| SPOUSE | CHILDREN | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sarah Smith m. Oct 29, 1715 Northhampton Co. VA b. 1698? North Farnham Parish, Richmond Co. VA d. 1772 Cumberland Co. VA |
Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" b. Jul 12, 1716 Gloucester (Richmond Co.) VA d. 1758/68? Spotsylvania Co. VA |
John Anthony b. 1718? Gloucester (Richmond Co.) VA d. after May 1778 ?Spotsylvania Co. VA |
daughter b. by 1719 Gloucester (Richmond Co.) VA d. |
|
North Farnham Parish was formed about 1683. It served Old Rappahannock County
to 1692 when that county was divided into Essex County and Richmond County
[WikiTree, website]. |
|||
|
Spotsylvania Co. VA
(see present day map
for location) was formed in 1721 from parts of Essex, King and Queen, and King William Co. VA. |
|||
|
Caroline County Virginia was formed
in 1728 from parts of Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties
(see present day map
for location). Gloucester Co. Virginia was formed in 1651 (see present day map for location). |
|||
|
Widow Sarah married Joseph Russell (1690-1748) in 1722 after Francis died. She
had at least three more children including Daniel Russell [familysearch.org,
website]. |
|||
|
In 1710, a John Holloway "leased [from the Crown] for a term of 500 years a
tract of 2,660 acres in the section which became Drysdale Parish across the
Rappahannock-Mattapony watershed from the headwaters of Peumandsend" [Creek].
Then Holloway sold the lease to Robert "King" Carter
"of Lancaster for seven pounds sterling and six Negroes". Carter never lived on
the property but "he and his heirs maintained a plantation there for many years
with an overseer in charge" [Campbell, p. 318]. |
|||
|
Daughter Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Armistead married
John Carter about 1737 likely in Caroline Co. VA. |
|||
|
“Almost everybody by the name of Carter aspires to be descended from that
lordly old John of Corotoman, whose son Robert is the only Virginian who
rejoiced in the name of ‘King.’ He made the high-water mark of Virginia Carters.
So prominent were these Corotoman Carters that one is apt to conclude that
really no other Carters are worth a moment’s notice.” [Miller, The
Descendants of Capt. Thomas Carter ...]. |
|||
|
Historical Marker
at North Farnham Church built in 1737 [Geni, "Francis Armistead", website]. |
|||
|
Map of Caroline Co.
drawn in 1751 shows what were previously St. Mary, Drysdale and St. Margaret
parishes and the location of Spotsylvania Co. (established in 1721) on its western
border [Louisa Co. VA Genealogy, website].
The only church in St. Mary by 1760 was the Mount Church on the Rappahannock
north of Port Royal [Campbell, p. 430]. |
|||
|
The wife of William Holloway (1630-1792?)
had a wife possibly named Mary Carter who may have been a close descendant of
son Robert "King" Carter, who owned land in
Caroline Co. VA, and was before the county was created, a council president
and acting Governor of Virginia in 1726 and 1727 when Gov. Hugh Drysdale went
to England. Robert died in 1732, when his heirs were listed as the absentee
owners (planters) in Caroline Co. with John Adams as the "overseer".
Robert's heirs continued to own land there in 1743 with Henry Bell overseeing
[Campbell, pp. 380-381]. |
|||
|
As late as 1757, the heirs of
Robert "King" Carter owned land in Caroline Co.
but still had "never resided on their Caroline plantation". That year the
sole schoolhouse in St. Mary's Parish was mentioned as being on the Carter
land "on Peumendsend [creek] between Port Royal and the Bowling Green" and
was apparently "a free school for the children of the overseer and other
freeholders nearby" [Campbell, pp. 318, 442]. Son George probably would have
just started his schooling by this date. |
|||
|
From old letters retained by descendants, Captain Carter's home was near the
Spotsylvania-Caroline line about sixteen miles west of Bowling Green. It is said
to have been a large brick house, and that he lived there in considerable style
[genealogy.com, forum post]. |
|||
|
Son-in-law John Carter's will was written May 9, 1778, and executors were bonded on
Dec 18, 1783.
Executors were sons William and John. [wikitree, ref. Spotsylvania Co.
Will Book, website]. |
|||
|
Sources: Burke, Henry Robert, Robert Carter III (1728-1804), Emancipator of the Burke Family", henryburke1010.tripod.com, website. Campbell, T.E., Colonial Caroline, A History of Caroline County, Virginia, The Dietz Press, Richmond VA, 3rd ed., 1989, pp. 53-54, 305, 318, 369-71, 380-1, 430, 442, 473. Caroline Co. Deed Book, Part II, p.135. Collins, R. E., drawing, "Robert Carter I", wikitree.com, website. Holloway, Dr. Robert, Rochester NY, emails Jan 2026, re: shared DNA ancestor. Louisa Co. VA Genealogy, "Caroline Co. Creeks and Rivers", map drawn 1751 by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson, website. Miller, Joseph Lyon, eds., The Descendants of Capt. Thomas Carter of “Barford,” Lancaster County, Virginia, 1652-1912, with genealogical notes of many of the allied families, self pub. with W. Thomas, Va., 1912. Moss, Bobby Gilmer, The Patriots at the Cowpens, Greenville SC, A Press, p.117. Olson, Marie K., compiler, "William Holloway", Charleston SC, Apr 9, 1988; ref to Prince George Co., Virginia Deeds 1713-28, page 292. Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR), "Corotoman", # 051-0034, upd. Jun 30, 2025. "Virginia Troops in French and Indian Wars", Virginia Hist. Mag., v.1, 1894, p. 389. Will of John Carter, Spotsylvania Co. VA, May 9, 1778, Will Book E, p. 40. William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, "North Farnham Parish Register", v. 13, p. 139. |
|||