THE CARTERS
(May 28, 1866 - March 23, 1947)
William Justin Carter was born May 28, 1866 near Richmond Virginia to Edmund and Elizabeth (REEVES) Carter and initially educated at Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (Now Virginia State University) in Petersburgh, Virginia from 1883-1884. Through City Directories, it was learned that he earned his living by working as a drug clerk while residing in Manchester, Virginia a small suburb of Richmond. He came to Washington, DC in 1896 where he completed an elective in 1890 at Howard University. He graduated from Howard University Law School in 1892, where he was third in a class of thirty. He was licensed as an attorney and counselor-at-law by Chief Justice Lewis and Justice Fauntelroy of the Supreme Court of Virginia, in the fall of 1892. From 1892 - 1894 he worked as an Assistant Principal at the Public School in Annapolis, Maryland. He married Elizabeth M. ALLEN of Baltimore, Maryland, on February 14, 1894. On March 21, 1894, he was admitted to the Dauphin County bar, and began a general practice in the city of Harrisburgh in June of that year. He is the first colored lawyer admitted to the Dauphin county bar. He and his family moved to Harrisburgh, PA where he resided until his death in 1947.
1866-1947
Elizabeth Reeves (1850-?)
1866-1947
M.
Elizabeth M. Allen
1871- 1954
Mary P. Allen
(1852-?)
Thaddeus S. Carter
William Justin Carter
March 26, 1947
With information provided by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, we have been able to prove that Mr. Carter was present and a founding member of the Niagra Movement. He was also one of the Original 29 members present at the first meeting. He was present at meetings held in Buffalo, NY, Fort Erie, Ontario and possibly attended the Oberlin meeting. First paying dues in 1906, he continued to be an active member until his death.
Recent publications have shown that Mr. Carter was not a member of the Dauphin County Bar Association. Bar Association minutes provide no indication as to any reason for his rejection, and he is believed to have been rejected solely for his race. He was given Life Membership of this same organization in the 1940's however, there was never any record of his ever being admitted to the Bar. In the spring of 2002, 47 years after his death, William Justin Carter was admitted to the Dauphin County Bar Association.