Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Cartter family of Ohio span the years 1836-1893. The collection consists of family and general correspondence, a diary, printed matter, and miscellaneous material. Included are letters from David K. Cartter (1812-1887), a lawyer, and congressman from Ohio active in Republican affairs who served under President Abraham Lincoln as ambassador to Bolivia, 1861-1862, and later, beginning in 1863, as chief justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
Contained in the collection are letters from Cartter to his wife, Nancy Hanford Cartter, and to his mother, including during his service in La Paz, Bolivia. There are also letters of two sons, David K. Cartter, Jr., and William H. Cartter, both of whom served in the Civil War. Letters from William, first lieutenant in the marine corps, to his mother, July 1861-February 1865, concern the 1st Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, and his service abroad the USS Minnesota at Hampton Roads, Virginia, Pensacola, Florida, and off the coast of North Carolina. Included is William Cartter's eyewitness account of the battle of Hampton Roads, also known as the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac, and information concerning the transportation of prisoners of war from North Carolina to New York. Correspondence from David Kellogg Cartter, Jr., a second lieutenant in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, relates to the impact of the war in Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas, and problems with Native Americans in the West. Much of the general correspondence dates from the Civil War period and focuses on David's illness and death from typhoid in 1862.
Other material consists of a diary of Nancy Hanford Cartter, wife of Judge Cartter, miscellaneous memorabilia and biographical items, and printed and financial matter. A file on Charles Guiteau includes a petition and legal document pertaining to the trial of the assassin of President James A. Garfield.