Robert Carter III
| Robert Carter III | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | February 1727/28 |
| Died | March 10, 1804 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | College of William and Mary |
| Occupation | planter |
| Known for | manumission |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Ann Tasker |
Robert "Councillor" Carter III (February 1727/28 – March 10, 1804) was an American plantation owner, and for two decades sat on the Virginia Governor's Council. With the assistance of Baptist, Quaker and Swedenborgian faithful, Carter began what became the largest release of slaves in North America prior to the American Civil War. By a "Deed of Gift" filed with Northumberland County on September 5, 1791, and related documents filed in Westmoreland County in subsequent years, Carter began the process of manumitting 452 slaves in his lifetime.
Carter was the grandson of Virginia land baron Robert "King" Carter of Corotoman. In 1732, both his father and grandfather died, leaving the young boy in the care of his uncles George, Charles and Landon Carter, as well as his mother, who remarried in 1735 to John Lewis of Warner Hall in Gloucester County. At age 9, young Robert was sent to the College of William and Mary, and in 1749 he came of age and received his inheritance. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Liverpool with Lawrence Washington, Carter travelled to London, where he and Philip Ludwell Lee started legal studies at the Inner Temple. Carter returned to Virginia in 1751 before being admitted to the bar. He took up residence at the Nomony Hall, and unsuccessfully campaigned at least twice for a seat in the House of Burgesses, although Carter did secure an appointment to the Westmoreland County Court in 1752.
Carter left Virginia again in 1754, and married Frances Ann Tasker, daughter of former Maryland governor Benjamin Tasker. They ultimately had seventeen children, of which eight daughters and four sons reached adulthood. The successful marriage seemed to settle Carter, who began to pay attention to his vast landholdings, as well as politics. In 1758, using his in-laws' connections with the Board of Trade, Carter secured an appointment by King George II to the Virginia Governor's Council; When King George III succeeded his grandfather in 1760, Carter was reappointed to the post, which served as the colony's appellate court as well as advised on executive matters. He purchased a house in Williamsburg from his cousin Robert Carter Nicholas and moved his growing family there in 1761. Carter, whom John Page once called 'illiterate,' began reading voraciously, as well as socializing with the city's intellectuals, including Governor Fauquier, George Wythe, William Small, John Blair and young Thomas Jefferson.
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