Descendants of Levi Carter

 

 

Generation No. 1

 

1.  LEVI1 CARTER1,2 was born Abt. 1736 in Wales3, and died April 22, 1811 in Albany, Greene County, Tennessee4.  He married SUSANNA5 in probably Virginia.  She was born Abt. 1740 in Arnettesville, Monongalia County, Virginia5, and died 1819 in Albany, Greene County, Tennessee5.

 

Notes for LEVI CARTER:

      In the gedcom files I downloaded from the Internet, the marriage dates for Levi and Susanna ranged from 1753 and 1754 to 1769.  I have been unable to verify any of those dates.  Because of the long period of time between the births of John Carter in 1760, and Jesse Carter in 1774, it is possible that Susanna was Levi's second wife.   Also, the birth places of Levi and his family members, and Caleb and his family was gotten through sources on the Internet and may or may not be correct.  I simply pass it on without guaranteeing its accuracy.

 

      from: "Family History of Levi Carter," by E. V. Carter Schnegelberger, typed and rearranged by Charles Barnum, sent to Kathy Beaudry in January of 2004, used with permission:

 

      "Levi Carter, John Sr., Joseph, Caleb Sr., Nathan, Ephraim, and David were traced from New Jersey to Green County, Tennessee and were probably brothers.  In 1772 Caleb Carter claimed 400 acres of land in Monongalia County, Virginia (now part of W. VA).  Two years prior to the (American) Revolution, the served in Lord Dunmore's War.  Captain Zackquil Morgan's roll listed seventy-six names, was dated October 4, 1775 and included"  Levy Carter, Caleb Carter and Joseph Carter. 

      All three were credited with serving 162 days apiece, and being paid 12 pounds, 3 shillings each.

      "Levi had an active frontier life and withstood the hardships of military service.  Between 1775 and 1777 Levi owned land on Indian Creek, at the mouth of Lemasters Run, near Arnettsville.  The town then was Paoint Maron, Virginia where the Monongahela River and Cheat River join.  Levi and John each served two months at Pickett's Fort, located on the Monongahela River about twenty miles south of Morgantown, Virginia.  They were under the command of Capt. William Haymond and Lt. Morgan.

      "In 1777, the Carter brothers moved south through the Shenandoah Valley of the Appalachian Mountains to Surry County, North Carolina.  There, Caleb, Jesse, Nathaniel and John Carter were soldiers of North Carolina.  In 1780 Caleb, John, Abrahma, Joseph, and Levi paid taxes in Washington and Sullivan Counties of North Carolina.  The counties became part of Tennessee by 1783.  Hence, they were citizens of Tennessee.  John owned land adjoining Levi's on Lick Creek and built a fort called Carter Fort.  Today, a historical marker stands at Carter's Station and Cemetery.  Here the Cherokee Indians battled the settlers for several years.

      "A Revolutionary War voucher was issued to Levi Carter, No. 3538, by the state of North Carolina,  dated June 12, 1783.  The King's proclamation in 1763 forbid settlement west of the Appalachian Divide.  (Levi) Carter lived under the threat of death from the Tories, so the entire Carter clan moved to the Wautaga frontier in the Tennessee Valley.  Some of Levi Carter's sons who fought in the  War applied for pensions in 1830.  They gave New Jersey as their birthplace.  Proof of their land claims along the Lick Creek are stored in the North Carolina archives in Raleigh.

      "Levi's name appeared frequently in the Green County minutes after 1783, as did the names of James, Joseph, Caleb, Abraham, Elijah and Daniel (Carter).  In 1786 a road was to be built and the court ordered that Joseph, Abraham and Levi view and mark the route, and report  . . . the results . . .  In 1790, a Christian Society was organized, and they built a revival church on the hill at Carter's Station.  Today, a United Methodist Church stand nearby and continues the services which began in 1790.

      "Levi's will was dated 25 December 1809 . . . (and) read:

      "In the name of God amen.  Be it remembered that I Levy Carter of the County of Green and the State of Tennessee being sick and weak in body, and knowing that is appointed once to die, do make and publish this my last will and testament in manner and form folliwng, that is to say first, I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Susanna some of all my estate both real and personal property during her lifetime or widowhood and it is my will that my sons Joseph and Elijah receive no more than they have already received until the rest of my herirs receive the said sum of sixty dollars in trade.  Then after her decease for all my property be equally devided amongst all my heirs and I do hereby constitute and appoint my wife Susanna sole Executrix of this my last will and testament hereby revoking all former wills by me made in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal twenty fifth day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nine.                     Levy Carter

      "Levy died April 22, 1811 (and) Susanna died in 1816 and his children divided 151 acres."

 

 

More About LEVI CARTER:

Burial: Carter Station Cemetery, Albany, Greene County, Tennessee

 

Notes for SUSANNA:

      At the time of Susanna's birth, Monongalia County was part of Virginia, but is now located in West Virginia.  To date, I have been unable to document her last name.  She is simply referred to as "his wife Susanna" in written documents.

 

More About SUSANNA:

Burial: Carter Station Cemetery, Albany, Greene County, Tennessee

 

More About LEVI CARTER and SUSANNA:

Marriage: probably Virginia

     

Children of LEVI CARTER and SUSANNA are:

      i.    RACHEL2 CARTER6, b. 1754, New Jersey7,8; m. JOHN HARTLEY8, November 12, 1799, Greene County, Tennessee.

 

More About JOHN HARTLEY and RACHEL CARTER:

Marriage: November 12, 1799, Greene County, Tennessee

 

2.    ii.   CALEB CARTER, b. 1756, New Jersey; d. Aft. 1840, Monroe County, Tennessee.

      iii.  LEVI OR LEVY CARTER9, b. 1758, New Jersey10.

 

Notes for LEVI OR LEVY CARTER:

      Some records show Levi born in Greene County, Tennessee.

 

      iv.   JOHN CARTER11, b. 1760, Arnettesville, Monongalia County, Virginia11; m. POLLY TEMPLETON, February 09, 1815, Greene County, Tennessee.

 

Notes for JOHN CARTER:

      At the time of his birth, Arnettesville may have been in Virginia, but is now located in West Virginia.

 

More About JOHN CARTER and POLLY TEMPLETON:

Marriage: February 09, 1815, Greene County, Tennessee

 

3.    v.    JESSE CARTER, b. 1774, Arnettesville, Monangalia, Virginia; d. 1849, McMinn County, Tennessee.

      vi.   JOSEPH CARTER12, b. 1776, Surry, North Carolina.

      vii.  SUSANNAH CARTER12, b. 1780, Washington County, North Carolina.

      viii. ELIJAH CARTER12, b. April 07, 1786, Greene County, Tennessee; d. November 13, 1858, Gentry County, Missouri; m. UNKNOWN, August 15, 1811, Greene County, Tennessee.

 

More About ELIJAH CARTER and UNKNOWN:

Marriage: August 15, 1811, Greene County, Tennessee

 

      ix.   NATHAN CARTER12, b. 1788, Greene County, Tennessee; d. 1830, Greene County, Tennessee.

 

 

Generation No. 2

 

2.  CALEB2 CARTER (LEVI1)13 was born 1756 in New Jersey14, and died Aft. 1840 in Monroe County, Tennessee.  He married (1) PHOEBE WILLIAMS March 17, 1798 in Greenville, Greene County, Tennessee.  She was born Bef. 1782, and died Bef. 1809.  He married (2) RACHEL TEMPLETON15 May 18, 1809 in probably Greene County, Tennessee15. 

 

More About CALEB CARTER and PHOEBE WILLIAMS:

Marriage: March 17, 1798, Greenville, Greene County, Tennessee

 

More About CALEB CARTER and RACHEL TEMPLETON:

Marriage: May 18, 1809, probably Greene County, Tennessee15

     

Children of CALEB CARTER and PHOEBE WILLIAMS are:

      i.    NATHANIEL3 CARTER, b. Abt. 1800.

 

Notes for NATHANIEL CARTER:

      In "History of Texas . . . Central Texas," published in 1896 by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Nathaniel is credited as being "the author of Carter's Spelling-Book."

 

      ii.   PEGGY CARTER, b. 1805; m. JOHN FRAZIER16.

4.    iii.  DR. JOHN WESLEY CARTER, b. 1797, Greene County, Tennessee; d. Aft. 1864, probably Missouri.

 

     

Children of CALEB CARTER and RACHEL TEMPLETON are:

      iv.   ALFRED3 CARTER, b. Abt. 1810.

      v.    PLEASANT CARTER, b. Abt. 1811.

      vi.   JASPER CARTER, b. Abt. 1812.

      vii.  BURTON CARTER, b. Abt. 1813.

      viii. POLLY CARTER, b. Abt. 1814.

      ix.   SOPHIA CARTER, b. Abt. 1815.

 

 

3.  JESSE2 CARTER (LEVI1)17 was born 1774 in Arnettesville, Monangalia, Virginia, and died 1849 in McMinn County, Tennessee.  He married SUSANNA HARMON18 January 09, 1798 in Greene County, Tennessee18.  She was born November 19, 1775 in Greene County, Tennessee18, and died September 04, 1865 in McMinn County, Tennessee18.

 

More About JESSE CARTER and SUSANNA HARMON:

Marriage: January 09, 1798, Greene County, Tennessee18

     

Children of JESSE CARTER and SUSANNA HARMON are:

      i.    HENDERSON C.3 CARTER18, b. 1800, Greene County, Tennessee18; d. August 10, 1868, McMinn County, Tennessee18.

      ii.   NANCY MARIAH CARTER18, b. 1802, Greene County, Tennessee18; d. November 17, 1875, Washington County, Missouri18.

      iii.  JAMES CARTER18, b. 1804, Greene County, Tennessee18; d. 1853, Tennessee18.

      iv.   MARGARET CARTER18, b. 1810, probably Greene County, Tennessee; d. Bet. 1830 - 185018.

      v.    JOHN CARTER18, b. April 13, 1813, Greene County, Tennessee18; d. January 24, 1868, Jackson Township, Washington County, Missouri18.

      vi.   SUSAN CARTER18, b. Abt. 1814, Greene County, Tennessee18; m. LEVI PRESLEY18; b. 1807, Tennessee18.

      vii.  JESSE CARTER, JR.18, b. Abt. 1817, Greene County, Tennessee18; d. October 05, 1854, Hopkins County, Kentucky18.

5.    viii. PETER T. CARTER, b. 1818, Greene County, Tennessee; d. January 25, 1882, On home farm, north of Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri.

      ix.   LEWIS M. CARTER18, b. 1820, Monroe County, Tennessee18; d. May 23, 1870, Monroe County, Tennessee; m. ELIZABETH FOSTER18, June 15, 1841, Monroe County, Tennessee.

 

More About LEWIS CARTER and ELIZABETH FOSTER:

Marriage: June 15, 1841, Monroe County, Tennessee

 

 

Generation No. 3

 

4.  DR. JOHN WESLEY3 CARTER (CALEB2, LEVI1) was born 1797 in Greene County, Tennessee, and died Aft. 1864 in probably Missouri.  He married SOPHIA HILL August 15, 1820 in Monroe County, Tennessee, daughter of PLEASANT HILL and MRS. HILL.  She was born 1802 in North Carolina, and died 1858 in McNairy, Tennessee.

 

Notes for DR. JOHN WESLEY CARTER:

      John Wesley was known by his middle name, and was a physician.

      In a biographical sketch of his son, Henry Jones Carter, the following is written about John Wesley Carter:

 

      "He (referring to Henry) was born in Monroe County, east Tennessee . . . but in 1839 was taken by his parents, Wesley and Sophia (Hill) Carter, to McNairy County, in the western part of the state.  The father's birth (meaning Wesley's) occurred in Virginia in 1800, and in Green County, Tennessee, he married Miss Hill, who was born in North Carolina, in 1802.  They became the parents of eight children: Renie, Phoebe Jane, Henry J., James A., Drusilla, Lucinda, John W. and Margaret.  The mother (Wesley's wife Sophia Hill Carter) died in 1858, and during the civil war the father went to Missouri, since which time nothing has been heard of him.   His father (meaning Wesley's father), Caleb Carter, was also a native of Old Dominion (a nickname for the state of Virginia) . . ."

 

note from Kathy Beaudry:

The above "sketch" of Henry Jones Carter says that Wesley Carter was born in 1800 in Virginia, yet in another "sketch," of John W. Carter, Jr., Wesley is said to have been "born in Tennessee in 1797, and was a doctor by profession . . . They were married in Greene County, Tennessee, and the following children were born to them: Jane, Sarah, Phoebe, Henry J., James A., Druscilla, Joseph, Lucinda, John W., and Margaret . . ."

 

sent to me by Charles Barnum, February of 2004:

 

"Subject: Dr. John Wesley Carter father of several Hamilton County Texas Carter families.

 

      The migration of Dr. John Wesley Carter has been determined to a fuller extent based on recent findings. He departed Greene County Tennessee on  or before 1820 and moved to Monroe County Tennessee. His father was Caleb Carter.

 

The 1830 Monroe County Tennessee census listed John Carter as follows on page 111.

John W. Carter

males 1  each-20 to 30 (John W. Carter)

males 2  each-under 5

(James)

(Henry)

 

females 1 each-20 to 30 (Sophia Hill, wife)

females 2 each-5 to 10

 (Phoebe Jane)

 (Drusilla)

females 1 each-under 5

(Lucinda)

 

      The 1820 Monroe and Greene County censuses of Tennessee were burned; however, the 1830 census of Monroe enumerated Caleb Carter.

Caleb Carter

male 1  each 60-69 (Caleb Carter)

male 1 each 10-14  (grandchild?)

 

female 1  each 60-69 (Rachel Templeton)

female 1 each 10-14 (grandchild?)

female 2  each 20-29 (possibly Polly & Sophia married with children)

     

      Dr. John Carter travelled along the Tennessee River from Greene County across Alabama until he arrived at Tishomingo County Mississippi about 1839. There his last child, Margaret, was born. He moved to McNairy County Tennessee in 1842. Most of his children married in Tennessee. Renie and Joseph were born and died between 1830 and 1840 and therefore did not appear on any census.

 

The 1840 Tishomingo County Mississippi census was as follows:

males 1 each-30 to 40 (John W. Carter)

males under 1 each-under 5 (John Jr Carter)

males 2 each--10 to 15

(James Carter)

(Henry Carter)

 

females 1 each-30 to 40 (Sophia Hill, wife)

females 1 each--under 5 (Margaret)

females 2 each-5 to 10

(Lucinda)

 (Sarah)

females 2 each-15 to 20

(Drusilla)

(Phoebe Jane)

 

 

1850 McNairy County Tennessee Census

John W. Carter, Physician           51    Tennessee

Sophia                        47    Virginia

John (Junior)                 14    Tennessee

Margaret                10    Mississippi

 

Dr. Carter departed Tennessee for Missouri in 1864 and never communicated with his family thereafter. John Wesley Carter Junior, farmer/rancher, married in McNairy County in 1855 to Elizabeth Jane Rushing. In 1870 he lived in Purdy, McNairy Co. Tennessee as shown on the census.

 

            #143

            Carter, John      35    Tennessee  

            Jane        38    Alabama

            James E.          14    Tennessee

            John R.           11    Tennessee

            Anderson  J.      07    Tennessee

            Sarah A.          06    Tennessee

            Missouri    a     04    Tennessee

            Jessee O.   08    Tennessee

            George W.   01    Tennessee                                             

     

      John Wesley Carter Junior moved to Hamilton TX in 1877 possibly passing through Collins Co TX not Collins Co TN as was reported in a Hamilton County History as there was no Collins County  in Tennessee. Additionally, I possess no evidence that he passed through Collins Co. TX.

      Several historic articles stated Caleb Carter was killed in the American Revolution. The Am. Rev. was fought between 1775 and 1781. Caleb Carter fathered  James W. Crater, Physician, in 1799. Therefore, it was impossible that Caleb died in the Am. Rev. and fathered a child eighteen years later. Caleb died about 1840 as traced through the records. That inaccurate story has been handed down to the present even into the Masonic records-The Texas Mason, Spring 1995. Caleb's father, Levi, also did not die in the Am. Rev. as he died in 1752, i.e. twenty-three years before the war began.

      I respectfully request errors in this report be called to my attention.

       CWBarnum

       1068 Pinewood Dr Sparks

       NV 89434"

 

 

More About JOHN CARTER and SOPHIA HILL:

Marriage: August 15, 1820, Monroe County, Tennessee

     

Children of JOHN CARTER and SOPHIA HILL are:

      i.    DRUSILLA4 CARTER, b. Abt. 1822.

      ii.   JOSEPH A. CARTER, b. Abt. 1823.

      iii.  PHOEBE JANE CARTER, b. January 20, 1825.

6.    iv.   HENRY JONES CARTER, b. September 04, 1826, Monroe County, Tennessee; d. September 06, 1906, Hamilton County, Texas.

7.    v.    JAMES ATCHLEY CARTER, b. September 17, 1828, Monroe County, Tennessee; d. August 30, 1911, Hamilton County, Texas.

      vi.   LUCINDA CARTER, b. 1829.

      vii.  SARAH S. CARTER, b. Abt. 1830.

8.    viii. JOHN WESLEY CARTER, JR., b. January 29, 1835, Monroe County, Tennessee; d. October 30, 1882, Hamilton County, Texas.

      ix.   RENIE CARTER, b. Abt. 1837.

      x.    MARGARET CARTER, b. 1840.

      xi.   DRUCILLA CARTER, b. Abt. 1842.

 

 

5.  PETER T.3 CARTER (JESSE2, LEVI1)18 was born 1818 in Greene County, Tennessee18, and died January 25, 1882 in On home farm, north of Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri18.  He married JERUSHA DOBBS18 March 03, 1842 in McMinn County, Tennessee.  She was born 1826 in Tennessee, and died Abt. 1859 in Daviess County, Missouri.

 

Notes for PETER T. CARTER:

      All the info on Peter, his spouse Jerusha and their children was sent via e-mail to me by Susan Price.

 

More About PETER CARTER and JERUSHA DOBBS:

Marriage: March 03, 1842, McMinn County, Tennessee

     

Children of PETER CARTER and JERUSHA DOBBS are:

      i.    JOHN LIDE4 CARTER, b. January 12, 1844, Athens, McMinn County, Tennessee; d. October 12, 1929, Sand Springs, Tulsa County, Oklahoma; m. MARGARET A. BELCHER, October 29, 1865, Daviess County, Missouri; b. June 06, 1850, Missouri; d. May 29, 1928, Sand Springs, Tulsa County, Oklahoma.

 

More About JOHN CARTER and MARGARET BELCHER:

Marriage: October 29, 1865, Daviess County, Missouri

 

9.    ii.   SUSAN ELLEN CARTER, b. 1846, Athens, McMinn County, Tennessee; d. March 30, 1862, Daviess County, Missouri.

      iii.  JAMES CARTER, b. 1848.

10.   iv.   JASPER NEWTON CARTER, b. May 23, 1850, Athens, McMinn County, Tennessee; d. January 23, 1924, Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri.

      v.    JESSE CARTER, b. May 08, 1852.

      vi.   FRANKLIN PIERCE CARTER, b. May 10, 1853.

      vii.  JULIANN TENNESSEE CARTER, b. August 31, 1855.

 

 

Generation No. 4

 

6.  HENRY JONES4 CARTER (JOHN WESLEY3, CALEB2, LEVI1)19,20 was born September 04, 1826 in Monroe County, Tennessee, and died September 06, 1906 in Hamilton County, Texas.  He married MARY CAROLINE PRESTON21 May 14, 1848 in McNairy County, Tennessee22, daughter of JOHN PRESTON and ELIZABETH RUNNELS.  She was born June 11, 1830 in Tennessee, and died October 24, 1917 in Perryton, Ochiltree County, Texas23,24.

 

Notes for HENRY JONES CARTER:

      from:  freepages.genealogy.rootsweb/com~gazeteer2000/b/bl_ridge/blu_sch.htm

 

                              "BLUE RIDGE SCHOOLS

 

      In 1878 a group of Blue Ridge citizens met at the home of Marion Andrew Whittenton to organize a school community.  This meeting was attended by Henry Jones Cater, J.F. Bullard, George Knoll, Robert Richey, Thomas Wesley, Russell Ficus, Levi Angel, James Monroe Chamblisss, Able Koen, and John Hannah Brown.

      Funds were raised to build  a school house.  It was decided at this meeting to name the new school Blue Ridge and John Hannah Brown offered a lot for the school.  John Brown's offer was rejected because it did not have a water source.  Henry Jones Carter gave a lot where a well could be dug.  Lumber was hauled from Waco in 1878 and the one-room building was erected by volunteers during the summer of 1879.

      Levi Angel was employed on 26 September, 1879, as the first teacher when Henry Jones Carter, M.A. Whittington, and J.F. Bullard were trustees.  Among the first students to attend this school were Silas Allen, Mrs. Ambler Willis, and Mrs. J.G. Northcutt.  At one time the Blue Ridge School had over one hundred pupils with only one teacher.  Some older students assisted the teacher by "hearing the lessons" of younger students.  Other early teachers included Capt. Alfred Hayne Watson,  a Mr. Thomas, R.P. Edgar, Joseph Hardy "Joe" Dixon, T.A. Putnam, H.A. Allen, T. B. Cooper and Miss Lizzie Patterson.  Una Toland Brown taught school at Blue Ridge for two years before she attended college in Denton and before she married Vance Brown.

      Later teachers included Martha Kirkland "Mattie" Boyd (who later became Mrs. John Milner), Herman and Sammie Gault Walton, William Jennings Harris, Dessie Baize Griggs, a Miss Patterson, A Mrs. Anderson, Wilma Faye Henderson (who later married Newton Parrish), Leone Riley (who later married Joe Poston), Pearl Moore, Mrs. Geneva Sills Allen, and Len Dalton.  Kathryn Baker was principal at Blue Ridge during World War 1."

 

from: "History of Texas . . . Central Texas," Published in 1896 by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago.  This was sent to me (Kathy Beaudry) by Carolyn Carter Schiewe, in July, 2002, and is a verbatim account of the biographical sketch, with some clarifications in parentheses added by me.

 

      "Henry Jones Carter, a pioneer of Texas, is one of the largest landowners of Hamilton county, where he is actively and prosperously engaged in agricultural pursuits.  The flourishing condition of this county, with its splendid farms, many comfortable dwellings, fine churches and substantial school buildings, is a monument to the perseverance and labors of the brave men who, like our subject, patiently endured the trials of a pioneer life that they might develop the wonderful and varied resources of this region, and make for themselves and their children a pleasant home in this fruitful and goodly land.

      "He was born in Monroe county, east Tennessee, September 4, 1826, but in 1839 was taken by his parents, Wesley and Sophia (Hill) Carter, to McNairy County, in the western part of the state.  The father's birth occurred in Virginia in 1800, and in Greene County, Tennessee, he married Miss Hill, who was born in North Carolina, in 1802.  They became the parents of eight children: Renie, Phoebe Jane, Henry J., James A., Drusilla, Lucinda, John W. and Margaret.  The mother died in 1858, and during the civil war the father went to Missouri, since which time nothing has been heard of him.  His father (meaning Wesley Carter's father), Caleb Carter, was also a native of the Old Dominion (a nickname for the state of Virginia), and married Miss Williams, by whom he had three children: Wesley; Nathaniel, the author of Carter's spelling-book; and Mrs. John Frazier.  For his second wife the grandfather wedded Miss Templeton, and to them were born several children.  Pleasant Hill, the maternal grandfather of our subject, married Sally Riptoe, and they had a number of children, among whom were Alfred, Pleasant, Jasper, Burton, Polly and Sophia.

      "On reaching man's estate, Henry J. Carter was married, May 14, 1848, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Caroline Preston, who was born in Tennessee, in June, 1830, and is the daughter of Jack Preston.  Eleven children blessed this union: James Wesley, John Quincy, Joseph Henry, Sarah Jane, Mary Gussie (born Mary Augusta), Frances Harriet, deceased, George Raymond, Alexander Lee, deceased, Francis Marion, deceased, Alfred Lafayette and David Mitchell.

      "With his wife, Mr. Carter left Tennessee, March, 1849, for Texas, going by water to New Orleans, then up the Red river, landing at Shreveport, Louisiana, thence by land to Harrison County, Texas, thence they went to Smith county, where he rented land until 1856.  On the 15th of September of that year he became the first settler on Cowhouse creek, in what is now Hamilton County, their nearest neighbor being his brother, James A., who lived seven miles distant, at what is now Evant.  At about twelve miles distant resided James Rice and Henry C. Standefer, the first settlers on Leon river in Hamilton County, who were considered neighbors.  For sixteen year (for which he received nothing but two percussion caps), Mr. Carter engaged in skirmishes with the Indians, being in the fight at Dove creek, where twenty-seven white men were killed and seventeen wounded.  This campaign was one of the most severe and last for thirty days, during which time men not used to cold weather spent a large portion of the time wading in snow several feet deep.  The settlers were also reduced to dire extremities for want of food during this service.

      "On the Cowhouse, Mr. Carter preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land in 1873, and during those trying early days lost $500 in the cattle business, which proved a sad misfortune at that time.  However, to-day his is the owner of thirty-four hundred acres in Hamilton county, five hundred of which are under a high state of cultivation and well improved, his property being valued at one hundred thousand dollars (in 1896), all accumulated through his own individual efforts.  He comes of a most highly respected family, and he is a credit to the worthy family name he bears.  That he has made his career a grand success is due to his untiring energy, affability, integrity and judicious conduct as a business man.  He always supported the Democratic party until lately, now voting independently of party ties.  In religious relations he is a member of the Christian church."

 

 

from an unnamed newspaper story on the history of Texas, this article was sent to me (Kathy Beaudry) in July, 2002, by Carolyn Carter Schiewe:

 

                  "EARLY SETTLERS WERE RELIGIOUS     

                        by Dona Kauitzsch

 

      "From the very earliest settlers the people never forgot or neglected the religious side of their lives.

      "The Carters, who first settled in this section, were devout members of the 'Christian Church.'  Whenever it was possible they had a minister to come and hold a meeting.

      "When the Methodists, Baptists, and Primitive Baptists moved in, they all attended one another's services.  Every preacher was welcome to preach in any frontier school house, there were no rural churches in those days of Hamilton County.

      "This story, told by Mrs. Emma Arnett of Hamilton, happened almost 80 years ago.

      "Her great uncle, Henry Carter, lived on and owned the Stribling place.  He had not yet built the large house but he was still living in in a large log cabin.  The Blue Ridge school house had been built, and the minister had come to hold a meeting.  He insisted that they observe Christmas with a Christmas Tree at the school house.  They were to get someone to explain to the crowd just what Christmas really meant and how they should observe it.  The Christmas tree was decided, then came the question, "Who on earth could make that talk?"  It was finally decided to ask Mr. Carter's nephew, William Ballard, who lived just across the Cowhouse from the Carter Mill.  Ballard was a Methodist and he could pray the best prayers, and make the best talks in the county.  Ballard accepted the responsibility.  He and his family went in a wagon to the Carter home early Christmas eve morning, as they had asked his wife, Annie, to help with the tree decorating.

      "The eldest Ballard child (Mrs. Arnett) was quite a small girl.  She was frightened when they were greeted by Carter's seven sons.  She had never seen so many big, tall boys together and she was afraid.

      "They boys sat on seats that had been made by sawing curved logs into lengths - that were set on uprights - the proper heights.  Little Emma would have nothing to do with the boys, no matter how hard they coaxed.  Until something very interesting happened.  They brought in a wash tub and some pop corn.  With a covered, long handled, iron skillet they began popping corn over the fire in the open fire place.  They never stopped until they had the big 'wash-tub' heaping full, only then would Emma 'make friends' with her mother's cousins.

      "Soon women and their children came to the Carter place.  They had their precious needles, thimbles, and many long threads that they had spun very fine, and twisted tightly for strength.  The group began stringing pop-corn, yards and yards of it, they took a bag of blueing (used in laundering) and made a pan of strong solution of it, this they dipped a part of their corn string into and they came out a beautiful light blue.  Then they decided that they must have some aniline to make red dye (exactly what they needed).  Annie Ballard had some, that her father had brought her from Galveston; but it was 12 miles away.  The men had gone to "the breaks" for a tree.  Must they send a boy that far alone?  What if the Indians should come?  What if his horse stumbled and left him helpless with a broken leg?

      "No, this they would do, pioneer style "the best they could, with what they had."

      "That night when they went to the school house, never had the children seen anything so beautiful.  The large cedar tree reached from floor to ceiling.  It was draped with blue and white ropes of pop corn.

      "The present were not wrapped, but were stacked at the foot of the tree and hung all over it, unwrapped, by hand spun threads.  There were rag dolls and other stuffed toys; guns and pistols that had been whittled from lumber, dresses, shirts, shoes, stockings, and many other handmade things.  Each child got a bag of nuts (from the river) and home made candy.  The seven Carter boys got a beautiful 'jackknife apiece."  These had been brought from Galveston the autumn before and they had been hidden in an iron pot that had been buried under the dirt floor of the cabins.  Wax candles, home molded, had been placed in a circle around the tree and grease lamps and lanterns hung on the wall behind it.  Every thing was very beautiful.

      After "Cousin William" had told them the lovely story about the Christ child, the older ones bowed for prayers.  (Not the youngsters, they could not take their eyes off of the glamourous tree.)

      "Soon the little girls were mothering a rag doll and little boys were aiming wooden guns.

      "How would the children of this generation like toys like that for Christmas.  They would be insulted, of course."[charles.FTW]

 

      BLUE RIDGE SETTLERS

 

            EARLY SETTLERS

            Joseph Henry Carter arrived with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry

            Jones Carter, in Hamilton County from Tennessee on 15 September,

            1856, and became the first settlers on the Cowhouse Creek. Indian

            raids caused Mr. Carter to leave his family in the new town of

            Hamilton, while he and the older boys lived in a log cabin at Blue

            Ridge. With oxen they sodded the largest farm in Hamilton County

            because Mr. Carter had acquired more than a league of land. A double

            log house was built and as soon as conditions were deemed safe all

            of the family moved to the farm, and helped to organize and to built

            the Blue Ridge School. In 1872 Henry Carter built a large two-story

            house at Blue Ridge, hauling lumber from Waco on ox-drawn wagons. In

            October, 1907, this house was sold to Thomas Edwin Stribling and his

            wife Martha Mariah "Mattie" Kirkland Stribling. This house, which

            burned in 1977, was later known as the Jack Stribling house. I

            retrieved from the ashes some of the square nails which held this

            house together.

 

            In the mid 1870's many early settlers built small houses on public

            school land at Blue Ridge with the hope that land would be placed on

            the market at affordable prices. In 1876 public school land at Blue

            Ridge was sold at prices from 25 cents to $2.50 an acre.

            Other pioneers began settling at Blue Ridge in the 1870's. Marion

            Andrew Whittenton and his wife Mary Elizabeth Bullard Whittenton

            arrived at Blue Ridge on December 23, 1871, and camped by a spring

            and lived in their covered wagon and a dugout until a house could be

            built. In 1876 Marion Andrew Whittenton donated land to establish a

            public cemetery--the Whittenton Cemetery at Blue Ridge. Mr.

            Whittenton made splints, set bones and made caskets for neighbors.

            Mr. Whittenton helped establish the first school at Blue Ridge and

            was one of the first trustees. Mrs. Whittenton’s sister, Miralda and

            her husband Tom Wesley arrived at Blue Ridge shortly after the

            Whittentons.

 

            George Knoll met Nancy Ann Ruth Koen at a singing in the home of a

            friend at Blue Ridge and they were married 21 December, 1876. George

            Knoll helped establish schools, churches, and post offices at both

            Blue Ridge and Aleman where they later lived. The Koens came to

            Hamilton County in 1876 with their sister Ozilee Pierson and family.

            On July 20, 1880, A. P. Koen married Eunice Ann West

            and Lizzie Bullard came to Blue Ridge from Brundedge, AL. They were

            joined in 1877 by William Hilliard Bullard and his mother Amanda M.

            Spence (Bullard) Davis and younger siblings Sara "Babe" and Alfred

            Davis. The trip from AL to Waco was by train. From Waco to Blue

            Ridge two longhorn steers pulled their wagon over snow-covered

            trails. William Hilliard Bullard returned to AL for his wife, Cora

            Allen Bullard, and their baby son John

            

            James Lemuel Grisham, Sr. with his wife Margaret Amanda (Jones)

            Grisham arrived at Blue Ridge from Fannin County, TX before July,

            1880, with four young children--William Richard, James Lemuel "Lem"

            Jr., Ida Rose Anna, and Charles Ephraim. James Lemuel and Margaret

            Amanda Grisham were charter members of the Blue Ridge Baptist Church

            of Christ. For many years they made semi-annual trade trips to

            Lampasas in their ox drawn wagon to buy staples. The trip took days

            of travel each way.

            

            William Henry Jarius "Billy" Fergusson and his wife, Sarah Alexander

            "Sallie" (Adcock) Fergusson moved from Bell County, TX, to a

            Cowhouse farm of John Dillard Hunt in 1890 with their

            children--Robert Jeff, Charles Johnson, Callie Mae, Luther Guy and

            Maggie Roberta.

             

            In October, 1907, Thomas Edwin Stribling purchased the Henry Jones

            Carter farm and two-story house. He and his family arrived in

            Hamilton County from Coryell County, TX on 31 October and 1

            November, 1907. His family included his wife, Martha Mariah "Mattie"

            (Kirkland) Stribling and their children, Anna Jane Stribling, Amanda

            Elizabeth "Mandy" (Stribling) Crain, William Joseph "Joe", John

            Thaddeus "Jack", Neil Augustus, and Eugene Perry "Pet." Also moving

            were Mandy’s husband, James Wesley "Jim" Crain and their children--

            James Edwin, Robert Verne, Ruby Pearl, and Lura Bernice; and Joe’s

            wife, Lillian "Lilly" Dooley Stribling and their children--Willie

            Eunice, Jessie Laura, and Thomas Edgar.

            

            In 1928 Verge (Claudie Virgus) Grisham built a store/filling station

            with an attached rock ice house. A feed mill was added. The

            store/filling station which had attached living quarters was later

            operated by Elmo and Mildred (Williams) Newsom, Bill and Lorene

            (Williams) Jones, and Elzie and Mildred (Raibourn) Kemp. The REA

            brought electricity to Blue Ridge in 1939.

            

 

More About HENRY JONES CARTER:

Burial: Graves-Gentry Cemetery, Hamilton County, Texas

 

Notes for MARY CAROLINE PRESTON:

      The 1910 census for Ochiltree County, Texas lists Mary as living with her son Fayette Carter and his family, in which place she was still living at the time of her death.  She had divorced her husband, Henry Jones Carter, in 1896.

 

from "The Hamilton Herald-News, The Hamilton Rustler," Hamilton, Texas:

 

                  "THE PASSING OF MRS. MARY C. CARTER

 

      Pioneer Woman of Hamilton County Dies in Ochiltree Brought Back to Old Home For Burial.

 

      Mrs. Mary C. Carter died at the home of her son, Fayette Carter in Ochiltree County, last Wednesday, October 24, at 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon.     She had been ill only a short time, just a gentle going to sleep because the night time of life had come, and she was weary with its problems, its sorrows and even its joys.  The shadows had grown long, the Beacon Light on the other shore sent out its rays to brighten the track of the waters for the one whose eyes had grown dim to the things that lay along the pathway here, and she laid down the burden of her years and passed over.

      Deceased was born in Tennessee in the year of 1830, being at her death 87 years of age.  She was married in Tennessee to H. J. Carter in 1848.  Together they came to Texas in 1849, settling in Smith County.  In 1854 they moved to Hamilton County, settling in the fertile valley of the Cowhouse, the estate becoming baronial in extent and wealth.  To their union was born eleven children, eight sons and three daughters, only one of whom, Mrs. Gussie Livingston of the Farnash community resides in this county.  She made her home with her son, Fayette Carter who with his family and his mother moved to Ochiltree county in 1912.  Thus it was for more than half century she lived in Hamilton county, in the early days battling with and subduing hardships and trials of Pioneer life, a life which robbed womanhood of that protection and tender care which the chivalry of more advanced civilization accords it, yet she was a woman pure and true, a Christian, and exemplary in every relation of life.

      By her request the body accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Fayette Carter, was brought back to the old family home where a granddaughter of Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Stribling, resides.  From there the funeral cortege came to Hamilton Sunday afternoon, burial taking place in the old Hamilton cemetery at 3:30 o'clock.  Rev. J. Hall Bowman, pastor of the Methodist church conducting the funeral service.  Mrs. Carter had been a consistent member of the Methodist church since a young girl.

      Many friends in Hamilton as well as from over the county were gathered at the grave to pay a last tribute of love and respect to this "Mother in Israel" who had gone to her reward.  The sympathy of all goes out to the griefstricken loved ones, but they seek not in vain for comfort, for every promise of the scriptures in vouchsafed to them for consolation.

      "There's no regret or worry where she is,

      No look back, no pain no grief to bear;

      No farewell kisses, no last touch of bliss.

      No loneliness, no missing, not a tear."

 

      This obituary appeared in the newspaper on November 1, 1917; date of death was October 24, 1917.

     

 

More About MARY CAROLINE PRESTON:

Burial: October 28, 1917, Old Hamilton Cemetery, Hamilton, Texas25

 

More About HENRY CARTER and MARY PRESTON:

Divorce: May 1896, Hamilton County, Texas

Marriage: May 14, 1848, McNairy County, Tennessee26

     

Children of HENRY CARTER and MARY PRESTON are:

      i.    JAMES WESLEY5 CARTER27,28, b. April 22, 1850, Smith County, Texas29; d. March 10, 1912, Hamlin, Jones County, Texas30; m. (1) SAMANTHA JOSEPHINE KUYKENDALL31, September 16, 1874, Hamilton County, Texas31; m. (2) EVELINE JACKSON31, Abt. 190331.

 

Notes for JAMES WESLEY CARTER:

 

From The Hamilton Record and Rustler, dated March 14, 1912.

 

                  "Committed Suicide"

 

            James W. Carter, Former Hamilton Citizen Commits

            Suicide by Taking Strychnine---

 

      "Sheriff Ed Beck was apprised by phone message from Hamlin last Sunday of

the death by suicide of James W. Carter of that city at about 10:30 o'clock that morning. 

Until a few years ago Mr. Carter was a citizen of Hamilton County and is survived by a

brother, A. L. Carter, of Blue Ridge, and a son, David Carter, of Evant, and two daughters,

Mesdames Lady Hastings and May Jones, also of Evant in this county.  Relatives were

informed of the deplorable affair and David Carter left on the afternoon train to attend the

funeral.  We have been unable to obtain particulars as to the cause of his committing the rash act. "

 

 

More About JAMES CARTER and SAMANTHA KUYKENDALL:

Marriage: September 16, 1874, Hamilton County, Texas31

 

More About JAMES CARTER and EVELINE JACKSON:

Marriage: Abt. 190331

 

      ii.   JOHN QUINCY CARTER32,33,34,34, b. July 11, 1851, Smith County, Texas35,35,35; d. February 18, 1934, Tulare County, California36; m. ELIZABETH BLANSIT37,38, Abt. 1872, Hamilton County, Texas; b. September 1856, Alabama; d. November 08, 1931, Tulare County, California.

 

Notes for JOHN QUINCY CARTER:

      In the 1880 census for Hamilton County Texas, John's occupation is listed as farmer, with his parents both born in Tennessee.  At that time he was living  with his wife Elisabeth and 5 children.  In the 1900 census, John is shown living in Foard County, Texas with his wife "Lizzie" and 9 children, the youngest of whom is Grace, the grandmother of Kathy Beaudry.   According to that record, Elizabeth had 16 children, with 13 still living.   In the 1910 census, John and his wife are listed as having 10 children, with 9 still living, and Elizabeth is said to have been born in Texas, which is incorrect.  I would guess that one of the children gave the information to the census taker.   In the 1920 census, he was living in Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona with his wife Elizabeth, daughter Grace Downey, and grand-daughter Evelyn Downey.  

      After I found the information about John's death on-line from a site that lists the records of burials in the Visalia Cemetery,  I visited the cemetery and took pictures.  Neither John nor his wife have headstones, just a concrete "button" in the ground to mark the plot number.

     

 

More About JOHN QUINCY CARTER:

Burial: February 20, 1934, Visalia Cemetery, Visalia, Tulare County, California39,39,39

 

Notes for ELIZABETH BLANSIT:

      In the 1900 census for Foard County, TX, Elisabeth is listed as having 16 children  with 13 of them still living.  In the 1900 census, Elisabeth is called "Lizzie;"  in the 1880 and 1920 census she is called Elisabeth; she is buried under the name of "Betty Carter."  To date, I have been unable to find them in the 1930 census for California.

      Elizabeth is the daughter of John Chambers Blanchet/Blansit  and is the sister of Maude Blansit.  Maude married Alfred Lafayette "Fayette" Carter, the brother of John Quincy Carter. 

      In 2000 and 2002, Kathy McNeil Beaudry visited Visalia Cemetery, where Elizabeth and John are buried.  Sad to say, they have no headstones, only a concrete "button" to mark their graves.  The plots were paid for by their oldest son,  James A. Carter.

 

 

 

More About ELIZABETH BLANSIT:

Burial: November 10, 1931, Visalia Cemetery, Visalia, Tulare County, California40

 

More About JOHN CARTER and ELIZABETH BLANSIT:

Marriage: Abt. 1872, Hamilton County, Texas

 

      iii.  SARAH JANE CARTER41, b. July 20, 1854, Smith County, Texas.

      iv.   JOSEPH HENRY CARTER41, b. February 18, 1855, Smith County, Texas.

      v.    MARY AUGUSTA CARTER42, b. February 15, 1856, Smith County, Texas43; d. February 08, 1933, Hamilton, Hamilton County, Texas; m. JAMES SAMUEL LIVINGSTON44,45, Bef. 1874, Hamilton, Hamilton County, Texas; b. May 29, 1855, Bastrop County, Texas46,47; d. April 23, 1898, Hamilton, Hamilton County, Texas48.

 

Notes for MARY AUGUSTA CARTER:

      In the 1900 census for Hamilton County, Texas, "Gussie" is listed as a widow and farmer with 13 living children, and the mother of either 17 or 19 children.  (It's hard to read the exact number)

 

More About MARY AUGUSTA CARTER:

Burial: Old Hamilton Cemetery, Hamilton County, Texas

 

Notes for JAMES SAMUEL LIVINGSTON:

      In the 1880 census for Hamilton County, Texas, Jim's occupation(s) is listed as: Farmer, Merchant and Stock raiser.

 

from the Internet at:

      http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gazeteer2000/chasley/ches_005.htm

      the following passages were posted by Elreeta Crain Weathers

 

      "[William Dennis "Bill" Payne married Olive "Ollie" Dunlap in 1872 in Hill County and relocated to Hamilton County later that year.  William Payne was murdered in Beckham County, Oklahoma, on July 12, 1914.]

 

                        "PAYNE KILLS LIVINGSTON

 

      It was about 1898 that Payne killed Livingston.  It was Saturday night and they had been, were at Hamilton drinking pretty heavily.  James S. "Jim" Livingston it was said had given Payne a severe beating.  Later it was said when Payne was standing at the saloon door Livingston came up and called him a "@#$%@#$" and said he had what it took to take care of him.  Payne shot and killed Livingston, the ball going through his forearm, upper arm, and into his side, from which it was deduced that Livingston was reaching for his throat.

      Jim Livingston was taken upstairs to Dr. R.A. Kooken's office.  He was asked if he had any statement to make and he said he did not . . .

      In the trial for killing Poe, Payne was defeated (sic) by Judge James A. Edison (our next door neighbor, later on the Austin Court of Civil Appeals) and acquitted.  In the second trial, for killing Jim Livingston, he was defended by Judge C.K. Bell, later attorney general, and assisted by my uncle John C. Main, and was convicted.  His reputation was so bad that he was given two years this time and served it.  After he came back he did not stay long, but went to Indian Territory, where he was shot by a fellow from some distance with a buffalo gun and killed.

 

      (Several years ago a jovial young man introduced himself to me on the street as Tom Livingston.  He was the grandson of Jim Livingston.  His father was "Cad" Livingston, possibly named after Mr. Williams.  He was born and reared in New Mexico, but at the time was ranching in Oklahoma.  He spoke of "White Metal" Livingston, of whom Mr. Williams sometimes spoke, and who Mr. Jim Read, the bartender in Uncle Bill Jones' saloon in Reserve, New Mexico, told Evetts Halley and me that he knew.  We also discussed one of the Livingstons who was an historian in New Mexico, and he told of one who had been a prominent lawyer there.)

 

      (The original Livingston was Mr. Uel (sic) Livingston, one of the earliest and best know (sic) ranchers in the county, the father of Jim and the others.  There was the story that someone visited his home saw a new Bible, and said, "Mr. Livingston, that is a beautiful Bible.  Do you read it much?"  He answered that it was only in times of bad drought.)

 

      (John E. Chesley, my uncle, who ranched here and later in Stephens County, told me there was a "Red Jim" and a "Black Jim," that one was a heavy drinker, the other an abstainer, and that the drinker stopped short and the other took it up.")

 

     

 

 

 

 

More About JAMES SAMUEL LIVINGSTON:

Burial: Old Hamilton Cemetery, Hamilton County, Texas

 

More About JAMES LIVINGSTON and MARY CARTER:

Marriage: Bef. 1874, Hamilton, Hamilton County, Texas

 

      vi.   FRANCES HARRIET CARTER49, b. December 14, 1858.

 

Notes for FRANCES HARRIET CARTER:

      In the 1870 census for Hamilton County, Texas, Frances is listed as "Fanny."

 

      vii.  GEORGE RAYMOND CARTER49, b. July 16, 1860.

      viii. ALEXANDER LEE CARTER49, b. October 31, 1862.

 

Notes for ALEXANDER LEE CARTER:

      In the 1870 census for Hamilton County, Texas, Alexander is listed as "Lee."

 

      ix.   FRANCES MARION CARTER49, b. August 09, 1865.

      x.    ALFRED LAFAYETTE "FAYETTE" CARTER50,51, b. November 02, 1867, Live Oak, Hamilton County, Texas52; d. March 1932, Lampasas County, Texas; m. AMANDA MAUDE BLANSIT53, July 04, 1888, Hamilton County, Texas; b. February 22, 1870, Hamilton County, Texas54; d. December 28, 1942, Perryton, Ochiltree County, Texas.

 

Notes for ALFRED LAFAYETTE "FAYETTE" CARTER:

sent to Kathy Beaudry by Kermit Rutledge:

 

THE HAMILTON HERALD-RECORD

Hamilton, TX - March 26, 1937

 

-- A. Lafayette Carter, Pioneer, Travels to New Frontier

 

      Alfred Lafayette Carter was born March 2, 1867 in Live Oak Community on

the Cow House in Hamilton County, Texas.  He was the son of Joseph [sic]

Henry and Mary Caroline Carter.  He was married to Miss Maude Blansit on

July 4, 1889.  There were twelve children born of this union, seven boys

and five girls.  Mamie, Stella, Marion, Blansit, Munroe, Hamilton,

Jewell, Mildred, A.L., Jr., Mack, and twin sons Ed and Fred.  Mamie died

at the age of 12 , Hamilton died at 18, and Ed died an infant, age 4

months.  All of the children live in or near Perryton, Texas, except

Munroe, who lives at Long Beach, California, and Fred, who lives at

Alice, Texas.  There are 15 grandchildren.

 

      He was converted and joined the Methodist Church at the age of thirty

under the preaching of Abe Mulkey.  He has been a faithful Christian

ever since.  He has been a member of Rock House Masonic Lodge for more

than 45 years.

 

      During the early childhood of "Fayette" Carter his father began

pre-empting and purchasing from the state, more than a league of land in

the Blue Ridge country, but as there was no school or settlement and the

Indians were still making raids in this country they moved on to

Hamilton and only the father and older boys lived in the log hut at Blue

Ridge and with their oxen sodded in the largest farm in Hamilton County.

They built a double log house (one room of which is still standing) and

as soon as conditions were deemed safe all of the family moved out on

the farm, organized and built the Blue Ridge School near the site where

the beautiful Blue Ridge High School now stands.  "Fayette" Carter grew

to manhood helping his father improve the home site.  Shortly after his

marriage, being an instinctive pioneer, he took his young wife and

infant into the undeveloped new country now called Foard county, took up

a section of land, dug a one-room dugout, covering it with Mesquite

brush and earth, and began the hard task of putting in a farm.  He lived

in his dug-out home for three years and then at the request of his

father returned to the old home in Hamilton county where he lived until

1912 when he again answered the call of the pioneering spirit, moving to

Ochiltree county where he began, on an extensive scale, the breeding and

raising of white-faced cattle. With the development of power machinery

he again pioneered in the vast production of wheat.

 

      "Fayette" Carter had little opportunity of gaining an education in the

schools, but he went a long way in remedying this handicap by giving

himself an extensive self-education.  He had a high appreciation of

friendship, to him, friendship was a beautiful flower that bloomed

brightest during dark days and days of adversity.  He was a devoted

husband and a beloved father, always willing to carry a burden but never

willingly burdening others.  Much pain he bore in stoic solitude rather

than to cause fear or uneasiness to his friends and loved ones.  He

always lived in the open and he appreciated it.  He loved the beautiful

things of nature and on March 19, while walking in God's own garden he

lay down in sleep to awaken in that new frontier where there are no

pioneering hardships.

 

      Mr. and Mrs. Fayette Carter were visiting their nephew, David H. Carter

and family on their baronial estate in the Evant section, just across

the line in Lampasas county, when death came to him suddenly from a

heart attack.  Mr. and Mrs. David H. Carter and son, Prof. James D.

Carter, principal of the Evant school, accompanied Mrs. Maude Carter and

children to Perryton, Texas, where the body of A. L. Carter has been

laid to rest.

 

      When news spread in Hamilton and the county that Fayette Carter had

passed away at the home of David H. Carter, many friends made haste to

go there to pay tributes to his memory in beautiful floral offerings and

in expressions of sympathy for the sorrowing loved ones.

=================================

 

 

from another source:  "Wheatheart of the Plains - An Early History of Ochiltree County, TX".

Published 1969 by the Ochiltree County Historical Survey Committee.

Article submitted by Mrs. S. L. (Marion) Brillhart.

 

      A. L. and Maud Blansit Carter left Hamilton, Texas, in July, 1912, with

nine children and A. L.'s mother, who was eighty-two years old.  They

had visited the Panhandle previously and had decided that the grassy

plains of Ochiltree County offered the best opportunity for a

farmer-rancher with a large family.  They believed that this country

held great promise for future prosperity.  A. L. had paid $15 to $25 for

the land he was to settle here.

 

      They came by train from Hamilton to Glazier, and from Glazier to

Ochiltree by mail and passenger car, driven by Lawrence Thomas.  They

arrived in the tiny, but bustling settlement on July 22, 1912.  The trip

had been a great adventure for the children, who ranged in age from

nineteen to three years.  Marion was the oldest child to come to this

new land.  Her older sister, Stella, was married and lived in Hamilton.

Another older sister, and a younger brother had died years before.

 

      Spring and summer of 1912 had brought lots of rain and the grassy

prairies unbroken by fences, were green and lush. The lakes were full of

water, and wild flowers grew in colorful abundance in the canyons south

of Ochiltree.  The family looked forward to their new life with optimism

and hope, as they cast aside nostalgic memories of home, friends and

family back in Central Texas.

 

      The first day in Ochiltree was eventful for the teenagers, Blansit,

Monroe, Hamilton and Marion.  They were introduced to some of the young

ladies of the community who were having an Embroidery Club meeting at

the North Hotel when they arrived.  Some of the girls there that hot

afternoon were Ruby and Pearl North, Willie Sanders, Carrys and Vern

Dodson, Katie Mead Whippo and Ruth and Nona McMillen.  The young people

were delighted when new arrivals came, and graciously welcomed them into

the social life of the community.

 

      A. L. and his sons began immediately to clear the land, break the sod

and build the house with the help of Jim Sites and Clyde Cofer.  Mark

Emmett dug the well and cellar.  The family resided at the North Hotel

while the house was being built.  Materials and supplies were brought by

freight wagon from Liberal, Texhoma, and Guymon to supplement those that

couldn't be bought in Ochiltree. A. L. had brought his horses, farm

machinery, household and personal possessions from Central Texas in

rented boxcars.

 

      The first crops were planted that fall, but were doomed to failure by

the dry winter and spring ahead.  Those first few years weren't all bad,

however, and the Carter family stayed and became part of the growing

community.

 

      The small town had a few hundred population and several businesses.

They included stores that sold furniture, hardware, drugs, lumber,

groceries and other necessities.  Mr. Russell and Bill McLarty had the

two mercantile stores and Mr. Dodson owned the variety store.  There

were two churches--Methodist and Baptist--the courthouse and the school.

 

      Life on the High Plains was vigorous and many social and sporting

activities were enjoyed by young and old.  One of the most memorable

events in their first  years at Ochiltree was the night in May, 1915,

when a wagon-load of young people started to Missouri Avenue School,

approximately fifteen miles northwest, to attend an end-of-school

social.  Unexpected rains came and the wagon bogged down frequently, and

the group arrived too late for the social.  The tired, mud-splattered

teenagers finally got back about daybreak to greet some worried parents,

but much fun was enjoyed by the youngsters.

 

      Plum and grape gatherings and fishing trips on Wolf Creek and in

Lipscomb County provided food and fun for families, and many wagon-loads

of folks could be seen moving across the prairies on these jaunts.

There were few fences to break the wagon trails that criss-crossed the

plains, but everyone respected the landowner's rights and acts of

vandalism and theft were practically unheard of.

 

      Of course, the most important social event in Marion's life was on July

18, 1917, when she married Saint Luke Brillhart.  Theirs was the first

church ceremony held in the Methodist Church in Ochiltree County, and

everyone for miles around attended.  She had made her dress and those of

her attendants by hand from material bought at Summer's Dry Goods Store

in Liberal.  Her attendants were her sister, Jewell, and a friend, Maud

Loveless.  Saint's attendants were Hamilton Carter, brother of Marion,

and a friend, Charles Garrett.  Ice cream for the reception had been

ordered from Liberal, but the mail car failed to arrive with it, and

last minute refreshments had to be prepared.  Another crisis developed

on their wedding day when Marion's veil blew out the window into the

mud.  Quick cleaning was done to the garment, and the ceremony went on

as planned amid bouquets of flowers that had been brought from Liberal.

Mrs. Jim Wilson was organist and Mrs. Carl Ellis was soloist."

(End)

=================================

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More About ALFRED LAFAYETTE "FAYETTE" CARTER:

Burial: March 1932, Perryton, Ochiltree County, Texas

 

Notes for AMANDA MAUDE BLANSIT:

      In the census record for 1910, Maud is listed as having had 12 children, with 10 of them still living.        Mamie Martin, her first child, and Ed, her last child,  had died.

      In 1911, Maude and Fayette moved to Perryton, Ochiltree County, Texas from Hamilton County, TX.

      In the 1920 census, Maude was living with the family of her niece, Isabelle Carter Moncus, in Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona, a town that borders Phoenix.  Also living in the household are: Walter Moncus, head; Jewel Carter, daughter of Maude; and the following children of Isabelle and Walter: Herman, Ima, Claude, Maude, Ray and May.

      In that same census, Maude lists herself as married, although her husband is not living in the household.  Her sister Elisabeth and Elisabeth's husband John Quincy Carter, their daughter Grace Carter Downey and grand-daughter Evelyn Downey, are living in Arizona also, one town away in Mesa.

 

More About ALFRED CARTER and AMANDA BLANSIT:

Marriage: July 04, 1888, Hamilton County, Texas

 

      xi.   DAVID MITCHELL CARTER55, b. May 10, 1869.

 

 

7.  JAMES ATCHLEY4 CARTER (JOHN WESLEY3, CALEB2, LEVI1) was born September 17, 1828 in Monroe County, Tennessee, and died August 30, 1911 in Hamilton County, Texas56.  He married (1) MARY ELIZABETH BEAUCHAMP July 02, 1848 in McNairy County, Tennessee.  She was born March 12, 1827 in Tennessee, and died February 29, 1912 in Hamilton County, Texas.

 

Notes for JAMES ATCHLEY CARTER:

from "Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, Texas," published in Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company

 

      "James A. Carter, one of the original settlers of Langford's cove, Coryell County, Texas,  emigrated to this county in November, 1854.  He first stopped at Wolf's ranch, where he remained ten months.  Desiring a move favorable location, he entered the Cove, being the first white man here for settlement, and he took two pre-emptions.  He brought with him a large drove of cattle, the property of John Williams, of Bell County.  In running cattle over the broad prairies, he discovered a more suitable locality for agricultural purposes when the range should be exhausted and the grazing industry abandoned.  This favored spot is located on Cowhouse Creek, now Hamilton county.  He accordingly changed his quarters about two years after his advent to the Cove.

      "

 

 

 

 

      Was appointed Sheriff of Hamilton County, TX, from 1862-1864.

 

More About JAMES ATCHLEY CARTER:

Burial: Live Oak Cemetery, Hamilton County, Texas56

 

More About MARY ELIZABETH BEAUCHAMP:

Burial: Live Oak Cemetery, Hamilton County, Texas

 

More About JAMES CARTER and MARY BEAUCHAMP:

Marriage: July 02, 1848, McNairy County, Tennessee

     

Children of JAMES CARTER and MARY BEAUCHAMP are:

      i.    SARAH PETTIS5 CARTER56, b. April 23, 184956.

      ii.   GEORGE QUINCY CARTER56, b. February 12, 185056.

      iii.  HENRY CLAY CARTER56, b. January 01, 1853.

      iv.   ELECTRA ANN CARTER56, b. April 25, 1855.

      v.    JOSEPHINE CARTER56, b. July 02, 1857.

      vi.   ANSEBEL? CARTER56, b. December 16, 1859.

      vii.  CHARILDA CALEDONIA CARTER57, b. November 10, 1861, Hamilton County, Texas; d. Abt. 1948, Hamilton, Hamilton County, Texas; m. JAMES N. BILLINGSLEY, December 04, 1879; d. April 27, 1928, Hamilton County, Texas.

 

Notes for CHARILDA CALEDONIA CARTER:

from the obituary posted on Elreeta Weather's web site, sent it by Stewart Billingsley:

 

      "MRS. BILLINGSLEY PASSES AWAY HERE

 

      "Funeral services were held at the graveside at Live Oak Cemetery Monday at 3 p.m. for Mrs. J. N. Billingsley, 87, with Minister Joe Scarborough of the reagan Street Church of Christ conducting the rites and the Williams & Riley Funeral Home in chagre of the arrangements.  Pallbearers were J.V. Neel, Floyd and Lloyd Williams, Ben Neal, Vertis Ballard and James Billingsley.  Flower bearers were her granddaughters.

      "Mrs. Billingsley passed away at her home in Hamilton Sunday.  She was born Caledonia Carter, November 10, 1861 and was the daughter of James A. and Mary Carter of the Ohio Community, Hamilton County.  She was married to James N. Billingsley on Dec. 4, 1879.  Eleven children were born to them.  Four of the children, Mrs. Make Neal, Bessie and Irma Billingsley and Mrs. Nellie Jones, with their father, preceded Mrs. Billingsley in death.

      "Surviving are the following children: Ben Billingsley of Comstock, TX; W.S. Billingsley of Hamilton; H.J. Billingsley of the Ohio Community; Mrs. John Massie of Vernon; Mrs. R.B. Williams of Jonesboro; Mrs. L.A. Brinkley of Hamilton and Mrs. Lillie Kelley of Ft. Worth."

 

 

 

More About JAMES BILLINGSLEY and CHARILDA CARTER:

Marriage: December 04, 1879

 

      viii. FREDONIA ADALINE CARTER58, b. October 10, 1863.

      ix.   SAMUEL D. CARTER58, b. November 25, 1865.

      x.    ELDORA CARTER58, b. February 10, 1868.

      xi.   ALICE MARY CARTER58, b. August 24, 1870.

 

 

8.  JOHN WESLEY4 CARTER, JR. (JOHN WESLEY3, CALEB2, LEVI1) was born January 29, 1835 in Monroe County, Tennessee, and died October 30, 1882 in Hamilton County, Texas.  He married (2) ELIZABETH JANE RUSHING Abt. 1855 in McNairy County, Tennessee.  She was born February 01, 1832 in Alabama, and died June 19, 1924 in Hamilton County, Texas.

 

Notes for JOHN WESLEY CARTER, JR.:

from "Biographical Sketch of the John W. Carter Family," by Naomi Langford Wittenburg, a great-granddaughter of John W. Carter, and

"A History of Hamilton County, Texas," Published 1979, p. 131

 

      "John and his family arrived in Texas in 1877 from Collins County, Tennessee . . . Nine children were born to them: Jack, Sally, Bell, Jesse, Fannie, John Riley, Mary and Minnie."

 

More About ELIZABETH JANE RUSHING:

Burial: Murphee Cemetery, Hamilton, Texas

 

More About JOHN CARTER and ELIZABETH RUSHING:

Marriage: Abt. 1855, McNairy County, Tennessee

     

Children of JOHN CARTER and ELIZABETH RUSHING are:

      i.    JAMES A.5 CARTER, b. July 01, 1856, McNairy, Tennessee.

      ii.   ISAAC H. CARTER, b. November 25, 1857, McNairy, Tennessee; d. September 25, 1859, McNairy, Tennessee.

      iii.  JOHN RILEY CARTER, b. May 20, 1859, McNairy, Tennessee; d. Abt. 1945, Hamilton County, Texas.

 

More About JOHN RILEY CARTER:

Burial: Center City Cemetery

 

      iv.   ANDREW JACKSON CARTER, b. September 05, 1862.

      v.    SARAH ANN CARTER, b. May 06, 1864.

      vi.   MISSOURI ISABELL CARTER, b. January 30, 1866, McNairy, Tennessee; d. June 1920, Texas.

      vii.  JESSEE OLIVER CARTER, b. July 09, 1867, McNairy, Tennessee; d. June 10, 1956, Alamagordo, Otero County, New Mexico.

      viii. GEORGE W. CARTER, b. March 29, 1869.

      ix.   FANNIE IDA CARTER, b. 1870.

      x.    MARY ELIZABETH CARTER, b. September 11, 1872, McNairy, Tennessee; d. August 11, 1928, Texas; m. ROBERT L. CHAPMAN, Bef. 1898, Hamilton County, Texas.

 

More About ROBERT CHAPMAN and MARY CARTER:

Marriage: Bef. 1898, Hamilton County, Texas

 

      xi.   MINNIE LEE CARTER, b. April 10, 1874, McNairy, Tennessee.

 

 

9.  SUSAN ELLEN4 CARTER (PETER T.3, JESSE2, LEVI1) was born 1846 in Athens, McMinn County, Tennessee, and died March 30, 1862 in Daviess County, Missouri.  She married ALMA A. TALLEY February 14, 1860 in Daviess County, Missouri.  He was born June 22, 1837 in Lawrence County, Ohio, and died December 22, 1923.

 

More About ALMA TALLEY and SUSAN CARTER:

Marriage: February 14, 1860, Daviess County, Missouri

     

Child of SUSAN CARTER and ALMA TALLEY is:

      i.    INFANT5 TALLEY, b. March 30, 1861.

 

 

10.  JASPER NEWTON4 CARTER (PETER T.3, JESSE2, LEVI1) was born May 23, 1850 in Athens, McMinn County, Tennessee, and died January 23, 1924 in Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri.  He married RACHEL COLON LEDGERWOOD Abt. 1871.  She was born March 1854 in Missouri, and died April 06, 1937 in Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri.

 

More About JASPER CARTER and RACHEL LEDGERWOOD:

Marriage: Abt. 1871

     

Children of JASPER CARTER and RACHEL LEDGERWOOD are:

      i.    CORDELIA5 CARTER, b. October 1871.

      ii.   CRAWFORD HERMAN CARTER, b. January 08, 1874.

      iii.  INFANT SON CARTER, b. 1875.

      iv.   THOMAS J. CARTER, b. September 23, 1876.

      v.    ANNA L. R. CARTER, b. July 28, 1880.

      vi.   MINERVA IDELLA CARTER, b. August 24, 1881, McFall, Gentry County, Missouri; d. September 07, 1949, Bethany, Harrison County, Missouri; m. HATTEN ELI PRICE, April 28, 1901, Missouri; b. January 27, 1874, Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri; d. January 24, 1933, Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri.

 

More About MINERVA IDELLA CARTER:

Burial: Oak Ridge Cemetery, Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri

 

Notes for HATTEN ELI PRICE:

      All info on Hatten Price and his children comes from the research of Susan Price.

 

More About HATTEN ELI PRICE:

Burial: Oak Ridge Cemetery, Pattonsburg, Daviess County, Missouri

 

More About HATTEN PRICE and MINERVA CARTER:

Marriage: April 28, 1901, Missouri

 

      vii.  EFFIE ETHEL CARTER, b. April 19, 1884.

      viii. ANDREW JACKSON CARTER, b. June 01, 1886.

      ix.   NEVADA AZELLA CARTER, b. February 1888.

      x.    MATTIE ESTELLA CARTER, b. 1890.

 

 

 

Endnotes

 

1.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

2.  Carol Chapman, "Electronic."

3.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

4.  Carol Chapman, "Electronic."

5.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

6.  Carol Chapman.

7.  Research of Carol Chapman Wilson, from Mormon site

8.  Research of Susan Price

9.  Carol Chapman.

10.  Research of Carol Chapman Wilson

11.  Carol Chapman.

12.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

13.  Biographical sketch of John Wesley Carter, Sr. & John Wesley Carter, Jr. in Texas historical books.

14.  Biographical sketch of Henry Jones Carter from "History of Texas," Central Texas Edition, published in 1896 by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago

15.  Carol Chapman.

16.  Biographical sketch of Henry Jones Carter, "History of Texas."  In this sketch, Peggy is referred to as "Mrs. John Frazier."

17.  Carol Chapman.

18.  Susan Price.

19.  Mormon's web site, www.familysearch.com.

20.  Census Records, Hamilton County, Texas, 1870; Smith County, Texas, 1850

21.  Carol Chapman.

22.  Research of Carolyn Carter Schiewe

23.  Carol Chapman.

24.  Doris Scott research.

25.  Carol Chapman.

26.  Research of Carolyn Carter Schiewe

27.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

28.  Family Bible.

29.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

30.  Research of Carolyn Carter Schiewe

31.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

32.  Census Records, 1880, 1900 & 1920

33.  Family Bible.

34.  Census Records, 1880, Hamilton County, Texas; 1900 Foard County, Texas  & 1920 Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona (near Phoenix)

35.  Census Records, 1880

36.  Obituary.

37.  Census Records, 1870, Hamilton County, TX, 1880 Hamilton County, TX, 1900, Foard County, TX, 1910 Foard County, TX; 1920 Maricopa County, Mesa, AZ

38.  Census Records, 1880 Hamilton County, Texas

39.  The Internet.  www.cagen.com/cpl/tulare/tcemvisc.htm

40.  Kathy McNeil Beaudry.

41.  Census Records, Hamilton County, Texas, 1870

42.  Census Records, 1870 Hamilton County, Texas (Mary Augusta is listed as "Martha."

43.  Census Records, 1900 Hamilton County, Texas

44.  photo of James Livingston & Gussie Carter Livingston posted on Internet.

45.  Charlene Rose.

46.  Research of Carolyn Carter Schiewe

47.  Charlene Rose.

48.  Research of Carolyn Carter Schiewe

49.  Census Records, Hamilton County, Texas, 1870

50.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

51.  Family Bible.

52.  Carolyn Carter Schiewe.

53.  Census Records, Hamilton County, Texas, 1900

54.  Census Records, Hamilton County, Texas, 1870

55.  Census Records, 1870, Hamilton County, TX

56.  Charles Barnum research.

57.  Obituary.

58.  Charles Barnum research.