Musician Ernest “Ernie” Olbert Carpenter (April 10, 1907 – January 23, 1997) was born in Braxton County, where he lived his entire life. He was the son of Shelt and Mary Sholes Carpenter, and the grandson of William “Squirrely Bill” Carpenter.

The Carpenter family had deep roots in America and in central West Virginia. One branch emigrated from England to Rhode Island in 1636 before moving south to the Jackson River in Virginia in the mid-18th century. Two Carpenter brothers later became the first settlers along the Elk River in what is now Braxton County. Ernie Carpenter was the heir to a long family tradition of fishermen, hunters, rivermen, and fiddlers. According to family lore, the Elk River itself may have been named after an elk killed by his great-great-grandfather Jeremiah Carpenter: Jeremiah, the story goes, fashioned a crude boat from hickory widths, stretched the elk’s hide over it, loaded the meat inside, and pushed the small craft downriver to the Carpenter cabin.

Ernie Carpenter’s mother died in 1919, when he was 12. Like many of his generation, Carpenter was deeply shaped by the hardships of the Great Depression. He held a lasting admiration for Franklin D. Roosevelt and the government New Deal programs that helped ease the nation’s economic struggles. He would not utter FDR’s name without first pausing, standing up straight, and saying, “Our great President Roosevelt.”

In 1930, Carpenter married Mabel Green (1912–1992). He later served in the U.S. Army during World War II and worked as a glassworker in Clarksburg.

During the latter half of the 20th century, Carpenter became widely recognized as a master of traditional fiddling. His repertoire drew heavily on the musical traditions of central West Virginia, particularly tunes passed down through his own family. As interest in traditional music grew, he carried these tunes to concerts and workshops across the country—from Pennsylvania to Washington state—where younger musicians admired both his playing and his forthright personality. His older bowing style and general nature made him especially appealing to younger fiddlers seeking to learn traditional techniques.

Carpenter frequently spoke of the musical influence of his ancestors. When he received the Vandalia Award—West Virginia’s highest folklife honor—at the Culture Center in 1988, he expressed gratitude not only for himself but for the family tradition he represented, remarking, “I just wish my dad could be here.”

In addition to his musicianship, Carpenter was an important source of regional musical history and lore. He remembered the playing of one of West Virginia’s most significant early fiddlers, “Uncle Jack” McElwain, a close friend of his father. McElwain died in 1938 and was never recorded; Carpenter’s recollections, along with those of only a few others, provide rare documentation of McElwain’s music. Carpenter preserved several of McElwain’s tunes, including the signature piece “Old Sledge.” Carpenter also played numerous family tunes—such as “Shelvin’ Rock,” “Camp Run,” “Grandad’s Favorite,” and “Camp Chase”—that have since become popular in traditional music.

In the 1950s, Carpenter’s homeplace along the Elk River above Sutton was taken through eminent domain by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make way for the Sutton Dam. The loss of the family property deeply affected him, and he never fully reconciled himself to the event. The experience inspired his best-known original composition, “Elk River Blues,” which he recorded on the album Elk River Blues (Augusta Heritage, 1986). The tune has since entered the standard old-time fiddle repertoire.

The displacement also reinforced Carpenter’s lifelong distrust of government authority. He liked to say that the ability to play music was a great and precious gift—one thing politicians could never take away. Late in life he regularly visited the Braxton County Courthouse to ensure his taxes were fully paid, fearing his home might again be taken. Eventually, the county clerk posted a sign on the courthouse door reading, “Mr. Carpenter, your taxes are paid.”

Ernie Carpenter is remembered both for his musicianship and for preserving the fiddling traditions of his family and Braxton County. During the late-20th-century revival of old-time music, he was one of eight significant Braxton County fiddlers to be recorded commercially.