Caleb Carr (1616 - 17 December 1695) was a governor of the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until ...

, serving a very short term prior to his death. In 1635, at the age of 19, he sailed from England on the ship ''Elizabeth and Ann'' with his older brother Robert. Carr's name appears on a list of Newport freemen in 1655, and he began serving in a civil capacity the year prior when he became a commissioner. He served in this capacity for a total of six years between 1654 and 1662, and then served as deputy for 12 years from 1664 to 1690. During the years when he wasn't serving as deputy, he was an assistant, serving in this role for a total of ten years. From 1677 to 1678 he was the justice of the General Quarter Session and Inferior Court of Common Pleas. Between 1658 and 1663 Carr purchased several large tracts of land on

Conanicut Island Conanicut Island is the second-largest island in Narragansett Bay in the American state of Rhode Island. It is connected on the east to Newport on Aquidneck Island via the Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, and on t ...

(later becoming Jamestown), and following his death he willed this property to his sons. He owned a boat, and in 1671 he was paid four pounds for services rendered with the craft. In 1676 he bought the services of an Indian captive, for which he paid 12 bushels of Indian corn. Carr was an enslaver, bequeathing at least two enslaved persons in his will. Carr became governor of the colony in 1695, and in this capacity he wrote to Governor Fletcher of New York in answer to a request for 48 men from Rhode Island to assist in the defense of New York. He agreed to either send the men, or some comparable assistance. Carr died late in 1695 and was buried in a family cemetery in Newport. He was succeeded as governor by Walter Clarke. Carr had 13 children, nine with his first wife, Mercy (three died young), and four with his second wife, Sarah Clarke. His second wife was the widow of John Pinner and a daughter of

Frances Latham Frances Latham (16101677), was a colonial American woman who settled in Rhode Island, and is known as "the Mother of Governors." Having been widowed twice, she had three husbands, and became the ancestor of at least ten governors and three depu ...

and former colonial President Jeremy Clarke.

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Chronological list of Rhode Island leaders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Caleb 1616 births 1695 deaths Colonial governors of Rhode Island Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island English emigrants Deaths by drowning Accidental deaths in Rhode Island People from Jamestown, Rhode Island Clarke family (Rhode Island)

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