My Contribution: I was a member of the Brotherly Love Lodge No. 896 of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows and Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements for Harrisburg’s Fifteenth Amendment Celebration. I was very active in attending Black conventions along with Cassius M. Brown, Sr. and O.L.C. Hughes. I was also the pastor of Free Baptist Church in Harrisburg and organized union camp meetings in Harrisburg for local clergy.
My Legacy: I was an emblem of political engagement in Harrisburg in the fight for equal rights, Republican clubs, and in temperance circles. As a clergyman, I sought to ensure that individuals of color were memorialized well in Harrisburg. Second Baptist Church, where I often spoke and served, still remains today. The decoration of veterans’ graves, of which I took part, remains a tradition in Harrisburg and beyond.
About Me: “The orator, Rev. C.J. Carter, delivered an able address, and read a beautiful poem composed by himself for the occasion. It was an affecting and patriotic tribute to the brave soldiers we revere…” Harrisburg Telegraph, May 31, 1873.
Full Name: Charles J. Carter
Birth Date: Ca. 1826
Death Date: December 21, 1881. Buried in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Place of Birth: Reading, Pennsylvania.
Sex: Male
Race: Black
Places of Residence: Reading, Pennsylvania; 49 N. Duke Street (1863), South & River Alley (1867), 1318 William Street (1876-1880), and Marion Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (1870s); Providence, Rhode Island (1874).
Connection to the Old Eighth Ward: Interacted with key players and organizations.
Family Members: Wife: Barbara Carter. Daughter: Annie E. Carter (executor of estate).
Education: Unknown.
Occupations: Teacher. Clergyman.
Church Membership: Free Baptist Church and Second Baptist Church.
Activism: Grand United Order of Odd Fellows; Brotherly Love Lodge N. 896; Temperance Convention; Hartranft Club; Union Central Republican Club; and Dauphin County Equal Rights Club.
Connections: William Howard Day, Thomas Morris, Chester, John Quincy Adams, John W. Simpson, George Galbraith, David Chester, Jacob Costley, William R. Dorsey, Benjamin Foote, Cassius M. Brown, and O.L.C. Hughes.
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