Financial documents and family photographs related to journalist, diplomat, and financier Joseph Oliver Carter.

Joseph Oliver Carter, Jr., journalist, public official, diplomat, financier and philanthropist, was born in Honolulu on December 20, 1835 to Captain Joseph Oliver Carter and Hannah Lord. Carter attended school in Boston as a child and returned to Hawaii in 1847, where he finished school and worked at a variety of jobs until 1872 when he was elected to the Hawaiian Legislature. He was appointed Registrar of Public Accounts in 1874, after having been financier to prominent families in Hawaii. In 1880 he became cashier and correspondent for C. Brewer & Co, and in 1891, he became president of the company. Throughout his life, Carter was an advisor to the Hawaiian royal family, the legislature and cabinet officers. He was the Privy Councilor to Queen Liliuokalani, standing with her and siding with the Hawaiian people during the 1893 Revolution. After the overthrow of the Queen, Carter resigned his position at C. Brewer & Co. due to political differences with his business colleagues and opened his own business. He continued to manage the business affairs of the former Queen, and also worked for the James Campbell Estate, the B. P. Bishop Estate, the Kamehameha Schools, and various private accounts and estates. Carter was anti-annexation and in 1898 went to Washington D. C. to lobby against it. Carter held various other positions including Board of Health of the Republic of Hawaii and superintendent and teacher at the Bethel Church. Carter married Mary Ladd, a member of another prominent Honolulu family, in 1859, and the couple had six children. Carter continued his business dealings until his death on February 27, 1909.

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