Uncle Jake Carpenter
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He was born January 4, 1833 on Three Mile Creek, N.C. and at the age of 22, married Evaline Pyatte. Jacob Carpenter II, affectionately called Uncle Jake, is a well known man in this area of western North Carolina because of a type of diary he kept, which is now known as "Uncle Jake Carpenter's Anthology of Death." Jake called it his "Son-of-a-Gun Book" or his "Jot-em-down-Book." It was a red-backed account ledger where Jake noted when someone in the local area died. He would write the person's name, date of death and a brief note about the deceased. From 1845 until 1920 he recorded the deaths of many of the local citizens with his limited knowledge of spelling or grammar. |
| Photo of Uncle Jake taken by Lenoir Franklin |
Uncle Jake's Anthology of Death |
