I will repost this from time to time, in case someone new may be able to get past this roadblock. Thanks to census posts, I have found Joseph in Cass County, MO, after 1850. There are several Josephs in the Iowa 1820-1840 census, but I can't tell for sure which one it is. James William CARTER, b. 2 Aug. 1853, MO, was the son of JOSEPH HENRY CARTER, B. in IOWA, he md. Julia LUCKETT, b. MO. James was born in MO, so evidently Joseph and Julia moved to near Kansas City, MO, where land grants can be found for James and his brother Richard. My grandmother, Mary Eretta CARTER, b. 1884/1885 Kansas, d. when my father was about 7, May 31, 1926. She was confirmed and md. at Trinity Episcopal Church, Fort Worth, TX. These records still exist at the new Trinity Church, but I have been unable to get a copy of them. She md. Dr. Aaron Ross Hays, b. 1883 Crowley, TX, d. 1961?. Her father was a colorful gentleman cattle buyer. He came from "a family of 6 sons-3 fought for the north and 3 fought for the south." James William CARTER, b. Aug 2, 1853, MO, d.25 July 1924, TX. md. Jennie Franklin, b.ca 1854, Houston, TX, d.1929, buried Tarrant Co., TX. There is a rumor that one of the parents of James or Jennie was NATIVE AMERICAN. (Luckett/Carter/Franklin/????). Family stories have him an early manager of the King Ranch that was hired away by the Fort Worth Stockyards to manage there. My father states, "He came to visit on the train. He had a handlebar mustache and a stiff white collar. He brought my brother and I exciting presents like a horsehair lariat and real arrows..." I found him listed in some early TX land grants for Tarrant County. I also discovered that Kiowa Kansas opened its first cattle market and train depot about 1884/5, when Mary Eretta was born in Kansas. Can anyone make a connection?? I understand the "War" drove his generation apart. Any help would be appreciated. Elise C. Hays Markham