Paul-Beck Carter, the family’s early chronicler
Evidence key: DOCUMENTED SUPPORTED FAMILY TRADITION HYPOTHESIS DISPROVEN-CORRECTED · what the labels mean · “Potts” = Potts 1883 · “Court Record” = Record of the Courts of Chester County (1910)
Paul-Beck Carter (1 Oct 1815 – 1888?), generation 5 (Jeremiah, Abraham, Joseph, Edward the potter, Paul-Beck), Potts no.196. He was a Chester lawyer and, signing himself “P. B. C.”, wrote the 1880 newspaper series on Carterville. He also helped Rev. T. M. Potts with the 1883 family history. He is one of the earliest people known to have written down the family’s story SUPPORTED. That he was the first is HYPOTHESIS.
His life in plain words
Paul-Beck Carter was born at Carterville, the son of Edward Carter the potter and Rachel (Flemming). He went to the little “Mud Wasp” school at Cartertown. As a boy he lost his right arm in an accident, so he could not do manual work, and he went to Dickinson College at Carlisle and into the law instead. He was admitted to the Delaware County bar on 23 May 1842 and practised at Chester for about forty years. An old Chester man remembered that “Paul B. Carter usually walked in from Cartertown, invariably carrying his green bag.”
His first wife, Catharine Bell of Carlisle, died at Chester in 1850. In 1852 he married his second cousin Ella-C. Lloyd, daughter of John and Ann (Carter) Lloyd. They had eight children, and five of them died young.
| When | What | Label | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 1815 | Born at Carterville | SUPPORTED | Potts 1883 pp.134–135 |
| c.1840 | At Dickinson College. Potts says he graduated; the 1892 General Catalogue appears to list “Paul B. Carter” (1840) among the non-graduates. Unresolved. | SUPPORTED | Potts p.135; Dickinson General Catalogue 1892 |
| 23 May 1842 | Admitted to the Delaware County bar | DOCUMENTED | Ashmead 1884, bar list; Martin 1877, bar list |
| 1847–1866 | Buys up his grandfather Joseph Carter’s fishery at the Lazaretto, Tinicum: 8/14 from Sheriff Dutton (1847), 12/14 by 1852, the whole by sheriff’s deed in 1866 | SUPPORTED | Ashmead 1884 pp.281–282 |
| 1850 | First wife Catharine (Bell) dies at Chester | SUPPORTED | Potts p.135 |
| 20 Jul 1852 | Marries Ella-C. Lloyd (Potts no.233) | SUPPORTED | Potts p.135 |
| 1 Mar 1875 | Carter v. Tinicum Fishing Co., 77 Pa. 310: the Supreme Court upholds his title from long possession and orders a new trial | DOCUMENTED | 77 Pa. 310; openjurist.org |
| 1877–1879 | Sues his sisters and his brother’s heirs over his father’s will, then the buyers of the land (1877, 1879) | DOCUMENTED | Delaware County Daily Times, 13 Jun 1877; 15 and 22 Apr 1879 |
| 1880 | Writes “Carterville, Chester Township”, in five parts | DOCUMENTED | DCDT 1880 |
| 1883 | Thanked in the preface of Potts’s Bi-Centenary Memorial | DOCUMENTED | Potts 1883 preface |
| 15 Feb 1888? | Death date given in one online family tree; no obituary or grave found yet | HYPOTHESIS | MyKindred user tree (lead only) |
The 1880 “Carterville, Chester Township” series
Five letters in the Delaware County Daily Times, signed “P. B. C.” They are the oldest known written history of Carterville by a family member.
| Part | Date | What it covers | In the archive |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | 25 Aug 1880, p.3 | Concord Avenue as it was fifty years before | Yes. Read the summary |
| No. 2 | 3 Sep 1880, p.4 | Ghost stories and the “Bluebeard” legend of the Carter land | Yes. Read the summary |
| No. 3 | 1880 | To be added from Kevin’s copy. | Not yet |
| No. 4 | 1880 | To be added from Kevin’s copy. | Not yet |
| No. 5 | 4 Nov 1880, p.3 | Robert Carter and the paper mills on Chester Creek | Yes. Read the summary |
The great fishery case
Ashmead’s History of Delaware County (1884) calls Paul B. Carter vs. the Tinicum Fishing Company “one of the most noted civil cases in the judicial annals of our State”. The fishery at the Lazaretto came down from Joseph Carter’s deeds of 1796–1805 and his will of 1828. After Paul bought up the shares, the company’s stone sea-wall made the fishery worthless, and the fight lasted more than thirty years. In 1875 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on title in his favour and sent the case back for a new trial. In November 1879 the sheriff sold the company’s estate. SUPPORTED That Joseph Carter was Paul’s own grandfather, Joseph (1749–1830), whose 1828 will left “my Fishing-place at the Lazaretto” to his sons Joseph and Cloud. Cloud sold his half to his brother William in 1832, and the uncles’ shares came to Paul at the sheriff’s sales from 1847 SUPPORTED (Ashmead p.281 cites Potts p.66; Potts pp.65–66 prints the will).
Children (by Ella-C. Lloyd)
| Potts no. | Name | Dates | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 557 | Kate-Bell | 29 May 1853 – 17 Nov 1856 | SUPPORTED |
| 558 | Blanche | 1854 – 1856 | SUPPORTED |
| 559 | Florence-Parker | b. 20 Jan 1858, Chester; m. Edward-J. Paxton | SUPPORTED |
| 560 | Frank-Lloyd | b. 12 Feb 1859 | SUPPORTED |
| 561 | Mary-Virginia | b. 18 Mar 1861 (twin) | SUPPORTED |
| 562 | Paul-Beck Jr. | b. 18 Mar 1861 (twin) | SUPPORTED |
| 563 | Helen-Bessie | 1866 – 1869 | SUPPORTED |
| 564 | Amanda-Mabel | 1870 – 1875 | SUPPORTED |
All the children’s dates are from Potts 1883. Their later lives are still being traced.
Still to find
- His death, obituary (look in the Daily Times, Feb 1888) and grave. Leads: Chester Rural Cemetery; Mount Hope, Aston, where his father lies.
- Whether he graduated from Dickinson, or attended without graduating.
- How the will suits of 1877–79 ended, and the last stage of the fishery case.
- Parts 3 and 4 of the 1880 series (Kevin has copies).
- His household in the 1850–1880 censuses.
Sources: Potts, Bi-Centenary Memorial of Jeremiah Carter (1883); Ashmead, History of Delaware County (1884); Martin, Chester and its Vicinity (1877); 77 Pa. 310; Delaware County Daily Times 1877–1880; A. Dutton’s reminiscence (1920). Full notes: people/Paul-Beck-Carter.md.
People on this page in the Descendants directory (3)
Joseph Carter (no. 20) · Paul-Beck Carter (no. 196) · Ella-C Lloyd (no. 233)