William Thomas 'Will Tom' Carpenter, born November 16, 1854 in Johnson County, Missouri

Johnson County, Missouri

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 52,595. Its county seat is Warrensburg. The county was formed 13 December 1834 from Lafayette County and was named for Vice President Richard M...

, the youngest son of James and Cynthia (Johnson) Carpenter, was a legendary cowman

Cowman (profession)

A cowman is a person who works specifically with cattle.-Usage:Usage of the word "cowman" has significant geographic variation, though is sometimes used interchangeably with terms such as "stockman", "cattleman", "rancher" and "grazier."...

 who authored a book about his experiences.

Ancestry

He was descended from a noteworthy Swiss-American family whose surname was Zimmermann, anglicized to Carpenter in anglophone North America. The emigrant ancestor, Will Tom's great-great-grandfather, George Carpenter, enlisted in the First Virginia Regiment at the outbreak of the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 and died in service of wounds received in the Battle of Brandywine

Battle of Brandywine

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

. His great-grandfather Adam Carpenter was one of three brothers who established Carpenter's Station, Kentucky

Carpenter's Station, Kentucky

Carpenter's Station, Kentucky, originally "Carpenter's Fort", was established about two miles west of present-day Hustonville, Kentucky, by three Carpenter brothers, George Carpenter, John Carpenter, and Adam Carpenter, who came to the site from Rockingham County, Virginia in the summer of 1779...

 in 1780.

Early life

When he was an infant, his family, who were Southern sympathizers, moved to Bourbon County, Kansas

Bourbon County, Kansas

Bourbon County is a county located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 15,173...

, then migrated in a wagon train up the Platte River

Platte River

The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to...

 to settle near Pike's Peak, El Paso County, Colorado

El Paso County, Colorado

El Paso County is the most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States, now more populous than Denver County. The United States Census Bureau concluded that the county population was 622,371 in 2010. In recent years, the population had come closer to that of Denver...

. From 1862 to 1900, as cowhand and later as trail boss, he traveled all the famed cattle trails of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

Later life

He married late in 1875 or early in 1876 in Missouri to Mattie Christenson, who was born August 28, 1859 at Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

; she was 16 years old. After his retirement from "cowboying," they settled on their ranch west of the Pecos in Terrell County, Texas

Terrell County, Texas

Terrell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. In 2000, its population was 1,081. Its county seat is Sanderson. The county was named for Alexander W. Terrell, a Texas state senator...

. He died on March 30, 1933 in the Kerr Hotel in Sanderson, Texas

Sanderson, Texas

Sanderson is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Terrell County, Texas, United States. The population was 861 at the 2000 census. Sanderson was created in 1882 as a part of neighboring Pecos County...

, where he had gone for medical treatment.

Mattie (Christensen) Carpenter survived her husband by three years and inherited his estate. She left no will and no relative could be found after her death on September 1, 1936, so the state of Texas became her heir.