Joseph B. Carter

As printed in 1898

OSEPH B. CARTER, one of the most respected agriculturists of Northfield township. Summit county, Ohio, as well as an ex-soldier of the Civil war, descends from sterling English stock of colonial Connecticut ancestry and was born February 28, 1839, in Twinsburg township, a son of Thaddeus A. and Esther (Marshall) Carter. He was reared a farmer, received the usual common-school education, and enlisted in Twinsburg township August 24, 1861. He was mustered into the United States service at Camp Ford, Alliance, Ohio, for three years, or during the war, and was assigned to company K, Nineteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. Paul Kirby, and served until honorably discharged at Indianapolis, Ind., in October, 1864. He was in the siege of Corinth, battles of Perryville, Wild Cat Gap, luka, Shiloh and Stone River, and in skirmishes too numerous to mention. On the last day of the battle of Stone River, a mine ball struck the class of

/ ( "OJzl his army belt, and although this is very heavy metal, it passed entirely through and hung just at the end of the belt. This ball struck the U. S. on the belt exactly in the center. Mr. Carter had pulled the belt around to the left side, to more conveniently get hold of his cartridges, and he was further protected from the ball, which had spent its force on the belt class, by his heavy clothing and the give of his body. The shock rendered him breathless, and, immediately after, he was shot in his left leg, close to the knee-joint, and the ball is still imbeded in the bone. The stock of his rifle was also shot. He remained on the field until night, and was taken to field hospital and thence to Nashville, where he lay in hospital eight weeks, and was then in hospital at Louisville, Ky., four weeks, at Camp Dennison, Ohio, one week, and at Cleveland about six months. Not fully recovering, he was sent to the invalid corps, in which he remained until the close of the war. He has, however, always since been troubled by his wound. Mr. Carter was in all the marches, campaigns, battles and skirmishes in which his regiment took part until disabled by his wound January 2, 1863. After the war, Mr. Carter returned to Ohio, and married, at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Miss. Amarilla Spafford, of Northfield township, where she was born August 4, 1852, a daughter of Jason and Philena (Cranson) Spafford. Jason Spafford was born in Solon township, Cuyahoga county, to which his father, Nathan Spafford, came from one of the eastern states as a pioneer. The latter was a soldier in the war of 1812, married Mary Morrison, and their children were Alnion, Lydia, Amarilla, Zeloma, Seth, Mary and Jason. Nathan Spafford passed all his remaining days in Ohio, but moved at any early day to Northfield township. Summit county, and died at the age of sixty-six years. Jason Spafford was a farmer, owning a large farm, and was prosperous. He died, at the age of forty-five years, a respected citizen and a member of the Baptist church.

After marriage Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Carter settled in Twinsburg township, where Mr. Carter bought the Carter homestead, consisting of 1 17 acres, and then the Jason Spafford homestead, consisting of 275 acres, a part of it being inherited by his wife. In 1889 Mr. Carter moved to his present homestead in Northfield township, consisting of 274 acres, and is a prosperous farmer. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Carter are Lena May and Thad B. Both Mr. and Mrs. Carter are members of the Methodist church at Twinsburg, in which he is steward and trustee. As a republican he held the offices of township trustee and assessor and is a member of the school board.

Thaddeus A. Carter was born in Connecticut, came in 1826 to Ohio, and returned in 1828 to Connecticut and married Esther Marshall. He then settled in Twinsburg township, on 160 acres of land, and made a good home. His children were Nora A., Samuel N., Rollin B., Mary E., Esther A.. Joseph B., Hiram W. and John E. Of these, John E. and Joseph B. were soldiers in the Civil war. John E. was in the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer infantry in the three years' service, was in several skirmishes, and died in hospital in North Carolina. The military record of Joseph B. has already been given. Thaddeus A. Carter was a member of the Methodist church and in.politics was first a whig and later a republican. He lived to be sixty-nine years old and died on his farm, a much respected citizen. Joseph B. Carter is one of the substantial farmers and respected citizens of Northfield township and has reared an excellent family. His daughter. Miss Lena May, is a student;it Mount Union college, at Alliance, Ohio, is a member of the class of 1899, and has been a student here for two years. His son, Thad B., is a student at the Northfield high school.

>Y'AMES smith fry, a representative M farmer of Suffieid township, Portage A J county, Ohio, was born on the old Fry homestead February 14, 1854, a son of Wyerman and Martha (Brown) Fry, both natives of the Buckeye state. His paternal grandparents were natives of Pennsylvania. The grandfather served in the war of 1812, in the army of the Center, afterward became an early settler of Stark county, Ohio, where he was a shoemaker; from there he moved to Suffield township. Portage county, located on a farm of 100 acres, on which he spent about a year and a half, and died of a fever in 1828. Then his wife and part of his family moved to Knox, Ind., where she died in the year 1874. They were both members of the Presbyterian church.

Wyerman, the father of James S., remained on the old homestead, where he passed nearly all his life, and which is now occupied by his son, James S. He had born to him six children, of whom but two survive — Margaret Jane and James S. He was a republican in politics, and honored by his fellow-citizens by election to various offices of trust in his township; he died at the early age of forty-five years, a member of the Reformed church, in which he had filled all the offices. His widow, now about seventy-five years of age, is still in good health, and resides with her son, James S., who is affectionately caring for her in her declining days. The paternal great-grandparents of James S. Fry were natives of Germany. James S. Fry has passed all his life on the farm on which he was born, with the exception of four months spent at school in Deerfield, for which he had been prepared by an attendance at the district school in his native township. February 20, 1879, he was married to Miss Ellen Myers, daughter of Simon and Catherine (Crist) Myers. The fruit of this union is five children, of whom three still survive: Elson M., born January 9, 1880; J. Cleve, born June 13, 1882, and Lester R., born January 11, 1892. The deceased were H. Floyd, who died May 13, 1887, aged six months, and Lillian Grace, who died March 30, 1 890, aged one year and twenty days.

Mrs. Fry, who was born September 12, 1856, and died February i, 1887, a devout Methodist for nearly twenty-three years. Her father, Simon Myers, is a farmer of Summit county, Ohio, and to his marriage, in 1854, to Catherine Crist, were born five children, and of the survivors Hattie is the wife of Allen Cook; Delilah is the wife of Charles Adams; Wilson is married to Ella Gates, Florain to Lulu Wise. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Fry were natives of Mahoning county, where the grandfather was for a time a merchant, but later became a miller, and then a farmer, and was the owner of a large estate at the time of his death. He was the father of three children, of whom Catherine (Mrs. Myers) and Harrison are still living. The grandfather of Mrs. Fry died April 11 1891, and the grandmother January 14, 1892, in the faith of the Evangelical church.

James Smith Fry is a stanch republican in politics, and was a warm advocate for the election of William McKinley.

As printed in A portrait and biographical record of Portage and Summit counties, Ohio (1898). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.