In September 1881, Governor
Charles H. Bell appointed Carpenter to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and Carpenter therefore moved to
Concord, the state capital. On March 26, 1896, Governor
Charles A. Busiel elevated Carpenter to the office of Chief Justice, which had been vacated by the death of Chief Justice
Charles Cogswell Doe. This was "in response to the almost unanimous voice of the Bar of the State". Carpenter assumed the office on April 1, 1896, and remained until his death. Carpenter was prominently mentioned in connection with the vacancy on the bench of the United States Circuit Court, in the First Circuit, caused by the resignation of Judge
John Lowell in 1884. His appointment was "urged with great vigor by the entire New Hampshire Bar," but President
Chester A. Arthur appointed
LeBaron B. Colt of
Rhode Island instead. ==Personal life and death==