Carpenter, James Madison, 1888-1983

Biographical History

James Madison Carpenter (1888-1984) was born in Booneville, Mississippi. He received both a bachelor of arts degree (1913) and a master of arts degree (1914) from the University of Mississippi. He continued his graduate training at Harvard University, where he came under the tutelage of Professor George Lyman Kittredge, a ballad scholar. At Harvard, Carpenter became interested in British and American folk songs; his dissertation, Forecastle Songs and Chanties, was completed in 1929.

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