Jacob Carter (abt. 1720 - abt. 1800)

Born about 1720 in Colleton, South Carolina [uncertain]

Descendants

Died about 1800 at about age 80 in Colleton, South Carolina, United States [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile managers: David Keys [send private message], Theresa Reynolds [send private message], Dale Crawford [send private message], M. Carter [send private message], and Jere Galloway [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Carter Name Study.

A great deal of conflicting information about Jacob has been posted in stories and family trees but the simple truth is that almost nothing can be verified or proved because, reportedly, all the early records were lost in a fire at the courthouse.^[1] Page vii of source.

Name: Jacob Carter^[2]

Birth:
Jacob was born c. 1720.^[1][3] (Some of) The information presented by Mary Ketus Deen is now known to be incorrect! But, don't throw out the baby with the bath water

No 18th-century document can be found to confirm Jacob's date or place of birth. Based on the birth of his first child, his birth year has been estimated as about 1720. Many unsourced family trees claim he was born in Charleston SC but no basis whatsoever can be found for such a claim. It has also been suggested that he came from Virginia.^[1]The referenced book was itself partly based on interviews that appeared in an 1889 newspaper series about the Carter family.^[4]Mr. O'Quinn, age 74 in 1889, was the great-grandson of Jacob Carter and based his articles upon personal knowledge from Jacob's children and grandchildren. But, he, himself, would not have personally known Jacob.

Property & Residence
12 Jun 1767 – Saltcatchers (sic) Swamp, Colleton County, South Carolina^[2] Text: ...I have documented and laid out unto Jacob Carter a plantation or tract of land containing two hundred and fifty acres in Colleton County butting and bounding on all sides vact. land: And hath such shape form and marks as the above plat doth represent...

The headright system in effect at this period awarded 100 acres to the head of house and 50 acres for each other member of the household. This implies that there were four members in Jacob’s household in 1767 (100 acres for Jacob, 50 for his wife, and 50 each for 2 children = 250).

There are some later property records for Jacob Carter but these may have been for his son.

1790 - St Bartholomew's Parish, Charleston District, South Carolina^[5] Household of Jacob Carter, Senior: 1 male > 16; 1 female > 16; 1 slave.

In the 1700's, a second-generation male might switch from a Junior suffix to a Senior suffix after a third-generation male was born with the same name as his father and grandfather--especially if the first generation has already died or did not live nearby. Thus we don't know if this census record is for Jacob (1720) or his son.

Death: No 18th or 19th-century document can be found to confirm when or where Jacob died. Many have speculated on before/after dates based upon census and other records but these can be discounted because they almost certainly belong--not to Jacob but-- to his son (or grandson) of the same name. One such speculation is that Jacob died c. 1800.^[1]

Disputed Origins

Jacob has been misidentified as the son of Moore Carter. Moore Carter did have a son named Jacob Carter of about the same age as this Jacob Carter, but Moore's son, Jacob, died in North Carolina, and never lived in South Carolina. DNA evidence suggests that this Jacob Carter is not a descendant of the Carter family to which Moore Carter belongs; although conflicting DNA evidence suggests that the NC Jacob and SC Jacob may have been 1st cousins.. In either event, the misidentification of Jacob as Moore's son goes back almost 100 years, but DNA and documentary evidence now definitely prove Jacob of South Carolina is not the son of Moore.^[6]

Please see the CARTER DNA Project

https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/carter/about/results

Scroll to I1-03 [I-M253]

Note

1815 will located in Tattnal County, Georgia is probably not for this Jacob Carter.

Jacob was born about 1720. ^[7]

Name

Name: Jacob /Carter/^[2][8][9]

Birth

No 18th-century document can be found to confirm Jacob's date or place of birth. Based on the birth of his first child, his birth year has been estimated as about 1720. Many unsourced family trees claim he was born in Charleston SC but no basis whatsoever can be found for such a claim. It has also been suggested that he came from Virginia.^[10]The referenced book was itself partly based on interviews that appeared in an 1889 newspaper series about the Carter family.^[11]Mr. O'Quinn, age 74 in 1889, was the great-grandson of Jacob Carter and based his articles upon personal knowledge from Jacob's children and grandchildren. But, he, himself, would not have personally known Jacob.

Marriage

Jacob Carter of South Carolina DID NOT marry Sarah Middleton There is no evidence of his wife's name or the date/place of their marriage. Unsourced family trees and stories written by people lacking first-hand knowledge are not evidence. Over 100 years ago, someone mistakenly speculated that Jacob Carter of North Carolina was the same person as Jacob Carter of South Carolina. This notion persists even though it has been debunked many times using both documentary and DNA evidence. It was Jacob Carter of NC who married Sarah Middleton.

Property

12 Jun 1767 – Saltcatchers (sic) Swamp, Colleton County, South Carolina^[2] Text: ...I have documented and laid out unto Jacob Carter a plantation or tract of land containing two hundred and fifty acres in Colleton County butting and bounding on all sides vact. land: And hath such shape form and marks as the above plat doth represent...

The headright system in effect at this period awarded 100 acres to the head of the house and 50 acres for each other member of the household. This implies that there were four members in Jacob’s household in 1767 (100 acres for Jacob, 50 for his wife, and 50 each for 2 children = 250).

There are some later property records for Jacob Carter but these may have been for his son.

Death

No 18th or 19th-century document can be found to confirm when or where Jacob died. Many have speculated on before/after dates based in census and other records but these can be discounted because they almost certainly belong--not to Jacob but-- to his son (or grandson) of the same name.

Jacob was born about 1720. He passed away about 1809.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Our Heritage; A Genealogy of Jacob Carter of SC, Published: Linville Falls, NC, 1 Jan 1974, by Mary Ketus (Deen) Holland, with supplements 1-4 in 1982. Out of print and currently unavailable. Repository: Family History Library at Salt Lake City, Utah, and Huxford Genealogical Society. Homerville, Georgia.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Jacob Carter's plat map
3. ↑ Unsourced family tree handed down to D Natale.
4. ↑ O’Quinn, H.D., series of newspaper articles in The Valdosta (Georgia) Times beginning 16 Feb 1889.
5. ↑ U S Census, "1790 U S Census, Charleston District, South Carolina" Ancestry.com
6. ↑ Email from Dale M. Crawford September 15, 2014.
7. ↑ Source will be added by Jere Galloway Jr. by 3 Mar 2020.
8. ↑ Title: lolney.FTW NOTElolney.FTW, lolney.FTW, Date of Import: Aug 13, 2000
9. ↑ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998; Repository: Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA
10. ↑ Our Heritage; A Genealogy of Jacob Carter of SC, Published: Linville Falls, NC, 1 Jan 1974, by Mary Ketus (Deen) Holland, with supplements 1-4 in 1982. Out of print and currently unavailable. Repository: Family History Library at Salt Lake City, Utah and Huxford Genealogical Society. Homerville, Georgia.
11. ↑ O’Quinn, H.D., series of newspaper articles in The Valdosta (Georgia) Times beginning 16 Feb 1889.

See the Changes page for the details of contributions and edits.

www.wiregrassgenealogy.com/captdave55/crews2015a/1379.htm

www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/carter/11220/

• WikiTree profile Carter-4069 created through the import of paf910.ged on Sep 16, 2011 by Theresa Reynolds. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Theresa and others.
• Land Deeds with Jacob's signature with his Wife's signature; Census Records