Peter Carr (Virginia politician)
| Peter Carr | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 2, 1770 Goochland County, Virginia |
| Died | February 17, 1815 (aged 45) Carrsbrook |
| Occupation | Politician, educator |
| Spouse(s) | Esther "Hetty" Smith Stevenson |
| Children | 8 |
| Parent(s) |
Dabney Carr Martha Jefferson Carr |
| Relatives |
Thomas Jefferson (uncle) Dabney Carr (brother) |
Peter Carr (born January 2, 1770, died February 17, 1815) was an American educator and politician who served several terms in the Virginia House of Delegates. He is primarily known for the Jefferson–Hemings controversy, as he was rumored to have fathered children by Sally Hemings.
Carr was born in Goochland County, Virginia on January 2, 1770 to Dabney and Martha Jefferson Carr, sister to Thomas Jefferson. Carr was educated in Orange and Williamsburg, and later attended the College of William and Mary. He briefly practiced as a lawyer.
Carr married Esther "Hetty" Smith Stevenson on June 6, 1797 and the two had eight children together. Carr died in his home at Carrsbrook on February 17, 1815.
Carr supported the Republican Party and in 1799, unsuccessfully ran for the Virginia House of Delegates. A later attempt in 1801 proved to be more successful and he was elected for four terms, from 1801 to 1804, and later from 1807 to 1808. An attempt to run for another term was met with failure, as was his attempt to run for Virginia State Senate.
Carr triggered the final breach between his uncle and George Washington by writing the latter a seemingly sympathetic letter on September 27, 1797 under the pseudonym "John Langhorne." Washington was suspicious of the letter's purpose, suspicions that were finalized when John Nicholas, the Federalist clerk of Albemarle County, Virginia, Jefferson's home county, informed Washington that "Langhorne" was leagued with Republican interests, was attempting to bait Washington into revealing High Federalist principles, and was actually Carr. Carr's exact purpose in writing the letter is unknown.
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