James Earl Carter Sr.

James Earl Carter Sr. was born on September 12, 1894, in Arlington, Georgia. He was the fourth of five children born to William Archibald Carter and Nina Pratt. In 1904, following the murder of his father by a business partner, which he witnessed at age nine, the Carter family relocated to Plains, Georgia. The move was facilitated by the presence of a supportive uncle who provided guidance during this period.

Carter attended Riverside Military Academy until completing the tenth grade. Biographer Grant Hayter-Menzies suggested that the sudden death of Carter's father contributed to a conservative and cautious outlook on life. According to Jimmy Carter, his son, his father had traditionally not finished high school, a trend continuing from earlier generations of the Carter family. After leaving school, Carter worked as a traveling salesman in Texas, where he sold flatirons and used the profits to invest in a local ice house and laundry in Plains.

In December 1917, Carter enlisted in the United States Army to serve in World War I. He initially held the rank of private in Company I, 121st Infantry Regiment, and was promoted to sergeant before attending officer training at Camp Lee, Virginia, in August 1918. He completed training on November 30, 1918. Due to the timing of the armistice, Carter was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Georgia National Guard rather than serving overseas.

Following his military service, Carter established a grocery store on Main Street in Plains. His business practices included some deceptive tactics aimed at increasing profits, as recounted by his daughter Gloria. The income from his agricultural activities was inconsistent, affected by weather conditions and fluctuating commodity prices. Carter's work ethic was influenced by his prior experience as a traveling salesman, often working from dawn until dusk, with limited leisure time.

Carter married Lillian Gordy on September 27, 1923, in Plains. Their courtship was somewhat unconventional; Carter reportedly had been engaged to another woman at the time of their initial acquaintance and had planned his wedding before disappearing for three months. Upon his return, he commenced courting Lillian. She noted differences in their interests, including political views and reading preferences. Carter's reading habits primarily involved newspapers, farm journals, adventure stories by Richard Halliburton, Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was less inclined toward books, favoring periodicals and newspapers.

By the time his son Jimmy was four years old, Carter had purchased a new home. An anecdote recounts him sending Jimmy through the window to unlock the door after he forgot his key. Jimmy Carter later described this incident as a memorable act of his father's approval. Around age 13, Carter became one of the first directors of the Rural Electrification Program, an experience that exposed him to the importance of political involvement at various levels.

Carter's approach to parenting was characterized by strict discipline; Jimmy recounted instances of being whipped for misbehavior, including taking a penny from a church collection plate. Carter was influential in shaping his son's work habits and ambitions.

Politically, Carter held conservative views and supported segregation. Although initially a supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt, he opposed the New Deal programs once they involved measures such as the slaughter of livestock and plowing of crops. This opposition led to a broader disillusionment with Roosevelt; nonetheless, Carter continued to support Democratic candidates in state elections. He supported Republican candidate Alf Landon in the 1936 presidential election after voting for Roosevelt's opponent at the time. Within Georgia, Carter endorsed Eugene Talmadge during his gubernatorial campaigns.

Carter served on the Sumter County Board of Education before his election to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1952 as a member of the Democratic Party. His tenure in the state legislature was brief, as he died from pancreatic cancer on July 22, 1953, at the age of 58.