Robert "King" Carter (4 August 1663 – 4 August 1732) was a merchant, planter and powerful politician in
colonial Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
. Born in
Lancaster County, Carter eventually became one of the
richest men in the Thirteen Colonies. As President of the
Virginia Governor's Council
The Governor's Council (also known as the "Council of State" or simply "the Council") was the upper house of the colonial legislature (the House of Burgesses was the other house) in the Colony of Virginia from 1607 until the American Revolution i ...
, Carter served as the
royal governor of Virginia
This is a list of colonial governors of Virginia.
Some of those who held the lead role as governor of Virginia never visited the New World and governed through deputies resident in the colony. Others, such as Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, hel ...
from 1726 to 1727 after the previous governor,
Hugh Drysdale
Colonel Hugh Drysdale (died 22 July 1726) was an American governor of colonial Virginia. He was educated at Kilkenny College and Trinity College Dublin. More officially, his title was ''Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Colony and ...
, died in office. He acquired the
moniker
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
"King" from fellow Virginians in his lifetime connoting his wealth, autocratic business methods and political power. Carter also served as the colony's Treasurer, many terms in the
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...
and twice fellow members elected him as their Speaker.
[ also available at https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/carter-robert-ca-1664-1732/]
Early life and education
Robert "King" Carter was born in 1662 at
Corotoman Plantation
Corotoman was a 17th and 18th century plantation on the Rappahannock River in Lancaster County, Virginia, United States. Corotoman was the residence of Robert Carter I (1662/63 – 4 August 1732), a colonial Governor of Virginia and one of t ...
in
Lancaster County, Virginia, to
John Carter, Sr. (1613–1669) of London, England, and his fourth wife, Sarah Ludlow (1635–1668) of
Maiden Bradley
Maiden Bradley is a village in south-west Wiltshire, England, about south-west of Warminster and bordering the county of Somerset. The B3092 road between Frome and Mere forms the village street. Bradley House, the seat of the Duke of Somerse ...
, Wiltshire, who immigrated to the
colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
, but died soon after the birth. His father had survived three previous wives, so young Robert had an elder step-brother,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, who under
primogeniture
Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
inherited most of their father's estate in 1669, and was responsible for executing the provisions of their father's will. John Carter, Jr. also followed the instructions in their father's will and sent the orphaned Robert to England to be educated. Thus he lived in London with Arthur Bailey, a tobacco merchant who handled the family's tobacco, for six years and learned the transatlantic tobacco trade.
Robert Carter probably lived at Corotoman plantation with his elder half-brother and wife upon returning to Virginia. In 1690 Robert Carter increased his landholdings from his father following his elder half brother's death without male issue (and widow's remarriage and death, as well as managed his niece's property until her marriage and death also shortly thereafter). Carter also increased his landholdings through purchase, by foreclosing mortgages, and by his own advantageous marriages. In 1688, he married his first wife, Judith Armistead of "Hesse" plantation—then in
Gloucester County, but which after boundary changes in 1691 became (and is now in)
Mathews County
Mathews County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,533. Its county seat is Mathews.
Located on the Middle Peninsula, Mathews County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport ...
.
They had five children, of whom three survived infancy, including
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, as elaborated below. After her death in 1699, Carter married the wealthy widow Elizabeth Landon Willis in 1701. She bore five daughters and five sons, seven of whom reached adulthood, as elaborated below. King Carter had each of his sons educated in England, and his firstborn son
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
like his long-dead uncle John saw to the education and marriage of his half-siblings, including those youngest underage after their father's death. Meanwhile, King Carter worked with his eldest on the family business, and endowed each of his sons who reached marriageable age in his lifetime with significant plantations. Robert Carter II (1704-1732) whom his father called "Robin" would die of a sudden illness months before his father, but his Nomini Hall plantation was inherited by his son,
Robert Carter III
Robert "Councillor" Carter III (February 28, 1728 – March 10, 1804) was a lawyer and planter from the Northern Neck of Virginia, in what became the United States. For two decades he sat on the Colonial Virginia Governor's Council. After th ...
(1728-1804), who like his grandfather served on the Governor's Council.
Charles Carter (1707-1764) would exchange the land he had inherited for other property and built Cleve Hall in
King George County
King George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 26,723. Its county seat is the town of King George.
The county's largest employer is the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center ...
, which he represented for many years in the House of Burgesses.
Landon Carter
Col. Landon Carter, I (August 18, 1710 – December 22, 1778) was an American planter and burgess for Richmond County, Virginia. Although one of the most popular patriotic writers and pamphleters of pre-Revolutionary and Revolutionary-era Vir ...
received Sabine Hall from his father and represented
Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places:
Australia
*Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division
Canada
*Richmond County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England
United States
...
in the House of Burgesses, as well as (in 1742) inherited some of property from his elder half brother
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, and served as guardian for those underage nephews
Charles Hill Carter
Charles Hill Carter (1732–June 28, 1806) was a Virginia planter who represented Lancaster County in the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758-1775) and all five of the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, and also sat on the first Council of State ...
,
Edward Hill Carter
Edward Hill Carter (1733–1793) (nicknamed "Ned") was a Virginia planter, military officer and politician, who served terms in the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Virginia House of Delegates, representing Albemarle County. He was a neighbor ...
and
Robert Carter Nicholas, all of whom would later serve in the Virginia General Assembly.
Another brother, George Carter, remained in England, where he practiced law but did not marry (nor take possession of his Virginia inheritance) before his death in 1642.
Career
At age 28, shortly after his elder half-brother died Robert Carter entered the
General Assembly of Virginia
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, ...
as a Burgess representing Lancaster County. He would serve part-time in 1690–1691, and then for five consecutive years (1695 through 1699) before being promoted (by the British Privy Council on the recommendation of Governor Francis Nicholson) to the
Governor's Council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...
(also the higher chamber of the Virginia General Assembly). While in the House of Burgesses, Carter served on two important committees (for Elections and Privileges and for Examination of Propositions and Grievances). In the session which began in September 1696, Carter defeated four other burgesses for the position of Speaker, and also served as Speaker for the October 1687 session, but was not re-elected in a five-candidate field in September 1698. However, the House of Burgesses appointed him as the colony's treasurer, thus giving him responsibility of monies raised by assembly-levied taxes in the colony, and assembly-mandated spending. Meanwhile, Carter also became a vestryman of Lancaster County's Christ Church Parish in 1690, and the following year became one of the justices of the peace for Lancaster County (the justices jointly in that era also administering the county, with social services provided by the vestry). He would also command the militias of Lancaster and adjacent Northumberland Counties, and secured appointment as the naval officer of the Rappahannock River region (which secured customs duties).
Ultimately, Carter would become as influential a member of the Governor's Council as he had been in the colony's legislature. He was among the majority of Councillors who opposed Nicholson in 1704, which led indirectly to that governor's dismissal. A decade later, in the controversy between resident Lieutenant Governor
Alexander Spotswood
Alexander Spotswood (12 December 1676 – 7 June 1740) was a British Army officer, explorer and lieutenant governor of Colonial Virginia; he is regarded as one of the most significant historical figures in British North American colonial h ...
and the great planters, Carter sided with his fellow planters opposing Spotswood. After the death of Governor
Hugh Drysdale
Colonel Hugh Drysdale (died 22 July 1726) was an American governor of colonial Virginia. He was educated at Kilkenny College and Trinity College Dublin. More officially, his title was ''Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Colony and ...
in 1726, as the council's President (by seniority after the death of Edmund Jenings and despite his own poor health), Carter served as acting
Governor of Virginia
The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022.
Oath of office
On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...
until Lieutenant Governor
William Gooch took office on 11 September 1727. Carter continued to attend Council meetings until the General Assembly adjourned on 1 July 1732, five weeks until his death.
Meanwhile, much of Carter's land acquisition was as the Virginia resident land agent of
Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron MP (16 April 1657 – 6 January 1710 N.S.) was an English nobleman and politician.
Life
Thomas Fairfax was born on 16 April 1657, the great-grandson of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron ...
– known simply as Lord Fairfax. Carter served two terms totaling nearly 20 years, as agent for the
Fairfax Proprietary
The Northern Neck Proprietary – also called the Northern Neck land grant, Fairfax Proprietary, or Fairfax Grant – was a land grant first contrived by the exiled English King Charles II in 1649 and encompassing all the lands bounded by the Pot ...
of the
Northern Neck
The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula ...
of Virginia, essentially the land between the
Potomac and
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the entir ...
s westward to the
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...
. Beginning in his first term, 1702–1711, Carter had his surveyors find the best land, which he patented in his own names as well as in the names of his children, first in the drainage of Rappahannock River, and later the area drained by the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
. Carter in 1709 purchased some , including the
Nomini Hall Plantation, also spelled "Nomoni" or "Nominy," from the heirs of Col.
Nicholas Spencer
Colonel Nicholas Spencer, Jr. (1633–1689) was a merchant, planter and politician in colonial Virginia. Born in Cople, Bedfordshire, Spencer migrated to the Westmoreland County, Virginia, where he became a planter and which he represente ...
. The latter was a cousin of the
Lords Culpeper, from whom the Fairfaxes had inherited their Virginia holdings. When Carter became agent for Fairfax's interests again in 1722 (holding that position for a decade, until 1732), in addition to forwarding land rents back to Lord Fairfax, he secured for his children and grandchildren about in the Northern Neck, as well as additional land in Virginia west of the
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...
. Thus, when Carter died, he held at least
Much of the land was divided into farms and cultivated using enslaved labor and overseers. Tobacco was the primary cash crop, but the farms also produced beans, corn and wheat, as well as cattle and hogs for domestic consumption. Other enterprises in which Carter engaged included sloops and flatboats, and he also acted as agent for slave traders.
Carter built a large house at Corotoman in 1725, then saw it burn four years later, but did not rebuild it before he died a four years later. He also suffered from gout.
Death and legacy
Carter died on 4 August 1732, in
Lancaster County, Virginia. He was buried there at
Christ Church. He left his family 300,000 acres (1,200 km
2) of land; 3,000 slaves, counted as personal property; and £10,000 in cash, as stated in the academic genealogical study, ''A Genealogy of the Known Descendants of Robert Carter of Corotoman'' (1982), written by Florence Tyler Carlton. Some of the papers of his family held by the
University of Virginia Library
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective adm ...
are available in digital form.
When Lord Fairfax saw Carter's obituary in the London monthly ''
The Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...
'', he was astonished to read of the immense personal wealth acquired by his resident land agent. Rather than name another Virginian to the position, Fairfax made arrangements to have his cousin, Colonel William Fairfax, move to Virginia to act as land agent, with the paid position of customs inspector (tax collector) for the Potomac River district. Fairfax himself then visited his vast Northern Neck Proprietary from 1735 to 1737, and he moved there permanently in 1747.
Descendants
Carter had five children with his first wife, Judith Armistead:
*Sarah Carter (born ~1690, died in infancy)
*Elizabeth Carter (~1692-1734) married Nathaniel Burwell in 1709, then George Nicholas.
*Judith Carter (born ~1694) died in infancy before her mother and buried near her at Christ Church
*Judith Carter (1695–1750) married
Mann Page
Mann Page (1749–1781), sometimes referred to as Mann Page III, was an American lawyer, politician and planter from Spotsylvania County, Virginia, who served in the House of Burgesses and first Virginia House of Delegates as well as a d ...
(1691-1730) of Rosewell plantation in 1718.
*
John Carter (1696–1742) married Elizabeth Hill of
Shirley Plantation
Shirley Plantation is an estate located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia, USA. It is located on scenic byway State Route 5, between Richmond and Williamsburg. It is the oldest active plantation in Virgi ...
Carter had ten children with his second wife, Betty Landon Willis (1684-1719), of whom seven reached adulthood:
*Anne Carter (1702–1743) married
Benjamin Harrison IV;
(parents of
Benjamin Harrison V
Benjamin Harrison V (April 5, 1726April 24, 1791) was an American planter, merchant, and politician who served as a legislator in colonial Virginia, following his namesakes’ tradition of public service. He was a signer of the Continental Ass ...
and grandparents of President
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
).
*
Robert Carter II (1704–1732) married Priscilla Churchill, and died four months before his father.
*Sarah Carter (~1705–1705)
*Betty Carter (~1705–1706)
*
Charles Carter (1707–1764) married Mary Walker, then Anne Byrd (daughter of Col.
William Byrd II
William Byrd II (March 28, 1674August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor, author, and a man of letters. Born in Colonial Virginia, he was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, he returned to Virgi ...
), then Lucy Taliaferro (who survived him).
*Ludlow Carter (born ~1709, died as child)
*
Landon Carter
Col. Landon Carter, I (August 18, 1710 – December 22, 1778) was an American planter and burgess for Richmond County, Virginia. Although one of the most popular patriotic writers and pamphleters of pre-Revolutionary and Revolutionary-era Vir ...
(1710–1778) married Maria Byrd, daughter of Col.
William Byrd II
William Byrd II (March 28, 1674August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor, author, and a man of letters. Born in Colonial Virginia, he was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, he returned to Virgi ...
.
*Mary Carter (1712–1736) married
George Braxton; (parents of
Carter Braxton).
*Lucy Carter (1715–1763) married
Henry Fitzhugh
*George Carter (1718–1742)
Other notable descendants include:
*
Carter Braxton, grandson, signer of Declaration of Independence
*
Robert Burwell
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
(1720-1777), grandson, member of the
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...
*
Charles Carter (of Ludlow) (1732-1796), grandson, burgess, delegate, member of the Governor's council
*
Charles Hill Carter
Charles Hill Carter (1732–June 28, 1806) was a Virginia planter who represented Lancaster County in the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758-1775) and all five of the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, and also sat on the first Council of State ...
(1732-1806), grandson, planter (at Shirley plantation) and burgess
*
Charles Carter, Jr. (burgess), grandson, planter and burgess
*
Robert Carter III
Robert "Councillor" Carter III (February 28, 1728 – March 10, 1804) was a lawyer and planter from the Northern Neck of Virginia, in what became the United States. For two decades he sat on the Colonial Virginia Governor's Council. After th ...
(1727–1804), grandson, member of the Governor's council
*Talcott Eliason (1826–1896),
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of ...
's Field Surgeon during the Civil War;
[ Thomas, Emory M. ''Bold Dragoon: The Life of J.E.B. Stuart''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986. . pp. 192, 236]
*
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870),
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
general.
*
Robert Randolph Carter
Robert Randolph Carter (September 15, 1825 – March 8, 1888) was an American naval officer that would later come to be known for a journal he kept while unsuccessfully searching for the Franklin expedition. This journal was later posthumously pub ...
(1825-1888), Confederate States Army first lieutenant
*
John Page (1743–1808), 13th Governor of Virginia.
*
Mann Page
Mann Page (1749–1781), sometimes referred to as Mann Page III, was an American lawyer, politician and planter from Spotsylvania County, Virginia, who served in the House of Burgesses and first Virginia House of Delegates as well as a d ...
(1749–1781), Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777
*
Thomas Nelson Page
Thomas Nelson Page (April 23, 1853 – November 1, 1922) was an American lawyer, politician, and writer. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Italy from 1913 to 1919 under the administration of President Woodrow Wilson during World War I.
In his ...
(1853–1922), US ambassador to Italy during the
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
administration.
*
William Nelson Page
William Nelson Page (January 6, 1854 – March 7, 1932) was an American civil engineer and industrialist. He was active in the Virginias following the U.S. Civil War. Page was widely known as a metallurgical expert by other industry leaders a ...
(1854–1932), American civil engineer and industrialist.
*
James "Gentleman Jim" Robinson, one of the wealthiest African Americans in the Manassas area. His homestead was located between the lines of the Confederate and Union armies during two major battles of the Civil War.
See also
*
Robert Carter III
Robert "Councillor" Carter III (February 28, 1728 – March 10, 1804) was a lawyer and planter from the Northern Neck of Virginia, in what became the United States. For two decades he sat on the Colonial Virginia Governor's Council. After th ...
*
Carter's Grove Plantation
*
Corotoman Plantation
Corotoman was a 17th and 18th century plantation on the Rappahannock River in Lancaster County, Virginia, United States. Corotoman was the residence of Robert Carter I (1662/63 – 4 August 1732), a colonial Governor of Virginia and one of t ...
*
Rosewell Plantation
Rosewell Plantation in Gloucester County, Virginia, was for more than 100 years the home of a branch of the Page family, one of the First Families of Virginia. Begun in 1725, the Flemish bond brick Rosewell mansion overlooking the York River wa ...
*
Shirley Plantation
Shirley Plantation is an estate located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia, USA. It is located on scenic byway State Route 5, between Richmond and Williamsburg. It is the oldest active plantation in Virgi ...
*
Christ Church
*
History of slavery in the United States
The legal institution of human Slavery#Chattel slavery, chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States, United States of America ...
References
External links
Robert Carter Iat ''
Encyclopedia Virginia Virginia Humanities (VH), formerly the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, is a humanities council whose stated mission is to develop the civic, cultural, and intellectual life of the Commonwealth of Virginia by creating learning opportunities f ...
''
Nomini Hall Plantationat
Christ Church
Paweł Konieczny, Korespondencja Roberta „Króla” Cartera jako źródło do badań nad mentalnością elity osiemnastowiecznej Wirginii
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Robert 01
1663 births
1732 deaths
18th-century American landowners
American landowners
American people of English descent
American planters
American real estate businesspeople
American slave owners
American slave traders
Robert I Robert I may refer to:
*Robert I, Duke of Neustria (697–748)
*Robert I of France (866–923), King of France, 922–923, rebelled against Charles the Simple
*Rollo, Duke of Normandy (c. 846 – c. 930; reigned 911–927)
* Robert I Archbishop of ...
Colonial governors of Virginia
People from Lancaster County, Virginia
Speakers of the Virginia House of Burgesses
Virginia Governor's Council members