Beckham County, OK - Deaths: Joseph D. McCarty, 1928 20 August 2008 Submitted by: delma25@pldi.net (Delma Tindell) ********************************************************************* USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ********************************************************************* MC CARTY, JOSEPH D. (3 Feb 1928, The Carter Express, Carter, Beckham Co, OK): A very sudden and tragic accident happened in Carter on Tuesday afternoon of this week, costing the life of one of the most prominent and best known citizens in this part of the country, Mr. J. D. McCarty, cotton buyer and gin manager. The accident happened while a dray boy, Clarence Alley, was unloading some cotton, a bale of the cotton falling on Mr. McCarty and crushing him so badly that he only lived a few hours after being taken to a hospital at Elk City. According to the way the accident occurred as reported to us was that the boy had driven to one end of the rows of cotton to unload a bale when Mr. McCarty standing by told him to take that bale to the other end of the row or yard to unload and the boy drove to that end and dumped the bale off, not seeing Mr. McCarty as he was behind the cotton from the boy, the bale striking Mr. McCarty and crushing him so badly that he died as noted above. The tragic accident was not only a terrible shock to Mr. McCarty's family and other relatives, but was a shock to the people of Carter and the entire country around as there was not a more widely known man here than J. D. McCarty. He and his family lived in Carter a good many years, and he has been staying here through each season as manager of the Carter Gin plant since moving to Elk City about three years ago. Prior to that time he bought cotton in Carter each season from the time that the town first started, consequently he was known by every farmer in this part of the country and the farmers liked him and they liked to deal with him and sell their cotton to him and he will certainly be greatly missed by the folks here. The accident is also a terrible shock to the lad who was unloading the cotton, and his parents although we have not talked with any one who places any blame on the boy, it being regarded as an unavoidable accident. Deceased left a wife and three children to mourn his passing away, his wife and one daughter Mrs. Lee Davis, living at Elk City, Mrs. Joe VanVacter, at Carter, and Mrs. F. Y. Gaither at Merkel, Texas. The funeral was held at Elk City, a large crowd of Carter people being in attendance. --------------------------------------------------- Return to Beckham County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/beckham/beckham.html