Name also listed as: Kewesch/Kartusinsky/Kartusinky/Cartersinsky/Kartushinsky
Birthdate as 5 Oct 1889 or 1891 in Minsk province per family tradition; although his death certificate lists it as 6 Oct 1891 and the passenger list would indicate his birth in 1886. His 1917 Draft registration and 1918 military record state his birth date as 25 Sept 1888, while the Social Security records and Naturalization papers for citizenship both state that he was born 6 Oct 1888 and his WWII draft registration shows 16 Oct 1888. I have used his most well documented birth date, as the Draft card is the earliest documentation provided by Max himself.
Likewise, the family always said he was from Minsk, but that may just refer to the province rather than the city. His WWI draft registration lists his birth in Felixzonia (sp?) Russia, and his induction papers show his birth in Neshviz (Nyasvizh), Russia, while his Social Security and naturalization papers list it as Fetexota, Naugnontch, USSR. Based on extensive research and contact with current residents of the area, Ken Domeshek has pretty well proven that the family lived on the Obidowo farm, near the town of Niehnewicze. 
Max immigrated to New York on July 16, 1906 on the ship "Caronia" under the name Feitel Kewesch [kay-vich] (Alien Reg #A-2719799). The Passenger List of British SS Caronia (Cunard Line) in New York on May 18, 1906 lists Feitel Kewesch, age 19, with with a male head of household Leib (50) a tailor, who was implied to be their father, but was most certainly not. With him were 2 boys; Sindel (9) and Itzig (6), and 3 girls; Riwe (27) a servant, Chawe (17), and Mere (15). They are listed as Russian Hebrew coming from Ekaterinoslav (renamed Dnepropetravsk after the revolution). He was a laborer and could read and write. They listed Hy Oppenheim at 54 Christian St, NY as their intended residence. Other research indicates that many Russian Jews used false or borrowed names to leave the country and immigrate to America, so it is very possible that they used a Polish identity to escape Russia, and that Max joined the Kewesch family with a borrowed passport. It is unclear whether any of his siblings came with him using the Kewesch documents.
He is listed in the 1910 census in the Bronx as Max Kartushinsky (21, Russia) single, Yiddish, an alien who immigrated in 1906 and able to speak english. He is listed as an operator for (sewing) skirts, was unemployed 3 months the previous year, and the nephew of Philip and Rosie Kartushinsky who immigrated in 1892, were married 12 yrs and had 3 children. The were living 444 E. 145th St in the Bronx.
He and Hattie Aronson obtained a marriage license on 9 Nov 1910 in Manhattan, and were married on 9 Jul 1911 in the Bronx, New York. He is listed on the marriage record as 22 and living at 444 E. 145th in the Bronx. His father is listed as Abraham and mother Tobie Simon (or Limon?). They were married at Long’s Academy 2733 3rd Ave, Bronx by Lieutenant Tyon, Chaplain of Mt Sinai Hosp.
According to his subsequent divorce petition, they separated about 17 May 1917 and had a stormy relationship. The divorce papers refer to dates in July and October 1917, as well as May 1918 when they were together and having disputes. These same papers also refer to his tailoring store where he made suits and other garments, and which was outfitted with several electric sewing machines.
Max registered for the WWI Draft on 5 Jun 1917 as Max Kartusinsky (but indexed as Kartrinsky). He gave his birth date as 25 Sept 1888, and listed his place of birth as Felixzonia (sp?) Russia. It lists him as a tailor, with his own business at 622 Melrose Ave in the Bronx.
He was inducted into U.S. Army on 26 Aug 1918 for WWI as a Private (Army Ser No 4,561,932), and was honorably discharged on demobilization 10 Dec 1918. His induction papers list his birth as 25 Sept 1888 and birthplace as Naghviz, Russia, with an address of 444 E. 145th St. The National Personnel Records Center confirmed that he served as a Private in the Army 26 Oct thru 30 Dec 1918, separating with an honorable discharge under the name Max Kartusinsky. This information is from his final pay records, as no further records are available due to a fire which burned the military records in 1973 (but now found on Ancestry).
He also worked as a mfg supervisor in Puerto Rico according to his son, Hal. A letter from Puerto Rico Treasurer to Mr. Kartusinky at No 444 East 145th, Bronx, NY on 2 Dec 1919 says that he owed no taxes for 1918. An envelope addressed to Max Kartusinsky was found among Sadie’s things which has a return address from “The New York and Porto Rico Steamship Co, Mayaguez PR”. It may be that he worked for the company, possibly while in the Army.
There is Bronx Civil Court case (divorce?) recorded on 22 Jan 1920 by Hattie Kartusinsky, listing Max as the defendant.
Max Carter (earliest use of new surname) was a member of Int'l Ladies Garment Workers Union, Local #23 in New York until 15 Mar 1920, when he was issued a withdrawal card to suspend his dues. He must have moved to Reno shortly thereafter, since his Divorce Petition as Max Karusinsky was filed there on 13 Dec 1920, and stated that he had been living in Reno for the previous six months. Notice was posted in the Nevada State Journal, pg 8 the following day. The divorce from Hattie Kartusinsky was granted in Reno on 5 Feb 1921.
Max subsequently returned to New York and was re-married to Sadie Blank on 15 Feb 1922 in Jersey City, New Jersey by Rev Harry Budoff at 22 Stevens Ave. At the time Max listed his residence as 41 Van Nostrand Ave. in Jersey City and said he was 31 and a tailor. He also listed the name of his parents as Abraham Kartusinsky and Anna Schmolowitz. He and Sadie moved to Reno later that year, and he is shown as Max M. Carter in all subsequent records.
They were living at 75 Washington St, Reno in Sept 1928. His business card reads “M. Carter - Fashionable Tailor, imported woolens, men’s suits made to order (phone Reno 7322)” and lists the address as 28 W. Second St, Reno NV.
June 18th, 1929 they received a letter from his relatives in New York, asking Max and Sadie to move back so that they could take care of them, due to financial problems from the death of one child (Selma) and illness of the other (Hal), plus Max's gambling. It was written by another Sadie, possibly Max's half-sister or niece, based on her references to (their) Papa. Letter was on letterhead of Stone & Co, 245 Fifth Ave, New York (Real Estate) and mentions Sam, Max, Abe, Charlie (in New Jersey) and Dannie. On Aug 29, 1929 he leased 28 W. 2nd St., Reno for $100/mo from Geo. Mapes for 1930 thru 1934.
He is listed at 73 Washington St in the 1930 census at age 42, with he and Sadie (33) both naturalized, and son Harold (3 yrs 9 mos), as well as a lodger [but is mis-indexed as Max Easter in Ancestry].
In 1938 he and Sadie were divorced. He is listed alone in the 1940 census, with his own business as a tailor of men’s suits (49, Russia), divorced and living on Center St.
He was married a third time in 1944 to Jeannette Krause, dau of Elias Krause who subsequently married Sadie in 1948, making Sadie his step mother-in-law as well as ex-wife. On 28 Nov, 1946 Max and Jeanette used the property in Reno as security for a Deed of Trust for $7,000 in debts to N. E. Caffarata. He and Jeanette bought 1 & 1/2 lots in downtown Reno from her father, Eli, for $10 on 22 Sept, 1947 and sold it to them as well, plus signed another note for $4,000 to N. E. Caffarata.
In 1950 Max (56, RUS) is listed with his wife Jeanette (40, GER), daughter Gertrude A. (15, NV) and widowed father-in-law Eliah W. Krause (63, POL) on Cheney St.
On 1 April, 1953 they borrowed an additional $1,000 from N. E. Caffarata.
He applied for a Social Security number in Jan 1952, at which time he was living at 110 N. Center St in Reno. By the time he received it in May, he had already moved to 418 Cheney St. On Feb 13th, 1957, when he received his U.S. Citizenship, he was still living at 418 Cheney St. in Reno, where he lived until his death. Max died of "metastasized carcinoma" (cancer).
His description was fair complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, at 5' 9" and 190 lbs with a scar on his right jaw.
[Obituary] Reno Evening Gazette - Saturday, 23 August 1975
Max Carter
Max Carter, 83, died Thursday at a Reno hospital. He was born Oct. 6, 1891 in Russia and lived 55 years in the Reno area. He owned a tailoring shop on Center Street for 37 years and was a member of the American Legion.
He is survived by his widow, Jeanette, and a daughter Trudy Clock, both of Reno; a son Harold of Sunnyvale, Calif., four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
A funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Walton Funeral Home, Reno. Burial will follow at the Hebrew Cemetery.