Robert Carter I (1663 - 1732)

Born 4 Aug 1663 in Corotoman Plantation, Lancaster County, Virginia Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Judith (Armistead) Carter — married 1687 (to 23 Feb 1699) in Virginia

Husband of Elizabeth (Landon) Carter — married 1701 (to 3 Jul 1719) in Lancaster County, Virginia

Descendants

Died 4 Aug 1732 at age 69 in Corotoman, Christ Church Parish, Lancaster County, Virginia Colony

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Biography

Robert Carter I is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

Robert Carter I was a Virginia colonist.

Ancestor of William Henry Harrison 9th US President

Robert Carter "King Carter"^[1] --was for a long time the agent and representative of the Culpepper and Fairfax families.^[2]

Origin

Robert was born 4 August 1663 at Corotoman Estate, Lancaster County, Virginia, a son of John Carter and Sarah Ludlow.^[3] His father died when Robert was a young boy, in 1669. So his half-brother, Lt. Col. John Carter (15 years older than Robert), took on the parental role.^[3] Per their father's specific instructions, Robert was educated well in England. He had a tutor for English and Latin, and lived with Arthur Bailey who was a family friend and merchant.^[3]

Marriages and Issue

Robert "King" Carter married twice.

• He married 1) in 1688 at Heese, Lancaster, Virginia to Judith Armistead (died 1699).^[2] She died in 1699.

• He married 2) in 1701 to Elizabeth (Landon) Willis (marriage contract written April 9, 1701), widow of Richard Willis, and daughter of Thomas Landon.^[3]

Robert "King" married in 1688 to Judith Armistead, daughter of John Armistead of "Hesse," Gloucester County. Their children were:^[2]

1. John, born ca 1689, died 1742; mar Elizabeth Hill of Shirley
2. Elizabeth born1692; mar Nathaniel Burwell
3. Judith died in infancy,
4. Sarah died at age 15
5. Judith born 1695 (the second named Judith); mar Mann Page^[3]

Note: Some sources, including the Foundation for Historic Christ Church, place the birth date of John Carter III at 1696,^[2] while others place it at 1689/90.^[4][3]

Little is known about the intimate family life of Robert and Judith during these years.^[3] Judith died February 23, 1699, and only three of her children survived to adulthood.^[4]

Robert's second wife was Elizabeth Landon Willis, (mother of ten of Robert Carter's children) married in 1701:^[2]

1. Anne Carter (1702–1743) married Benjamin Harrison IV; (parents of Benjamin Harrison V and grandparents of President William Henry Harrison).
2. Robert Carter II (1704–1734) married Priscilla Churchill.
3. Sarah Carter (~1705–1705)
4. Betty Carter (~1705–1706)
5. Charles Carter (1707–1764) married Anne Byrd, daughter of Col. William Byrd II.
6. Ludlow Carter (born ~1709)
7. Landon Carter (1710–1778) married Maria Byrd, daughter of Col. William Byrd II.
8. Mary Carter (1712–1736) married George Braxton; (parents of Carter Braxton).
9. Lucy Carter (1715–1763) married Henry Fitzhugh
10. George Carter (1718–1742)^[3]

Quoting from the work of Edmund Berekley, Jr.:

The letters dated between 1701 and 1710 included in this project reflect little of Carter's personal, political, and mercantile interests of that time because they are ones he wrote as one of the trustees of the children of his friend, Ralph Wormeley, and deal with their affairs rather than his own. There are a few that step outside his duties to his friend, and they show his interest in land acquisition, a topic that would occupy him all of the rest of his life.^[3]

Wealthy "King" of Virginia

"The first actual land grant found on record in the Northern Neck section of Virginia is to Col. Robert "King" Carter, as the agent of Lord Fairfax and to his sons and grandsons. As the agent of Lord Fairfax, the Proprietor of the Northern Neck of VA, Col. Carter handled vast bodies of land and by his will left over 300,000 acres of land to his children."^[5]

"Robert was known as "King" Carter due to his immense wealth. He had a remarkable reputation as a Colonial Official and an agent for Lord Fairfax, V. At the age of 28, Robert entered the Assembly as a Burgess from Lancaster County, serving five consecutive years. In 1726 he served as acting governor of Virginia after the death of Governor Drysdale. He served two terms as agent for the Fairfax proprietary of the Northern Neck of Virginia, the first being, 1702-1711, and the second term, 1722-32. During his first term, he began to acquire large tracts of land for himself in the Rappahannock region of Virginia. After acquiring some 20,000 acres for himself, he was succeeded by Edmund Jennings. When he became representative of Fairfax's interests again in 1722, he succeeded in securing for his children and grandchildren some 110,000 acres in the Northern Neck. He also had additional acquisitions beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Robert's gifted and productive life centered around the original Christ Church, a smaller wooden structure. His parents were buried within the chancel of the church. A historic marker outside of the Church reads: "Christ Church was built in 1732, on the site of an older Church by Robert ("King") Carter, who reserved one quarter of it for seating his tenants and servants. It is one of the very few colonial churches in America that have never been altered, a typical early eighteenth-century structure."^[6]

Slave Owner

Robert owned many slaves. An inventory of his slaves, apparently made as part of the inventory of his estate, was taken in 1733.^[7] There are 345 slaves listed with names like: Old Crabb, Old Gumby, and Old Fortune a Woman past Labour.^[7]

Estate

Estate Records of Robert Carter^{[8][9] [10][11]}

Robert left quite a list of property, including the slaves above-mentioned. He held numerous plantations in eight different counties of Virginia.

Death and Legacy

Robert Carter died 4 Aug 1732 at Corotoman, Lancaster County, Virginia and was buried at Christ Church.^[2] See tombstone inscription and pictures. At his death in 1732, his obituary in The Monthly Intelligencer described his estate to be "about 300,000 acres of land, about 1000 Negroes, 10,000 pounds in money."^[13]

The tombstones of Robert and his two wives were placed at the east end of the old Christ Church. When Edmund J. Lee, MD wrote Lee of VA in 1894, he described the tombstones thusly:

They were very large, handsome, and elaborately carved. All are now destroyed, and the ground around is strewn with their fragments. Bishop Meade saw that of the husband, and wrote in his report of that church in 1838: ?Among the latter [tombs], at the east end of the house, within a neat enclosure, recently put up, are to be seen the tombs of Robert Carter, the builder of the house, and of his two wives. These are probably the largest and richest and heaviest tombstones in our land.' Bishop Meade adds: ?Tradition has it that the congregation, which doubtless consisted chiefly of his dependents, did not enter the church on Sunday until the arrival of his coach, when all followed him and his family into it.' He rebuilt and enlarged the church; the walls are very thick, at least three feet, and are yet sound. It has the old-style, square, high back pews, two of which, those nearest the chancel, are at least fifteen feet square."^[14]

The tombstones have been replaced by the church since that was written in 1894, and the inscription on his tombstone (taken from the original):

Sources

1. ↑ Carter, Robert (King) - A1407; born 1662, died 1732, Lancaster Co.: 1691-92, 1695-99 (Burgess); 1699-1732, (Councillor). accessed 13 September 2021.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} "Robert 'King' Carter of Corotoman (1663–1732)," Historic Christ Church & Museum, webpage archived at Wayback Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20160430092519/http://www.christchurch1735.org/history/robert_carter.html : accessed 3 March 2023).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8} Edmund Berkeley, Jr., "The Diary, Correspondence, and Papers of Robert "King" Carter of Virginia, 1701_1732," The Diary, Correspondence, and Papers of Robert "King" Carter of Virginia, 1701_1732; Historic Christ Church & Museum (https://christchurch1735.org/robert-king-carter-papers/ : accessed 3 March 2023).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Stephen Carter, "Stephen Carters John Carter Research," Genealogy.com (http://genforum.genealogy.com/carter/messages/15993.html : accessed 3 March 2023), posted by John Size on 31 July 2004.
5. ↑ Jean Hirsh (15 May 2019), "Robert 'King' Carter," The Family of Josiah Alston and Caroline Green Hatcher, RootsWeb.com (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=7213&id=I36154). [this RootsWeb page will be removed on 15 Apr 2023]
6. ↑ Edmund Berkeley and Dictionary of Virginia Biography, "Robert Carter (ca. 1664–1732)", Encyclopedia Virginia, Virginia Humanities (http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Carter_Robert_ca_1664-1732#start_entry). [this is not the source of this direct quote]
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Edmund Berkeley, Jr., "Alphabetical List of Robert Carter's Slaves Compiled From the 1733 Inventory of His Estate," The Diary, Correspondence, and Papers of Robert "King" Carter of Virginia, 1701_1732; Historic Christ Church & Museum (https://christchurch1735.org/robert-king-carter-papers/html/C33slaves.html : accessed 3 March 2023).
8. ↑ "Carter Papers," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 5, No. 4 ( Apr., 1898) pp408-428; digital images, JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/stable/4242092).
9. ↑ "Carter Papers," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 6, No. A (Jul., 1898) pp1-22; digital images, JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/stable/4242108).
10. ↑ Lloyd T. Smith, Robert Carter of Corotoman, 1663-1732 : An Analysis of His Last Will & Testament (Irvington, Virginia: The Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 2009); catalog, Library of Virginia (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990016812120205756).
11. ↑ Lloyd T. Smith,The Executors' Letters of Robert Carter of Corotoman, 1732–1738 (Irvington, Virginia: The Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 2010); catalog, Library of Virginia (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990016812110205756).
12. ↑ Edmund Berkeley, Jr., "Inventory of Robert Carter's Estate, November [1733]," The Diary, Correspondence, and Papers of Robert "King" Carter of Virginia, 1701_1732; Historic Christ Church & Museum (https://christchurch1735.org/robert-king-carter-papers/html/C33inven.mod.html : accessed 3 March 2023).
13. ↑ "Robert Carter Esquire," obituary, The Monthly Intelligencer, November 1732, p1082, col. 2.; digital image, HathiTrust.org (https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101074632850?urlappend=%3Bseq=580%3Bownerid=27021597768766824-684).
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Edmund Jennings Lee, Lee of Virginia, 1642–1892 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1895), p361-362; digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/leeofvirginia16400inleee/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater&q=Armistead).
15. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #19474872 for Robert "King" Carter (1663 VA – 1732 VA).

See also:

• Alexander Brown, The Cabells and Their Kin: A Memorial Volume of History, Biography, and Genealogy (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1895), pp293-294 (wife, child); digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/cabellstheirkin00brow/page/n6/mode/1up).
• Andrew Levy, The First Emancipator : Slavery, Religion and the Quiet Revolution of Robert Carter (New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2007); catalog, WorldCat.org (https://worldcat.org/en/title/144531222).
• Florence Taylor Carlton, A Genealogy of the Known Descendants of Robert Carter of Corotoman (Irvington, Virginia: Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 1982); microfiche, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/227614).
• Louis Morton, Robert Carter of Nomini Hall: A Virginia Tobacco Planter of the Eighteenth Century (Williamsburg, Virginia: Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated, 1941); digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/robertcarterofno0000unse/page/n8/mode/1up).
• "Robert Carter," Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia, Illustrated. (New York, Richmond, Chicago and Toledo: H. H. Hardestry & Co., 1885), p342; digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/22525810?h=0e55c7&utm_campaign=bandido-webparts&utm_source=post-share-modal&utm_medium=copy-url), image 178.
• "Robert 'King' Carter," Library of Congress; repro. of painting, Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2021653915/).