Early Years Carter was born into slavery in the town of Eastville, in Northampton County, on May 29, 1845. His parents were named Jacob and Peggie. According to family tradition, his father, whose surname was probably Carter, was the son of Pierre De Carte, a free native of West Africa, and an enslaved Virginia woman. Carter, a younger brother and sister, and their mother belonged to Calvin H. Read, a schoolteacher who may have taught Carter to read. By 1858 Read had moved to Baltimore. To repay $1,000 he had borrowed from his wife’s separate estate, he deeded to her on December 5, 1860, Carter, two of his siblings, and their mother, all enumerated in the deed as residing in Northampton County.