Thomas N. McCarter

Thomas Nesbitt McCarter (October 20, 1867 – October 23, 1955) was an American lawyer who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1902 until 1903, resigning to organize the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey. He served as its president for 36 years, as it became one of the biggest public utilities companies in the United States.

Early life and education McCarter was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1867 to Thomas Nesbitt and Mary Louisa (Haggerty) McCarter. After attending the Newark Academy and Pingry School, he entered Princeton University, graduating in 1888. He played doubles tennis in the Montclair Open in 1886.

McCarter studied law at Columbia Law School. He started practice with his father's law firm, McCarter & Keen, founded in 1845 in Newark, New Jersey.

In 1896 McCarter was appointed judge of the First District Court in Newark, resigning in 1899. That year he was elected to the New Jersey Senate, where he served as majority leader. McCarter served only one year of his five-year term before resigning in 1903. He had been appointed to organize the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, which would become one the nation's largest public utilities. Governor Murphy appointed his brother, Robert H. McCarter, to succeed him as Attorney General. His wife, Madeleine Barker McCarter, is also interred in this mausoleum.

Legacy and honors McCarter Theatre at Princeton University was named in his honor; he was a major benefactor for the new project. McCarter Highway was named for him; it is a major artery that runs from Downtown Newark to Belleville. Nesbitt St. in Newark is named for him. The field by Viola L. Sickles Elementary in Fair Haven is named McCarter Park. At the Intersection of Willow St. and Fair Haven Rd. is a brick gate that reads Rumson Hill. It marks the entrance to McCarter's estate, the path of which traces Buttonwood Lane in Fair Haven and Sycamore Lane in Rumson. Both streets are bordered with buttonwood trees. The Buttonwood Lane portion also passes a pond on Fair Haven Rd. called McCarter pond, which was installed for ornamental use and is used for fishing and skating.