Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Biography
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection Summary
Collection Title: William Alexander Carter papers
Date (inclusive): 1837-1975,
Date (bulk): bulk 1860-1869
Collection Number: BANC MSS 99/75 p
Creators :
Carter, William Alexander, 1820-1881.
Extent:
Number of containers: 5 boxes and 2 oversize folders
Linear feet: 2.3
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The William Alexander Carter papers, 1837-1975 (bulk 1860-1869) contains Carter's business and personal papers as a sutler
at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, mainly to Carter, along with legal
papers, financial records, and items relating to Carter and to his family. The papers give a detailed view of a busy period
during the history of Fort Bridger as a center of regional business and government, and likewise reflect the business, political,
and personal aspects of Carter's career during an active and successful period. Carter's business involved people from all
over the United States, but regional centers like Salt Lake City and St. Louis are particularly well represented, as is New
York City.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English.
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720186000. Consent is given on behalf
of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], William Alexander Carter Papers, BANC MSS 99/75 p, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Related Collections
William Alexander Carter Letterbooks, 1860-1884, BANC MSS P-M 200
William A. Carter Accounts, 1859-1888, BANC MSS P-M 201
William A. Carter Papers (unbound), BANC MSS P-M 202
Edgar N. Carter Papers, [circa 1910-1957], BANC MSS P-M 216
Views relating to Fort Bridger, Wyoming and the family of William Alexander Carter, BANC PIC 1905.07978-.07995--PIC and BANC
PIC 1905.13063-.13064--PIC.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Carter, William Alexander, 1820-1881--Archives
Carter, William Alexander, 1820-1881--Pictorial works
Carter, James Van Allen, 1838-1896
Bridger, Jim, 1804-1881--Pictorial works
Auerbach, Herbert S. (Herbert Samuel), 1882-1945
United States Army
Frontier and pioneer life--Utah
Sutlers--West (U.S.)
Judges--Wyoming
Fur traders--West (U.S.)
Military supplies
Mines and mineral resources--Wyoming
Mines and mineral resources--Utah
Indians of North America--Wyoming
Real property--Wyoming--Uinta County
Land tenure--Wyoming--Uinta County
Seminole War, 2nd, 1835-1842
Fort Bridger (Wyo.)--History
Fort Bridger (Wyo.)--Pictorial works
United States--Politics and government--1849-1877
Wyoming--History--19th century
Utah--History--19th century
Wyoming--Politics and government
West (U.S.)--Commerce
Uinta County (Wyo.)--History--19th century
Business records
Contracts
Receipts
Notes
Photographs
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The William Alexander Carter Papers, 1837-1975 (bulk 1860-1869) were purchased by
The Bancroft Library from Ken Lopez on January 7, 1993.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
System of Arrangement
Arranged to the folder level.
Processing Information
Processed by Charis Anne Baz Takaro and Lisa de Larios in October 1998.
Biography
William A. Carter of Virginia began his army service in the Seminole War and became a sutler or purveyor after his discharge.
Later, as a Missouri settler and an 1850 overland emigrant to California, Carter came to Fort Bridger with Albert Johnston's
Utah Expedition in 1857 and spent the rest of his life there as a sutler and post trader. In addition to his business provisioning
emigrants traveling overland, Carter was active in mining, lumbering, and ranching. He was his own bookkeeper, a custodian
of government funds, and served in a number of public offices, including those of probate judge, justice of the peace, and
notary public. He was known as a friend of the Shoshone and Ute Indians. Carter unsuccessfully solicited an appointment as
Wyoming Territory's first governor, and was a public relations man for Fort Bridger and the area, giving enthusiastic accounts
during his regular trips to Virginia and Washington D.C. After his death in 1881 until 1890, his widow, Mary E. Carter, and
their children carried on business at Fort Bridger.
Fort Bridger was a trading post in Utah Territory at Black's Fork on the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming.
It was established by mountain man, Jim Bridger, with Louis Vasquez, as an emigrant supply stop on the Oregon Trail in 1843,
and was purchased by the Mormons in 1853. Burned during the Mormon conflicts in 1857, the fort was rebuilt in 1858 for use
by the army and was run by Carter. Although the army leased the fort from Bridger, both Bridger and Brigham Young believed
they owned the fort. Fort Bridger was an important supply station for emigrants traveling overland, and served as one of the
main hubs of westward expansion used by mountain men, Indians, emigrants, Mormon pioneers, the U.S. Army, and the Pony Express.
As Carter's residence, it also served as a social, cultural, and political center in the region, drawing guests from the East
and those with business in the area. Carter's family continued to live at the fort until 1928, when it was sold to the Wyoming
Historical Landmark Commission for preservation. Today Fort Bridger is a Wyoming State Park.
Scope and Content of Collection
The William Alexander Carter papers, 1837-1975 (bulk 1860s) contains Carter's business and personal papers as a sutler at
Fort Bridger, Utah Territory. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, mainly to Carter, along with legal papers,
financial records, and items relating to Carter and to his family. The papers give a detailed view of a busy period during
the history of Fort Bridger as a center of regional business and government, and likewise reflect the business, political,
and personal aspects of Carter's career during an active and successful period. Carter's business involved people from all
over the United States, but regional centers like Salt Lake City and St. Louis are particularly well represented, as is New
York City.
Correspondence includes letters to Carter from high-level U.S. government and army officials, army personnel at regional forts,
merchants, financial institutions and others involved in business affairs in the Rocky Mountains and in Utah Territory, along
with a small number of letters from Carter. Also includes letters to J. Van Allen Carter and other Carter family members.
Financial records of daily business operations at Fort Bridger reflect its role as a trading post and government supplier,
while legal records relate to the Fort Bridger land ownership controversy between Jim Bridger, Brigham Young, and the U.S.
government. Includes Carter's governmental appointments, contracts for army supplies between Carter and the government or
other individuals, material relating to mining and petroleum claims and real estate, as well as documents generated by Carter
as Probate Judge and by David A. Burr as Justice of the Peace at Fort Bridger. Writings by and about Carter include his brief
notes on the Seminole War and on Indian activity at Fort Bridger, a "diary" probably compiled from letters he wrote to his
wife, and other miscellaneous items.
Also included with the collection are the research materials gathered by Herbert Auerbach for a book or article on Fort Bridger.
These include Auerbach's notes, documents copied from various institutions and publications, reminiscences collected about
Jim Bridger, Louis Vasquez, William Alexander Carter, mountain men and trappers, and life at Fort Bridger, as well as photographs
of Jim Bridger, William A. Carter, and the Fort Bridger area.