French Carter (abt. 1828 - abt. 1882)

Born about 1828 in Virginia, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Jaycox) Carter — married 6 Dec 1848 (to about 24 Aug 1864) in Jackson County, Ohio, USA

Descendants

Died about 1882 at about age 54 in Rock Point, Jackson County, Oregon, USA

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Biography

French Carter was born circa 1828-1829 in Virginia, United States of America, to parents William Carter and Anna French.^[1]

French married Elizabeth Jacox [as spelled in transctipt] on 4 December 1848, in Jackson County, Ohio.^[2]

At the time of the 1850 U.S. Census, French (age 21) and wife Elizabeth (age 17) were living adjacent to his parents, Walter and Anna, in Hamilton Township, Jackson County, Ohio. On the same census page is listed the family of brother Simeon. Also on the same page, several farms away, was the farm of Elizabeth's parents, Isaiah and Mariah Jacox [as spelled by the census enumerator], and her sisters and brother.^[3]

By 1860, French and his family had moved westward, and living in Palmyra, Douglas County, Kansas Territory. French and Elizabeth had the following children by this time: John Jayhugh, Ransom, and [[Polly Ann. French's father having already died, his mother, Anna, was also living with the family.^[4]

French registered for the U. S. Civil War draft between September and December 1863 in the Southern District of Kansas, which included his place of residence, Palmyra, Douglas County. He was 35 years old at the time of registration.^[5]

In 1865, French and Elizabeth, his mother "Annie", and children John, Ransom, and Polly Anne, were still in Palmyra. In the Kansas State Census, French was listed as a farmer, who owned his own land.^[6]

French's wife Elizabeth died before 31 October 1867, the date of his marriage to his second wife, Nancy Owens, by Baptist minister Lowry Grimsley in Jackson County, Missouri.^[7]

The 1870 U. S. Census shows French and wife, Nancy living in Reno, Leavenworth, Kansas, on a farm they owned, with his sons Jayhugh and Ransom, and his stepsons, Harrison, Thomas, and John, working on the farm. His daughter, Polly Ann was also in the household, as was his son, William, age 3 as of the enumeration date of the census, 28 July 1870. That would give William a birth date sometime in the year preceding 28 July 1867. That is, prior to French's marriage to Nancy, leading to the conclusion that Elizabeth was William's mother. Marion Carter, age 4 months, the son of French and Nancy is recorded in the household also. Also in the household were Nancy's sons, James and Charles. Also living in the household was Charles Dowden, aged 22, working as a common laborer. His status is otherwise unstated, but it is possible he was Nancy's brother^[8]. The step-children are all surnamed "Owen", his wife's brother is surnamed "Dowden".^[9]

French moved further west, as he was registered to vote in Colusa County, California as of August 31, 1775, showing him as a resident of "Monroe, No. 2." (There was a Monroeville in Colusa County, but nothing found for Monroe, No. 2.) It is presumed his family moved with him, but this has not been verified.^[10]

From Northern California, French and his family relocated to Southern Oregon, where, according to the 1880 U. S. Census, they were living in the Leland Enumeration Precinct 51 in Jackson County, Oregon.^[11] Leland was an unincorporated area populated at that time by gold miners (the census lists numerous men whose occupation was "gold miner". The census enumeration reports the following members of the household:

• French Carter, age 55, farmer. On 14 June 1880, the date of enumeration, French was sick with "fever and ague".
• ______, Carter, wife, age 40. The enumerator wrote her given name as "Carter", which the familysearch transcriptionist interpreted as "Caster". This, of course, was Nancy.
• John, age 27, laborer. [John Jayhugh]
• Ransum [sic.], age 23, laborer. [Ransom]
• Mary, age 21, laborer. [By age, this should be the daughter heretofore called Polly Ann. However, Polly Ann shares a gravestone with her father, and shows her death as 1879, a year before the census was taken. The true identity of this "Mary" is unknown.]
• William, age 12, attending school.
• Joseph, age 9.
• George, age 6
• Miles, age 5, born in California.
• Alice, age 3, born in Oregon
• Laura, age 1, born in Oregon
• James Owens, age 19, stepson, farm laborer
• Charles Owens, age 17, stepson, farm laborer.^[12]

If one accepts Polly Anne's 1879 death as shown on her gravestone, it is possible the family was only temporarily in Leland, and had originally settled near Rock Point, Jackson County, Oregon. According to his gravestone, French died in 1882; however, an alternative death date of 10 August 1883 has been cited, although without any source.^[13] French is buried, along with daughter Polly Ann and son Jayhugh sharing the same gravestone, in the Pioneer Cemetery section of the Rock Point cemetery. Also buried in the cemetery are sons Joseph, William, and Lewis A. (with his wife Sarah J, and their son R. Alex.)^[14][15]

Notes regarding children

Children of 2nd wife Nancy: Harrison (14); Thomas (13), John (12), James (11, Charles (10), all surnamed Owens, as referenced in the 1870 U.S. Census above recited.

Sources

1. ↑ See 1850 Census noted below.
2. ↑ Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDWK-MMV : 6 November 2017), French Carter and Elizabeth Jacox , 04 Dec 1848; citing Jackson, Ohio, United States, reference 70; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 301,043.
3. ↑ United States Census, 1850, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXQX-RPW : 12 April 2016), French Carter, Hamilton, Jackson, Ohio, United States; citing family 1511, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Census page.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M66S-RTX : 2 October 2017), Elizabeth Carter in entry for F Carter, 1860.https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GB9V-J6S
5. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); NAI: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 2 of 2. (Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.) [database on-line accessed 20 November 2017]. See record at subscription site.
6. ↑ Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1865 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: ks1865_3; Line: 23 (Family 648, House 648). Ancestry.com; Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line, accessed 21 November 2017] (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009).
7. ↑ Ancestry.com; Missouri, Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015). (database on-line accessed 22 Nov 2017). Original data: Marriage Records. Jackson County Clerk, Kansas City, Missouri. See record transcript at subscription site.
8. ↑ Many unsourced trees assert her last name at birth was "Dowden," but no reliable source has been found.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCJP-2BH : 12 April 2016), French Carter, Kansas, United States; citing p. 17, family 126, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 545,936. See census record.
10. ↑ California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 10; FHL Roll Number: 976457. Ancestry.com; California Voter Registers, 1866-1898 ( Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011). [database on-line, accessed 22 November 2017].
11. ↑ There is no Leland in present day Jackson County. Page 262 of the "Compendium of the Tenth Census", Table XIX (Population of minor civil divisions) lists as a single entry "Grant's Pass, Leland, and Pleasant Creek precincts." In 1885, there was a boundary adjustment between Jackson and Josephine Counties, and Grants Pass and Leland became part of Josephine County. (See interactive boundary map, 1882 and 1885 for the adjustment).
12. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNC2-Q2N : 16 July 2017), French Carter, Leland, Jackson, Oregon, United States; citing enumeration district ED 51, sheet 64C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1081; FHL microfilm 1,255,081.
13. ↑ Various trees give the place of death as Gold Hill or Medford (towns in Jackson County). However, neither town existed until 1884. Rock Point, an unincorporated area near Gold Hill, had a post office beginning in 1859. Parish-940, author of this note, has personal knowledge, having been a resident of Jackson County for 40 years.
14. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41939458
15. ↑ Burials in Rock Point Cemetery, collected by Elizabeth Corethers, in "Interment.Net, cemetery records online" (http://www.interment.net/), for Rock Point Cemetery (http://www.interment.net/data/us/or/jackson/rockpoint/rock_ak.htm, accessed 6 December 2017)