When Robert Lewis Carter was born on 25 January 1883, in Hawaii, Hawaii Territory, United States, his father, Alfred Wellington Carter, was 41 and his mother, Hannah Keawemauhili Purdy, was 50. He married Maraea Ulii Paahao about 1904, in Kukuihaele, Hawaii, Hawaii, United States. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 9 daughters. He lived in Honolulu, Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States in 1920 and Representative District 1, Hawaii, Hawaii Territory, United States in 1940. He died on 18 September 1940, in Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii, United States, at the age of 57, and was buried in Hawaii, Hawaii Territory, United States.