Is of Irish birth and parentage. His father,
Julian Carter, emigrated to this country from Ireland in 1821, and
settled in Oswego, N.Y. He was a farmer, merchant, and lumber
manufacturer, and was actively engaged in business until his death,
which occurred in 1873. John, his only child, was born in Queens Co.,
Ireland, Oct. 10 1820. Soon after his birth his mother died, and he
was reared by his grandparents. He attended school until he attained
his eighteenth year, when he joined the "constabulary," a corps of men
employed by the government to preserve order; he served in this
organization until 1845, when he came to America, where he joined his
father, with whom he was associated in business for three years.
At this time he made an extended tour through Michigan,
preparatory to choosing a home there. The following spring he removed to
Milford, Oakland Co., and was engaged in a flouring-mill until the spring
of 1850, when, deciding to engage in farming, he purchased eighty acres of
partially improved land, upon which he remained until 1856, when he sold
and removed to Pleasant Valley, where he purchased two hundred acres of
land which he now owns. He has since added to it two hundred acres; his
present farm is considered to be one of the most valuable in the county.
Mr. Carter not only occupies a prominent position among the
representative men and leading farmers of the county, but has identified
himself largely with the politics of his district, county; and town. For
several years he represented Brighton upon the Board of Supervisors, where
he was considered an able and efficient member. He was elected to the
Legislature in 1872, and served in the extra sessions of 1873 and 1874. He
was again nominated in 1874, and although Livingston County is largely
Democratic, he was defeated by only fifteen votes. In his own town his
integrity and ability have won for him an enviable position, as is
evidenced by the fact that at his election in 1875, as magistrate, he
received every vote in the township but three.
April 19 1849, Mr. Carter married Jeannette, daughter of John and
Jane Lambie, of Camden, N.Y. She was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, Jan. 30,
1827. In 1831 the family emigrated to this country, and settled in Camden,
Oneida Co., N.Y., where Mr. Lambie pursued his former avocation, that of a
dairyman and stock-dealer; he was a shrewd, enterprising man, and
possessed of more than ordinary energy and determination. He died in
Camden in 1834.
It may be truly said of Mr. Carter that he has been "the architect of
his own fortune." Commencing life in a new country, with only his natural
resources for his capital, he has attained success in all his
undertakings.
