from The History of Hendricks County (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914)--pages 488-490
Among the successful, self-made men in Hendricks County whose efforts and influence have contributed to the material upbuilding of the community, Joseph S. Carter occupies a conspicuous place. Being ambitious from the first, but surrounded with none too favorable environment, his early youth was not especially promising, but, resolutely facing the future, he gradually surmounted the difficulties in his way and in due course of time rose to a prominent position in the commercial, agricultural and financial circles of his community, besides winning the confidence and esteem of those with whom he comes in contact, either in a business or a social way, and for years he has stood as one of the representative men of the locality honored by his citizenship.
Joseph S. Carter, the son of William K. and Mary (Crouch) Carter, was born in Davidson County, North Carolina, August 30, 1851. His grandfather was Richard Carter, a native of Scotland, who married Sarah Tigg. His maternal grandfather was Richard Crouch, a native of Germany. Richard Carter came to America from Scotland when he was a lad of sixteen and settled in North Carolina. He was one of four brothers, and was a pioneer school teacher in North Carolina, dividing his time between farming and teaching. He was in the War of 1812 and also in the Black Hawk War in 1832, and lived to be over eighty years of age. The school building in the county in which he taught for so many years is still known as the Carter School, although there have been several buildings erected on the same ground, the present building being a structure of four rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Carter were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters. At the time of the discovery of gold in California, three of the brothers removed to that state, where they have since made their homes. They have married, reared families in that state and have been very successful. Some of them have made visits back to the old home. William K. Carter, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, took part in the Mexican War, after which he returned to his home in North Carolina, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. He was for a number of years the overseer for a large plantation owner by the name of Joseph Spurgeon, and had seventy-five negroes under his charge. He did not marry until after he came back from the Mexican War, and after a number of years as overseer he engaged in farming on his own account. At the opening of the Civil War he enlisted in the Confederate Army in Company I, Forty-second Regiment North Carolina Infantry, and served throughout the war. He took part in scores of battles in many states, having fought in the West at the battle of Vicksburg and in the East in the battle of the Wilderness. He was severely wounded in one of the last engagements of the war and never fully recovered from the effects of this disability. After the close of the war he returned to his home in North Carolina and lived there until he was about fifty years of age, a highly respected farmer. Mr. and Mrs. William Carter were the parents of nine children, only two of whom are now living, Joseph S., the immediate subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Margaret Everhardt, of Thomasville, North Carolina.
Joseph S. Carter was reared in North Carolina and received his education at the Carter School, which has been mentioned, and Piney Grove and Wautown, a suburb of Old Salem, North Carolina. At the age of nineteen he started out to seek his fortune and came to Hendricks County, Indiana, arriving at Amo on the 24th day of November, 1869. He took employment with the farmers of the neighborhood and worked in this line for about three years, after which he bought forty acres of land south of Stilesville, this county, but did not move onto this farm. Later he purchased forty acres one and one-half miles south of Amo, and to this small beginning he has added acreage from time to time until he is now the owner of four hundred and fifty-five acres of fine farming land in the county. He has made a remarkable success as an agriculturist, and has gained a reputation as a feeder of stock which cannot be excelled in the county. He has made a specialty of raising corn and hay and then feeding all of it on his farms. At one time he, in partnership with Jacob Phillips, had seven hundred hogs, which they were fattening for the market. This was in the year 1874, at the time of the famous grasshopper plague in Kansas, when they were able to buy hogs in that state at their own price. Mr. Carter has exercised wonderful judgment in all his financial transactions, with the result that he is now recognized as one of the most substantial farmers of Hendricks County.
Mr. Carter was married on January 26, 1873, to Sarah J. Masten, of this county, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Masten, and to this union there have been born four children: Arthur L. married Maude Underwood, and now lives on a farm of one hundred sixty acres west of Amo; Charles Burton married Nellie Hazlett and resides on a farm one-half mile south of Amo; Lewis, who died in infancy, and Ada, who married William Everett Atkins, and they have one son, Howard Carter, four years old, who is the delight of his grandfather's heart.
Mr. Carter now resides on the Masten property adjoining Amo on the south, where he has a fine modern home, with all the conveniences of the city. He was unanimously elected as a member of the town council of Amo and has taken a very active interest in the affairs of the town. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In his church relations he is affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Amo and contributes liberally of his means to its support.
Mr. Carter is a fine type of the self-made man, and although he only had twenty-five dollars when he landed in this county, in 1869, he has, by thrift and economy, accumulated a very comfortable fortune. In addition to his heavy landed interests, he has a large amount of money loaned on mortgages. Mr. Carter is a genial man, pleasant to meet and has a host of friends throughout the county. He helped organize the First National Bank at Amo, Indiana, being a charter member and was a director.