some items of traditional instrumental music, dance, custom, narrative and children's folklore, from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the USA, documented in the period 1927-55."http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/carpenter/index.html In 2003, the James Madison Carpenter Collection Online Catalogue, the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
, and the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, were jointly awarded the Brenda McCallum Prize of the American Folklore Society
American Folklore Society
The American Folklore Society is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world. It was founded in 1888 by William Wells Newell, who stood at the center of a diverse group of university-based scholars, museum anthropologists, and men...
for their work on the Carpenter Collection.
For a more extensive biography see "'Dr Carpenter from the Harvard College in America': An Introduction to James Madison Carpenter and his Collection" by Julia C. Bishop, Folk Music Journal, 7/4, 1998, pp. 402-420. This is the first article in a special issue of the Journal devoted to Carpenter and his collection.