Born in Coeymans, New York, in June 1834, J. W. Carhart attended seminary and taught school and preached in New York state before he moved to Racine, Wisconsin, in 1871. There he was the pastor of the First Methodist-Episcopal Church until 1874. In 1873 Carhart invented a steam-operated “horseless carriage” for which he is famous. He was the pastor of the First Methodist Church, Oshkosh from 1876 to 1887 and was the presiding elder of the Appleton district of the Methodist Church. He later received his M.D. from the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons and practiced medicine in Oshkosh and in Austin and San Antonio, Texas. In 1905 Dr. Carhart was the guest of the French government at the International Automobile Exposition in Paris. While in Texas, he was also president of the Authors' Club, and honorary member of the Bohemian Scribblers, vice-president of the Conservatory of Medicine, and a member of the Bexar County Medical Society. He died in San Antonio on 21 December 1914.
