Source: History of Boone County, Indiana, by Hon. L.M. Crist, 1914.

NEWTON CARTER The principal thing which humanity everywhere is seeking is
happiness. The happiness we wish may come from causes over which we have no control
and from other causes which may be determined by ourselves. Broadly speaking, the
farmer is in a position to be the happiest man in the world, at least, most farmers are in
position to be happy, and if they are not the fault very often lies within themselves. The
causes of happiness over which we have no control may be a favorable cropping season,
a freedom from disaster or calamity, or any combination of favorable circumstances
which minister to our temporal or physical well-being; these are all evidences of Divine
favor, the origin of which should not escape notice. The happiness which is determined
by ourselves comes as a by-product of our generous treatment of others. One cannot
become happy by simply determining to be so; he must do something for others. The
happiness we give others will come back to our own lives as one of our choicest
possessions. Financial prosperity, like happiness, may spring from a combination of
favorable circumstances over which we have no control, or it may come from our own
wisely directed endeavor. The mere possession of wealth may not bring happiness, but
the right use of wealth almost invariably does. One of the successful farmers of Boone
county, who has lived along those lines which bring contentment as well as material
blessings is Newton Carter, proprietor of Blue Grass Ridge Farm, in Eagle township.

Mr. Carter was born October 15, 1854 in Eagle township, Boone county. He is a son of
Richard Carter, a native of Kentucky, in which state the family settled early. His father,
Henry Carter, was a native of Virginia, where the family lived in the olden days, and its
members fought in our early wars. The Carter family located in Hendricks county,
Indiana in 1836, locating in the dense forest, and here established a comfortable home by
their industry. Richard Carter was young when he came to this locality and here he grew
up, helped clear the land and here he married Catherine Vorhis, when he was twenty-
three years old, and to them the following children were born, namely: Eliza Jane is
deceased; Allen was a soldier in the Civil war, in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and he was held for some time a prisoner in the South; Sarah
married a Mr. Gregg and lives in Zionsville; Martha married William Shaw and lives in
Eagle township; Newton of this sketch; Arthur died when forty-five years old, leaving a
widow; one child died in infancy, unnamed. The death of the father of the above named
children occurred at the age of seventy-one years, after an industrious and upright life as
a successful farmer.

Newton Carter grew to manhood on the home farm and there he worked hard when a
boy. He received his education in the district schools, and on February 16, 1882 he
married Juda Alice Beck, a daughter of Larkin Beck, who was born in Union county,
Indiana, April 11, 1829, and was a son of John Beck, a native of North Carolina, who
was a son of Solomon Beck, a native of Germany. To Larkin and Sarah Beck were born
the following children: Mrs. Margaret A. Bender, Joseph, John, Oliver, Alice who
married our subject; Mrs. Alm Holler, and Horace. The mother of Mrs. Carter passed
away in 1901. Mr. Beck is living near Zionsville.

Mr. Carter has devoted his life to general farming and stock raising and has met with
pronounced success all along the line. His finely improved and well-kept farm in Eagle
township consists of two hundred and forty acres, on which is to be seen an excellent
group of buildings and a splendid grade of live stock, and everything about the place
denotes thrift and good management. One child was born to our subject and wife which
died in infancy. Mr. Carter has always been a Republican but is now a Progressive.

BECK BENDER CARTER GREGG HOLLER SHAW VORHIS

Submitted by Amy K Davis