William Furlsbury Carter Mission to India Part 3

The Howrah Bridge in Calcutta - spans the Hoogli River. I crossed it to get tickets for my travels. The bridge (and the city) don't look anything like I remember it. Again, thank you Jane Carter for the picture of the modern bridge.

History:

The end of the 17th Century witnessed the gradual emergence of the city of Kolkata brought about by the merger of three villages - Kolkata, Sutanati & Gobindapur, on the eastern bank of the river Hooghly, the other name of River 'Ganga.' On the western bank, Howrah came up as a bustling site of commerce.

The twin cities of Calcutta (re-named as Kolkata in the year 2001), and Howrah , were separated by the River Hooghly, and shared a common historical linkage towards the eventual construction of the Rabindra Setu, more commonly known as Howrah bridge. While Kolkata, from a small sleeping hamlet of artisans and mercantile community eventually developed, as a commercial hub of a modern metropolitan city, Howrah (virtually the store house of raw material resources) became its industrial satellite.

From my journal:

Wednesday, May 6, 1853: In the morning I crossed the river Hoakgly, to get a passage to Dinapore. I visited Fort William. There are 999 mounted cannon in the fort and 2,000 that are not mounted. The fort is hard to describe…It is a beautiful sight, one of the strongest forts in the world.

Thursday, May 5 (really 7), 1853: We had a meeting a few besides our own people met; we had a good meeting. Brothers Jones and Woolley preached. I traveled up the river to see the natives wash themselves and worship their idols. Thousands go to the river (each) morning to worship. All the natives that have a caste, burn their dead. They have a place fixed to burn them. All the low-castes, when their friends get sick and they think they will die, they take them to the river, lay half their bodies in the river, fill the mouth with mud and leave them to wash down the river, and if they should happen to recover, they lose their caste and can never get it again, and are disowned by their connections. They tell them that they were afraid to die. If they die before they get to the river, they throw them into the river. There are men employed to sink them when they arise in the water.

Calcutta in 1852

Calcutta about 1850

Fort William in Calcutta

Indians bathing in the Hooghly at Calcutta

Howrah Bridge in 1850 as William saw it

The Howrah Bridge today

William Furlsbury Carter Mission to India Part 2

(I am reproducing a dialogue originally posted on William's Facebook page and written in his own voice.)

This post begins a short look at part of my mission to India in 1852. My descendant Jane Carter - daughter of Tommy Lavan and Kathryn Carter - visited Calcutta and graciously provided pictures of the area in your day. I decided maybe you would like to see these sites from my perspective back in the 1850's. There is most more I could write but this will give you a taste for my travels.

The Ochterlony Monument existed in my day and by climbing to the top I could see the whole of Calcutta and regions around.

From Wikipedia:
The Shaheed Minar (Shôhid Minar; English: Martyrs' Monument), formerly known as the Ochterlony Monument, is a monument in Kolkata that was erected in 1828 in memory of Major-general Sir David Ochterlony, commander of the British East India Company, to commemorate both his successful defense of Delhi against the Marathas in 1804 and the victory of the East India Company’s armed forces over the Gurkhas in the Anglo-Nepalese War. The monument was constructed in his memory. It was designed by J.P. Parker and paid for from public funds.

In August 1969, it was rededicated to the memory of the martyrs of the Indian freedom movement and hence renamed the "Shahid Minar," which means "martyrs monument" in both Bengali and Hindi, by the then United Front Government in memory of the martyrs of the Indian independence movement. The present government has decided to illuminate the tower during evenings and allow visitors to the top. The last persons who went up there were former governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and his family.

From my journal: 

Saturday, April 30, 1853: This morning Brother Jones and I were up in the monument, which is 180 feet high. We had a fair view of the city, river and shipping; and the country around as far as our eyes could extend. It is a very large city and looks very well. There are a great many large and beautiful buildings in Calcutta. The Government house is a splendid building.

Kolkata Monument today

Another Contemporary View of Kolkata

Shaheed Minar from William's Day

William Furlsbury Carter Mission to India (1852) Part 1

I would like to reproduce some entries I originally posted on William Furlsbury Carter's mission to India. With the announcement of a temple in India - his mission becomes more significant that ever.

William's Mission to India Part 1:

Here are pictures of the seven mission companions of William Furlsbury on his mission to India. Pictured here are Amos Milton Musser, b. 20 May 1830 in Donegal, Lancaster, PA; Nathaniel Vary Jones, b. 13 Oct 1822 in Rochester, NY; Robert Hodgson Skelton, b. 28 Nov 1824 in Burgh, Cumberland, England; Samuel Amos Woolley, b. 11 Sep 1825 in Pennsylvania; Truman Leonard, b. 17 Sep 1820 in Pottertown, NY; William Fotheringham, b. in Scotland in 1826 and died in Beaver, Utah in 1913; and Robert Owens, b. 10 July 1818 and in Los Angeles in 1883.

Amos Milton Musser

Robert Hodgson Skelton

Truman Leonard

Samuel Amos Woolley

Nathaniel Vary Jones

Robert Owens

William Fotheringham

John Carter Headstone Project is at GoFundME

We have decided to move our fundraising campaign for John Carter's headstone to GoFundMe.  Please help us raise the last $1500 we need to erect this stone.

https://www.gofundme.com/john-carter-tombstone

Alvin and Alvira Carter Tripp Land in Lima, Illinois

Lima Township, Adams, IL Map

I must thank Glenda Wright for providing this map of Lima Township in Adams county. It shows where the land of Alvin Tripp and Almira Carter was located. Directly north of their land was the property of her brother Philip Libby Carter in Walker Twp., Hancock county. The north boundary of Alvin's land is County Line Road that some of us have traveled while viewing the family lands in that area. The old Carter Family cemetery is just north (above) Alvin's land.

John Carter Tombstone Update

It has been a while since I have been in contact with everyone.  The holidays, sickness and vacations have gotten in my way of keeping up regular contact.  Time is quickly flying by and sooner or later we are going to need to pay off the headstone for John Carter.  We have received a little over a thousand dollars of the approximately $2550 we need to pay off the stone.  So, we are about 42% of the way to our goal.

Please consider this as an opportunity to be a part of history – as your contribution helps erect a monument to our common ancestor who has been left unremembered for over 150 years.  You might want to see if several of your family members might want to go together and pool your contributions and make one donation.

Your contribution should be sent to:

Carter Family Organization

C/O Val Dunn

6645 Southfork

Provo, UT 84604

Checks should be made out to Carter Family Organization – as that is what our account is labeled.

We are still looking at holding a reunion/tombstone unveiling for the weekend of July 26-27 for those who can make it to the Nauvoo area.  This will be a great opportunity to see where your ancestors lived, visit John’s grave, see Morleytown, Nauvoo and the Nauvoo pageant.

But first things first – we need a stone to put in Fletcher Cemetery in John’s memory.  Any contribution will be greatly appreciated.

Bob Givens

Newsletter 2 and John Carter Headstone Project

Yesterday a short newsletter went out to all the family members for whom we have records. If you didn't receive one please message me with your email so we can add you to our list. Our big announcement is that we are now accepting donations for the creation of a tombstone for John Carter. The newsletter has more details but here are drawings of the front and back of the proposed stone. Donations toward the cost of the stone (about $2500) may be made by check to: Carter Family Organization C/O Val Dunn 6645 Southfork Provo, UT 84604 We will send out updates on the progress of this project on a regular basis. Our goal is to have a memorial service for John in the Nauvoo area as part of our 2019 family reunion.