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Elizabeth Travers m. by 1675? ?Lancaster Co. VA b. 1650/8? Lancaster Co. VA d. before Nov 12, 1693 Middlesex Co. VA |
Elizabeth b. 1675? ?Lancaster Co. VA d. before Feb 1, 1693 Richmond Co. VA |
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John's father came to Virginia about 1635 aboard the ship Safety n giving his
age as 22. A John Carter, aged 23, sailed to VA in 1637 but the ship was captured
by the Spanish. He is said to have emigrated to VA by 1649 after the execution
of Charles I, settling in Upper Norfolk Co. VA [Encyclopedia Vriginia, article,
updated Dec 22, 2021, website]. |
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John Sr. married Jane Glyn, daughter of Morgan Glyn, in VA about 1749. |
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In the 1670's, brother Robert "King" Carter lived in
England, returning to his birthplace, Corotoman Plantation, to live with his
half-brother, John Carter Jr. who was married to Elizabeth Travers Carter.
When John Jr. died in 1690, Robert inherited his land and some land from a
younger half-brother. |
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“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 ...]. |
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In 1691, daughter Elizabeth married John Lloyd in Lancaster Co. VA but she died
a couple years later. |
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A drawing of the
The Corotoman
Plantation House [Collins, R.E.]. Son Robert started building it
in 1720 and lived there until it burned in 1729. The site is being
excavated in 1978 by a state government agency [DVR]. |
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The Plaque
on the tombstone of John Carter and all of his wives "successively died before
him" as well as daughter Sarah, son George, and stepdaughter nee Cleve
[From: Miller, The Descendants of Capt. Thomas Carter ..., website]. |
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The wife of William Holloway (1730-1792?)
had a wife possibly named Mary Carter who may have been a close descendant of
half-brother 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]. |
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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]. |
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On Jan 16, 1732 consent was given by John Carter (III) for his brother Robert's
daughter Mary to marry George Braxton Jr. They had a son Carter
(Sep 10, 1736-1797) who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Mary Braxton had two other children but died from childbirth [geni.com, website]. |
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As late as 1757, the heirs of half-brother
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. |
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Caroline County Virginia was formed
in 1728 from parts of Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties
(see present day map
for location). Culpeper County Virginia was formed in 1749 from Orange Co. as one of the larger counties in VA, lying between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and Rappahannock River to the south and east (see present day map for location). |
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After the French and Indian War (1754-1763), dozens of troops from Caroline Co.
appeared in the Order Books claiming "land bounties for services rendered"
including a John Carter, and a Nathaniel Holloway, possibly
Lt. William Nathaniel Holloway, or
possibly Nathaniel Holloway, a brother of
William Holloway
who would have been in his 20s during most of the war [Campbell, p. 372]. |
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St Mary's Parish bordered the Rappahannock River to its north and Drysdale
Parish to its south. See
Map of Caroline Co.
drawn in 1751 shows what were previously St. Mary, Drysdale and St. Margaret
parishes [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]. |
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Father John Sr. was buried at Christ Church which he helped build in Lancaster Co. VA.
Historic Marker. |
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Father John's will was written Sep 15, 1669, and probated Feb 1, 1690. It
contained an inventory of slaves dated Jul 29, 1670 listing 43 slaves, many by
name and age [wikitree, "Slaves of John Carter I"]. The will of John Jr., proved
Jun 13, 1690, listed 110 slaves all at the "Corotoman Estate" [wikitree, "Slaves of
John Carter II", website]. |
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After John Jr. died, Elizabeth married Christopher Wormeley (1655?-1701)
by Jan 14, 1791, the date he married Elizabeth, "the late Widdow and Relicte of Col. John
Carter, late of this County (deced)" and relinquished his "Right of Executorship"
[1687-1691 Lancaster Co. Order Book 3: pg 149-150]. His mother was Agatha
Eltonhead, probably related somehow to the second wife of John Sr. Christopher
had at least three children from a previous marriage. |
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John's widow, Elizabeth Wormeley, recorded her will Mar 5, 1693, and it was
proved in Middlesex Co. VA Nov 12, 1693 [Hopkins, Middlesex Wills & Inv.
1673-1812, p.54]. |
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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, 372, 380-1, 430, 442, 473. Caroline Co. Deed Book, Part II, p.135. Collins, R. E., drawing, "Robert Carter I", wikitree.com, website. Find-a-grave, memorial of Edward M. Holloway [grandson], #57472710, identifying immigrant ancestors, unknown contributors. 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. |
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