Robert King Carter's Correspondence and Diary

   A Collection Transcribed
        and Digitized
   by Edmund Berkeley, Jr.

List of Letters | About This Collection

Electronic Text Center , University of Virginia Library

Summary



Will and Codicils, September 15, 1669-January 3, 1670, of John Carter I, Probated February 1, 1670, and Recorded January 9, 1723

     John Carter I (1613-1669) states how his estate should be divided among his living children, John Carter II (ca. 1648-1690) and Elizabeth (Carter) Utie (1651-1699) by his first wife, Jane Glynn,; Robert (1669-1732) by his fourth wife, Sarah Ludlow (d. 1668); and makes provisions for his fifth wife, Elizabeth Sherley and their child expected in 1669 whom John wishes to be named Charles. There are specific bequests of money, jewelry, books, clothing, horses, and household articles for his children and friends, and instructions for Robert's education.


Will and Codicils, September 15, 1669-January 3, 1670, of John Carter I, Probated February 1, 1670, and Recorded January 9, 1723

-1 -

[Lancaster County, Virginia]
9th day of January 1722

          I John Carter being sick in body but of good and perfect memory

           do make this my last will as followeth:

Imprimis:  I bequeathe my soul unto Almighty God and my body to the earth:
Item  I bequeathe my land and Housing whereon I now dwell unto my son John and
his heirs male issue of his body :

Item   I bequeathe unto my son Robert and his heirs male issue of his body a Thousand
Acres of land out of the patent that was deserted by Colonel Mathews and taken up by me
(vizt) the neck of land that William Thatcher , and William Hutchings had taken
bounded upon a branch of Corrotoman and the neck of land formerly taken up by
George Taylor and so much land lying behind these neck's as will make up the said
neck's a Thousand Acres to him & his heirs male (vizt) my son Robert and his
heirs male issue of his body.

Item:  my will is that if my son John die without issue male of his body that then
the land and housing given him go to my son Robert and his issue male.
But in case my son Robert die without issue male, or his issue male die without
issue male, my will is that in case my son John have issue female that then my said
land & housing given him go to his issue female, But in case my son John have
no issue female, my will is in case of no issue males nor issue female of my
son John that then my land and [ . . . ] housing given to my son John go to my son
Robert's female begotten of his body
But in case [neither] my son John nor my son Robert have no issue male but issue
female, my will is that my son Robert's land go also to his issue female.
But in case neither of my sons' have issue of their body
Then my will is that my lands go to my daughter Elizabeth Utie and her heirs: &

Item  My will is that the agreement between me and William Thatcher stand good
provided he perform his part thereof: The rough draxft is among my writings,
and my son John is hereby empowered to confirm the agreement and to convey the
said fifty Acres in that agreement out of the first neck given to my son Robert,
who is to have besides this fifty given to Thatcher his said Thousand Acres:

Item  My will is that my personal estate (vizt.) goods and chattels be divided into three
equal parts, one third whereof I give to my son John, provided he relinquish all
former deeds of gift and claim no part of my estate formerly given him but only
this third part. another third thereof I give to my son Robert. and the other
third thereof to be disposed as followeth (vizt.) first my now wife Elizabeth is to
be paid out of it five hundred pounds which is due to her by a Contract made between me
and herself, before marriage,which is to be in full satisfaction thereof, and
then the remaining part of this third I give to her young son after she is paid her
five hundred pounds, so that the mother and her son is to have this last third between them

Item  My will is in case my said wife will not stand to this my will and be contented
with the five hundred pounds due by contract, and now mentioned in my will in
full payment thereof and not intended as a llegacy but as payment of a debt, then
my will is that the disposal of this left third be void and that after she is paid what
is due to her by contract before marriage there being nothing more due to her
by marriage with me,

-2 -


either in Conscience law or Justice, that then my will is that the remainder of this
last third belong to my said sons John and Robert, and her son only to have
five pounds sterling, and she to have nothing out of my estate besides what is due
to her by contract in satisfaction whereof this five hundred pounds is intended in
my will as part of the said last third: yet besides this she is to have the twenty five
Acres of land mentioned in the said contract being her jointure of land of in lieu of
dower in my land.
But if in case my wife does stand to her contract and be therewith content in full of
all dues by marriage with me, then my will is that she have also the negro Boy
called Mathew and also enjoy her necklace of pearl, and diamond ring given her
by me, and also the bed rug blankets pillows and the red curtains & valance
with a pair of sheets which is the bed and furniture which I commonly lay
upon in my chamber, and also the dozen of diaper napkins with a blue streak
at both ends, and too or three coarse towels she brought with her and also my
black lutestring and coloured sarcenet for a gown and petticoat, and also her
spoons and also my little flat trunk which her clothes are in

Item  My will is that my daughter Elizabeth Utie have ten pounds sterling she
having already had a good considerable portion.

Item  My will is that my son Robert have his mother's hoop ring & crystal
necklace.

Item  My will is that my son John have his mother's hoop ring and my small
rings and the Elizabeth piece of gold.

Item  my will is that my seal ring, rapier, watch, and my wearing apparel
be my son John's.

Item  my will is that my son John have all my books only my son Robert
to have the Sixth part of them in goodness and value, and my wife to have David's
tears and Byfield's treatise, , and the whole duty of man, and her own books.

Item  my will is that my son Robert in his minoritiy be well educated for
the use of his estate, and the principal not to be diminished.

Item  my will is that my son Robert during his minority have a man or youth
servant bought for him that has been brought up in the Latin School, and that
he constantly tend upon him not only to teach him his books either in English or Latin
according to his capacity (for my will is that he shall learn both Latin & English
and to write) but also to preserve him from harm and from doing evil and as
soon as one is free or dead my will is that he have another bought.

Item  my will is that my Executor allow my wife yearly for her son's education
ten pounds per annum during his minority if he live, in consideration of the
use of his portion but the first year not to be allowed because I am to pay
the nurse.

Item  my will is that in case my wife put her son out to apprentice, then so much of
his portion be paid as is thought necessary to bind him out to a good trade, and after he
is put to apprentice he is to be allowed but five pounds annually, for his maintenance
until he come [s] to age, and so the other five pounds per annum is to be abated out
of his maintenance.
-3 -


Item  my will is, that my son John allow to my wife's son (whose name is
intended Charles) necessary clothes & linen for this year.

Item  my will is that all former deeds of Gifts made to my son John before my
last marriage with my now wife Elizabeth be void, the portion which I now
give in this will being in full satisfaction thereof and more than the former.

Item  my will is if contrary to my expectation and his promise any thing
should be recovered by the said former deed or deeds of Gift my will is that all
legacies now given to my son John in this will be void, the land Excepted.

Item  my will is that all the rest of my estate be duly inventoried by my
son John and duly and Justly appraised without wrong to any of my chil=
dren, and that all goods of England not used be valued twenty per cent
more than they cost in England adding first the petty charges.

Item  I do hereby declare that all former dealing between me and mer=
chants as to their accounts be fully [illegible] ballanced: my late dealings
excepted which fresh accounts will show what is due to me or them.

Item  my will is that if I die in crop time that then my estate be not divided
nor appraised, until the crop be finished and likewise my will is that the crop
be sent for England and the produce to be added to my estate.

Item  my will is that my estate be appraised in money and my crop Tobacco and
other Tobacco that is in my possession at my death after my Tobacco: debts be
paid be sent for England and the produce added to my estate.

Item  my will is that my son John neither use clerk nor sheriff at the
appraisement and inventorying of my estate.

Item  my will is that all my debts and legacies except what is due to my my wife
by her contract be first deducted and then what remains is to be equally divided
into three equal parts, so that what is due to my said wife by contract is to
[be] reckoned in one third part and her son to have as much as will countervail
and make up his mother's portion five hundred pounds a third of my estate as
was mentioned before.

Item  my will is that my son Robert be paid his portion when he comes to
age in Negroes English servants cattle and goods proportional for the
seating of a plantation at the same price as they were valued in my Inventory
consideration being had to the goodness & time to serve, and age of the cattle
or if he and the executor do agree to pay part or all of his estate in money by
bills of Exchange then their agreement to stand.

Item  my will is that all former Codicils and wills made before be void
and this to be my last will and Testament.

Item  my will is that my sons receive not from my Executor their portions
which will be due to them by this will, until they come to age.

Item  my will is that the bed and damask furniture be appraised at twenty five pound [s] Sterling.

Item  my will is that Mr. Thomas Haynes, Mr. Thomas Madestard Mr.
Robert Griggs : and Mr. David Miles be the appraisers of this my estate.

Item  my will is that my son John be the Executor of this my last will & testament and in witness that this is my last will and
     Testament.
-4 -


Item my is that my sonne

And In witness that this is my last will and Testament I have I have
hereunto set my hand this 15th of September 1669.

Signed Delivered & Published                                                                            JOHN: CARTER:
In presence of us
                                                                            Proved first hirmoi testimony the second David Miles
  DAVID MILES                                                  Edward Carter Thomas Edmonds John Bunne Junior in
  EDWARD CARTER                                                  . . . [ . . . ] twentieth sixth day January Anno 1670
  THOMAS EDMONDS                                                                                    Test Edward Dale . . . .
                                                                            Recorded first February proximo [sic] sealed per dom Edward Dale
              Sig
      JOHN 0 [his sign] BUNNE                                                

Item  my will is that my cousin John Carter have a hogshead of Tobaco and this
to be added to my will As witness, my hand this 16th of September 1669.
  witness                                                                                            JOHN: CARTER:
EDWARD CARTER
THOMAS EDMONDS
DAVID MILES

Item  my will is that this be added to my last will : ( vizt. ) [illegible] that my wife
have my chest in my chamber in which her clothes are in, As witness my
hand this 26th of September 1669 1669 [sic ]
  witness                                                                                            JOHN: CARTER:
Josiah WILLIS
THOMAS EDWARDS

Item  my will is, that this be added, to my afore said Codicil, and that my will
may not hereby, no way be altered at all, my will so is, That a black
marble stone be bought to be laid upon my grave in the chancel of Christ church
parish : And that the bones of my deceased wife, and my son George, be dug
up and laid by me in the chancel of Christ church parish in Lancaster, in a
coffin.

Item  my will is, that David Miles and John Bunne have each of them ten
shillings apiece allowed the, as a token of my love to buy each of them a
mourning Ring to wear in memory of me, in a sign of their love expressed
towards me, in their attendance upon m in my sickness, As witness my hand
this 31th: day of September 1669                                                                                JOHN: CARTER:
  witness
EDWARD CARTER
THOMAS EDMONDS

-5 -


    A Codicil (or addition to my former will and Testament) made by me
    John Carter Esquire being sound of memory and understanding

First my will is, that this be written down and performed as my Codicil.

Item  my will is, that Thomas Edmonds, and Josiah Willis, have each of
them one shift of the finest broad Dowlace, and each of them a pair of
french falls and each of them a suite of the finest [ker] sey in the house.

Item  my will is, that James Percivall and James Prescott have each of
them two shifts of the finest canvas, and each of them a narrow dowlass
shift & each of them a pair of french falls.

Item  my will is that David Miles have ten shillings more allowed him
besides the ten shillings mentioned in the will. And also my will is that
Mrs. [Martha] Miles' have twenty shillings' allowed her.

Item  my will is that my wife have [illegible] twenty pounds' Sterling instead of the negro
boy and that the Legacy of the negro boy be void and that if she please instead
of this twenty pounds she have English Susanna, and ten pound [s] Sterling.

Item  my will is, that my wife have twenty pounds' pounds Sterling, or after
the rate of twenty pounds' pounds Sterling, for a year or fifteen months' provided
she can make appear sufficient cause for the misliking of her accom=
modations' or entertainment, during the said year or fifteen months, also
provided she take not out of my sonne ['s] [sic] hands above a hundred pounds
sterling during the said fifteen months.

Item  my will is that my wife have three pounds sterling allowed her to
buy cloth serge for [illegible] mourning, and also my will is that my son
John and my son Robert have each of them three pounds sterling
allowed to buy them cloth for mourning.

Item  my will is that my wife have my flat watch with one[ . . . ] motion.

Item  m will is that my son John put aboard a ship for my wife three
fatted muttons, and three fatted shoats and three son of Indian Corn
for her accommadation

Item  my will is, that my son John which is my executor mentioned in
my will and Testament, make up the ten pounds sterling mentioned in my will
towards the maintenance of my son Charles yearly be made twelve pounds
sterling.

Item   My will is that my son John procure my wife's passage and her son's
passage, and her maid's passage in some ship that I take freight in.

Item  my will is, that my daughter Elizabeth Utie, have a hundred pounds
or a hundred & fifty pounds, in case she outlive her husband, and
her husband, leave her poor, the Judgment of which poverty I refer to my
son John, so that if he see occasion for a hundred pounds or a hundred
and fifty pounds he is to allow her either according to his discretion and
according to her poverty. And my will is that the payment of this money shall
be thus, that in case my son John see occasion to allow her but a hundred
pounds then to send to Captain Bailey to send her ten servants, although they
will cost ten or fifteen pounds more, but in case he see [s] fitting to allow her
a hundred and fifty pounds, then to send to Captain Bailey to send fourteen
servants although they will cost something more.

Item  my will is that my daughter Elizabeth Utie have three pound [s] sterling
to buy her cloth serge for mourning.

Item  my will is that after my son Charles is put out to apprentice, he
is to have but eight [illegible] pounds a year allowed him until he comes to age.

Item  my will is that my son Charles have Doctor Usher's Body of Divinity
when he comes to years of discretion.
-6 -


Item  my will is, that my son Robert have Doctor Usher's Body of
Divinity and the whole duty of man, and the Practice of Piety, and Doctor Nicolas' Catechism.

Item  my will is, that all former Codicils be void

Item  my will is, that this, my Codicil do no ways make void my
last will and Testament dated the 15:th of September : 1669

As witness my hand this third day of January 1670

Item  my will is that my son John & my son Robert have the mares
for a Joint Stock between them, my son John to have two parts
and my son Robert one part, and that my son John allow my son
Robert so much money or Tobacco as will make up his third part
half. And my will is that none of the mares be sold until the
stock become [s] twenty brooding mares, And then my will is that
that stock of twenty mares be preserved and then them or [illegible]
their increase may be sold after they are two years old not bef [ore]
As Witnes my hand this third of January 1669:
                                                                                            JOHN: CARTER:
witnes
Thomas Edmonds
Josiah Willis                

  At a court held for Lancaster County on the 9th day of January 1722
On the motion of Colonel Robert Carter the before Written Will & Codicil with their proof Was ordered
to be inserted In the Records of this Court and was accordingly Recorded.
                                                                                              Per Thomas Edwards Clerk Court





NOTES



Source copy consulted: The will was admitted to probate February 1, 1670, as noted in the clerk's statement, but apparently was never copied into the court record book To have it copied into the court records, Robert Carter had it re-admitted to record January 9, 1723. The original is found in Lancaster County [Loose] Wills 1700-1749, and the recorded copy in Lancaster County Wills Etc. No. 10, Part 1, 1709-1727, pp. 416-420, both at the Library of Virginia, Richmond.


This editor was greatly facilitated in work on this will by Christine Jones's 1977 nearprint work, John Carter I of "Corotoman" Lancaster County, Virginia. (Irvington, VA: Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 1977) prepared for the Research Committee of the Foundation. The edition included a transcript of John Carter's will which this editor wass able to scan and use optical character recognition software to produce a text that he could read against the original text, saving the labor of re-transcribing the original text.


The clerk writing out the original will added flourishes at the end of each line that filled the space between the last letter and the right margin of the page. The editor has not tried here to reproduce these flourishes.


The recording clerk in 1723 made some modest changes undoubtedly to speed his work; he frequently substituted "&" for the word "and."


Because the original will has been used as copy text, the signatures are original and are so indicated herein by the use of bold italics.


For ease in reading the transcript, the editor has added a space between the elements of the will that begin "Item."


[1] Samuel Mathews (1629-1660), Jr.,son of Samuel Mathews who had come to Virginia in 1622 with a cosiderable party of family and servants. The son was appointed to the Council in 1655, and was elected by the General Assembly as governor, serving 1658-1660 during the Commonwealth period. The father was a considerable land speculator and there are several patents under his name in Nell M. Nugent. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstract of Virginia Land Patents and Grants. [Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1977]23(1666-1695).


[2] "Vizt." is the abbreviation for the Latin word "videlicet"; it means "namely."


[3] "The Thathcer family owned land here as early as 1656 when William Thatcher acquired several patents. By 1750 his grandson Gabriel owned all that remained of the original patents." In 1750 the Hutchings land was about three miles north of Christ Church on the southern bank of the eastern branch of Corotoman River." (Sorrells. Landholders & Landholdings. p. 31.)


[4] William Hutchings was an early landholder in Lancastger County "The Hutchings family acquired this tract {150 acres] in the seventeenth century. . . . The creek leading from the Hutchings's residence was known as Hutchings Creek in the 18th century, but is now known as Quarter Cove." ( "Hutchings/Hutchins from Lancaster, VA" ; and Sorrells. Landholders & Landholdings. p. 27. )


[5] Corrotoman River is a "stream" in South Central Lancaster Co." with eastern and western branches. (Miller. Place-Names . . . . p. 35. )


[6] George Taylor (c. 1615-1683) was a prominent citizen of Lancaster County and "was a Justice, Sherriff, and Burgess of what would be Richmond Co.," where he had a 542-acre tract of land. ( George Taylor )


[7] Elizabeth (Carter) Utie (1651-1699), John Carter I's second child by his first wife, Jane Glyn. Elizabeth first married Nathaniel Utie of Spetsutia, Baltimore County, Maryland, in 1667. "She married Capt. Henry Johnson; 2nd husband. She married Edward Boothby; 3rd husband. She was buried on 4 Aug 1699. " (Carleton. A Genealogy. . . of Robert Carter. . . . p. 1 and "Ancestors of Joanna Maureen Garrett. " )


[8] Elizabeth (Sherley) Carter (1648-1732) of Gloucester County was John Carter I's fifth wife whom he married in 1668. She went to England shortly after his death with their infant son, Charles, who died after 1690. She remarried twice. (Carleton. A Genealogy. . . of Robert Carter. . . . p. 1. )


[9] Charles Carter (1669-post 1690) He should not be confused with Robert Carter's son of the same name. (Carleton. A Genealogy. . . of Robert Carter. . . . p. 1 )


[10] Jennifer Drobac has written, "Simply defined, a jointure 'was a property provision for [the] wife, made prior to marriage in lieu of dower." Henry Black, author of the standard law dictionary, defined dower as "the provision which the law makes for a widow out of the lands or tenements of her husband for her support." In a review of Susan Staves's Married Women's Separate Property in England 1660-1833, Margaret A. Doody wrote: "In the older system that prevailed before the mid-seventeenth century, women had 'dower rights.' At common law, a widow was entitled to a life estate amounting to one-third of all the real property of which her husband had been the legal owner. Staves shows how such a provision came to be felt an unreasonable clog on an estate . . . The result was the invention of the 'jointure,' a settlement upon the wife if her husband predeceased her, as agreed upon in advance by prenuptial contract." (Jennifer Drobac. "The 'Perfect' Jointure: Its Formulation After the Statute of Uses." 19 Cambrian Law Review. 26 [1988], p. 26; and Eighteenth-Century Studies . 28[ 1 Autumn, 1994] p. 156.)


[11] A valance is a short piece of drapery that extends across the window to conceal the support rods.


[12] Sarcenet is "a soft silk in plain or it will weaves." ( Merriam-Webster Dictionary online. 9/10/2012")


[13] A search of the online English Short Title and Library of Congress catalogues did not reveal any book whose author was "David" with "Tears" in the title.


[14] This may have been Richard Byfield's A Short Treatise Describing the True Church of Christ, and the Evills of Schisme, Anabaptism and Libertinism . . . Delivered In Two Sermons By . . . . (London : Printed for Ralph Smith ..., 1653.). Another possibility is Nicholas Byfield, The Promises: or, A Treatise Shewing How a Godly Christian May Support His Heart with Comfort. (London: Printed by G. P[urslowe] for Ralph Rounthwaite, 1619.)


[15] This is probably Richard Allestree, The Whole Duty of Man Laid Down. In a Plain and Familiar Way for the Use of All, but Especially the Meanest Reader. Divided into XVII chapters, One Whereof Being Read Every Lords Day, The Whole May Be Read Over Thrice In The Year. Necessary For All Families. With Private Devotions For Several Occasions. It went through numerous editions. No copy was not found in the inventory of Robert Carter's estate.


[16] Damask is "a rich silk fabric woven with elaborate designs and figures, often of a variety of colours. Also applied to figured materials of silk and wool, silk and cotton, or worsted or cotton only, used for furniture-covering, curtains, etc." ( Oxford English Dictionary )

[17] The will of Thomas Haynes was probated May 24, 1679. In it he noted land "upon a creek called Slaughters creek" he had purchased in partnership with Robert Griggs (see fn. 19), another of the named appraisers in John Carter's will. Slaughter's Creek, according to Mary R. Miller was also known as Carter's Creek, and "is believed to be the present Carter's Creek." Haynes was a justice of Lancaster County. ( Ida J. Lee. Abstracts Lancaster County,Virginia, Wills. 1653-1800. [Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc., 2004.] Reprint of the original 1959 edition. p. 109; Miller. Place-Names . . . . p.146;. and "Immigrant Servants Database" in which a cited court record mentions Haynes as "a member of the Cort." )


[18] Thomas Madestard (d. 1675) was a prominent early settler in the original Lancaster County living apparently on the side of the Rappahannock that became Middlesex County as he was one of those recommended to the governor to be a justice in that county when it was formed in 1668. ( Ida J. Lee. op. cit., p. 146, and "A History of the 'First' Courthouses of Middlesex VA" 11/14/2011 )


[19] Robert Griggs's will was recorded in Lancaster County January 30, 1684. In it he named Elizabeth Carter, "Dau. of Col. Jno. Carter" among others. As noted in fn 13, he had purchased in partnership with Thomas Haynes land "upon a creek called Slaughters creek." ( Ida J. Lee. op. cit., pp. 101 and 109.


[20] David Miles's will of 1674 in Lancaster County names his wife Martha and daughter, Elizabeth. Martha Miles was the daughter of William Ironmonger. In 1685 in Gloucester County a deed was drawn from William Ironmonger to David Miles of Lancaster County for746 acres on the east branch of Corrotoman River. David Miles was apprenticed to John Carter in 1655 ( "Miles/Myles Surname. " 11/8/2011; ) and Christine A. Jones. John Carter I of "Corotoman" Lancaster County, Virginia. (Irvington, VA: Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 1977), p. 15, citing Lancaster County Deed Book 1[1652-1657], p. 213.


[21] Edward Carter (d. 1682) settled in Nansemond County prior to 1650 where he was a justice, burgess, and colonel of militia. He returned to Edmonton, Middlesex, England where he died. His will names a son, Edward, and a daughter, Elizabeth. There is some possibility that he may have been related to John Carter. Noel Currer Briggs's 1979 study, The Carters of Virginia: Their English Ancestry (Chichester, Sussex England) contains detailed research by an eminent English genealogist on these familites. ("Probate of will of Edward Carter of Edmonton, esq.; made 18 Oct 1682; proved P.C.C. ACC/1376/67 1682 29 Nov" from "Deeds And Settlements Concerning Premises In Middlesex, " National Archives. 11/16/2011.)


[22] Thomas Edmonds apparently was an endentured servant to John Carter as he is named in Carter's inventory as having just under two years to serve at that time. His non-cupative will was probated in Lancaster County January 9, 1678, naming Elias, the son of William Edmonds, as heir, and William as executor. ( Christine A. Jones. op. cit., p. 86; Ida J. Lee. op. cit., p. 76, and "A Probate of the Last Will and Testamt. nuncuapative of Thomas Edmonds, (deced), is granted unto William Edmonds accordinge to the tenor of the (deceds) Will. Jerimiah Packquet, Thomas Buckley, William Nash and Francis Wright are ordered to apprize the saide Estate and to bee sworne by the nexte Justice An Inventory thereof to bee exhibited to the nexte Cort," citing Lancaster County Order Book 1674-1678; January 9, 1678, p. 401,as published by Antient Press, p. 401, online. 11/19/2011 . Note: There is no volume in the Library of Virginia's description of Lancaster County court records that precisely fits this description. It may be Wills, Etc., No. 5, 1674-1689, but is more likely Orders, No. 1, 1666-1680.)


[23] John Bunne's will was recorded July 12, 1676, and names his wife Elizabeth and oldest daughter Jane as well as his sister, Ursula Vivian. He has signed with his mark indicating that he could not write. He may also be the John Binn apprenticed to John Carter on December 14, 1664. Ida J. Lee. op. cit., p. 29; and Christine A. Jones. John Carter I of "Corotoman" Lancaster County, Virginia. (Irvington, VA: Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 1977), p. 15, citing Lancaster County Orders Book 3 [#1: 1655-1666], p. 320. )


[24] Edward Dale (1654-1695) was clerk of Lancaster County Court 1655-1674, a justice of that county, 1668-1684, sheriff a number of times, and burgess. (Dobyns et al. Within the Court House at Lancaster. pp. 15, 52; Ida J. Lee. op. cit., p. 63;, and Joseph Lyon Miller. "Major Edward Dale: Lancaster County, Virginia, 1655-1694." William and Mary Quarterly: 17[3(Jan., 1909)]:196-202.


[25] It is not clear who this cousin John Carter was as there were many related Carters in the area at the time. It was not Thomas Carter I's son John as he was not born until 1673. Noel Currer-Brigg's study, The Carters of Virginia: Their English Ancestry cited in footnote 17, is not helpful. ( Virginia N. Kaufman. "Discovery of the Thomas Carter Plantation Site." 26 page pamphlet. [ (White Stone, VA).: HS Printing & Stationery, Inc., 1982.] p. 3. )


[26] When the portion of Lancaster County south of the Rappahannock (later becoming Middlesex County), was separated from that north of the river in 1666, there was one official parish in Lancaster, Christ Church. Unofficially, there were two: Christ Church, and St. Mary's White Chapel, with one minister serving both. John Carter I had worked for the construction of a church for Christ Church. "In 1665 the vestry ordered the first church to be built" and named John Carter to undertake the work. ( Brown, Katherine L., and Nancy T. Sorrells. Christ Church Lancaster County Virginia. [Irvington, VA: Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 2001] p. 7. See also the extensive notes on the parishes in John K. Nelson. A Blessed Company: Parishes, Parsons, and Parishoners in Anglican Virginia, 1690-1776. [Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 2001].


[27] John Carter refers to his first child George with his first wife, Jane Glyn (d. ante 1655); George died in infancy. (Carleton. A Genealogy. . . of Robert Carter. . . . p.1. )


[28] According to a variety of sources on the web including the Encyclopedia Britannica Online, French falls were a type of high buff leather boots with a wide top that was turned over forming a cuff around the leg. P.A. Bruce wrote in his Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century on page 482 of Vol. II, "The Assembly had, in 1660, adopted rules . . . Each county was instructed to erect a tan-house and to employ tanners, carriers, and shoemakers. There was appointed for each house an overseer . . . To the persons presenting hides he was required to sell plain shoes at the rate of thirty pounds [of tobacco] a pair. French falls of the largest size were to be sold to such persons at the rate of thirty-five pounds [of tobacco] a pair, whilst those of the smallest were to be sold at twenty pounds." A knowledgeable staff member at Colonial Williamsburg has emailed the editor, "The main puzzlement is, that French Falls were made for men, women, and children, and for well over 100 years. No one can fathom any known style or type of footwear that fits that description with certainty, at that price range, that's not slippers. The leading UK footwear historian, June Swann, has never found a definitive answer as to what they were either. Maybe one day we'll figure it out." (Email, Dominic Saguto to the editor, 5/22/2007)

[29] Kersey is "a kind of coarse woolen cloth made chiefly in Kent and Devonshire." ( 18th Century Trade Terms (Fabrics), "Of Silk, Terms Of Silk, Cotton, Linen and Wool," Compiled from The Beekman Mercantile Paper 1746-1799. Online, 12/1/2011)

[30] Canvas is a "strong or coarse unbleached cloth made of hemp or flax, used (in different forms) as the material for sails of ships, for tents, and . . . formerly also for clothing, etc." ( Oxford English Dictionary Online )


[31] Serge is a "woollen fabric, the nature of which has probably differed considerably at different periods. Before the 16th c. it is mentioned chiefly as material for hangings, bed-covers, and the like; afterwards it is often referred to as worn by the poorer classes (both men and women), perh. rather on account of its durability than of its price, which seems not to have been extremely low." ( Oxford English Dictionary Online )


[32] According to the Oxford English Dictionary Online, a shoat is a "young weaned pig."


[33] James Ussher. A Body of Divinity, Or, The Summe and Substance of Christian Religion Catechistically Propounded and Explained, By Way of Question and Answer, Methodically and Familiarly Handled : Collected Long Since Out of Sundry Authors, and Reduced Unto One Common Method . (London, 1645). John wanted Robert to have this book as well, and the title is in the inventory of Robert Carter's estate. (Wright. "The Literary Interests of the First Carters." p.58 .)


[34] Lewis Bayly. The Practice of Piety: directing a Christian how to walke, that he may please God. Amplified by the author. [London: Andrew Crook, 1738 and other editions.]. The title was not among the books in Robert Carter's inventory.


[35] Doctor Nicolas' Catechism has not been identified.


[36] "Thos. Edwards, a little petty Fogging Lawyer the Clark of our County that hath as much Mettle and more cunning for Contention then his predecessor had" Carter wrote to Landon Jones, July 22, 1723. His opinion of Edwards later changed for there are more appreciative mentions of him in Carter's diary. Edwards was clerk of the Lancaster County court from 1720-1746. ( Within the Court House at Lancaster. Lively, VA: Lively Printing Services, Lively, VA: Lively Printing Services, [1976]. p. 15. ; and "Thomas Edwards, Gentleman, Clerk of the Court" in Brown and Sorrells. People in Profile. pp. 94-103. )