Born in Oneida county, New York, in 1842. His father lived at different points in New York and New England following the occupation of railroad contactor until 1858 when they came to Iowa settling on a farm in Dutch Creek township which a railroad was surveyed but never built. Afterward they moved to Lafayette township, Keokuk county, where they bought and lived upon a quarter section of land joining Keota on the southwest. Timothy "Frank" as he was called also followed railroading when he was a young man. He was married to Miss Sarah Boyer, a native of Pennsylvania in 1869. Mr. McCarty was elected auditor of Keokuk county in 1877 and again in 1879. After his term of office had expired he was elected cashier of the Union Bank in Sigourney. Later he returned to Keota and for several years was cashier of the bank of Keota and also represented Keokuk county in the Iowa legislature for two years. In 1886 he was elected county treasurer which office he filled for two years. He then removed to St. Paul, Nebraska, where he engaged in the banking business for a few years. He then returned to Iowa and managed the affairs of the State Bank of Harper. He was an honored member of the I. O. O. F., and Masonic Orders.