Henry Carpenter and Martha Blanchard were from New York where they married in 1832. Henry worked as a saddler and harness maker but after letters from Martha’s brother Walter who had moved to Illinois in 1836, he decided to come west and farm.
Martha and Henry had 3 children, 2 boys and one girl. One son died a the age of 5 in 1848 and an accident in 1857 took the life of their son Walter.
Henry and Martha saw their daughter marry Eugene Farrar in 1864. He was the grandson of the Stanleys and first pioneer child born in Downers Grove. Martha lived to see her 6 grandchildren before she died in 1882 at the age of 69.
