DAVID CARTTER’S FAMILY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN

David Cartter, the son of James Bruce, had not been able to go on to school beyond the elementary grades, due to his father’s inability to carry on the farm work alone. Therefore he did all he could to see that his three children had that opportunity. All three attended the Black River Falls High School, the first two having to board in town during the week as transportation was not available. He encouraged each to prepare for his own life and if anything, encouraged them not to follow farming although he recognized agriculture as an important field.

Farming had not been an easy life for James Bruce, nor was it so far for his son David. It was, however, a life which both enjoyed. Being close to nature and dealing with her forces presented challenges which each accepted. Handling the early long-beamed breaking plow taxed the endurance; making hay on the marshes was slow business; establishing the necessary drainage ditches took time; doctoring one’s own livestock, and confronting new crop diseases and pests was often like walking in the dark; planting 25 acres of corn each spring using the hand planter, was tedious; and spending all day taking a load of hogs to market by team and wagon over roads often hub deep in sand was time consuming to say the least. All of these were times and conditions which made men value life and principle. True many men broke under the strain but more adjusted to the circumstances.

Three major wars occurred during David’s lifetime, the Civil War and two world wars, with their demands on man power and production knowhow. The depression years that followed were felt as severely.

For a view of farm life in the 1920’s and 30’s here are some excerpts from a letter written during those depression years by David on April 23, 1932 to Arthur Swift his boyhood chum and cousin who by this time had made his last move to Santa Ana, California.

“Cousin Arthur: Your folder and letter came and I may tell you that news of you and your family was most welcome. We are in the midst of spring, long in coming. Grass just a little green and the peepers that you must remember just begun to croak. All’s well here but suffering, as all of the country, from the hard times, tho it was longer delayed than in the grain country that broke ten or more years ago. This is cow country and until two years ago we fared rather well. Now values are one-third of what they were, land included. No sale at all. Taxes have been so high that many farm owners are not able to pay. – – – All our banks closed at once January 1st and there was a month of dead times here. Five of them consolidated leaving only one at Melrose to go alone. The old Jackson COunty Bank took the place of five making one strong institution. There will be a little loss to depositors, the stockholders gave their stock, I among them, and it ties up thousands of dollars some of it for five years. – – –

– – – The farmers as a class have no money. Speculation ran high here as all over the country and left many almost penniless. – – –

We have spent fortunes on good roads in the last fifteen years and you would not believe so much could be done in that time it should have taken thirty years at least. – – –

– – – I often wonder if you kept the faith of our fathers. I am a democrat still as always even tho I have always voted dry. Jackson County went democratic last fall for the first time since the war. – – – I believe that the tide has turned at last and times will improve from this on but must not think to get back to boom times very soon. There are too many shipwrecks along the way. Our great cities Chicago and Milwaukee are as near bankrupt as a city can be. Talking of shutting the schools down with millions in default in teachers wages, something we never knew before. – – – YOu and I may count our years to come on the fingers of our hand. – – –

– – – I might as well tell you that Arthur Swift is still considered the wit of this old colony. It would take a long time to repeat the jokes and pranks of our school days. There are so many that I might call to mind. Remember me to your family and friends.

Your cousin – D. K. Cartter.”

David’s three children accepted his challenge of an education and prepared themselves with his help. Following is a review of the life of each up to the present. All are forever thankful for their father’s quiet guidance, encouragement, and counsel throughout the years of their growing up. All in turn had spent time at the farm assisting him before they stepped out on their own.

His burdens had been heavy and his sorrows staggering, but he had not shrunk from the double responsibility he had to bear as the sole parent on two occasions.

IRENE CARTTER KNAPP had finished high school in 1907, the year that Isadora died, and during the next three years spent part time at home helping her father. She continued to study piano becoming a very successful piano teacher giving lessons, expecially to children, wherever she lived. After securing her librarian’s certificate she became the librarian at Colfax, Wis. It was while living here that she met Raymond Wright Knapp whom she married June 24, 1918. This was the year after he had gone west to Missoula, Montana. Here he had established his own auto repair garage following a trade in which he was very proficient.

Raymond was a member of the tenth generation of a family tracing back to Nicholas Knapp who came to Conn. from England.

THE KNAPP FAMILY

The following direct line of descent for this Knapp family is taken from Alfred Averill Knapp’s book Nicholas Knapp Genealogy written in 1953 with a supplement prepared in 1956.

Generation
I.    NICHOLAS KNAPP - b. England d. 4-16-1670 in Fairfield, Conn.
II.   CALEB - b. 11-20-1636 or 1-20-1637 in Watertown, Mass. d. before 3-4-1675 M. Hannah Smith
III.  SAMUEL - b. Ca 1668 d. 1739 m. Hannah Bushnell about 1696
IV.   JOHN - b. 1700 - Danbury, Conn. d. 1758 on board ship on Lake Erie m. Margarete Taylor 1724
V.    CHARLES - b. 1731 d. 2-11-1793 m. Hannah Finch
VI.   MOSES - b. 9-3-1755 d. 12-13-1846 or '47 Pompey, N. Y. m. Amy Sprague
VII.  JAMES - b. 1-22-1787 d. 9-11-1878 m. Elizabeth Spoor at Lafayette, N. Y. The 1860 census shows
      him a farmer living at Pompey and Hastings, N. Y.
VIII. DAVID - b. 4-26-1821 Hastings N. Y. d. 7-31-1888 Colfax, Wis. m. Lovina Pangborn, Columbia, N. Y.
IX.   SIDNEY - b. 3 or 5-17-1850 d. after 1936 Missoula, Mont. m. Eunice Wright b. Mossirtown, N. Y.
X.    RAYMOND - b. 4-15-1887 d. 2-13-1947 m. (1) Freda Quiggle, West Salem 6-9-1915, Divorced 3/1917
      m. (2nd) Irene Cartter 6-24-1918.  Raymond was one of 5 brothers, others being Stanley, Donald,
      Horace and Lawrence

Two girls blessed the marriage of Raymond and Irene (Cartter) Knapp.

RUTH ELAINE, b. 3-26-1919 m. John A. Forssen 10-6-1945

KATHLEEN EUNICE, b. 8-28-1923 m. (1) Donald Robertson 9-2-1943 d. W.W. 2 8-9-1944 m. (2) Chester Bower Schendel 8-15-1947

Both girls graduated from the University of Montana in Missoula with education degrees and taught in Montana schools. Irene in addition to her music and library work was very active in women’s work of the church and taught Sunday school for thirty-five years, serving for a time as State Secretary of Children’s Work for the Montana Conference of the Methodist church. She died June 8, 1960. She had been preceded in death by her husband on February 13, 1947. Both are burined in the Missoula, Montana cemetery.

BRUCE LANPHER CARTTER attended the University of Wis. College of Agriculture and was graduated in 1920, with a B.S. degree in agriculture, having majored in Animal Husbandry. With World War I in progress he enlisted as a member of the S.A.T.C. organized at the Univ. of Wis. in 1918. The Armistice was signed just a few days after he had received transfer orders to Camp Hancock (machine gun officer training center) The order was rescinded and the S.A.T.C. program was phased out in December of 1918.

After graudating in 1920 Bruce worked two and a half years on the home farm, heling his father and also doing some Advanced Registry testing, during the slack winter months, under Roy T. Harris of Dairy Husbandry. This was followed by his conducting of a Special Dairy Cattle Feeding Trial at the Carnation Farms near Oconomowoc, under the supervision of Professor Henry Morrison of the Animal Husbandry Dept. of the College of Agriculture.

In 1924 his career as an agricultural teacher was begun at the Marinette County Agricultural School in Marinette, Wis. Here he also started a winter short course for farm boys not in high school and supervised 4-H club work for boys in the county. In 1927 he became one of the first three county 4-H club agents in Wis. to be employed under the Capper Ketchum Act and worked full time with rural youth in Marinette County. After having spent eight months in 1938 on leave of absence from Marinette Co. while serving as Extension Rural Sociologist at the College of Agriculture in Madison, he returned to Marinette. In 1943 he received an appointment to the Rural Sociology Dept. at Madison and resigned from his county work to spend the balance of his employed years in that department and as a member of the State 4-H Club Staff. He finished his M.S. Degree in Adult Education and Rural Sociology in 1946.

As Professor of Cooperative Extension his major contributions have been in the fields of adult education and youth development. He retired December 31, 1965.

Bruce was born October 4, 1899 at Black River Falls. He has been married twice. His first marriage, celebrated in New York City on Sept. 18, 1923, was to Elizabeth May Fitch, a classmate of his at the University of Wis. Elizabeth, better known as Betty, was at the time of their wedding serving as Woman’s Editor on Farm and Fireside a publication of the Curtis Publishing Co. She had been in this position since her graduation from the Univ. of Wis. in Home Ec. Journalism. Bruce had just accepted a farm manager’s job at Somerset, Penn. It was here they made thier first home.

Elizabeth (Fitch) Cartter was born March 27, 1896 at Stockville, Nebr. the youngest daughter of Lyman Hawley and Iome Delia (Parker) Fitch. This Fitch family later lived at Lincoln, Nebr. where Elizabeth went to high school finisheing her last year at Green Lake, Wis. where she had gone to live with her mother. Green Lake, earlier known as Dartford, had been the childhood home of Iome Delia whose father was Ezra Ashabel Parker b. 9-10-1823. Her mother was Sarah S. McGlashen b. 11-11-1830.

Ezra Parker has arrived in Wis. in 1844 first stopping in Milwaukee only one year after James Bruce Cartter had arrived in Kenosha. Ezra moved on to Green Lake County in 1846. He was born in Ashtabula County, Ohio, his parents being Jared and Betsy (Jones) Parker. Sarah had come with her parents Robert P. and Sarah (Holmes) McGlashen from Cattaraugus County, N. Y. to settle in Beaver Dam, Wis. in 1845. Exra and Sarah were married Dec. 11, 1849 and lived the remainder of their lives on a 600 acre farm near Green Lake. Eight children were born to this unionome, being the 5th child, was born Dec. 21, 1858 and died on 5-17-1967, age 109 years.

THE FITCH FAMILY

Lyman Hawley Fitch, Elizabeth’s father was in the eighth generation of the Fitch family in America. From the History of the Fitch Family prepared by Roscoe Conklong Fitch we take the following male line of descent.

Rev. James Fitch the pioneer ancestor arrived in America in 1638, when sixteen years of age, from Bocking, County Essex, England. He was ordained about the year 1646 and established his first church at Saybrook, Conn. that same year.

      1.  Rev. James Fitch - b. 12-24-1622.  m. Abigail Whitfield oct. 1648, six children.
      2.  Major James - b. 8-2-1649 m. (1) Elizabeth Mason Jan., 1676  (2) Widow Alice Adams 5-8-1687
      3.  Col. Jabez - b. 1-30-1703 m. Lydia Gale ab. 1700 - Seven children - 2 other marriages
          with no children

I know, this doesn’t make sense. How could Col. Jabez be married about three years prior to his birth? Based on Dr. Jabez’s birth in 1729, I am assuming that Col. Jabez was married about 1725, which while late for that time frame works a lot better than 1700. Any information updating this would be greatly appreciated.

      4.  Dr. Jabez - b. 5-23-1729 - m. Lydia Huntington 8-22-1754 - twelve children
      5.  Dr. Chauncey - b. 1-17-1771 - m. 1st Eliza Sheldon 10-10-1800 (2) m. Nancy Peckham
          11-5-1815 - twelve children.
      6.  Rev. John Ashley - b. 8-22-1804  m. Lucia Miranda May ______ - eight children.
      7.  Jabez Huntington - b. 4-4-1833 - m. Sarah E. Hawley - ______ - five children.
      8.  Lyman Hawley - b. 9-6-1858 - m. Iome Delia Fitch 12-21-1883 d. 11-25-1923.

This should be Iome Delia Parker, since she didn’t become a Fitch until after she married Lyman. Remember, this was towards the end of this project, and Grandpa was probably looking forward to getting this manuscript off to the printer…

      9.  Elizabeth May - b. 3-27-1896  m. Bruce L. Cartter 9-19-1923 d. 9-12-1957 - four children.

Elizabeth May (Fitch) Cartter died in Madison, Wis. 9-12-1957 after several years suffering with rheumatoid arthritis in severe form. Her spirit through those years was remarkable and her concern and care for her four children was most sincere and thoughtful.

These Cartter children are:

Elizabeth Fitch – b. Aug. 25, 1924

Bruce Lanpher Jr. – b. Jan 13, 1926

David Kellogg – b. Mar. 30, 1928

Nancy Ann – b. Feb 7, 1930

Further mention of these children and their families may be found in the 10th Generation of the Cartter Genealogy section following this story.

Bruce Lanpher Sr.’s second marriage was to Mrs. Rachel (Gard) Farrington, of Madison, Wis. on July 15, 1961. She was the widow of Wendel farrington of Madison who died Feb. 25, 1958. Rachel is the oldest daughter of Samuel Arnold and Louisa Maria (Ireland) Gard of Iola, Kansas. She was born there Feb. 4, 1905, wnet to high school in Iola, and was graduated from the Univ. of Kansas with a B.A. degree in Education, later completing her M.A. in the same field. She became a teacher both at the elementary and junior high school levels in Kansas.

During World War II Rachel was on the national staff if the YWCA – U.S.O., directing recreation and education centers for young women war workers. Following the war she became Young Adult Director in the Y.W.C.A. programs at Tulsa, Oklahoma; Des Moines, Iowa; and at Madison, Wis. Returning to teaching in 1955 she taught in the elementary schools at Stoughton and at Evansville, both in Wis., until she retired in June of 1966.

JAMES MARION CARTTER finished his high school work at Black River Falls in 1934 going on to the College of Agriculture, Univ. of Wis. where he received his B.S. degree in Agricultural Education. Before completing the work for his degree he returned to the farm in order to assist his parents in its operation, his father’s health having begun to fail. David Cartter died Oct. 11, 1941.

On November 8, 1941 James married Margaret Dora Olson of Black River Falls and brought her to the farm where they lived with James’ mother until he was inducted into service Dec. 8, 1942 during World War II. After about one and a half years of service in the states he was sent overseas in Sept. of 1944 with 103 Company – 409 Infantry Div. of the 7th Army to serve under General Patton in his European campaign. He served as a staff sergeant and was discharged Sept. 26, 1945 with several citations.

Following the war James moved his family to Madison where he secured part time employment with Oscar Mayer Packing Co. and completed requirements for a M.S. degree in Rural Sociology and Education.

During this period he became interested in art and craft forms and perfected skills in pottery, painting, and photography. He secured permanent employment with Oscar Mayer Packing Co. where he has completed twenty-six years of continuous employment. He is presently chief night steward and on the company’s Labor Arbitration Board.

Margaret, as her children grew older, secured employment at the University of Wis. Medical Center and has held the position of ward clerk continuously since 1953. Margaret is the daughter of Oscar H. Olson, b. 10-12-1892 on a fram in North Dakota, and Lillian Brown b. 9-17-1901 in Vernon County. The Brown family moved to a farm in the Disco area where they lived until after Mr. Olson’s death 1-20-1940 when they moved to Black River Falls. Oscar’s father b. 4-7-1868 on a farm in Vinger, Norway, emigrated in 1888 to N. Dakota.

Nine children were born to the marriage of James and Margaret Cartter, namely,

Ellen Louise         b. 10-12-1942
James Marion         b. 9-1-1944
David Kellogg        b. 11-7-1946
Mary Jean            b. 10-24-1947
John Michael         b. 10-7-1948
Donald E. R.         b. 10-29-1949
Julia Ann            b. 10-4-1952
Kristin Kathryn      b. 9-17-1954
Charles Allan        b. 9-25-1956

Five members of this family saw service in the armed forces during the Vietnam conflict as follows:

Ellen served three years with the Army Nurse Corps receiving training at Walter Reed Hospital. Later attended Whitewater State College and is now employed at the Wis. State Medical Center.

James Marion (2) has seen eight years of service, 18 months overseas, in the Air Force. He received his M.S. degree at Texas Tech. Univ. in 1973.

David Kellogg served three years in the army as a missle man. Presently serves as Deputy Sheriff in Madison, Wis. and is attending the Univ. of Wis. part time.

John has completed 6 years of service, made two trips overseas with 24 months in Vietnam as a Marine helicopter repair man.

Donald E. R. served three years in Germany with the Army as a surveyor. All are now out of the service.

Mary is a graduate from the Univ. of Wis. and is now employed as a Labor Economist with the Labor Dept. in Washington, D.C. She is married to Mark Babash, also a graduate from the UNiveristy and employed in Senator Nelson’s office.

Julie ia a senior at the Univeristy of Wis. and Kritsin is a sophomore at the Area Vocational-Technical College. Charles the youngest is a junior in East High School. More detail on this family may be found in the Cartter Genealofy section in this book.