 | A history of Caroline county, Virginia |  |
THE CARTER FAMILY
According to the Carter MSS of 1858, by Colonel Norborne
Sutton, which are liberally quoted in the book—The Descendants
of Capt. Thomas Carter—by Dr. Joseph Lyon Miller, of Thomas,
W. Va., the first Carter to settle in Caroline was John Carter,
son of Thomas, of Lancaster. He was married on November 21,
1798, to Frances Ball, eldest daughter of Col. Joseph Ball, and
a sister of Mary, the mother of Washington. Upon his marriage
to Miss Ball he settled in territory which became Caroline county
in 1727, and here his youthful bride died on September 3d of the
following year. He married 2d a Miss Payne, by whom he had
several daughters. Upon her death he married 3d on January
4, 1714, to Miss Margaret Todd, daughter of Wm. Todd, of
"Toddsbury" Gloucester county. By this third marriage he
had issue: John Carter II, James, Robert and William.
John Carter II, of "Nomini Hall" was born in 1715 in that
part of King and Queen which in 1727 became Caroline, and was
a Captain in the Revolutionary War. He married 1st Elizabeth
Armistead, b. 1716, daughter of Francis and Sarah Armistead, of
Richmond county, and had issue: William, John III, Robert,
Mrs. Hillman, Mrs. Nancy Bayliss, Mrs. Marshall and Mrs.
Sarah Sutton, who was the grandmother of Col. Norborne Sutton.
John Carter II, m. the second time to Hannah Chew, daughter
of John Chew, Justice of the Peace in Spotsylvania county, and
Margaret Beverly, of "Newlands" Spotsylvania. By this second
marriage he had issue: Mary, Lucy, Margaret, Judith, Elizabeth
and Robert. Seven of his daughters and two of his sons left
descendants in Caroline, King and Queen and King William
counties.
Sarah Carter, daughter of John Carter, II, by his first marriage,
m. William Sutton, of Caroline and had issue: Bettie Sutton,
Sarah Sutton and John Carter Sutton.
Bettie Sutton, daughter of William Sutton and Sarah Carter,
m. a Mr. Chapman and had issue three sons and two daughters:
James, Reuben, Robert, Martha and Lucy. Her son Reuben was
the father of the eleventh Governor of Alabama, Reuben Chapman,
of whom see Chapman Family. Sarah Sutton, daughter of
William Sutton and Sarah Carter, m. Robert Lewis, of Spotsylvania.
He was the son of Dr. John Lewis and the brother of
Doctors Zachariah and John Lewis. John Carter Sutton, of
"Pine Forest" on the Mattaponi, son of William Sutton and
Sarah Carter, m. 1st, his cousin, Maria Chew Sutton, daughter
of Joseph Sutton and Judith Carter, and by this marriage had
one son, John Oliver Sutton.
John Carter Sutton m. 2d, Elizabeth Page Pendleton, only
child of Edmund Pendleton III, great nephew of the famous
jurist Edmund Pendleton. This Edmund Pendleton, great
nephew of the jurist, m. Jane Burwell Page, daughter of John
Byrd Page and lived at "Edmundton" in Caroline, which had
been given to him by his great uncle, Judge Edmund Pendleton.
His father, a nephew of the great jurist, was also named Edmund
and lived at "White Plains" in Caroline, now owned by Rev.
Andrew Broaddus III. This Edmund Pendleton II, of "White
Plains" was the son of the Hon. John Pendleton, of whom Rev.
Philip Slaughter wrote in his "St. Mark's Parish" as follows:
"John, 4th son of Henry Pendleton and Mary Taylor, was
and honor in the Colony and in the Senate. He was appointed
by a Convention of Delegates of the Counties and Corp. of Virginia
at Richmond on Monday, July 17, 1775, to sign a large issue of
Treasury notes. The issue was about 350,000 pounds, and the
Ordinance read: `Of the notes to be issued 50,000 shall be of the
denomination of one shilling and shall be signed by John Pendleton,
Jr., Gentleman, which notes shall be on the best paper.'
Later he was appointed by the Governor of Virginia a Judge of
the County Court. He was a grandson of Philip Pendleton who
was born in England in 1650 and came to Virginia in 1676."
John Carter Sutton and Elizabeth Page Pendleton had issue:
(1) Edmund Pendleton Sutton, (2) William Carter Sutton, (3)
Hugh Carter Sutton, (4) Norborne E. Sutton, (of whom see
biography elsewhere in this volume) (5) John Carter Sutton,
(6) Robert W. Sutton, (7) Patrick H. Sutton, (8) Sarah Jane
Sutton, (9) Lucy Carter Sutton, (10) Anne Lewis Sutton and
(11) Betty Burwell Sutton.
William Carter, who was named for his grandfather William
Todd, settled on the family estate in Caroline. His name appears
in the old Order Books of Caroline in connection with various
suits between 1745 and 1770. Norborne Sutton's MSS of the
Carters of Spotsylvania states that William Carter left descendants
in Caroline.
George Carter, of Christ Church Parish, Lancaster, was born in
1725, married a Miss Beale, of Westmoreland and settled in Caroline
in 1750. His children were: Charles, Edward, John, Richard,
Thompson, Spencer, George, Presley, Betsy, Peggy, Sally. He
received grants of land in Halifax county in 1766 and 1768, and
not long thereafter removed to that county with all his family
save John who married in Caroline and remained in the county,
where he kept a tavern. The Caroline Order Books covering the
period 1795-1798 mentions his "Ordinary Bond." His children,
according to the Caroline marriage register, married as follows:
Thompson Carter, m. Polly Farmer, December 22, 1814; Spencer
Carter, m. Sarah Fletcher, March 24, 1815; Charles Carter, m.
Matilda Hans, December 18, 1818; George Carter, m. Anne
Shackelford, December 18, 1818.
Owen and Griffin Carter (probably brothers) of the Essex
family, settled in Caroline about 1745 and established homes and
became the heads of families.
John Carter, of "Nomini Hall" inherited "North Wales"
an estate of nearly ten thousand acres lying along Pamunkey
and North Anna Rivers, on the southern border of Caroline.
This land had been granted to one of his ancestors some time
before by the British Crown, and the estate remained in possession
of the Carter family for nearly two centuries, passing into other
hands in 1896. The original manor house, a very imposing
structure of early colonial type, was burned many years ago,
but a number of the houses of the "quarters" and the overseers
house, are still standing.
The Carters of "North Wales" were connected with the Todd,
Chew, Bell, Sutton, Chapman, Lewis, Pendleton, Taylor and Lee
families. It is said General Lee visited "North Wales" shortly
before his death. The plantation is now owned by Messrs.
Frederick and Adolph Usinger, of Milwaukee.
It appears that the present Carter families of Caroline are
descended from William Carter, son of John Carter and Margaret
Todd. Philip Carter, grandson of William Carter, m. a Miss
Hackney in 1807 and had issue four sons and one daughter.
His son Peter Carter married Sarah Hill and settled at "Mt.
Gideon" near "North Wales," and had issue: Edward, Hill, James
and Mattie.
John Carter, Armistead Carter, Captain John Carter, of
Caroline, served in the War of the Revolution. And in the War
of 1812 the 30th Regiment, from Caroline, had seven Carters
on its roll, namely: James Carter, James B. Carter, Vicman
Carter, Joseph Carter, Spencer M. Carter, Philip Carter and
Charles Carter. The Voters List for 1923 shows that Caroline
had forty-one white voters bearing the name Carter.
The Carter arms were granted many hundred years ago. It
is said that the name, as well as the arms, was derived from their
occupation as carters, indicated by the four wheels on the
escutcheon. Some authorities say that the original Carter was,
if we may use such an espression, Master of Transportation for
one of the Kings of England. In ancient days when rivalry for
the crown made violent deeds of frequent occurrence, the King,
owing to the vicissitudes of war, had to move frequently and
sometimes very quickly. The carter was an important man in
his retinue, as the only means of transportation in those days was
by cart or wagon.
| A history of Caroline county, Virginia | |