John Carter
(1695 or 1696-1742)
BIRTH
1695 or 1696
PLACE
Probably Corotoman, Lancaster County, Colony of Virginia
DEATH
July 31, 1742
PLACE
Probably Shirley plantation or Williamsburg, Colony of Virginia
FAMILY
SISTER
Mary Carter Braxton
(1712-1736)
CHILDREN
Robert King Carter I
(1664-1732)
HOMES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
RELIGION NOT DOCUMENTED
DENOMINATION NOT DOCUMENTED
MEMBERSHIPS
AWARDS
John Carter (1695 or 1696–1742), eldest son of Robert “King” Carter, studied law in England before becoming Virginia’s colonial secretary in 1722 and a councillor in 1724. He kept public records, appointed county clerks, and profited from their fees. His marriage to Elizabeth Hill brought Shirley plantation, where he built the surviving mansion. He also inherited Corotoman, ran extensive farming and mercantile interests, and traded in enslaved people.
EARLY LIFE
The exact date and place of John Carter, of Corotoman’s birth have not been established in the source used for this entry. The surviving biographical summary provides only limited evidence about childhood, schooling, and the daily circumstances of the household, so those details are not reconstructed here without documentation. What can be stated securely is that this person belonged to the interconnected family world from which HistoryGPS traces participants, relatives, and later descendants of the Revolutionary generation.
No distinct public profession or office for John Carter, of Corotoman is established by the source summary used for this entry. The surviving record is primarily genealogical and documents family identity rather than an independent public career. Additional claims about employment, public service, or accomplishments have been omitted where the consulted source did not support them.
CAREER
DEATH
However, in England, the Northern Neck Proprietary's owner, Lord Thomas Fairfax had other ideas, and in 1733 appointed his nephew William Fairfax (then collector of customs of the Massachusetts colony) as his agent, and in 1735 Lord Fairfax arrived in Virginia, and John Carter paid his quitrents. In his early forties, by 1741, Carter's health began to decline. He last attended the Governor's Council on November 3, 1741. During late 1741, Carter reportedly suffered from "Dropsy in the Belly". Either that illness worsened or another malady struck by July 1, 1742, when John Carter executed his (now-lost) last testament. Carter died on July 31, 1742, although Governor William Gooch did not specify the precise location of his death when informing the Board of Trade of the now-vacant position. His widow, the former Elizabeth Hill Carter, remarried to burgess Bowler Cocke. However, Cocke did not become the guardian of Carter's underage sons, Charles and Edward who had been at William Yates' school in Gloucester County. Instead, they became wards of their uncle Landon Carter (with their orphaned cousin Robert Carter Nicholas) and would be enrolled at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg by 1755.
POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
100964