Carl Carmer - Carmer's Life

Carmer's Life

Carmer was born in Cortland, New York. His father, Willis Griswold Carmer, was the principal of Dansville High School. His mother, Mary Lamson Carmer, grew up on a farm in Dryden, New York.

When he was five his father became principal of Albion High School in Albion, New York, which is upstate from New York City in the western part of the state. He graduated from Albion High School in 1910 and entered his father's alma mater, Hamilton College, where he earned his undergraduate degree. He subsequently received a Masters degree from Harvard.

He taught briefly at Syracuse University before accepting a position at the University of Alabama in 1927. After six years in Alabama, he returned to New York and married artist Elizabeth Black. He also became an assistant editor at Vanity Fair. In his later years, Carmer would work as a folklore consultant for Walt Disney Productions and produce a folklore radio series called "Your Neck o' the Woods." He also produced four albums of regional songs. He died on September 11, 1976, in Bronxville, New York.