John Carter

John Carter I of Corotoman (1613-1669/70)

Born:      1613  Christ Church Parish, Newgate Street, London John Carter of Corotoman
Died:       January 10, 1669/70  Corotoman plantation
Buried:    Christ Church with four of his five wives and two infant children
Marriages:
  1. Jane Glyn–Married ca. 1637. Died 1652. Mother of John Carter II, George and Elizabeth
  2. Eleanor Eltonhead–Married 1655. Died 1656
  3. Anne Carter–Distant cousin. Married ca. 1657
  4. Sarah Ludlow–Born in England. Married ca. 1662. Mother of Robert Carter
  5. Elizabeth Sherley–Married 1668. Widow from Gloucester County, Virginia. Went to England with her son Charles shortly after John Carter I’s death
Children:
  1. George–born ca. 1638; died in infancy
  2. Elizabeth–born ca. 1639; married 1) Nathaniel Utie of Maryland 2) Henry Johnson
  3. John II–born ca. 1640; died 1690
  4. Sarah–born ca. 1661; died in infancy
  5. Robert–born 1663; died 1732
  6. Charles–born 1669; went to England with mother
History:
  • Col. John Carter was b. 1620, in England, the son of Hon. William Carter, of “Casstown,” Hereford Co., and the Middle Temple, England.
  • Immigrated to Virginia in 1635 at age 22 on ship Safety
  • First settled in Upper Norfolk County (later became Nansemond County)
  • Traveled several times between England and Virginia in trade
  • Served seven terms in House of Burgesses
    • Upper Norfolk County   1641/42; 1642/43
    • Nansemond County     1649
    • Lancaster County       1654-1655; 1657/58-1658; 1658/59; 1659/60
  • Served on Governor’s Council (1657 and ca. 1664-1667)
  • Patented 6,160 acres of land in Lancaster County between 1642-1665
  • In 1652-53 moved to Lancaster County and established Corotoman plantation on Rappahannock River between Carter’s Creek and Corotoman River
  • Served as Justice, Lancaster County (1653-1669)
  • Served as Vestryman, Christ Church Parish (ca. 1661-1669/70)
  • Served as undertaker, or builder, of first Christ Church, a frame structure completed in July 1670 six months after his death d. 1669, at “Corotoman,” Lancaster Co., Va.; he came to the Colony in 1649, and located in lower Norfolk, which he represented as Burgess, 1649; he later removed to Lancaster Co., where he built the ancestral home of “Corotoman.” He served as a Burgess from Lancaster, 1653-58, and was an influential member of the King’s Council, 1658-59; Commander against the Rappahannock Indians, 1654; Col. of Lancaster, 1656; liberal supporter of the Established Church, he gave the first Church which stood on the land where Christ Church was later built, and was a Vestryman.