James Pratt Carter (August 20, 1915 – December 19, 2000) was an American military officer, politician, and educator. During his career in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, he served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, retiring from the army in 1958 with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He was the mayor of

Madison, North Carolina Madison is a town located in Rockingham County, North Carolina. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,132. Madison is part of the Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area of the Piedmont Triad metro region. It was h ...

for twelve years and later served on the town's

Board of Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

Early life

Carter was born on August 20, 1915, in

Rockingham County, North Carolina Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,096. Its county seat is Wentworth. The county is known as "North Carolina's North Star." Rockingham County is included in ...

, to Yancey Ligon Carter and Mary Elizabeth Morton, who were prominent tobacco farmers in the Bethany community. He was the thirteenth of fifteen children. Carter was raised in the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

tradition. His grandfather, Pleasant Jiles Carter, was a North Carolinian planter. Carter's great-grandfather, Thomas B. Carter, owned a large tobacco

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

in what is now

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

. His family descends from the colonist Reverend Thomas Carter, a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

minister in the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

and signer of the

Dedham Covenant The Dedham Covenant was a covenant that governed the early settlement of Dedham, Massachusetts. It mandated that only those with similar, Puritan, community values could live in the town and set about a method for mediating disputes. It also requi ...

Career

Military

Carter enlisted in the

as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in 1934, after graduating from Madison High School. He served in

with the rank of

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

, as part of the 20th Infantry Regiment, and was deployed to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He also served in the

and was stationed in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He was decorated for his service in World War II. During World War II, four of his brothers were also serving. His mother was awarded a "five-starred emblem" by the Legion of Honor Association for having five sons serve at one time. The award was presented at the President's Birthday Ball at the town armory. He retired from the army as a

in 1958.

Education

Carter graduated from

Wake Forest College Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

in 1961 with a degree in education. Carter later earned a master's degree from the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

. He worked as a public school teacher at

Madison-Mayodan High School Dalton L. McMichael High School is a public high school located in Mayodan, North Carolina. History The school was established as a merger of Madison-Mayodan and Stoneville high schools. Athletic programs of the two former schools (formerly the ...

, where he taught social studies. He was later appointed principal of Elliott Duncan Elementary School in

Mayodan Mayodan is a town in Rockingham County, North Carolina, Rockingham County, North Carolina, in the United States. It is a manufacturing site for Sturm, Ruger & Co., Bridgestone#Bridgestone Aircraft Tire, Bridgestone Aircraft Tire, and General Tobac ...

, a position he held until his retirement in 1977.

Politics

In 1977 Carter was elected mayor of

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. He assumed office in 1978 and served until 1991. In 1990 Carter dismissed Barry and Debbie Walker's charges of harassment against Phillip Webster, a town alderman, calling the charges a "personal vendetta" that the town "would no longer tolerate". The Walkers accused Webster of harassment when ordering bushes on their property bordering U.S. Route 311 be trimmed by town workers. Carter told them to contact the district attorney if they felt a crime had been committed. He also stated that, were Webster guilty of violating a town ordinance, it would not be grounds for removal from the town's Board of Aldermen. In 1991 Carter supported a one-cent tax increase, to generate $273,000 annually as funding to maintain Chinqua Penn Plantation. On March 6, 1991, Carter was a speaker at a victory march and rally for United States troops who served in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. The demonstration, sponsored by the Rockingham County Patriots, was held at

Rockingham County High School Rockingham County High School (RCHS) is located in Wentworth, North Carolina, North Carolina. It is located near Rockingham County Middle School, which feeds into the high school. Academics Many classes have optional honors credits and the school ...

. After his time as mayor, he served on town's Board of

Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

for two years.

Personal life

Carter was the uncle of folk artist

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

and photographer

Carol M. Highsmith Carol McKinney Highsmith (born Carol Louise McKinney on May 18, 1946) is an American photographer, author, and publisher who has photographed in all the states of the United States, as well as the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. She photo ...

. He was a

and served as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

and trustee at First Baptist Church of Madison. He was a member of the Madison Lions Club and was named a Melvin Jones Fellow by the organization. He married Nancy Elizabeth Martin in 1941. They had four daughters: Dorothy Jean Carter Seeman, Gerry Carter,

Linda Carter Brinson Linda Sue Carter Brinson (born June 25, 1948) is an American writer, journalist, and editor. She was the first woman assistant national editor at ''The Baltimore Sun'' and the first woman editorial page editor at the ''Winston-Salem Journal''. ...

, and Vicki Carter Alexander. In 1998 Carter was named Madison's Citizen of the Year. Carter died on December 19, 2000, at Stokes-Reynolds Memorial Hospital in

Danbury, North Carolina Danbury is a city located in Danbury Township, Stokes County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 142. It is the county seat of Stokes County. Danbury is located on NC 8/ 89 approximately north of Winst ...

. His funeral was held at First Baptist Church of Madison. He is buried in the cemetery at Sardis Primitive Baptist Church in Madison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, J.P. 1915 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American politicians United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of World War II American people of English descent American school principals Schoolteachers from North Carolina Baptists from North Carolina Deacons Mayors of places in North Carolina North Carolina city council members North Carolina Democrats People from Rockingham, North Carolina Thomas Carter family United States Army officers University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni Wake Forest University alumni 20th-century Baptists