Weld County, History of Colorado, BIOS: CARPENTER, Delph E. (published 1918) *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *********************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00015.html#0003643 September 3, 1999 *********************************************************************** "History of Colorado", edited by Wilbur Fisk Stone, published by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. (1918) Vol. II p. 104, 106-107 photo p. 105 DELPH E. CARPENTER. Delph E. Carpenter, who is a member of the Greeley bar and has aided in framing the laws of the state as a member of the general assembly, was born on the Carpenter homestead, near Greeley, Colorado, May 13, 1877. He is the second son of Leroy S. and Martha A. (Bennett) Carpenter, who are mentioned elsewhere in this work. He spent his early life upon the farm and in active connection with the live stock business, attending the Greeley public schools and graduated from the Greeley high school with the class of 1896. He then entered the College of Liberal Arts of the University of Denver and in 1899 graduated from the School of Law of that institution with the degree of LL. B. He was admitted to the bar of Colorado immediately thereafter. Prior to his admission he was the trial attorney in justice court work for the office in Denver, in which he was serving his clerkship and upon admission he immediately commenced the practice of his profession in Greeley, where he has since remained. Immediately after his admission he devoted the first year of his professional career to litigation Involving the famous Currier estate of Weld county, and thereafter engaged in a general practice but became more and more identified with irrigation litigation and in June, 1911, was engaged as directing counsel in the case of Wyoming vs. Colorado, involving the waters of the Laramie river, and since that time his practice has been devoted almost exclusively to Irrigation litigation. He has been the managing and directing counsel on Interstate litigation between Nebraska and Colorado appropriators involving the waters of the South Platte river since the commencement of that litigation and is identified as counsel with a large number of irrigation enterprises of the South Platte drainage and somewhat with enterprises on the upper Arkansas river. He was identified with the Wyoming litigation through four political administrations, wrote the major portion of the 1916 brief and Volume One of the 1917 brief presented to the United States supreme court in that case and participated in the oral argument. Notwithstanding his professional career he has always been identified with the farming and live stock interests of Weld county and is the owner of a considerable tract of agricultural and grazing lands in the Crow Creek valley fifteen miles east of Greeley and was the moving spirit in the construction of The North Side Extension Canal built for the irrigation of that valley. During the past ten years he has built up one of the finest herds of pure Bates or Milking Shorthorn cattle in the west, which are run in connection with his ranch. He has always been identified both in profession and business with the agricultural and irrigation interests of northern Colorado. On June 5, 1901, Mr. Carpenter was united in marriage with Miss Michaela Hogarty, the youngest daughter of Captain Michael J. Hogarty, U. S. A., and Sarah (Carr) Hogarty, who were natives of Ireland and of New York respectively. The Carpenter and Hogarty families were both identified with the Union colony and came to Colorado with that organization and invested and were largely, financially and otherwise, Interested in the development of the Greeley district, contributing in a marked measure to Its early progress and improvement. Captain Hogarty served throughout the Civil war, entering the army as a private, and at the close of the war was a lieutenant in the One Hundred and Forty- first New York Volunteer Infantry. He was then transferred into the regular army service with the same rank, serving in New York and Indian Territory until 1870, when he was retired from active service on account of a gun shot wound received in the eye during the Civil war. He joined the Union colony and located in Colorado, where he engaged in farming near Greeley for many years and finally in 1904 moved to National City, California, where he now resides and is actively identified with the affairs of that community. Mrs. Hogarty died at National City, California, January 10, 1918. To Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have been born four children: Michaela, Donald, Sarah and Martha. Mr. Carpenter has always been identified with the republican party. He served as county attorney and as the first counsel of the town of Ault and also the town attorney for Baton, Evans and other municipalities in Weld county. In 1908 he was elected as senator for the seventh senatorial district and served through the 1909, 1910, and 1911 sessions of the Colorado legislature and was the accredited republican leader of the senate during the 1911 session. During the 1909 session he was placed in charge of the affairs and work of the senate committee on agriculture and irrigation as well as serving as a member on the judiciary and other committees of that body. Before the close of the session he was appointed chairman of a special committee of three senators on irrigation investigation, particularly in relation to Interstate streams ad interim and compiled the report written by that committee and included in the senate Journal of the 1911 session. His appointment as chairman of this committee was made by a democratic senate and during a general democratic administration. During the 1911 session he championed the cause of the protection of the great Irrigation reservoir interests of the farmers of Colorado In what came to be known as the "Carpenter Reservoir Bill," which caused protracted and bitter debate not only in both houses of the legislature, but later before the people when one of the sentences included in the bill as a compromise amendment was placed upon the ballot under the recently adopted referendum by the Direct Election League of Denver, who particularly desired to try out their reform on some agricultural measure. He was from the close of the 1911 session of the legislature until the 1912 general election, almost weekly engaged, upon invitation, in addressing various farmers' gatherings, business meetings and bar associations upon the question of the protection of the appropriations of water made by means of irrigation reservoirs as involved in the measure under consideration and concluded his efforts in behalf of the interests of the irrigation farmers by preparing and presenting an elaborate brief upon the subject before the Colorado supreme court in a case then pending, where counsel for both sides conceded the correctness of the doctrine urged by Mr. Carpenter. The result of the referendum was the elimination of the compromise amendment to the original "Carpenter Reservoir Bill," thereby leaving the act as the law of the state without the encumbrance of the amendment. By the close of the campaign in favor of the general doctrine of protection of reservoir appropriations the public sentiment had become moulded in their favor and the law has since remained upon the statute books. Since the 1912 session, Mr. Carpenter has been called each session as an impartial adviser by the senate committee on agriculture and irrigation and has thereby exerted a continuing influence in behalf of legislation of benefit to the state and against revolutionary measures by means of which the agricultural and Irrigation interests would have been injured or thrown into confusion. He has also during the past years acted as the confidential adviser from time to time of all the departments of state and irrespective of the political conditions obtaining and has held the confidence of state officials of all parties. Mr. Carpenter was the first native born citizen of Colorado to be elected to the senate of the state. At thirty-six years of age he was made directing counsel on interstate litigation and recently at the age of forty-one has been unanimously endorsed, without his solicitation, by the republican assembly of his county as their choice for a candidate for the United States senate. He is a member of the Local and State Bar Associations, is admitted to practice before all the courts of the United States as well as the courts of his own and adjoining states and the various departments of the national government. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Royal Arcanum, of which organization he was grand regent for a number of years. Although a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, he is a supporter of religious institutions in general. He is the secretary of The Union colony of Colorado and is identified with several live stock and agricultural organizations of the state.