Biography: Ernest Peter Carstens, Caddo Parish La. Submitted by: Thomas J. Casteel **************************************************** ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ***** ERNEST PETER CARSTENS. JOHN KELTY, the maternal great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was captain of the dragoons in the Continental Army during the American Revolution and a native of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. John Kelty's son, Henry Kelty, the grandfather of the above mentioned subject, was appraiser of customs for the port of New Orleans and a very prominent man in the affairs of New Orleans at one time. Amelia, the daughter of Henry Kelty, married E. J. Carstens and they became the parents of Ernest Peter. The paternal grandfather was Peter Matthew Carstens, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark, and a captain in the Danish Royal Marine. During the latter part of his life, was a ship owner in his own right and furnished coffins to the American Government during the Mexican War. On one of his voyages to New Orleans he was married to Charlotte Adelaide Reioux, a cultured lady of the French aristocracy, being, as she was, the daughter of Pierre Simon Reioux, who had been governor of San Domingo under the French regime. When the War between the States broke out, the patriotic and ardent young Ernest John Carstens espoused the cause and fought for the Confederacy. At the close of the war he came to Shreveport and established himself in business and the life of the community in every form that his services were needed. For many years he was a merchant, handling glassware and house furnishing goods under the name of E. J. Carstens and Company, Alexander Grouchy being his partner. He was also a licensed auctioneer and a member of the Board of Trade. During the Reconstruction Period he was connected with every move to reestablish right and justice and to defend white supremacy. He identified himself with the Democratic Party and stood where people knew where to find him-ever true to the standards he followed. In 1874, E. J. Carstens married. His wife had been for years connected with teaching and continued to teach after their marriage until they moved to Shreveport. After leaving Shreveport the Carstens made their home in New Iberia on the banks of the Bayou Teche, the beautiful country of Evangeline. Mr. Carstens was proud of having enlisted with the Confederacy in Company "A" Crescent City Guards; Captain H. B. Stephens 'and Col. George Soule being his commanders, and enjoyed meeting his old comrades in grey. One who wore that uniform never appealed to him in vain for help. Ernest Peter was born in Shreveport, October 11, 1876. On October 12, his twin sister, Amelia, was born. She died of diphtheria when five years of age. There were three other sisters: Josie, who became Sister Mary Ernest, a teacher in St. Joseph Convent, Frankfort, Kentucky; Florence, now Mrs. Rene F. Clerc, whose husband represents the city of New Orleans at Washington and the only position of its kind in the United States; and Maud Martha, who graduated in Nazareth, Kentucky, and two brothers, Dr. Walter T. Carstens of New Iberia, Louisiana, and Charles J. The grandfather, Peter Matthew Carstens, spoke fluently nine languages and was Consul to Hong Kong. Ernest John, the father, was a scientific agriculturist, business man, auctioneer, and spoke four languages and a student of theology, having read the Bible through seven times. He was 83 at the time of his death and never wore glasses. He was also a painter and painted the likeness of an old negro stealing a codfish so strikingly, that Joe Jerrerson asked him to make him one, too. E. J. senior also was musically inclined, playing the flute and violin. He never used tobacco, nor a blasphemous word. From 1884 to 1888 business was demoralized and the senior Carstens began truck farming, although he had never before engaged in manual labor. In 1889 he went into business again. He had 50c to pay for the hauling of the lumber which was $15 worth, rented a store and opened business. Within ten years he and his wife accumulated a competence and had provided a college education for every member of the family. On account of the condition of the country during the Reconstruction days, the mother was afraid to live out from the store, so rooms were fitted up over the store on the corner of Louisiana and Texas streets where Ernest Peter was born. And here it was that the lovely mother and thrifty father imbued the son with the principles so essentially vital which developed a sagacity and business acumen and love for right which has made him the man he now is, placing him in the foremost ranks of his line and which have won for him an enviable reputation. His ideals are high and he is public spirited in a practical way. Although a very busy man he finds time to write an encouraging and inspiring word to working boys to spur them onward and upward; to create a love in them for work-the great Conqueror-and to let them feel that there are those who are cognizant of boys' struggles and ready to "root" for the fighter in the fray of life. Young Carstens went out on the road for the Hamilton Brown Shoe Company at which time he located in Shreveport permanently; for, although he was born in Shreveport, he was reared in New Iberia. When he severed his connections with the Hamilton Shoe Company it was to enter the Hearne Dry Goods Company, where he now is. He is president of the Retail Merchants Association, active in the Rotary, a member of the Chamber of Commerce; president of the Carnival Association; director of the Hearne Dry Goods Company and belongs to the Galvez Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Mr. Carstens married Miss Lizzie Bell Schnack of Alexandria, Louisiana, a daughter of C. A. and Maude (Kennedy) Schnack. She holds a prominent niche in the civic, religious and social life of Shreveport. They have one son, Carl Sloan Carstens, born in 1902, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and Harvard University. ===================================== From Chronicles of Shreveport and Caddo Parish, Maude Hearn O'Pry, 1928, Pages 339-340 ======================================