The university was new, and as a lobbying ploy to enhance legislative and public support, Carr and Daniel Read were inaugurated in a ceremony in the Assembly hall.

[3] Carr used the occasion to outline his educational philosophies, and throughout his time in Madison he continued to push for emphasis on practical relevancy of the coursework offered by the university.

[2] Outspoken and at times at odds with his colleagues, in 1867 Carr lost his faculty position during a general turnover due to reforms instituted by new university president Paul A.

[7] At first Carr and his wife Jeanne were unsure of their next career step, and made a trip back east to visit friends and family.

He then moved on to a career in politics, and in 1875 he was elected California Superintendent of Public Instruction, assuming office on December 6.

[10] Personal tragedy struck the Carrs during this time period (one son died in a railroad accident,[11] and another of a gunshot — some said murder, others said suicide[12][8]), and Ezra's health declined.

As a result he retired from active life and in 1880 moved into the newly formed Indiana Colony, the forerunner of Pasadena.

One exhibitor was a young man named John Muir who in his spare time on the family farm in Marquette County whittled a series of very clever clocks and similar devices.

What the Carrs did to enhance Muir's career was broad and general, nurturing his contact with the elite classes of society in late nineteenth century United States.

An important specific influence was when Jeanne Carr introduced Muir to the woman he would marry, Louisa "Louie" Strentzel.