John Alden Carpenter
shellackophile.blogspot.com
John Alden Carpenter
By Megan McKinney
Composer John Alden Carpenter, a member of Chicago’s Twilight Generation, was born in suburban Park Ridge in 1876 and educated at Harvard, where he was president of the Glee Club and wrote music for the Hasty-Pudding Club. It was there he began showing great promise as a composer; however, that would have to wait. In the meantime, he earned “a comfortable living as vice-president of the family business, a shipping supply company.” It was not until after his 1936 retirement that John was able to spend a quantity of his time composing.
postdaily.com
John Carpenter during the years he was gaining an identity as a composer.
Mr. Carpenter is perhaps best known to Classic Chicago readers as husband of Rue Winterbotham, whose taste and impact members continue to feel on a consistent basis in their enjoyment of two of the city’s most beloved private clubs, The Arts Club of Chicago and The Casino. Rue was a founder and early president of the former and her stunning interior decor of The Casino, although continually refurbished, remains precisely as it was when she designed its glorious rooms.
Rue Wiinterbotham Carpenter as envisioned by Constantin Brâncuși
The pair married in 1901 and were parents of a daughter, Genevieve Baldwin Carpenter, born the following year. Ginny would marry Patrick Champain Hill in 1931 and live until 1984.
The Carpenter marriage of would last a scant three decades. Rue died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage in her doctor’s office on December 7, 1931. She was 55. And it wasn’t until John’s retirement five years later that he was able to spend important time composing. We are told that many of his works “strive to encompass the spirit of America, including the patriotic The Home Road and several other jazz-inspired works.” And that he was “among the first classical composers to incorporate elements of jazz and ragtime in their pieces.”
Another image of the colorful Rue.
The seasoned John Alden Carpenter
There would be a second marriage for John Carpenter in February 1933. The bride was divorcée Ellen Borden, who would later become mother-in-law of two-time Presidential hopeful Adlai E Stevenson II.
Ellen Borden Stevenson, prior to her marriage.
Above is the younger Ellen Borden, during her late teen years, in an oil portrait by Glyn Warren Philpot. Ellen’s father was John F. Borden, an oil man, explorer, and adventurer. It was her grandfather, William B. Borden, who made the Colorado gold strike that brought affluence to the Borden dynasty.
touramericashistory.blogspot.com
Adlai and Ellen Stevenson
Ellen Borden Carpenter’s daughter, Ellen, married Adlai E. Stevenson II in 1928, when she was 19, and they were divorced in 1949, while Mr. Stevenson was Governor of Illinois. His marriage to Ellen and their divorce were considered liabilities during his failed campaigns against Dwight D. Eisenhower for United States President in 1952 and 1956. Ellen voted for Republican Eisenhower in both elections.
Author photo: Robert F. Carl
