Ancestor Spotlight - Ralph Anthony Carter

This week's ancestor spotlight focuses on my husband's second great grandfather, Ralph Anthony Carter. The following is a biography I wrote last year.

Ralph Anthony Carter was born on 7 January 1896 in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. [1] He was the second child and first son born to John George Carter and Theresa Virginia Farrell.[2] Ralph grew up at the turn of the century, he was a part of the generation that would experience both World Wars as well as economic boom and bust. Ralph spent his younger years in Baltimore, Maryland.[3] By the time he was 14, Ralph and his family moved to the District of Columbia. [4] Tall, slender with grey eyes and dark brown hair [5], Ralph Carter grew to adulthood; he attended school [6] and joined the National Guard, where he served as a Private in the Infantry for a total of two and a half years. [7]

While Ralph was growing up, his father, John George Carter, was a machinist in a navy yard. [8] Similarly, Ralph followed in his father’s footsteps and became a machinist in the Washington Steel Company during his young adult life. [9]

When Ralph was 21 years old, the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, allying with Britain, France and Russia to fight against Germany.[10] After a short time, the volunteer force of the United States army proved to be too small and insufficient for the demands of the war. [11] As a result, over a month after the United States joined the war, the United States Congress passed the Selective Service Act on 18 May 1917. [12] The passing of the draft did not go without controversy within the government. Issues on how to prevent and enforce the draft, as well as the age restrictions, sent congress in commotion between the weeks that the country entered the war and the time the draft was enforced. [13] The government ultimately had the young men report to a local voting place in their city to register, their local civilian neighbors stood by to ensure everything ran smoothly. [14]

In Maryland and the majority of other states, American citizens responded favorably and patriotically as young men ages 21 to 30 stood in line at their local voting place to register for the draft, prepared to serve their country if necessary. “Lending a hand to the war effort thus became not just a good deed but a duty.” [15]

At age 21 at the time the draft was enforced, Ralph was barely old enough to register. He stood in line on 5 June 1917 with his friends and neighbors to register for the draft. [16]

There was a section on the draft that asked, “Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?” In that section, Ralph wrote that he had a physical disability that would exempt him from service in the military.[17] Although it is unknown what physical disability Ralph possessed and how he obtained it, it is a possibility that this physical disability could have been a result from his service in the National Guard or his work as a machinist. [18] Ralph was not drafted in the military and continued his work as a machinist. [19]

A short time after registering for the draft, Ralph met and married Mildred Kendrick in 1917 in Washington, DC, although we do not know the exact month and day.[20] The couple later had three sons together, Carroll Paul Carter, Francis R. Carter, and Gregory Carter. [21]

After the war ended in 1918, the ‘Roaring Twenties’ brought America great economic prosperity. Businesses expanded and new jobs were created. Ralph provided for his young family as he continued his work as a machinist in the steel plant industry. [22]

Despite the economic and social change that took place throughout the twenties, the prosperity screeched to a halt when the stock market crashed in 1929. Millions of Americans lost their jobs and were now unemployed. At one time during the Great Depression, “34 million men, women, and children were without any income at all.” [23]

Ralph possibly lost his job at the steel plant, yet with his skills and experience as a machinist, he was fortunate enough to obtain a new job as a machinist in a paper mill. [24] Like his father before him, by 1940, Ralph worked as a machinist in a navy yard. [25]

On 7 December 1941, the United States entered the Second World War after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Similarly to World War I, the draft was used yet again. The draft required “men born on or after April 28, 1877 and on or before February 16, 1897.”[26] Ralph had barely turned 46 years old when he registered for the WWII draft. [27] There are no records to indicate that he was drafted.

Ralph and Mildred spent the rest of their lives in Washington, DC.[28] Ralph continued his work as a machinist, while Mildred stayed home and raised their three sons. [29]

Mildred passed away in 1961 at the age of 65. [30] Ralph Anthony Carter died two years later at the age of 67 on 20 February 1963 in Washington, District of Columbia. [31] Due to his service in the National Guard, Ralph was buried in the Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. [32]

Footnotes

[1]FamilySearch.org "FamilySearch Family Tree." database, FamilySearch, (http://familysearch.org: accessed 11 January 2017), entry for Ralph A. Carter, ID K2Q3-7TQ.

[2]FamilySearch.org "FamilySearch Family Tree." database, FamilySearch, (http://familysearch.org: accessed 11 January 2017), entry for Ralph A. Carter, ID K2Q3-7TQ.

[3]1900 U.S Census of District of Columbia, Washington, ED 117, sheet 11A, p. 178; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 16 March 2017)

[4]1910 U.S Census of Washington City, District of Columbia, ED 103, sheet 6A, p. 102; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 18 March 2017)

[5]“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, database with images, (FamilySearch.org: accessed 30 March 30, 2017), card for Ralph Anthony Carter, serial no. 2991, Washington, D.C.

[6]1910 U.S Census of Washington City, District of Columbia, ED 103, sheet 6A, p. 102; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 18 March 2017)

[7]“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, database with images, (FamilySearch.org: accessed 30 March 30, 2017), card for Ralph Anthony Carter, serial no. 2991, Washington, D.C.

[8]1910 U.S Census of Washington City, District of Columbia, ED 103, sheet 6A, p. 102; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 18 March 2017)

[9]“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, database with images, (FamilySearch.org: accessed 30 March 30, 2017), card for Ralph Anthony Carter, serial no. 2991, Washington, D.C.

[10]Warren S. Tyron, “The Draft in World War I,” Current Historyvol. 54, no 322 (Philadelphia: Current History Inc., 1968), 339.

[11]Warren S. Tyron, “The Draft in World War I,” Current Historyvol. 54, no 322 (Philadelphia: Current History Inc., 1968), 339.

[12]Tyron, 339.

[13]Tryon, 339-342.

[14]Tyron, 342.

[15]Christopher Joseph Nicodemus Capozzola, Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010), 8.

[16]“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, database with images, (FamilySearch.org: accessed 30 March 30, 2017), card for Ralph Anthony Carter, serial no. 2991, Washington, D.C.

[17]“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, database with images, (FamilySearch.org: accessed 30 March 30, 2017), card for Ralph Anthony Carter, serial no. 2991, Washington, D.C.

[18]“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, database with images, (FamilySearch.org: accessed 30 March 30, 2017), card for Ralph Anthony Carter, serial no. 2991, Washington, D.C.

[19]1920 U.S Census of Washington City, District of Columbia, ED 244, sheet 12A, p. 50; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 18 March 2017)

[20]FamilySearch.org "FamilySearch Family Tree." database, FamilySearch, (http://familysearch.org: accessed 11 January 2017), entry for Ralph A. Carter, ID K2Q3-7TQ.

[21]FamilySearch.org "FamilySearch Family Tree." database, FamilySearch, (http://familysearch.org: accessed 11 January 2017), entry for Ralph A. Carter, ID K2Q3-7TQ.

[22]1920 U.S Census of Washington City, District of Columbia, ED 244, sheet 12A, p. 50; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 18 March 2017)

[23]Murray N. Rothbard, “America's Great Depression,” Fifth ed. (Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2000), xiv.

[24]1930 U.S Census of Washington City, District of Columbia, ED 353 sheet 13A, p. 176; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 18 March 2017)

[25]1940 U.S Census of Washington City, District of Columbia, ED 1-478, sheet 6B, p. 113; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 18 March 2017)

[26]United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942,"database with images, (FamilySearch.org: accessed 31 March 30, 2017), card for Ralph Anthony Carter, serial no. 2186, Washington, D.C.

[27]"United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942,"database with images, (FamilySearch.org: accessed 31 March 30, 2017), card for Ralph Anthony Carter, serial no. 2186, Washington, D.C.

[28]FamilySearch.org "FamilySearch Family Tree." database, FamilySearch, (http://familysearch.org: accessed 11 January 2017), entry for Ralph A. Carter, ID K2Q3-7TQ.

[29]1940 U.S Census of Washington City, District of Columbia, ED 1-478, sheet 6B, p. 113; digital image, FamilySearch.com (http://familysearch.org: accessed 18 March 2017)

[30]FamilySearch.org "FamilySearch Family Tree." database, FamilySearch, (http://familysearch.org: accessed 11 January 2017), entry for Mildred Kendrick, ID K2Q8-YZF.

[31]FamilySearch.org "FamilySearch Family Tree." database, FamilySearch, (http://familysearch.org: accessed 11 January 2017), entry for Ralph A. Carter, ID K2Q3-7TQ.

[32]U.S, Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current, online database, Findagrave.com, Ralph A Carter (1896-1963), Memorial Number, 49164659, (http://findagrave.com: Accessed 28 March 2017)

Image found: https://www.tripsavvy.com/arlington-national-cemetery-guide-1039284