from The History of Hendricks County (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914)--pages 458-460
A review of the life of the honored subject of this biographical sketch must of necessity be brief and general in its character. To enter fully into the interesting details of the career of Mr. Carter, touching the earnest and persistent efforts of his earlier years and successes of later days, would far transcend the limits of this article. He has filled a large place in the ranks of the enterprising and public-spirited men of his day and has been an important factor in the growth and development of Danville's industrial and commercial interests. Within the past few years he has become identified with banking and other financial institutions in Indianapolis, although he still retains a part of his interests in Danville.
Mordecai Carter, vice-president of the Continental National Bank and president of the State Savings and Trust Company, both of Indianapolis, was born near Plainfield, Hendricks County, Indiana. His parents, Newlin and Beulah (Hunt) Carter, were both natives of this county, his father living the life of a farmer until his death, in July, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Newlin Carter reared a family of eight children, seven of whom are living: Dr. Amos Carter, of Plainfield; Mrs. Lydia H. Cope, of Plainfield; Mordecai, the immediate subject of this sketch; Mrs. Sarah S. Gilbert, of Grand Junction, Colorado; Caleb H., vice-president of the American State Bank of Indianapolis; Mrs. Margaret Mills, of West Newton, Indiana; Alonzo J., of Yorba Linda, California, and Rachel Elina, who died in February, 1912. Mr. Carter was born on his father's farm and lived there until he was nearly grown. He received his common-school education in the district schools of his home township and then entered the high school at Plainfield. Immediately after leaving high school he engaged in the hardware and lumber business at Plainfield, where he remained for two years. He then went into the implement and buggy business, which he followed for the next two years, at the expiration of which time he was appointed deputy auditor of Hendricks County under John Kendall and served in that capacity from 1885 until 1888. Upon retiring from this position, he was offered the position of general bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Danville and served in that capacity until 1895, when he succeeded Capt. B.F. Thomas as cashier of the bank. He proved to be a close student of the banking problem and such was the confidence of the directors of the bank in his ability that in 1899 he was elected president of this institution. He was also elected secretary of the Danville Trust Company, which positions he held until 1909, when he was instrumental in the organization of the Continental National Bank, of Indianapolis. Since the organization of the latter institution he has become its vice-president and is occupying that important position at the present time. In 1913 he was elected president of State Savings and Trust Company, which was organized in June of that year. The directors chose Mr. Carter on account of his ability and practical banking experience. He was the first secretary for two years of the Indiana Bankers' Association upon its organization in 1897. He is also president of the Lindhurst Realty Company, of Indianapolis, and a director and one of the incorporators of the Klondyke Milling Company, of Danville.
Mr. Carter has always taken a great interest in public affairs and has allied himself with the Republican Party. In 1908 he was elected to the lower house of the Legislature from Hendricks County, and was re-elected in 1910. While in the Legislature he was appointed one of the four commissioners to investigate and report on a state penal farm.
Mr. Carter has been a life-long member of the Friends Church and contributes liberally to the support of that denomination. In his fraternal affiliations he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. Socially, he is a member of the Columbia and Marion Clubs of Indianapolis. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the board of directors, and of the finance and house committees. While living in Danville he took an active part in every movement which had to do with the welfare of the town. He has been for many years a trustee and one of the stanchest friends of the Central Normal College. He was one of the organizers and prime movers of the movement to get the Carnegie Library in Danville, and was appointed by the court as one of the trustees of the library. He was president of the Indiana Library Trustees' Association in 1911.
It is readily seen that Mr. Carter has been a very busy man all of his life and yet, in spite of the multitudinous activities of his life, he has never allowed the pursuit of wealth to warp his kindly nature. He is indeed a representative of that sterling type of the world's workers who have furnished much of the bone and sinew of the country and added to the stability of our country and its institutions. He has preserved his faculties and the warmth of his heart for the broadening helpful influence of human life and is a kindly genial friend and a gentleman whom it is always a pleasure to meet.