Carter Perkins was enslaved alongside Robert Perkins and Sandy Jones in Bolivar County, Mississippi, when, in 1749, their enslaver, Charles S. Perkins, heard about the discovery of gold in California. Like so many others, Charles Perkins headed west to expand his fortune. Joining him in Placer County were Carter Perkins, Robert Perkins, and Sandy Jones. After some time in California, Charles Perkins decided to return to Mississippi, leaving the three men he enslaved with an associate who was instructed to free them after a specified period of time. When that date arrived, the associate did as he had been directed, and Jones and the two Perkinses were told in November 1851 that they were free. However, their freedom would not last. The associate, John Hill, did not present them deeds of emancipation, and while they continued their work in Placer County, having accrued a wagon and mules and amassing some capital, Jones and the two Carters were seized on May 31, 1852, by a local sheriff, accompanied several others. In the first test of the California Fugitive Slave Act, which had been passed the month prior, their captors claimed they were fugitive slaves.

Supporters raised money to defend the alleged fugitives, but a judge ordered them handed over to Charles Perkins, who intended to return them to Mississippi. The supporters were determined to fight the case, however, rescuing the men from the ship they were being held in and taking the case to the California Supreme Court. Two justices from southern states who were sympathetic to enslavers heard the case, and no argument against the slave law was allowed. Sandy Jones and Carter and Robert Perkins were loaded on a ship, and their journey back to Mississippi began. However, when the vessel stopped in Panama, they are said to have disappeared. It is not known what became of them or if they were ever reunited with their families.