Thomas Carter Sr (abt. 1627 - abt. 1669)

Born about 1627 in England

Descendants

Died about 1669 at about age 42 in Isle of Wight County, Colony of Virginia

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Thomas Carter Sr resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776. Join: US Southern Colonies Project Discuss: southern_colonies

Caution: See Easily Conflated. This Thomas Carter is meant to represent the one born c. 1627 –death c. 1669; who hired himself as an indentured servant in order to immigrate from England to Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He married c. 1650 to Elinor Cooke. He died c. 1669. His son (and only known child) Thomas Carter Jr. married Magdalene Moore and wrote his will in 1710.

Biography

This profile is part of the Carter Name Study.

(Capt) Thomas Carter Sr.

Direct Ancestor of Pres Jimmy Carter

Immigrated to Virginia

Thomas may have immigrated in 1637 from England to Isle of Wight County, Virginia.^[1]

Thomas is also said to have been the Thomas Carter, aged 25, aboard the Safety bound for Virginia in 1635 (which would place his birth at 1610), but there is no evidence, and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum believes that was not the identical Thomas Carter. There were many men named Thomas Carter in colonial Virginia.

Marriage

Thomas is assumed to have married to Eleanor/Elinor Cooke.^[2] The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library does not mention a wife of Thomas, Sr.^[1] After Thomas died, Elinor married, as her 2nd, to William Grove of Upper Parish.^[2] This is proved by a deed abstract 9 October 1674 promising "certain things" to her heirs.^[2]

Child

Only one known child:.^[1]

1. Thomas Carter, Jr. b c. 1652; mar Magdalene Moore.

This from the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in regards to Thomas Jr.:

Thomas Carter, Jr. left a will in 1710. In that will, Thomas, Jr. did not name all of his children, but Moore Carter (c. 1680-1741) who married Jane and moved to Bertie County, North Carolina, is believed to have been his son. Moore left a will naming a son Isaac who married Ruth and died after 1790. Isaac and Ruth were the parents of Kindred and James, among others. Kindred and James both came to Georgia.^[1]

Note: Two other children Edward and William were attached to this profile, but have been removed since we can find no documentation regarding them.^[3]

Positions and Property

In coastal Virginia in the 1600's, anyone who transported tobacco owned one or more small boats and were often called "Captain" as a result. In Will and Deed Book 1, Thomas was mentioned when William Tooke testified under oath that the bill to William Richardson for a sloop was satisfied by 4,300 pounds of tobacco.^[2] Thomas was to pay the remainder by 9 June 1668.^[2]

Death and Legacy

Thomas died without a will in 1669 in Virginia.^{[citation needed]} He died leaving a small estate¸ which included four indentured servants: "two who are to serve 3 years apiece, one years, one 4 years."^[4]

Thomas was the immigrant ancestor to President Jimmy Carter,^[1]

Research Notes

Easily Conflated

Caution: Multiple Thomas Carters.

This Thomas Carter is meant to represent the one born c. 1627 –death c. 1669; who hired himself as an indentured servant in order to immigrate from England to Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He married c. 1650 to Elinor Cooke. He died c. 1669. His son (and only known child) Thomas Carter Jr. married Magdalene Moore and wrote his will in 1710.

Three Thomas Carters in Lancaster County around 1650-1670:^[5]

1. Thomas Carter (this profile) b. 1627-1669
2. Maj Thomas Carter was born in London around 1610 died in 1658 Parents John Carter and Elizabeth Benion assumed to be the parents (evidence is circumstantial).^[6]
3. Thomas Carter of Barford (1630 - 1700) Poss parents Ancell Carter-212 and Mary Ann Emmery. He married Katherine Dale.

And several more in Massachusetts:

• Thomas Carter, Reverend, Puritan, first minister of Woburn, d 5 Sep 1684
• Thomas Carter m Anna, d 30 Dec 1694 at Woburn
• Thomas Carter of the Planter arrived at Salisbury
• Thomas Carter eldest son of Thomas Carter, the blacksmith of Charlestown, born c. 1610

Uncertain Origin

Origin unknown, except that it was probably England. We do not know his parents.

There may be some new information available now, because of DNA analysis and a study of the Isle of Wight records. Dr. Barry Hayes has developed a theory in which this Capt. Thomas Carter is a son of William Carter of Surry, and there may be some DNA evidence for John Carter, vintner of London.^[7]

Stephen Ballard has cautioned that lack of a well-researched family history among the participants has emerged as a major stumbling block; "The cruel irony of genetic genealogy is that usually those being tested are those with the least amount of knowledge about their families."^[8]

The possible parents John Carter and Elizabeth Benion were disconnected. Another possible father, William Carter, was also detached from this profile. No evidence has been found for any parents. Please do not add any parents without quality sources.

Thomas Carter Study

We now have a Thomas Carter Study page for anyone interested to add information (with sources, please). One of our goals is to study the various relationships of this family in the hope of discovering Thomas' origin. This is a space to leave more informal notes.

We also wish to determine the relationships between this Thomas Carter, Sr and Major Thomas Carter or Capt. Thomas Carter, Sr. of Barford (either of whom may or may not be the identical person).

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, "Jimmy Carter Genealogical Information", citing Georgia Life. (Winter, 1976, pp. 40 ff.) by Kenneth H. Thomas, accessed October 17, 2015.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Boddie, John Bennett, Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia: A History of the County ... (Page 570) Genealogical Publishing Com, 1973, accessed June 30, 2015
3. ↑ Removed Edward Carter b. 1654 Isle of Wright and William Carter b 1655 Isle of Wright as children
4. ↑ Dr. Kevin Kelley
5. ↑ Carter, Jeff, Ancestors of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. (2012), 19, 35, 37-39.
6. ↑ John Carter of Christ church , London England: b: abt 1574 – d abt 1630, married Elizabeth "Bridget" Benion The American Genealogist, New Haven, Connecticut: D. L. Jacobus, 1995, Vol. 61, p. 179, New England Historic Genealogical Society AmericanAncestors.org. accessed 5 September 2016. Citing Noel Currer-Briggs, The Carters of Virginia: Their English Ancestry. John and Bridget [disproved] (Benion) Carter are believed to be the parents of Col. John Carter and Thomas Carter, both of whom emigrated to Virginia, but this is not proven.
7. ↑ CARTER Y-Chromosome DNA Surname Project - Y-DNA Classic Chart.
8. ↑ Ballard, Stephen M., Ballard of Virginia accessed 9 March 2016.

• Info from 'Descendants of John Carter' by Betty Smith Horne, items #7 & #10.