San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MRS. NANNIE HALLER CARR
A well-known and honored resident of
the Lodi section of San Joaquin County is found in Mrs. Nannie
Haller Carr, who has continuously resided in San Joaquin County since her
marriage in 1893, with the exception of a year spent in Council Bluffs,
Iowa. She was born at Tazewell Court
House, Tazewell County, Virginia, January 4, 1848, a daughter of Dr. James R. Doak and his wife, Mary Letitia
(Haller) Doak, both natives of Virginia. Although James R. Doak
was a Virginian, he was a staunch supporter of the Union. He was heartily against secession and voiced
his opinion freely until Virginia withdrew from the Union; then he was forced
to keep quiet. He was a physician and a
large landholder, and was prominent and influential in his community. His services were required by the rich and
poor, and no one in need of a physician’s care ever was neglected by him. For six years he served as county clerk of
Tazewell County. When he passed away at the
age of sixty-seven, he was mourned by scores of friends and acquaintances whom
he had served. Her mother was a daughter
of the noted physician Dr. George Haller, of Marion, Virginia. She was only twenty-nine years old when she
passed away, leaving a family of five children:
Reece C; Nannie, the subject of this sketch;
Rachel, Mrs. W. J. Thompson, deceased; James R., deceased at the age of ten
years; and William V., who passed away in April, 1922.
Mrs. Carr received her education at
the Convent of Ville Marie, Abingdon, Virginia, conducted by the Visitation
Nuns of the Catholic Church. After her
father’s death she returned to the Convent of Ville Marie and took a four-year
course. At the end of her course, she
went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, on a visit to friends; then on to Utah, where she
visited for a year; and then on to San Francisco, in 1891, to visit other
friends. While there she met her future
husband, B. J. Carr, and they were married on April 19, 1893. B. J. Carr was born near Memphis, Tennessee,
a son of Simon and Love (Dillon) Carr, both natives of Tennessee. Simon Carr was the owner of a large
plantation on which were a large number of Negroes, who were freed by the Civil
War. Though raised in the South, Mr.
Carr was an abolitionist, like his father.
He was too young to enlist, but nevertheless ran away and joined the
Union Army. At first he drove a wagon;
but he did not like it, for he wanted to be a soldier, so he became a member of
Company B, 3rd Illinois Cavalry, and served until the close of the
war. Afterwards he was sent with his
regiment against the Indians, until he was discharged. He worked for awhile in Illinois, and then
came to California; and it was in this state he met and married Miss Doak. After their
marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Carr removed to Stockton, where they resided for a
time. Then they removed to Council
Bluffs, Iowa, but the following spring they returned to California. At this time, Mr. Carr purchased a
thirty-acre place, known as the Gillingham ranch in
the Lafayette School District southwest of Lodi. This they improved to vineyard; and here was
the home of this worthy couple until the death of Mr. Carr, which occurred April
27, 1914. Then Mrs. Carr moved to Lodi
and leased her ranch until 1921, when she sold it to Henry Perrin. The money received from the sale of her ranch
was donated by Mrs. Carr to the building of St. Ann’s Catholic School in
Lodi. Mrs. Carr is living retired at her
residence located at 435 South Sacramento Street, Lodi, California. Mr. Carr was a Republican, as is also Mrs.
Carr. Fraternally he was affiliated with
the Masons; and he was a member of Hartford Post, 155, G. A. R., Lodi. Mrs. Carr is a member of St. Ann’s Catholic
Church of Lodi.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
816-819. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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