Charles D. Carter (Chickasaw)
Charles D. Carter was the son of B. W. Carter, a Cherokee, and Serena Guy
Carter, a Chickasaw. Born at Boggy Depot, Choctaw Nation, in August 1869, he
attended the Chickasaw national schools, Harley Institute of Tishomingo, and
Austin College at Sherman, Texas. Carter worked as a cowboy and a store
clerk until 1892, when he became auditor of the Chickasaw Nation. In 1894,
he was appointed superintendent of schools for the nation and in 1897 was
elected to the legislature. At the same time, he was a director of the City
National Bank of Ardmore. After Oklahoma statehood, Carter was elected the
state's first Member of Congress from the third district. He had a long
career in the House, part of which time he served as chairman of the House
Committee on Indian Affairs. Carter died at Ardmore in April 1929. His
address was given July 16, 1917, at the dedication of Sequoyah's statue in
the national capitol.
