Dabney Carr (October 26, 1743 – May 16, 1773) was a member of the Virginia
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 was married to Martha Jefferson, the sister of
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
. He introduced the
Committee of correspondence
The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...
in Virginia which was a leading factor in the formation of the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
in 1774. Carr and Jefferson were good friends and, fulfilling a boyhood promise, was buried in the Monticello graveyard. His sons included politicians
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Samuel Carr and Judge
Dabney Carr
Dabney Carr (April 27, 1773 – January 8, 1837) was a Virginia lawyer, writer and a justice of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Early and family life
Martha Peyton Jefferson gave birth to this Dabney Carr at Spring Forest, a Goochland ...
.
Early life and education
Carr was born on October 26, 1743, to John Carr (1706–1778) and his second wife, Barbara Overton Carr (died 1794), daughter of Captain James and Elizabeth Overton.
He was born at Bear Castle, a large farm in
Louisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,596. The county seat is Louisa.
History
Prior to colonial settlement, the area comprising Louisa County was occupied by severa ...
.
His father John, who attained the title of Colonel, was a justice and sheriff in Louisa County. Carr descended from early settlers and men who performed public service and had large landholdings throughout Virginia.
Dabney had an older half-brother, Thomas. His other siblings were Samuel, Overton, Garland, Mary, and Elizabeth.
He was educated at
Rev. James Maury's School, where he met Thomas Jefferson.
Maury taught
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
,
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
, Thomas Jefferson, three of the country's presidents, and two other signers of the
United States Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
. The school was conducted in a log cabin in
Albemarle County
Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Charl ...
. They were taught geography, history, mathematics, literature, classics, and manners and morals. Both Jefferson and Carr studied law at
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
.
During his education, he also became friends of John Taylor and
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
.
After he became close friends with Jefferson, he often went home on weekends to Shadwell and also became close friends with two of Jefferson's sisters, Martha and Jane. The young men often rode horses through what they called Tom's mountain, which became Monticello.
Marriage and children
Carr married Jefferson's younger sister, Martha Jefferson (May 29, 1746 - September 3, 1811), on July 20, 1765, and they lived in
Goochland County at his plantation, Spring Forest.
Their children were:
* Jean Barbara Carr (1766-1840) also sometimes referred to as Jane or Jenny married Wilson Cary (1760-1793)
* Lucy Carr (March 7, 1768 – 1803) m. Richard Terrell (died 1802) on 5 October 1792
* Mary (Polly) Carr (born March 7, 1768), twin sister of Lucy, never married
*
Peter Carr (1770-1815) m. Hetty Smith (1767-1834)
* Colonel
Samuel Carr of Dunlora (October 8, 1771 – 1855) married first Eleanor B. Carr (died 1815), and then married Maria Dabney
* Judge
Dabney Carr
Dabney Carr (April 27, 1773 – January 8, 1837) was a Virginia lawyer, writer and a justice of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Early and family life
Martha Peyton Jefferson gave birth to this Dabney Carr at Spring Forest, a Goochland ...
(1773-1837) married Elizabeth Carr
Impressed with the Carr's family life, Jefferson wrote, "...in a very small house, with a table, half a dozen chairs, and one or two servants...
abneyis the happiest man in the universe. Every incident in life he so takes as to render it a source of pleasure, with as much benevolence as the heart of a man will hold, but with an utter neglect of the costly apparatus of life, he exhibits to the world a new phenomenon in philosophy—the Samian sage in the tab of the cynic."
Career
As a young man, in 1763, Carr served in the Volunteer Rangers under Captain Phillips and received a land bounty for his service.
Carr practice law in Louisa,
Goochland, Albemarle, Chesterfield, and Augusta Counties of Virginia.
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first an ...
considered Carr his greatest competitor as a lawyer.
In 1771, Louisa County voters elected Carr to the Virginia
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 re-elected him in 1772.
Relations between the colonists and the King of England were contentious by 1773 and a special session of the House of Burgesses was held by
John Murray, Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia.
On March 12, 1773, Carr proposed the creation of an inter-colony
Committee of correspondence
The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...
to help coordinate communication between Virginia and other colonies.
He made a "forceful and eloquent speech" before the other members and the plan was adopted.
The next day, a standing committee, with Carr as one of the members, began corresponding with other colonies. This became a factor in the creation of the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
in 1774.
Death
He died of a fever soon afterward, on May 16, 1773,
a few weeks after the birth of his sixth child,
Dabney Carr
Dabney Carr (April 27, 1773 – January 8, 1837) was a Virginia lawyer, writer and a justice of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Early and family life
Martha Peyton Jefferson gave birth to this Dabney Carr at Spring Forest, a Goochland ...
, and Thomas Jefferson finished his legislative term. Pursuant to a boyhood promise, Jefferson buried Carr on the grounds of
Monticello
Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
, the first person to be buried there,
and ultimately next to Jefferson.
His grave marker notes that Jefferson "of all men, loved him most."
At the time of his death, Dabney and Martha's children ranged in age from three weeks (Dabney) to six years (Jane).
Jefferson helped Carr's widow to raise their children, including overseeing their education. Martha, who became known as "Aunt Carr," and her children were often at Monticello.
She was an active presence there, particularly after the death of Jefferson's wife,
Martha
Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...
. She was described as "a gifted woman, and every way worthy of her husband; and their married life was one of peculiar felicity."
After what Thomas Jefferson described as "wasting complaint which has for two or three years been gaining upon her," Martha Jefferson Carr died in September 1811 and was buried at the Monticello family graveyard next to her husband
and the obelisk for Jefferson.
Notes
References
Further reading
* — arrangements following Carr's death
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Dabney
1743 births
1773 deaths
College of William & Mary alumni
House of Burgesses members
Burials at Monticello
People from Louisa County, Virginia
Jefferson family
Virginia colonial people