Howard-Bartholomew County IN Archives Biographies.....Carter, William T. 1852 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 21, 2006, 8:03 pm

Author: Jackson Morrow

WILLIAM T. CARTER.

    There is no calling however humble, in which enterprise and industry,
coupled with a well directed purpose, will not be productive of some measure of
success and in the pursuit of agriculture the qualities mentioned are quite
essential. Among the well known and highly respected farmers of Howard county
who have attained to a definite degree of success in their line and who, at the
same time have greatly benefited the community in which they live, is the
gentleman to a review of whose career we now direct the reader's attention.

    William T. Carter was born in Bartholomew county, Indiana, in 1852, the son
of Nathan and Mary (Browning) Carter, natives of New Jersey,, who moved to this
state during its early settlement, having entered land, farmed and raised a
family in Indiana during its infancy among the sister states of the Union, and
where they remained during the balance of their lives, the father dying at the
age of seventy years. Like many of the pioneer people their family was large,
consisting of twenty-one children. They were active members of the Methodist
church. He had nearly one thousand acres of land and became very prosperous. He
is remembered as a very generous man. This family were Methodists back to the
days of the subject's great-grandfather. The subject's maternal grandfather came
from New Jersey with his parents to Bartholomew county, remaining with his
father on the farm until of age, attending such schools as there were in the
county at that time, receiving what was then called a good education. He was
always a fanner, having inherited a portion of his father's land, making his
home there and accumulating other property until he had about five hundred acres
of land. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, all of whom reached
maturity and raised families of their own. He was a Methodist minister and died
at the age of fifty years. His wife was also a Methodist.

     The father of our subject was born in 1829 in Bartholomew county and
received his early education in that county, working in the meantime on his
father's farm, later inheriting and making a home on part of this land, but he
sold out there and came to Howard county in 1869, buying the farm on which our
subject and his mother now reside, which consists of one hundred and forty-seven
acres. Nathan Carter lived on this farm until his death in 1903, at the age of
seventy-three years. He recevied [sic] a fairly good education and was known as
a public-spirited man and generous to the needy. He was a Methodist in his
religious affiliations. Two children were born to Nathan Carter and wife: the
name of the other child beside our subject is Elzie M., who is a machinist in
Kokomo. He is married and has one child.

    The mother of grandmother Carter was a Miss Francis, born in Virginia, but
this family moved to Ohio where she and Mr. Browning were married, the father
being a native of Ohio. They came to Indiana in 1840 and settled in Bartholomew
county, where land was entered by them and on which they farmed and lived until
their death which occurred on the same day, less than six hours apart. The
father reached the age of eighty-two and the mother seventy-five. The date of
their deaths was 1867. They were Methodists. Mrs. Carter had two brothers in the
Civil war who enlisted from Indiana, Thomas being in the Seventy-third Regiment
Volunteer Infantry and was wounded in the battle of Antietam, the wound being so
serious that his discharge from the service became necessary, after he had
served over one year. He never recovered from the wound, having been a cripple
to the present day. The other brother, Vincent, was in the Seventy-Ninth
Volunteer Infantry, and he served until the close of the war, having been once
captured but was exchanged.

     The father of the subject was of Irish descent and the mother of English
ancestry, the latter being seventy-three years old in 1908 and is living with
her son, our subject. She is a woman of much more than ordinary intelligence,
her memory is bright and her physical health perfect.

    William T. Carter, our subject, attended school in Bartholomew and Howard
counties, working in the meantime on his fathers farm where he remained until
his father's death in Howard county. He was sixteen years old when he moved to
his present farm in Howard county where he has since remained. This farm is
exceptionally well drained, the work having been done by the subject and his
father, and the fences are of wood and wire, being in excellent condition. The
soil has been kept up to its former productive capacity through the skillful
management of our subject, who is a modern farmer in every respect. He not only
feeds all the corn to stock that the place produces but purchases much
additional. He believes in the use of clover to keep his land properly
fertilized, always rotating his crops. He feeds hogs for the market. Poland
China is his favorite breed, and he is regarded not only as one of the most
up-to-date farmers in the township where his fine farm is located, but also as a
man of unusually good judgment in the selection, care and handling of all kinds
of live stock.

    Mr. Carter was united in mariage [sic] in 1887 to Jennie F. Belt, a native
of Howard county. Her parents were natives of Ohio.

    Two children, have been born to the subject and wife, namely: Glen A., born
in 1879, is on the farm with his father; Verna B., who was born in 1880, died at
the age of two years, having lost his life in a tragic and unfortunate manner,
having been burned to death in a fire which destroyed the subject's barn. Mrs.
Carter was called to her rest in 1882, at the early age of twenty-two years. She
was a woman of many estimable traits, being a faithful Methodist, of which faith
our worthy subject is also an adherent, having been an elder in the church.

    Fraternally he is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, lodge at
Kokomo. In politics he is a Republican, long been active in the party, serving
with credit on various committees. He is a man of many praiseworthy traits,
being scrupulously honest in all his dealings with the business world, generous
and pleasant, possessing rare fortitude and good judgment, advocating clean
politics, wholesome living and honesty in business. Needless to add that such a
man has hosts of friends and stands high in the estimation of all who know him.


Additional Comments:
From:

HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY INDIANA
BY
JACKSON MORROW, B. A.
ILLUSTRATED
VOL. II
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

(circa 1909)

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