Caleb Carter was born in Virginia. His first wife's name is unknown, but their daughter Joanna was born in Virginia about 1816. It seems likely that the first wife passed away, and by 15 March 1826 Caleb was in Roane County, TN, where he married Nancy Ferguson (according to family tradition, she was all or part Cherokee). He appears in the 1830 census in Regiment 67, Monroe County, TN, listed as Caleb Carter Junior (there are two other Caleb Carters in that county that year, but no guarantee either was his father - he may have just been designated as Junior because he was the younger of the two in his neighborhood). The couple had six children: Rosetta Elizabeth (Kimmons), Andrew Jackson, Rolla, Margaret Almeda (Brown), John, and Susannah (Tyler). In the late 1830s the entire family, including Caleb's oldest daughter Joanna, moved to Greene County, MO, where they settled in Center Township. Caleb was a farmer and blacksmith. On 28 August 1861, he made his will, only two weeks after the Battle of Wilson's Creek just a few miles away. Southwestern Missouri was a bitterly divided region, and that fall saw several neighbors killed by unknown attackers. Caleb passed away on 22 November 1861. Less than two months later, in February 1862, two of his sons would be killed in the war, and in August 1863 one of his sons-in-law was also killed. The rest of the family survived the Civil War, including son Rolla, who served in the 74th Enrolled MO Militia (Union). Caleb and Nancy have many descendants, some still living in Greene County and others scattered across the country.

It is my goal to someday determine who Caleb and Nancy's parents were (based on the information in the Revolutionary War Pension application of the Virginian Thomas Carter, husband of Elizabeth Chattin, I am not convinced his son Caleb matches with our Caleb). If you have any clues, if you have a photo of Caleb or Nancy, or if you know where Joanna Carter is buried, please let me know.