John Joyce Carter (1842-1917): Civil War Hero and Petroleum Entrepreneur

Abstract

John Joyce Carter came to America at the age of 5 and became a highly decorated Civil War hero and a successful railroad and oil businessman. He was born in Westport, Ireland, on June 16, 1842. Soon after his birth his parents died and he immigrated with his sister to Nunda, New York. When the Civil War broke out, John was the first person to appear on the enlistment roll of volunteers in Nunda and Livingston County, New York. The Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg) was fought on September 17, 1862 and climaxed the first of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's two attempts to carry the war into the North. About 40,000 Southerners were pitted against the 87,000-man Federal Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan. When the fighting ended, the course of the American Civil War had been greatly altered. More men were killed or wounded at Antietam, than on any other single day of the Civil War. Federal losses were 12,410, Confederate losses 10,700. Carter served with the 33rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers, Infantry, as a private soldier and was promoted through the ranks to Captain during his enlistment. Captain Carter's service lasted four years and three months. As 2nd Lieutenant, Company B, John J. Carter was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his initiative and bravery at the Battle of Antietam on 17 September 1862. After the war, John returned to Nunda, New York, but soon relocated to Titusville, Pennsylvania, and opened a clothing store. In 1877 he invested in an oil-drilling venture, which was very successful. In 1893, he founded the Carter Oil Company and served as president of that company until his resignation in 1915. Carter Oil was a highly technical company and hired one of the first geologists, Will Aspinwall, in the oil industry. In December of 1916, John Carter developed pneumonia and on January 3, 1917 he died at the age of 74. The Carter Oil Company Research Laboratory was opened in Tulsa, Oklahoma; now an affiliate of Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso) was one of the industries best and was the initial employer of Peter Vail, Robert Mitchum and John Sangree. The lab eventually merged with Humble Oil to form the Exxon Production Research Laboratory and all three were instrumental in the development of Seismic and Sequence Stratigraphy.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90259 ©2016 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 19-22, 2016