Carter, Munson

Born: 1802-09-24 Saint Albans, Vermont

Died: 1877-01-01 Rochester, Illinois

Flourished: Rochester, Illinois

Munson Carter was a businessman, local politician, and long-time postmaster of Rochester, Illinois. In January 1834, he married Evelyn Beach in Goshen, Connecticut. The couple took up residency in Virginnes, Vermont, and would have one son. Carter arrived in Sangamon County, Illinois, in 1841, settling in Rochester. In January 1845, Carter married Mrs. Ann Tracy. Ann Tracy brought four children from a previous marriage to the family; Munson Carter brought one son. The couple would have three additional children. In 1850, Carter listed his occupation as trader and owned $600 in real property. By 1860, he owned real property valued at $2,000 and had a personal estate of $500. Munson and Ann Carter became important members of Rochester society. Munson built a large house across from his mercantile business to accommodate his large family and as a testament of his wealth and influence. With his stepson, Carter Tracy, running his business, Munson moved into politics. In May 1849, he received appointment as postmaster of Rochester, a position he would hold until after the end of the Civil War. In 1858, he received appointment as trustee for the Rochester Cemetery. A devoted Democrat, Carter represented Sangamon County at the Democratic State Convention in 1858 and the Democratic Congressional Convention in 1859. He was a member of the Kansas Relief Committee in 1860.

Justin Taft, Jr., The Tafts of Rochester, Illinois (Bloomington, IN: Author House, 2008), 64, 67, 85; Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, Pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2006), 16; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Sangamon County, 30 January 1845, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sangamon County, IL, 268; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Sangamon County, IL, 286; Fitz Henry Warren to Abraham Lincoln; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), *487; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851), 546*; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1853 (Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1853), 516*; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1855 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1855), *343; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1857 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1857), *344; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1859 (Washington, DC: William A. Harris, 1859), *71; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1861 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1862), *373; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1863 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1864), 349; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1865 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1866), *71; Gravestone, Rochester Cemetery, Rochester, IL.