The Civil War Pension File of Isaac Carter, Document #16

The following document is an affidavit sworn by Sharper Williams of Company G, USCT 14th Heavy Artillery. I knew that our Isaac Carter had transferred from Company B to Company G; but, I began to wonder when this transpired.

A careful examination of his service record revealed something interesting.

May 2007:
Isaac Carter's Great Grandson at Fort Macon

• March 12, 1864: Isaac enlisted in 1st North Carolina Heavy Artillery, later known as USCT 14th Heavy Artillery. Rank: Sergeant, Company B.
• He was present at company muster roll through June 1865: Sergeant.
• July & August 1865 Company B muster roll reveals he had been demoted to Private. Remarks: Transferred to Company G Res S.O. No. 78....
• In the next page, also for July & August 1865, he appears in company muster roll for Company G as a Private with the following remarks: Free April 19, 1861. Transferred from Company "B", August 28, 1865 By S.O. No. 78 Hd Qrts 14 U.S. Promoted to Corpl (Sept. 1, 1865 By S.O. No. 82). [two lines down]: Roll Mutilated. 
• September & October 1865: Rank: Sergeant, Company G. Remarks: Promoted Sergt Sept. 20, 1865.

Now that I'm aware of when the transfer occurred, I can more carefully recreate Co. B & G for the time periods when Isaac served in both. (See Brainstorming for Backstory and USCT 14th Heavy Artillery A-Z for further info on this sub-project.) 

Transcription: Sharper Williams' Affidavit on behalf of Isaac Carter

North Carolina}

Craven County}

No. 612812 of Isaac Carter Co. G. 14 U.S.C.H.A.

On this 3rd day of June A.D. 1890  Personally

appeared before me a clerk of the

Superior Court a Court of record in

and for the County & State aforesaid

Sharper Williams aged 65 yrs well 

known to be reputable and en-

titled to credit & who being duly

sworn according to Law declares:

I enlisted Pvt. Co_ G. 14 USCHArty Feb

1865 and became acquainted

with Isaac Carter Sgt of my Co at

the same time. When I first

became acquainted with him

he was very sick with diarrhea

& piles also with Chronic Rheumatism

at Carolina City N.C. on about

Feb 1865 he was in the hospital

and was healed by the Surgeon,

And he was also taken with

a heavy cold which resulted in

the asthma and he continued

to complain and have a 

severe cough and was at a 

severe strain all the remainder

of the service with the diarrhea 

and piles and complained

being afflicted with rheumatism

in the feet and Legs, which

swell up & to such extent that

at times he cannot walk.

And he was in this condition all 

the rest of the service. Since the

war I have at times seen 

him at times very week (sic)

two or three times a month

And so for as i know he is

down for two or three times

a year for a month or more

at at (sic) a time with rheumatism so

he can't walk and from straining

diarrhea & piles pains in throat

& heart. He has continued to

suffer in such condition ever since

the war. I have no interest in

the claim.  My P.O. address is

New Bern N.C.

witness              )                      his

E.W. Carpenter )      Sharper    X   Williams

AM Baker         )                    mark

                                          Sworn & subscribed

to before me this 3rd day of June 1890

& I certify that the foregoing was read

to affiant as he stated before making

his mart to same & that he is the

identical person he claims to be & is cred-

ible & worthy of belief also that I have no

interest in this claim.

                                        EWCarpenter

Amanuensis Monday: The Civil War Pension File of Isaac Carter, Document #15

Below is a transcription of an affidavit sworn out by Theophilus George. This could either be Isaac's brother-in-law (b. 10 Jul 1850), or his father-in-law (b. abt. 1804). Upon completion, further analysis will determine the realtionship.

 North Carolina

Craven County

Also personally appeared before 

me a clerk of Superior Court

a court of record in and 

for the County & State aforesaid

Theophilus George age 40 yrs. 

well known unto be respectable and

entitled to credit & who being duly

declares: I have been acquainted

with Isaac Carter the soldier

all my Life. When he came home

from the war Dec 1865 he appeared

to be quite sick from Rheumatism

and was stiff in his joints of feet & 

Legs and he would be unable

to walk and he also complains 

of diarrhea & piles and asthma

soreness of throat and heart.

He has suffered to a great

excess each and every year

to the present that he has been

down for two or three times each

year or a month or more at a 

time. And I have lived near

his house ever since the war

and have been able to see

him every week at times and

I so on. When ever I see

He is complaining and is at times 

laid up from Rheumatism

diarrhea piles and asthma.

and he is continually sick

from said disabilities.

I have no interest in the

claim. My P.I. address is

Harlowe N. C. 

witness               )

E.W. Carpenter  )  Theophilus George

J.B. Willis         )

sworn & sub-

scribed to before me this 3rd day of

June 1890 & I certify that officiant states'that the foregoing was read to him before

signing same & that he is the identical

person he claims to be & is credible &

worthy of belief.                            E.W. Carpenter

[stamp]

Frederick Douglass,

U.S. Claim Agent.

Box 590, New Berne, N.C.

Analysis

• Taking into account that Theophilus George was 40 years old on 3 June 1890, he would have been born in 1850, which is compatible with Isaac Carter's brother-in-law. Certain he would have known Isaac all his life as Isaac was eleven years old when Theophilus was born. 
• Theophilus reports Isaac's condition following the war in 1865. He married Theophilus' older sister, Martha Ann, one and a half years later (15 May 1867). 
• The informant reports that I have lived near his house ever since the war. Perhaps an examination of land deeds and Census documents for 1870 and 1880 would determine the location of this land, whether it corresponds to the current Martha Ann (George) Carter Heirs Land. Also, where both Carter and George resided before the war. 

The Civil War Pension File of Isaac Carter, Document #11

The next affidavit was sworn by Silas Fenner, one of Isaac Carter's comrade in arms in the USCT Heavy Artillery 14th Regiment.

As I read over this document, I became aware of some colloquialisms of the era. I am hoping that by studying enough records, a pattern will emerge which will be able to assist me in writing dialog.

* * * * *

Department of the Interior,
BUREAU OF PENSIONS,
Jan. 20, 1890

Respectfully requested of the ADJUTANT
GENERAL U.S.A. a report from the records of his
Office as to the presence or absence, on or about
Winter of 1864 & 65
of Silas Fenner
of Co. G. 14 U.S.C.H Art.
and the station, at that date, of the Co
Invalid Claim No. 662812
Isaac Carter
Co. G. 14 U.S. C. H. Art.
Green B. Raum, Commissioner.

War Department,
Record of Pension Division,
Washington, JAN 21 1890
Respectfully returned to the
Commissioner of Pensions
With the information that the name
Silas Fenner is not
born on rolls Co. G
14 U.S.C. H Arty
BY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:
F. G. Ainsworth,
Captain and Ass't Surgeon, U.S. Army

* * * * *

662812

Isaac Carter

G. 14 USCHA

State of North Carolina

County of Craven

In matter of original claim

of Isaac Carter of Co. G 14

Regt U.S.C.H. Arty No 612812

On this 15th Day of May AD 1889

personally appeared Before one

clerk of the Superior Court Being

a court of record in and for

the county of Craven and State

of North Carolina  Sergeant

Silas Fenner age 49 years

Resident of Harlow N.C. Craven

County, well known to be

reputable and Entitled to credit

Who Being duly sworn according

to Law Declares as follows, I

and Sergeant Isaac Carter

was play boys together and

he and I Enlisted in the US

Army together, and when he

Enlisted he was a Well and

hardy man from all appearance

until. until on about Winter

1964 he contracted the Diarrhea

and piles at Carolina City

he contracted the Rheumatism

at Carolina City by Exposure

and cold, and the Diarrhea

by drinking bad Water.

and he was Sent to the Hospital

for treatment, and he was treated

By Surgeon, he complained

Very much he seemed as he

was bad off  We Was discharged

on about the 11th day of December

1865 at Fort Macon N.C. and

then We got on the train and

came to New Berne N.C.  We then

got off the train and Went to

Harlows Creek and that has

Been our resident every since

and he and I lived about

three miles apart and I

know he continues to suffer

With the Rheumatism  Diarrhea

and piles and the Asthma

he is down three and four

times a year so he cant do

anything, and he is about

two thirds disabled to perform

manual Labor by reason

of the Diarrhea  Rheumatism

Asthma & piles he is suffering

for the necessaries of

this Life, he depending on

the hand of Charity for

This Support by reason he

is unable to work.

This is all I know about the 

claim and I am no

relation. I have no interest

in his claim.

                           My post Office

                           Address is

                           Harlowe        N.C.

                           Craven County

                                     his

                            Silas  X  Fenner

                                    mark

Witness

E.W. Carpenter

J. D. Willis

                              sworn & sub-

scribed to before me this 15th

day of may 1889 & I certify that

the foregoing was read to [          ]

before making his mark in

same & that he is the iden-

tical person he claims 

to be & is credible & worthy

of belief

                                                E.W. Carpenter

                                                [                     ]

 

Amanuensis Monday--The Civil War Pension File of Isaac Carter, Document #8

If you had been following this series at its inception in August 2011, you may discover that I have skipped over documents 4-7. Perhaps one day I'll go back and fill in the missing information. Currently I am most interested in documents which help us gain an understanding of this ancestor's character and experience which affected his quality of life.

Document #8 is a three and one-half page affidavit which sheds a little more light on the incidents leading to Isaac's disability. I have chosen to transcribe this one at this time because the details proved interesting to the conditions leading to his disability.

State of North Carolina)
County of Craven         )
In matters of original Claim No. 662872
of Isaac Carter [--ot] 2 Sergeant of
Co. G 14 Regt U.S.C.H. Arty
on this 17 "Day of Oct-- A.D. 1888
Personally appeared before me a
Clerk of Superior Court a Court
of record in and for the County
of Craven and State of North
Carolina   Isaac Carter age 48 "years"
Resident of Clubfoots Creek, Craven
County N.C. P.O. address P.O. Box 570 New Bern N.C., well known to me to be reputable and Entitled to credit who being
Duly sworn according to Law Decloses (sic) as follows, I was Born and Rais (sic) in Craven County N.C. I never had any sickness Prior to my Enlistment. I Enlisted as Privet (sic) in Co. B. 14 Regt U.S.C.H. Arty on the 12 Day of March 1864  I was promoted Corporal in Fall 1864 and transferred to Company G. 14 Regt U.S.C. H. Arty on a bout March 1865   I was promoted Second Sergeant of Co. G. 14 Regt U.S.C.H. Arty under Captain John B. Willett. the first time I Every having the Dirrhea (sic) and Piles it was at Moorhead City on about November 1864 I was taken with the
Rheumatism in feet Legs and pains in the Breast and Shortness of Breath and [houghtness] I contracted the Rheumatism in the following manner viz on a bout Nov 1864 the Regiment
was ordered from New Berne N.C. to Moorhead City N.C. and we arrive there in the night  We Layed out all Night for
Three or four Nights with out any tents in the open air Nothing but our
Blankets. our Tents was Left to New Berne and it Rain and [         ] and I
got wet. I was taken first with a Deep cold up on the Lung. I could not Speak Louder than a whisper and my feet taken to swelling and I sent Hospital. I Remain the Hospital for Three
Months, More Less and was Treated by the Surgeon  I am able to give the Surgeon Name. This was Two and Three Surgeon Moor Less and I have Suffered Every Since with Diarhea (sic)
and Piles and Swelling Feeling Legs Pains in Back and Shoulders and Knees and Larger Joints and Shortness of the Breath I am Generally Down in Bed Two and Three times a year Each and every years Generally in fall and though the winter and Spring and Bothered a great Deal. Asthma and weakness of the Eyes from Date of Discharge up to the Present   I have lived on Clubfoot Creek Craven County N.C. My occupation have been that of a farmer when I could Do any thing. I have not been able to work one third of any Time. I have Suffered a great Deal for the Necessaries of this Life and have not been able to work. My children and wife has work to suport me. I have not been able to Employ any Doctor to Treat Me. I have Bought Medician (sic) from First one Doctor then and other. I generally use
Linement and Balsom to Rub my Back there has not been any change in my Resident  My P.O. address is P.O. Box 590 New Berne N.C. I am unable to Prove my Disability by Commissioned officers of my Company by Reason I do not know where they are at or Post Office address. I have not seen or heard from them since the 11 Day of December 1865 or the Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon. I am able to prove it by my Comrads (sic) which I ask to be accepted in Lieu of Commissioned officers or Surgeons, of My Regiment
my P.O. address is P.O. Box 590 New Berne N.C.

                                         his
Witness                   Isaac  X  Carter
E.W. Carpenter               mark
J. B. Willis

Sworn & subscribed to before me this 17th day of Oct 1888 & I certify that the foregoing was read to Claimant before
executing samd & that he is the identical person he claimed to be & is creditable & worthy of belief.

                           E.W. Carpenter
                           Clerk Sup Court

Keeping an Online Family History Journal

You may have noticed something new on the website...a new link to

The Bizzy Bee's Family History Journal.

Besides following genealogy and history blogs, I also follow writer's blogs, and Mary Carrol Moore's How to Plan, Write and Develop a Book is one of my favorites! In her post, Staying in the Room with the Writing--How to keep yourself from getting blocked, distracted or stopping altogether, was just the motivation I needed to start another dimension to this blog....the family history journal.

My first post, Messaging Dominique: Debunking Family Myths, was the catalyst. The previous day I had been messaging our cousin whom I had just recently met online! It is rare that I come across a descendant of Elisha Carter, my husband's grandfather's oldest brother...and she is only the fourth I have met, although I have only ever met one in person! So, Hey Dominique! So glad you found us!!!

I had read Mary's post and was mulling the idea over in my mind, but how would I do this? I contacted our California cousin Yvette Porter Moore and asked her how she got her new website to look so good? How did she link all her blogs to her main page? She messaged me with some good advice and a lot of encouragement, and with a little experimenting, I finally got it right!

My goal is to apply her weekly writing exercises to my research/writing regimen. I hope you'll stop by and see what the Bizzy Bee's been up to!

Drawing Upon Parallel Personal Memories

According to author/editor C. S. Lakin, your first paragraph needs three things to hook your readers into the story:

1. Your protagonist (Isaac Carter),
2. A catalyst or incident (the binding out of the four orphaned Carter children at the County Courthouse), and
3. A hint of the protagonist's core need  (to keep his siblings together, to watch over and protect them).

I have researched how they might have journeyed from North Harlowe to New Bern...the route they may have taken to get to the Courthouse once arriving to the city...what the Courthouse may have looked like...

...and now, I need to recreate the emotional responses the protagonist and subordinate characters in this first scene may have had to the incident.

For this I rely on personal memories of a similar event. 

Going to the Courthouse

Hampshire County Courthouse, Northampton, MA

On November 28, 1990, nearly one month after our youngest child's death in a vehicle/pedestrian accident, my husband and I, the driver of the vehicle, our lawyers and a clerk magistrate sat down together at a closed session in Northampton District Court for a show-cause hearing.

The clerk magistrate announced that she had just come back from vacation and had not yet read the background of the case...and it looks like no one was injured. Almost in unison, everyone in the room cried out, Someone died!

We met for thirty minutes...one half hour...reviewed the circumstances, and resolved it among ourselves. Looking back, it seemed like more time than that had elapsed; and if I hadn't read it for myself in the newspaper I wouldn't have believed it.

It was an accident in the truest sense of the word, [the driver] said of Nichelle's death. It was a tragedy, he added, one that happened in three seconds, the time it took my truck to move eight feet. (Charges Ruled Out In Stroller Death, Union-News (Springfield, MA), Thursday, November 29, 1990, by Richard Bourie: Staff: Union-News.)

As we emerged from the small room upon a long, dark, narrow hall, a reporter approached us from the stairwell ahead. The questions he asked seemed trivial and intrusive. I recall a sense of annoyance that he would invade our privacy, not taking into account that we were in a public place. I answered tersely, then walked past him and descended the stairs.

Our two surviving children were not with us. I don't remember where they were...perhaps with their grandparents. That day's events preceding and following the hearing are as lost to traumatic forgetfulness as the memory of the hearing is forever etched in my mind. Even the memory of approaching the reporter is as walking through a haze, buffered by a valley of no recall.

Roughing out the courtroom scene...
And how must young Isaac Carter have felt...a fourteen-year-old young man, huddling his younger siblings about him, as they entered the courthouse. Master Temple instructed them to go with the Negro matron to the upper gallery and wait until their case was called.

The bell tolled in the cupola above, bidding the townspeople to come to court. It was a big day when the Quarter Session began. The Sheriff had rounded up a jury from among the planters and prominent men of the county, and onlookers and curiosity seekers pushed their way through the doors, hoping to get a seat in one of the plain, straight-backed benches of the gallery. . . .

I imagine Isaac felt an unnatural calm, like time was moving past him in a blur. The chatter of innumerable groups of people rose to a roar, yet muffled by a buffer of distortion. He saw people shoving, pushing, scurrying, but he felt detached from it.

And then the Sheriff entered:

Oyez, Oyez, Oyez. All manner of persons who have any thing to do before the Honorable the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, Orphans' Court, and Court of Quarter Sessions, here holden this day, let them come forward and they shall be heard. (A Book of Forms for Practice in the Courts and for Conveyancing, Volume 2, p. 2102.)

Everyone stood as the Justice of the Peace entered and stepped up to the dias and took his seat on the tall bench, and then the people sat down.

A rail divided the general courtroom from the spectator's gallery, and beyond that sat two oval tables where the attorneys sat. Below the judge's bench were benches for the Sheriff and his deputies, and a smaller table where the clerk of court recorded the proceedings.

The gavel cracked three times, and the murmur of the crowd died down to complete silence. The Sheriff called the first case on the docket and people came forward and sat with the attorney at an oval table.

It seemed that case after case was called of one sort or another....

Turning a 2-D scene into 3-D
As I wrote the sketch for the opening of the courtroom scene, I noticed that while I could imagine the disjointed feeling of grief mixed with responsibility and living in the present, I was struggling with getting into the head of a fourteen-year-old boy.

I can see that after we move and get settled in, I'll be spending some time in my new office, surrounded with photos, the apprenticeship documents (which are currently packed away in boxes labeled, "Debra's Gen. Binders/Bedroom #2") and spending some quiet time imagining.