One of the problems with ca 1800 research is that so much of MO,
Kansas, Iowa, etc. was still part of the wild west. Much was
territory or Indian Territory, with very poor records. Records of
this time period were much more complete the further east you went.
The Carters were a restless prolific bunch!
My grandmother, Mary Eretta Carter, was evidently b. ca 1884/5, in
Kiowa, Kansas. A railroad went through that area ca 1884, and the
first cattleyards were opened. It had been Indian territory. James,
Mary's father, was in the cattle business. It stands to reason that
he moved there from Texas to help get this town established. Family
history reports have him later working at the King Ranch, then being
hired away to help open the Fort Worth Stockyards. All of the King
Ranch records for the time he was there burned, but he was supposed
to have designed their unique fences. The Ft. Worth Stockyards Museum
can't find him either!
Elise