He was the mayor of Madison, North Carolina for twelve years and later served on the town's Board of Aldermen.

[2] His family descends from the colonist Reverend Thomas Carter, a Puritan minister in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and signer of the Dedham Covenant.

[3] Carter enlisted in the United States Army as a private in 1934, after graduating from Madison High School.

He served in World War II with the rank of staff sergeant, as part of the 20th Infantry Regiment, and was deployed to North Africa and Italy.

His mother was awarded a "five-starred emblem" by the Legion of Honor Association for having five sons serve at one time.

He was later appointed principal of Elliott Duncan Elementary School in Mayodan, a position he held until his retirement in 1977.

[11] The Walkers accused Webster of harassment when ordering bushes on their property bordering U.S. Route 311 be trimmed by town workers.

[11] In 1991 Carter supported a one-cent tax increase, to generate $273,000 annually as funding to maintain Chinqua Penn Plantation.