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| Home > History > Robert Carter | |
| Robert "King" Carter of Corotoman (1663-1732) | |
| Born: 1663 Corotoman Plantation, Rappahannock River |  Robert "King" Carter |
| Died: August 4, 1732 Corotoman plantation | |
| Buried:
Christ Church Yard | |
| Marriages: | |
|
 John Carter of Shirley Plantation. Courtesy Shirley Plantation. |
Children: |
By his first wife, Judith Armistead Carter (1665-1699)
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| By his second wife, Betty Landon (Widow Willis) Carter (1683/84-1719) | |||||||||||||||
1. Anne--1702-1743. Married 1722 Benjamin Harrison IV (1695-1745) of Berkeley, Charles City County
| 2. Robert--1704-1732. Married 1725. Priscilla Churchill (1705-1757) of Bushy Park, Middlesex County | 3. Sarah--ca. 1704-05. Died before her mother and buried near her at Christ Church | 4. Betty--ca. 1705-06. Died before her mother and buried near her at Christ Church | 5. Charles--1707-1764. Married 1) 1728 Mary Walker (?-1742) 2) 1742 Anne Byrd (1725-1757) of
Westover, Charles City County 3) 1762 Lucy Taliaferro | 6. Ludlow--ca. 1709. Died before his mother and buried near her at Christ Church |
 Landon Carter of Sabine Hall. Courtesy Sabine Hall. 7. Landon--1710-1778. Married 1) 1732 Elizabeth Wormeley (1713- 1740) of Rosegill, Middlesex County 2) 1742 Maria Byrd (1727-1744) of Westover, Charles City County 3) 1746 Elizabeth Beale | 8. Mary--1712-1736. Married 1732 George Braxton II (ca. 1705-1749) of Newington, King & Queen County | 9. Lucy--1715-1763. 1) 1730 Henry Fitzhugh (1706-07-1742) of Eagle's Nest, King George County 2) 1748 Nathaniel Harrison II (1713-1791) of Brandon, Prince George County | 10. George--1718-1742. Died unmarried in England. Buried in the churchyard at Middle Temple | | ||||||
| History: | |
| 1663–1672/3 | Spends early years at Corotoman |
| 1669 | Father John dies. Leaves Robert 1,000 acres on eastern branch of Corotoman River |
| 1672/3-1678/9 | Sent to London for schooling. Lives with merchant Arthur Bailey, where he gains invaluable insights into the tobacco trade between the Virginia colony and England. At the same time witnesses firsthand the extensive rebuilding projects Christopher Wren led in the city following the devastating fire of 1666. |
| 1684/5 | Witnesses documents in Lancaster Courthouse, now 21 years old and living in Virginia |
| 1688 | Marries Judith Armistead of Hesse, Gloucester County (now Mathews County) |  Judith Armistead Carter, Robert Carter's first wife, whom he married in 1688. She and Robert had five children before her death in 1699 at age 34. Courtesy Shirley Plantation. |
| 1690 | By terms of his father John’s will, inherits the Corotoman estate (6,160 acres and housing) on the death of his older half-brother, John II. Is building brick house later called “the old house,” into which he will move back after the fire in 1729 destroys his mansion. | |
| 1690 – 1691 | Chosen Church Warden of Christ Church—an office he held until his death; appointed Justice of the Peace for Lancaster County; represented Lancaster County in the House of Burgesses in 1691-92 and 1695–1699; elected Speaker in 1696–1697 and 1699. |
 Betty Landon Carter, Robert Carter's second wife, whom he married in 1701, two years after Judith Armistead Carter died. Together, Betty and Robert Carter had ten children. Courtesy Sabine Hall. |
1699 | Appointed Treasurer of Virginia; appointed Colonel and Commander-in-Chief of militia in Lancaster and Northumberland Counties; appointed Naval Officer of Rappahannock River; wife Judith dies at age 34 |
| 1700 | Appointed Councillor and served for 32 years until his death | |
| 1701 | Marries Betty Landon (widow of Richard Willis) | |
| 1702 | Becomes agent for Lord Fairfax’s Northern Neck Proprietary which he served, with an interval of nine years (1712 – 1721), until his death | |
| 1715-1720 | Begins the building of his mansion house, which was finished in 1725 | |
| 1716 | On Board of Visitors at the College of William & Mary until his death |
| 1719 | Wife Betty Landon dies at age 36 |  Archaeologists excavated the site of Robert Carter's Corotoman mansion in the late 1970s. Click on the photograph for more information on the Corotoman site. |
| 1726 | Becomes President of Council and Acting Governor for a year and a half until the new governor, William Gooch, arrives in September 1727. First writes will. Leaves £200 for new brick church | |
| 1729 | Mansion house burns | |
| 1730 | Proposes to vestry to build a new brick church at his own expense; vestry accepts this proposal |
| 1732 | Robert Carter dies |
| 1735 | Robert Carter’s sons John, Charles, and Landon oversee completion of Christ Church |
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