I have spent quite a bit of time in the past 15 years or so trying to figure out what happened to Joseph Edgar Carter. Joseph was my great-great grandfather. His son, John Franklin was my great grandfather and I only remember seeing him a couple of times when I was a kid. He died March 30th, 1976.
Joseph, was born in December of 1867 in White County Illinois. I have gotten that much from marriage certificates and a single census record that I was able to dig up. He married Alice Elizabeth Marcus of Mill Shoals. She was previously married to Bailis. Alice was only 19 at the time that they got married Nov. 18, 1884. According to family members and census, they had four children:
- John Franklin Carter – Born January 16, 1890
- Pearl Carter – Born July 4, 1892
- Hattie Carter – Born August 1886
- Myrtle Viola Carter – Born June 13, 1897
They were a pretty poor family. They lived on the north side of Mill Shoals and just south of Barnhill. They lived in what was called the bottoms. The bottoms were down by the river area which tended to get flooded.
They showed up on the 1900 census in White County (Mill Shoals). But that is the only census that I can find that had them listed. It is quite probable that because of where they lived, they were passed over. The next census that I can find anyone on is the 1920 Census where I find John F. married to Bertha Puckett and having one child, Edith.
Trying to find out what happened to Joseph Edgar Carter will be very difficult. He is most likely buried in an unmarked grave. Only thing I know for sure, is that he died sometime after June of 1900.
Clemmons Family History 