Henry Stuart Carter or H. Stuart Carter (September 5, 1910 –September 17, 1985) was a Virginia lawyer, who served part-time for a dozen years representing

Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State S ...

and Washington County in the Virginia House of Delegates. A member of the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

, Carter participated in its

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

to racial integration.

Early and family life

Carter was born in 1910 on a farm in Big Stone Gap to Charles Samuel Carter and his wife Ida Spacht (originally from Pennsylvania). He was raised in Richmond, Wise County, Virginia with his older brother Charles and younger brother Dale. He was educated at Emory and Henry College, and then at the University of Virginia School of Law, receiving an LL.B. degree in 1935. He never married. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in Roanoke in 1941 and served in World War II.

Career

Upon graduating law school and being admitted to the bar, Carter practiced in Washington County. He also was active in his Methodist church, the American Legion, and

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

, as well as 40 and 8 and Elks social organizations.legislative bio Carter was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1948, representing Washington County and Bristol together with J. Walter Gray, and replacing George M. Warren. He was re-elected numerous times. Keys S. Bordwine replaced Gray as the county's other representative in 1950, and was in turn replaced by Fred C. Buck in the 1955 election. During the

crisis in Virginia, Carter served in the Virginia House of Delegates and supported continued racial segregation, as did other members of the

. However, his cousin of similar name, Virginia State Senator

Stuart B. Carter Stuart Barns Carter (April 25. 1906 – June 12, 1983) was a Virginia lawyer, farmer and businessmen who also served as the Democratic legislator representing Botetourt and Craig Counties: first as a delegate in the Virginia General Assembly ...

of Fincastle, Virginia led the moderate faction that respected the Supreme Court's ''Brown'' decisions, and opposed closing of public schools which integrated because of it. Bristol's Commonwealth Attorney for a dozen years,

Bradley Roberts Bradley Roberts is a rugby union player who plays as a hooker for United Rugby Championship side Dragons RFC. He was called up to play international rugby for Wales in 2021. Roberts was born in Durban, South Africa where he attended Durban Prep ...

replaced Carter as Bristol's delegate beginning in January 1960, and served together with Buck until both were replaced after the 1963 elections.

Death

Carter died in Bristol, Virginia on September 17, 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, H. Stuart 1910 births 1985 deaths University of Virginia School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Wise County, Virginia Virginia lawyers 20th-century American legislators People from Washington County, Virginia People from Bristol, Virginia 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Virginia politicians