James Mills Beverley

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1779, , Essex, Virginia, USA
• Residence: Abt 1793, Blandfield Plantation, Essex, Virginia, USA
• Probate: 9 Mar 1793, , Essex, Virginia, USA

Notes:

Major Robert Beverley
Added by randyandjulia on 17 Jan 2009
Major Robert Beverley was born in 1641 in Beverley, Yorkshire, England, was christened on 5 Jan 1643 in St. Mary Lowgate, Hull, Yorkshire, England died on 15 Mar 1687 in "Blandfield", Middlesex County, Virginia, and was buried on 19 Mar 1687 in Jamestown, Middlesex County, Virginia.

"Burke's Landed Gentry says the Beverleys sold their land in Yorkshire to the Pennymen family about the time Robert Beverley came to Virginia.

"The Immigrant sent at least three of his sons back to England to school and as above stated, according to the Parish Register of St. Mary's in Hull, his son Thomas died there and was buried on the 14th of September, 1680.

"From the position the Immigrant soon took in the Colony, and the offices he held, it is evident he was well educated for those days and a man of culture and attainments but so far as we know, the above fairly well sums up the evidence of his origin."

WILL OF ROBERT BEVERLEY, of Middlesex County in Virginia, Gentl. 16th August 1686. Item I give & bequeath unto my eldest son Peter Beverley...all my land in Gloucester County Lying upon Peanketank River betwixt the creeks called Cheesecake Creek and Hoccadies alias Bayles Creek and adjoining to and including in a patent with 500 acres which (were) formerly by me sold and passed away to Mr. Mann of Gloster County by deed under my hand & seal but in case my said son Peter should happen to die without heirs of his body, my will is that the ...lands above (should go) to my second son Robert Beverley...Item I give to my second son Robert Beverley...my plantation & Devident of Land on Poropotank Creek Glouster County...920 Acres...To Harry Beverley 1600 acres in Rappahannock...To John 3000 acres in Rappahannock & New Kent...on the run commonly known...by the name of Beverley Park..to William Beverley 1 land in Middlesex on Rappahannock River...called Griffin's Neck adj. Mr. Robert Smith and Col. Christo; Wormeley & purchased of Mr. Thos. Elliot...To wife Catherine during her natural life...my plantation in Middlesex County...on Peankatanke River whereon I live...now called Old plantation 165 acres according to patent. Also all one half parte of 100 acres of Land & plantation in Gloster County or the whole if I happen to purchase same before my death commonly called and known by the name of North River quarter and now held in partnership betwixt by Brother Coll John Armistead...Provided by wife...accept same in full of...right of dower...After wife's decease I bequeath all the 3 sd plantations to...my daughter Catherine Beverley...I give to the child my wife now goes with be it male or female...all my other lands & plantations...not household goods at my dwelling plantation...for her life...then to daughters Mary and Catherine...all other property to be disposed in equal parts...betwixt my wife and children either in specifical kind or in money sterling...Wife Catherine executor. Signed, Robert Beverley; witness, Ralph Wormley, Robert Smith, Willm Kitts, Walter Keeble, Thomas Ballard. Recorded, Middlesex, 4th April 1687."

Old Churches Ministers, and Families of Virginia.
No. XVIII.

My father, Robert Beverley, married Miss Jane Taylor, of Mount Airy, Richmond county. My grandfather, Robert Beverley, married Miss Maria Carter, of Sabine Hall. My great-grandfather, William Beverley, married Miss Elizabeth Bland,--the sister, I have heard, of the distinguished Colonel Richard Bland, of the Revolution. My great-great-grandfather, Robert Beverley, (the historian,) married Miss --- Byrd, of Westover, I have heard. His father--the first of the name in the Colony of Virginia--settled at Jamestown about the year 1660, and from thence moved to Middlesex county. He was a long time Clerk of the House of Burgesses, a lawyer by profession, and a prominent actor in Bacon's Rebellion, commanding, I think, the King's troops as major. I have never heard the name of the lady he married in Hull, England. I have heard she was the daughter of a merchant of that town. He brought her to Virginia with him. For a more particular account of this individual I must refer you to the third volume of Henning's "Statutes at Large," from page 541 to the end. You will there see an authentic account of some of his services and persecutions. You will also find in vol. viii. of the same work, page 127, an act which gives, I presume, the only true account of the male branch of the family now extant: the act was obtained by my grandfather for the purpose of changing an entail from an estate in Drysdale parish, King and Queen county, (where the historian lived and died,) to one of more value in Culpepper.

• Emigrated to Virginia: Jamestown, Middlesex County, Virginia, 1663.

• Justice: Middlesex County, Virginia.

• Virginia House of Burgesses: Clerk , 1670.

• He was granted land 8200 acres on both side one of the great Swamps or maine runns of Mattaponie River14 Jan 1673.

• He was granted land 600 acres on the North side Mattapony River, on the back of Mr. Mady, the said land being formerly due unto John Pigg by Patent 3rd day of Jany 1667. 21 Sep 1674 in New Kent County.

• He was granted land 6500 acres 16 Nov 1674 in New Kent County.

• He was granted land 3000 acres on the South side of Rappahannock River and on the South side of the main swamp of a mill, formerly Andrew Gilsons Mill. 21 Sep 1674 in Old Rappahannock County,Virginia.

• He was granted land 6500 acres 16 Nov 1674 in Old Rappahannock County.

• He was granted land 600 acres on the South side Rappahannock County or river; and adjoining land of Henry Jermaine, William Gray and Thomas Page. 21 Sep 1674 in Old Rappahannock County,Virginia.

• Revolutionary War: In charge of the fortifications of the three main rivers of Virginia, 1681.

• Author: Robert Beverley on Bacon's Rebellion, 1704.

• Author: Historie and Present State of Virginia, 1705. Beverley, Robert 1673-1722, Virginia colonial historian, author of The History and Present State of Virginia (1705). a substantial planter and colonial official, he wrote his book after finding numerous errors in the manuscript of a book on Virginia written by an Englishman. Vigorous, honest, and not without humor, his history was an immediate success; reprinted a number of times, it served to attract immigrants to Virginia.

Robert Beverley was a wealthy planter who saw while in London a poor account of the colony by the British historian and pamphleteer, John Oldmixon, and undertook to write a better. His book, a History of Virginia (1705), was hastily prepared without any study of documents or other respectable sources. Its chief value lies in the shrewd and just observations the author made on Virginia life and history out of his own knowledge. Toward nature: Nature is idealized as benevolent, bountiful, garden of Eden. Virginia planter Robert Beverley expresses utopian ideal (History and Present State of Virginia, 1706) at height of thriving plantation culture. Independent farmer becomes backbone of agrarian democracy in Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), based on pastoral ideal of bountiful nature and abundance of land and natural resources.

In what may be one of the most appreciative descriptions of Virginia beyond the Tidewater region, Robert Beverley in his History and Present State of Virginia admonishes those who see only the flatness of the coast, because "a little farther backward, there are Mountains, which indeed deserve the name of Mountains, for their Height and Bigness." Notable for its detailed natural historical descriptions, Beverley's History also offers an unusually sympathetic portrait of the Indians, whom Beverley considered fellow Virginians.

• Author: The History of Virginia, in Four Parts, 1722. The history of Virginia, in four parts

I. The history of the first settlement of Virginia, and the government thereof, to the year 1706.

II. The natural productions and conveniences of the country, suited to trade and improvement.

III. The native Indians, their religion, laws, and customs, in war and peace.

IV. The present state of the country, as to the polity of the government, and the improvements of the land, the 10th of June 1720.

Robert Beverley married Mary Whitby Keeble, daughter of William Whitby and Ruth Gorsuch, on 1 Apr 1666 in Jamestown, Middlesex County, Virginia. Mary was born on 3 Jun 1637 in Hull, Yorkshire, England, died on 28 Jun 1678 in Jamestown, Middlesex County, Virginia, and was buried in Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, Virginia Colony.

Their children were:

+ 6 M i. Colonel Peter Beverley was born in 1668 in Jamestown, Middlesex County, Virginia and died in 1728 in Beverly Hundred, Gloucester County, Virginia.
Peter Beverley married Elizabeth Peyton (b. 1678, d. 26 Dec 1723) in 1689 in Jamestown, Middlesex County, Virginia.

+ 7 M ii. Robert Beverley was born in 1673 in Jamestown, Middlesex County, Virginia and died on 21 Apr 1722 in "Beverley Park", King And Queen County, Virginia.
Robert Beverley married Ursula Byrd (b. 9 Nov 1681, d. 11 Oct 1698).

8 F iii. Mary Beverley was born about 1675 in Blandfield, Middlesex County, Virginia.
Mary married William Jones, in King & Queen County, Virginia. William was born in King & Queen County, Virginia.

9 M iv. Capt. Harry Beverley was born about 1674 in Blandfield, Middlesex County, Virginia died on 12 Feb 1731 in "Newlands" Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and was buried in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
• Resided: "Newlands" Spotsylvania County,Virginia.

• Magistrate: Middlesex County, Virginia, 1702.

• Captain: of the Sloop 'The Virgin' which for the Colony of Virginia went to the Bahamas in search of pirates, 1716.

• Presiding Justice: 1720, Spotsylvania County, Virginia.

• Surveyor: King and Queen and King William Counties, 1702-1714.

Harry married Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Robert, Jr. Smith and Elizabeth (Smith). Elizabeth was born about 1696 in Virginia and died on 6 Aug 1720 in Virginia.

Robert Beverley next married Catherine Hone Armistead, on 28 Mar 1679 in Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, Virginia Colony. Catherine was born in 1643 in Middlesex County, Virginia and died on 23 Apr 1692 in Middlesex County, Virginia.

Their children were:

10 M i. William Beverley was born on 4 Jan 1680 in Blandfield, Middlesex County, Virginia and died on 22 Oct 1737 in Virginia.
11 M ii. Christopher Beverley was born on 19 Feb 1686 in Blandfield, Middlesex County, Virginia and was christened on 19 Mar 1686 in Christ Church Parish, Virginia.
12 M iii. Thomas Beverley was born about 1680 in Blandfield, Middlesex County, Virginia and died on 20 Sep 1686.
13 F iv. Catherine Beverley was born in 1680 in Blandfield, Middlesex County, Virginia and died in 1726.
Catherine married Hon. John Robinson. John was born in 1683 in Virginia and died in 1749 in "Piscataway" Essex County, Virginia.

• Colonial Virginia: "a staunch supporter of the Established Church".

• Virginia House of Burgesses: 1711-1714.

• Colonial Virginia: Member of the King's Council, 1720-1749.

• Colonial Virginia: Acting Governor of the Colony, 1749.

14 M v. John Beverley was born on 4 Jan 1687 in Blandfield, Middlesex County, Virginia.

Robert Beverley (ca. 1740–1800)

Robert Beverley was a planter whose wealth in land and slaves made him one of the richest Virginians during the Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Born in Essex County, he was educated in England and returned to Virginia to manage his father's estate. He married into the powerful Carter family and built Blandfield, his imposing Georgian mansion in the Rappahannock River valley. Beverley generally avoided politics, although his refusal to support independence did not prevent his election to the House of Delegates in 1780. A longstanding feud with the Roane family erupted in violence when Thomas Roane assaulted Beverley with a cane in 1789. Beverley was not seriously injured and successfully sought redress in court. He died in 1800.

Beverley was born about 1740 at his father's plantation in Essex County, one of two sons and three daughters of William Beverley and Elizabeth Bland Beverley. His brother died young. His father took him to England in 1750 for his education and enrolled him in a school at Wakefield. When Beverley matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, on May 19, 1757, he gave his age as seventeen. Earlier that year he was admitted to the Middle Temple to study law, and he was called to the bar on February 6, 1761. Beverley returned to Virginia almost immediately to manage the enormous estate he had inherited when his father died in 1756, and consequently he never practiced law.

At his father's death, the Beverley estate consisted of valuable properties in England, more than 3,000 acres in several large plantations in Essex County, and huge holdings in the Shenandoah Valley, which combined to make Robert Beverley one of the wealthiest young men in the colony, with an annual income from rents and tobacco of about £1,800 in 1762. On February 3, 1763, he married Maria Carter, daughter of Landon Carter, of Sabine Hall. They had ten sons and six daughters. In 1769 he began several years of construction on a new residence, which was one of the largest and most elegant of all the Georgian plantation mansions in the Rappahannock River valley. His descendants retained his Blandfield mansion until 1983.

Beverley became a member of the Essex County Court by 1764 and served until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. He eschewed the world of politics, although he kept himself well informed and once, in 1772, commented that he might like to have a seat on the governor's Council. Early in 1775 he was elected to the College of William and Mary's board of visitors, the only public office outside Essex County he held before the Revolution. In 1774 and 1775 Beverley tried to exert a moderating influence on the local political leaders whom he thought were unwisely rushing toward independence. He deplored every action thereafter that widened the breach between Virginia and Great Britain. Beverley opposed independence and refused to take any part in the government of the county or of his parish during the war. The Essex County authorities accordingly deprived him of his arms. Nonetheless, his standing as one of the best-educated and wealthiest men in the region resulted in his being elected to the House of Delegates in 1780, "without offering himself a candidate or being present," according to an unfriendly neighbor. Beverley probably did not take his seat in the assembly, but since he also refrained from active opposition to Virginia during the contest, he was left in peace at his elegant new house for the duration of the war.

In 1787 the Essex County justices of the peace asked the governor to reappoint Beverley to the county court. Spencer Roane angrily petitioned the governor's Council against the proposal, charging that Beverley's actions during the Revolutionary War should disqualify him, but the governor consented after the justices renewed their request. That episode was only one of several conflicts between Beverley and members of the Roane family, culminating two years later when Thomas Roane assaulted Beverley on a public highway and attempted to beat him with his cane. Roane either knocked Beverley from his horse, or Beverley fell while attempting to avoid the blow, and he was injured. Beverley successfully prosecuted Roane for the assault.

In the 1780s Beverley owned approximately 50,000 acres in at least eight counties, with his largest holdings being in Culpeper and Caroline counties. He wrote his will in 1793 and added nine codicils to it between then and January 24, 1800. He owned more than 400 slaves during the 1790s, and his slaves and personal property listed in his Essex County estate inventory were worth almost £8,500. Beverley died at Blandfield on April 12, 1800, and was probably buried there.

Time Line
ca. 1740 - Robert Beverley is born at his father's plantation in Essex County.
1750 - Robert Beverley is enrolled in a school at Wakefield, England.
May 19, 1757 - Robert Beverley matriculates at Trinity College, Cambridge.
February 6, 1761 - Robert Beverley is called to the bar after studying law at the Middle Temple, in London.
February 3, 1763 - Robert Beverley and Maria Carter marry. They will have ten sons and six daughters.
1764 - By this year Robert Beverley is a member of the Essex County Court.
1769 - Robert Beverley begins construction on a new residence, a Georgian mansion called Blandfield.
1775 - Robert Beverley is elected to the College of William and Mary's board of visitors.
1780 - Robert Beverley is elected to the House of Delegates without offering himself as a candidate. He probably does not take his seat.
1787 - The Essex County justices of the peace ask the governor to reappoint Robert Beverley to the county court. Despite opposition from the Roane family the governor complies.
1793 - Robert Beverley writes his will.
January 24, 1800 - Robert Beverley adds the last of nine codicils to his will.
April 12, 1800 - Robert Beverley dies at Blandfield.

Tarter, B., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Robert Beverley (ca. 1740–1800). (2017, April 5). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Beverley_Robert_ca_1740-1800.

Robert Beverley (1743 - 1800) was born in "Blandfield" Virginia. He received his education in England and was elected to the state legislature in 1780 but never took his seat. He married Maria Carter (1745-1817) of "Sabine Hall" Richmond County, Virginia. Together they had the following sixteen children:

William Beverley (1763-1823)
Maria Beverley (1764-1824)
Robert Beverley (1766-1767)
Robert Beverley (1769-1843)
Lucy Beverley (1771-1854)
Burton Beverley (1772-1781)
Carter Beverley (b. 1774)
Byrd Beverley (b. 1775)
James Mills Beverley (1776-1779)
Anna Munford Beverley (1778-1830)
Munford Beverley (1779-1820)
Peter Randolph Beverley (b. 1780)
Evelyn Byrd Beverley (1782-1836)
McKenzie Beverley (b. 1783)
Jane Bradshaw Beverley (1784-1814)
Harriet Beverley (1786-1829).

The fourth child of Robert Beverley (d.1800), Robert Beverley (1769-1843), like his father, was also educated in England. He married Jane Tayloe (1774-1816) and lived in "Blandfield." Together they had the following six children: William Bradshaw Beverley (1791-1866), Maria Beverley (d. 1822), Rebecca Tayloe Beverley (d. 1822), James Bradshaw Beverley (b. 1797), Jane Bradshaw Beverley (1805-1822), and Roberta Beverley. Three of the children contracted typhoid fever and died in 1822 upon a visit home to "Blandfield" to visit their parents.

The fifth child of Robert Beverley (d.1800), Lucy Beverley (1771-1854) married Brett Randolph (1766-1828) of "Curles Neck," Henrico County, Virginia in 1789. They had the following eleven children: a son Randolph (1790-1790), Capt. Edward Brett Randolph (1792-1848), Dr. Robert Carter Randolph (1793-1854), Richard Randolph (1795-1885), Victor Moreau Randolph (1797-1876), John Thomson Randolph (1800-1819), Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1801-1802), Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1803-1890), Ryland Randolph (1805-1853), Theoderick Bland Randolph (b. 1807), and Ann Maria Randolph (1811-1845). Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Robert Beverley .


The will of Robert Beverley of Blandfield, dated March 9, 1793, and proved in Essex, April 21, 1800. He gave his wife Maria, for her life, all his lands, houses and mills in Essex called Blandfield, Grays, For est or Camberwell plantations, also the lands called Stokes and the an d purchased from Jackson and Hackley, also 100 acres purchased from Th omas Waring. His wife is to choose out of his slaves in Essex twenty-t wo men and twenty-two women for agricultural purposes, and as many chi ldren under fifteen years of age as will make the whole number nintet y four. Also lends her during life the stocks of horses, cattle, &c., and implements of husbandry on said plantations.

To son William L6,000 sterling, or so much as should remain unpaid to him at the testators death with an interest of 6 per cent. on the bala nce. Execurtors are authorized to sell lands in King and Queen county , 3,000 acres land near Chester's Gap in Culperper called Wakefield, c ontaining about 4,000 acres; lands at the Thoroughfare Mountain calle d Stockwell, containing about 3,000 acres; all the land on the lower s ide of the road leading from Isaac Hinn's to Norman's Ford, and all la nd in Caroline county not devised to sons Peter and McKenzie Beverley , supposed to contain 6,000 acres; also all lots in the town of Staunt on, and the tenements adjoining said town leased to Long and Brown, al so all stocks of horses, cattle, &c., and crops on his Park plantatio n in King and Queen county, to be employed in discharging his debts an d legacies.

Has given his son Robert 1,050 acres out of his Elkwood plantation an d sixty negroes, and now gives him 500 acres more. To his son Robert h is lots in Tappahannock and the reversion of all lands, &c, left his m other.

To son Carter, when twenty-one years old, part of the Elkwood tract;

To son Byrd, 2,438 acres, part of Elkwood, and also the tract of land in Culpeper callen Heri, containing 808 acres.

To son Munford, when twenty-one, 700 acres part of Elkwood, and also a ll his lands in the little fork of Culpeper, part of Elkwood containe d in his Ursulana and Elkwood patents.

To sons Peter Randolph and McKenzie Beverley, when twenty-one, 7,000 a cres in the upper part of his Chase tract in Caroline county, and als o his lot on Port Royal.

To son Robert reversion of slaves left wife.

Has already paid his daughters, Maria and Lucy Randolph their marriag e portion.

To daughters Anna Munford, Everlyne Byrd, Jane Bradshaw and Harriett B everley, twenty-eight negroes each, sons Carter, Byrd, Munford, Peter R and McKenzie Beverley forty slaves each, and remainder of slaves to be divided between his five sons. Slaves left to wife, and their incre ase, to go after her death to sons Robert, Carter, Byrd, Munford, P R and McKenzie. Stock, &c., on plantations given sons to go to said sons . [Barnes, Robert, Indexed by, Genealogies of Virginia Families, Volum e I, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1981, 113 -114.]

Codicil. September 1, 1795. As he has given son Carter part of Elkwood , with thirty slaves, stocks, &c., these to be considered part of his legacy.

Codicil. February 17, 1796. As daughter Ann Munford has married Franci s Corbin and he has given her twenty-eight slaves he delares this shal l be all she is entitled to.

Codicil. January 4, 1798. As he has given son Byrd part of Elkwood an d 30 slaves, this to be considered part of his legacy.

Codicil. As daughter Evellyn Byrd has married George Lee, and he has g iven her part of the slaves destined for her, his executors areto mak e out the nuimber, provided George Lee repays to the executors the mon ey testator has advanced to him. As testator has paid L5,000 of the L6 ,000 promised to his son William, directs the remainder be paid him. D aughters Jane and Harriet to receive L1,500 each in lieu of negroes o r anything else devised them. Gives his park lands in King and Queen c ounty to his sons Munford, Peter and McKenzie.

Codicil. November 18, 1799. Having given the use of his Park land to h is wife he cancels the last codicil.

Codicil. Frees Harry, son of Milly, who has attended him for twenty ye ars, and gives him seventy acres in Essex. Executors to provide him wi th suitable implements. [Barnes, Robert, Indexed by, Genealogies of Vi rginia Families, Volume I, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimor e, Maryland, 1981, 114.]

More About COLONEL ROBERT CARTER BEVERLEY, SR:
Codicil to Will: September 1, 1795; February 17, 1796; January 4, 1798 ; November 18, 1799; etc.13
Probate: 21 Apr 1800, Essex County, Virginia14
Public Office: Clerk15
Residence: "Wakefield," Culpeper County, Virginia; "Blandfield," Esse x County, Virginia16,17,18
Will Dated: 09 Mar 1793, Essex County, Virginia19

[Oct08lynxlady80.GED]

"The will of Robert Beverley of Blandfield, dated March 9, 1793, and p roved in Essex, April 21, 1800. He gave his wife Maria, for her life, all his lands, houses and mills in Essex called Blandfield, Grays, For est or Camberwell plantations, also the lands called Stokes and the an d purchased from Jackson and Hackley, also 100 acres purchased from Th omas Waring. His wife is to choose out of his slaves in Essex twenty-t wo men and twenty-two women for agricultural purposes, and as many chi ldren under fifteen years of age as will make the whole number nintet y four. Also lends her during life the stocks of horses, cattle, &c., and implements of husbandry on said plantations.

To son William L6,000 sterling, or so much as should remain unpaid to him at the testators death with an interest of 6 per cent. on the bala nce. Execurtors are authorized to sell lands in King and Queen county , 3,000 acres land near Chester's Gap in Culperper called Wakefield, c ontaining about 4,000 acres; lands at the Thoroughfare Mountain calle d Stockwell, containing about 3,000 acres; all the land on the lower s ide of the road leading from Isaac Hinn's to Norman's Ford, and all la nd in Caroline county not devised to sons Peter and McKenzie Beverley , supposed to contain 6,000 acres; also all lots in the town of Staunt on, and the tenements adjoining said town leased to Long and Brown, al so all stocks of horses, cattle, &c., and crops on his Park plantatio n in King and Queen county, to be employed in discharging his debts an d legacies.

Has given his son Robert 1,050 acres out of his Elkwood plantation an d sixty negroes, and now gives him 500 acres more. To his son Robert h is lots in Tappahannock and the reversion of all lands, &c, left his m other.

To son Carter, when twenty-one years old, part of the Elkwood tract;

To son Byrd, 2,438 acres, part of Elkwood, and also the tract of land in Culpeper callen Heri, containing 808 acres.

To son Munford, when twenty-one, 700 acres part of Elkwood, and also a ll his lands in the little fork of Culpeper, part of Elkwood containe d in his Ursulana and Elkwood patents.

To sons Peter Randolph and McKenzie Beverley, when twenty-one, 7,000 a cres in the upper part of his Chase tract in Caroline county, and als o his lot on Port Royal.

To son Robert reversion of slaves left wife.

Has already paid his daughters, Maria and Lucy Randolph their marriag e portion.

To daughters Anna Munford, Everlyne Byrd, Jane Bradshaw and Harriett B everley, twenty-eight negroes each, sons Carter, Byrd, Munford, Peter R and McKenzie Beverley forty slaves each, and remainder of slaves to be divided between his five sons. Slaves left to wife, and their incre ase, to go after her death to sons Robert, Carter, Byrd, Munford, P R and McKenzie. Stock, &c., on plantations given sons to go to said sons . [Barnes, Robert, Indexed by, Genealogies of Virginia Families, Volum e I, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1981, 113 -114.]

Codicil. September 1, 1795. As he has given son Carter part of Elkwood , with thirty slaves, stocks, &c., these to be considered part of his legacy.

Codicil. February 17, 1796. As daughter Ann Munford has married Franci s Corbin and he has given her twenty-eight slaves he delares this shal l be all she is entitled to.

Codicil. January 4, 1798. As he has given son Byrd part of Elkwood an d 30 slaves, this to be considered part of his legacy.

Codicil. As daughter Evellyn Byrd has married George Lee, and he has g iven her part of the slaves destined for her, his executors areto mak e out the nuimber, provided George Lee repays to the executors the mon ey testator has advanced to him. As testator has paid L5,000 of the L6 ,000 promised to his son William, directs the remainder be paid him. D aughters Jane and Harriet to receive L1,500 each in lieu of negroes o r anything else devised them. Gives his park lands in King and Queen c ounty to his sons Munford, Peter and McKenzie.

Codicil. November 18, 1799. Having given the use of his Park land to h is wife he cancels the last codicil.

Codicil. Frees Harry, son of Milly, who has attended him for twenty ye ars, and gives him seventy acres in Essex. Executors to provide him wi th suitable implements. [Barnes, Robert, Indexed by, Genealogies of Vi rginia Families, Volume I, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimor e, Maryland, 1981, 114.]

More About COLONEL ROBERT CARTER BEVERLEY, SR:
Codicil to Will: September 1, 1795; February 17, 1796; January 4, 1798 ; November 18, 1799; etc.13
Probate: 21 Apr 1800, Essex County, Virginia14
Public Office: Clerk15
Residence: "Wakefield," Culpeper County, Virginia; "Blandfield," Esse x County, Virginia16,17,18
Will Dated: 09 Mar 1793, Essex County, Virginia19

Robert Beverley (d.1800) was born in "Blandfield" Virginia. He received his education in England and was elected to the state legislature in 1780 but never took his seat. He married Maria Carter (1745-1817) of "Sabine Hall" Richmond County, Virginia. Together they had the following sixteen children: William Beverley (1763-1823), Maria Beverley (1764-1824), Robert Beverley (1766-1767), Robert Beverley (1769-1843), Lucy Beverley (1771-1854), Burton Beverley (1772-1781), Carter Beverley (b. 1774), Byrd Beverley (b. 1775), James Mills Beverley (1776-1779), Anna Munford Beverley (1778-1830), Munford Beverley (1779-1820), Peter Randolph Beverley (b. 1780), Evelyn Byrd Beverley (1782-1836), McKenzie Beverley (b. 1783), Jane Bradshaw Beverley (1784-1814), Harriet Beverley (1786-1829).



The fourth child of Robert Beverley (d.1800), Robert Beverley (1769-1843), like his father, was also educated in England. He married Jane Tayloe (1774-1816) and lived in "Blandfield." Together they had the following six children: William Bradshaw Beverley (1791-1866), Maria Beverley (d. 1822), Rebecca Tayloe Beverley (d. 1822), James Bradshaw Beverley (b. 1797), Jane Bradshaw Beverley (1805-1822), and Roberta Beverley. Three of the children contracted typhoid fever and died in 1822 upon a visit home to "Blandfield" to visit their parents.



The fifth child of Robert Beverley (d.1800), Lucy Beverley (1771-1854) married Brett Randolph (1766-1828) of "Curles Neck," Henrico County, Virginia in 1789. They had the following eleven children: a son Randolph (1790-1790), Capt. Edward Brett Randolph (1792-1848), Dr. Robert Carter Randolph (1793-1854), Richard Randolph (1795-1885), Victor Moreau Randolph (1797-1876), John Thomson Randolph (1800-1819), Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1801-1802), Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1803-1890), Ryland Randolph (1805-1853), Theoderick Bland Randolph (b. 1807), and Ann Maria Randolph (1811-1845). Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Robert Beverley .

Robert married Maria Carter on 1 Feb 1763 in , Richmond, Virginia, USA. Maria (daughter of Colonel Landon Carter and Maria Horsmanden Byrd) was born on 22 Nov 1744 in Sabine Hall, Warsaw, Richmond, Virginia, USA; died on 21 Aug 1817 in Williamsburg, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA; was buried in Champlain, Essex, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

To Miss Maria Carter at Cleve

My Dear Cousin;

You have rea'y imposed a task upon me which I can by no measns perform viz: That of writing a Merry and Comical Letter: how shou'd I my dear that am ever confined either at School or with my Grandmama know how the world goes on? Now I will give you the History of one Day at the Repetition of which without variations carries me through the Three hundred and sixty-five Days, which you know compleats a year. Well then first begin, I am awakened out of a sound Sleep with some croaking voice either Miss Polly, Milly's or some other of our Domestics with Miss Polly Miss Polly get up, 'tis time to rise, Mr. Price is down stairs and tho I hear them I lie quiet snugg till my Grandmama uses her voice, then up I get, huddle on my cloaths and down to Books, then to Breakfast, then to School again and may I have an hour to myself before Dinner, then the Same Story over again until twi-light and then a small portion of time before I go to rest, and so you must expect nothing from me but that I am.

Dear Cousin, Most Affectionately Yours

Maria Carter

Governor Berkeley and the Creation of the Virginia Aristocracy: The landed gentry rose to prominence in Virginia with the arrival of Sir William Berkeley as Royal Governor. Governor Berkeley, an Oxford-educated playwright, soldier and diplomat, arrived in Virginia in 1642, when Virginia was a frontier society of roughly 8,000 colonists. He was to hold office longer than any other governor of Virginia. Born in 1606 in England, Berkeley had been a courtier in the court of the British monarch Charles I, and came with a desire to invigorate the colony and create an imitation of British society in the New World. Under his administration, the first generation of what would be known as the Virginian aristocracy came into existence before the English Civil War ended. These included the founders of powerful dynasties such as John Carter, Richard Lee, Benjamin Harrison, the first Randolph and Thomas Stegg (or Stegge) who amassed the Byrd wealth. All of the colonizers who rose socially had connections, wealth and education. These advantages promoted them to the highest rungs of the colonial society. The families they founded ruled the Royal colony of Virginia for more than a century.

Colonists Arriving in Virginia
Painting by Sidney King courtesy of Colonial National Historical Park


The Byrd, Beverley, Carter, Culpepper, Isham, Washington, Spencer, Randolph, Jefferson, Bland, Beverely, Bolling, Eppe and Hackett families intermarried, creating a web of overlapping kinships. They sat on the governing boards of the colony and promoted each others interests. Berkeley also fostered the rise of the General Assembly from a small body into a replica of the Parliament in England, and promoted a separation of power between provincial and county governments. He worked to create a royalist society, where an elite ruled over the great masses of yeoman farmers, free and enslaved African Americans, indentured servants and marginal farmers who leased their land. A brief look at some of the families who served in the Virginia House of Burgesses displays a continuity of the landed-gentry class in the governing class of the colony. In 1664 Lawrence Washington and William Randolph were elected members of the House of Burgesses. The 1736-1740 legislative session had representatives of the Randolph, Carter, Fitzhugh, Beverely and Berkeley families seated, and the 1776 Assembly had Carters, Randolphs and Lees as well as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

See www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/jamesriver/gentry/htm. for the rest of the story.

Notes:

Landon Carter (August 1710 – December 22, 1778) was a planter from Virginia, best known for his account of colonial life leading up the American War of Independence, The Diary of Colonel Landon Carter.

Landon Carter was the son of Robert "King" Carter, a Virginia-born merchant planter and uncle of Robert Carter III. In 1719, at the age of nine, Carter was sent to England to be schooled under the early linguist, Solomon Lowe. He returned to Virginia in 1727.

"King" Carter died in 1732, and Landon inherited a portion of his father's estate. Shortly thereafter, Carter married Elizabeth Wormeley, daughter of John Wormeley. She died in 1740. In 1742, Landon married Maria Byrd, daughter of William Byrd II, who died two years later. Carter married his third wife, Elizabeth Beale, in 1746.

Shortly after his first marriage, Carter settled on lands he had inherited in Richmond County. His mansion house, Sabine Hall, which he built about 1734, stood at the heart of his plantation there.

Carter's daughter Maria married Robert Beverley son of Colonel William Beverley and Elizabeth Bland and named after his paternal grandfather. The Beverleys were descended from Pocahontas through their marriage to the Randolphs.

Carter's grave is in the Lower Lunenburg Parish Church cemetery in Warsaw, Virginia. He left his heirs 50,000 acres (200 km²) of land and as many as 500 slaves. The Special Collections Research Center at the College of William and Mary holds papers relating to Landon Carter and many other descendants of King Carter.

Landon married Maria Horsmanden Byrd on 22 Sep 1742 in Sabine Hall, Warsaw, Richmond, Virginia, USA. Maria (daughter of Col. William Leander Black Swan' Byrd and Marion (Maria) Taylor) was born on 6 Jun 1727 in , Charles City, Virginia, USA; died on 29 Nov 1744 in Sabine Hall, Warsaw, Richmond, Virginia, USA; was buried in Warsaw, Richmond, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Robert King Carter son of John Carter and Sarah Ludlow

Robert King Carter married 1680 Virginia, to Judith Armistead.
From the "ENCYCLOPEDIA of VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY" Under the Editorial Supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler, LL. D., VOLUME V, 1915, pages 848-849

The epitaph on his tomb in Christ Church, records his virtues and achievements. Translated from the Latin, it says:
Here lies Robert Carter an honorable man who by noble endowments and pure morals gave luster to his gentle birth. Rector of William and Mary College, he sustained that institution and its most trying times. And he was Speaker of the House of Burgesses and Treasurer under the most serene princes, William, Ann, George I. and George II. Elected by
the House of Burgesses its Speaker six years and Governor of the Colony for more than a year he upheld equally the regal dignity and the public freedom. Possessed of ample wealth, blameless acquired, he built and endowed this sacred edifice, a signal monument of his piety towards God. He furnished it richly. Entertaining his friends kindly, he was neither a prodigal nor a parsimonious host.

His first wife was Judith, daughter of John Armistead, Esq. His second, Betty, a descendant of the noble house of Landon. By these wives he had many children and whose education he expended large sums of money. At length, full of honors and of years, when he had well performed all the duties of an exemplary life he departed from this world on the 4th of August, 1732, in the 69th year of his age.

This man's grandson had Washington himself as neighbor, and Robert E. Lee's mother was the great granddaughter of his grandfather, Robert "King" Carter. "It was 230 years ago that Robert Carter III, the patriarch of one of the wealthiest families in Virginia, quietly walked into a Northumberland County courthouse and delivered an airtight legal document announcing his intention to free, or manumit, more than 500 slaves.

He titled it the "deed of gift." It was, by far, experts say, the largest liberation of Black people before President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Emancipation Act and Emancipation Proclamation more than seven decades later.

Ancestor of William Henry Harrison - 9th US President.

Robert Carter was born 4 August 1663 at Corotoman plantation, Lancaster County, Virginia, a son of John Carter and Sarah Ludlow.[3] His father died when Robert was a young boy, in 1669. So his half-brother, Lt. Col. John Carter (15 years older than Robert), took on the parental role.[3] Per their father's specific instructions, Robert was educated well in England. He had a tutor for English and Latin, and lived with Arthur Bailey who was a family friend and merchant.[3]

He married 1) in 1688 at Heese, Lancaster, Virginia to Judith Armistead (died 1699).[4] She died in 1699.
He married 2) in 1701 to Elizabeth (Landon) Willis (marriage contract written April 9, 1701), widow of Richard Willis, and daughter of Thomas Landon.[3]
Robert "King" married in 1688 to Judith Armistead, daughter of John Armistead of "Hesse," Gloucester County. Their children were:[4]

John, born ca 1689, died 1742; mar Elizabeth Hill of Shirley
Elizabeth born 1692; mar Nathaniel Burwell
Judith died in infancy,
Sarah died at age 15
Judith born 1695 (the second named Judith); mar Mann Page[3]
Note: Some sources, including the Foundation for Historic Christ Church, place the birth date of John Carter III at 1696,[4]while others place it at 1689/90.[5][3]

Little is known about the intimate family life of Robert and Judith during these years.[3] Judith died February 23, 1699, and only three of her children survived to adulthood.[5]

Robert's second wife was Elizabeth Landon Willis, (mother of ten of Robert Carter's children) married in 1701:[4]

Anne Carter (1702–1743) married Benjamin Harrison IV; (parents of Benjamin Harrison V and grandparents of President William Henry Harrison).
Robert Carter II (1704–1734) married Priscilla Churchill.
Sarah Carter (~1705–1705)
Betty Carter (~1705–1706)
Charles Carter (1707–1764) married Anne Byrd, daughter of Col. William Byrd II.
Ludlow Carter (born ~1709)
Landon Carter (1710–1778) married Maria Byrd, daughter of Col. William Byrd II.
Mary Carter (1712–1736) married George Braxton; (parents of Carter Braxton).
Lucy Carter (1715–1763) married Henry Fitzhugh
George Carter (1718–1742)[3]

The first actual land grant found on record in the Northern Neck section of Virginia is to Col. Robert "King" Carter, as the agent of Lord Fairfax and to his sons and grandsons. As the agent of Lord Fairfax, the Proprietor of the Northern Neck of VA, Col. Carter handled vast bodies of land and by his will left over 300,000 acres of land to his children.[6]
Robert was known as "King" Carter due to his immense wealth. He had a remarkable reputation as a Colonial Official and an agent for Lord Fairfax, V. At the age of 28, Robert entered the Assembly as a Burgess from Lancaster County, serving five consecutive years. In 1726 he served as acting governor of Virginia after the death of Governor Drysdale. He served two terms as agent for the Fairfax proprietary of the Northern Neck of Virginia, the first being, 1702-1711, and the second term, 1722-32. During his first term, he began to acquire large tracts of land for himself in the Rappahannock region of Virginia. After acquiring some 20,000 acres for himself, he was succeeded by Edmund Jennings. When he became representative of Fairfax's interests again in 1722, he succeeded in securing for his children and grandchildren some 110,000 acres in the Northern Neck. He also had additional acquisitions beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Robert's gifted and productive life centered around the original Christ Church, a smaller wooden structure. His parents were buried within the chancel of the church. A historic marker outside of the Church reads: "Christ Church was built in 1732, on the site of an older Church by Robert ("King") Carter, who reserved one quarter of it for seating his tenants and servants. It is one of the very few colonial churches in America that have never been altered, a typical early eighteenth-century structure.[7]

Robert owned many slaves. An inventory of his slaves, apparently made as part of the inventory of his estate, was taken in 1733.[8] There are 345 slaves listed with names like: Old Crabb, Old Gumby, and Old Fortune a Woman past Labour.[8]

Robert left quite a list of property, including the slaves above-mentioned. He held numerous plantations in eight different counties of Virginia:

INVENTORY, [1733] November ?, of the estate of Robert Carter comprising a detailed list of agricultural equipment, blacksmith tools, books, coaches, furniture, glassware, horses and other livestock, milling tools, silverware and utensils, and slaves at Carter's estates in
Caroline (Pewmond's End),
King George (Falls and Richland quarters),
Lancaster (Brick House Quarter, Changilins Quarter, Corotoman, Corotoman Quarter, Gibson's Plantation, Great Mill, Hills Quarter, Indian Town Quarter, Little Mill, Morattico Quarter, Office Quarter, Old House Quarter, Poplar Neck Quarter, and Wolf House Quarter),
Northumberland County (Blough Point Quarter, Feilding's Plantation, Jones's Plantation, and Old Plantation),
Prince William (Bull Run, Frying Pan Quarter, Lodge Quarter, Range Quarter, and Red Oak Quarter,),
Richmond (Brick House Quarter, Bridge Quarter, Dickinson's Mill, Fork Quarter, Thomas Glascock's, Gumfield's Quarter, Hickory Thickett, Hinson's Quarter, Old Quarter, and Totuskey Quarter),
Spotsylvania (Mount Quarter and Norman's Ford), Stafford (Hamstead Quarter, Hinson's Quarter, Park Quarter, and Poplar Quarter), and
Westmoreland (Brent's Quarter, Coles Point, Dick's Quarter, Forrest Quarter, Head of the River, Medcalf's Plantation, Moon's Plantation, The Narrows, Old Ordinary, and Pantico Quarter), counties, Virginia[9]

Robert Carter died 4 Aug 1732 at Corotoman, Lancaster, Virginia and was buried at Christ Church.[4] "(see tombstone inscription and pictures). At his death in 1732, his obituary in Gentleman's Magazine described his estate to be "about 300,000 acres of land, about 1000 Negroes, 10,000 pounds in money." The tombstones of Robert and his two wives were placed at the east end of the old Christ Church.
The tombstones have been replaced by the church, and the inscription on his tombstone (taken from the original):

"Here lies buried Robert Carter, Esq., an honourable man, who by noble endowments and pure morals gave lustre to his gentle birth. Rector of William and Mary, he sustained that institution in its most trying times. He was Speaker of the House of Burgesses, and Treasurer under the most serene Princes William, Anne George I and II. Elected by the House its Speaker six years, and Governor of the Colony for more than a year, he upheld equally the regal dignity and the public freedom. Possessed of ample wealth, blamelessly acquired, he built and endowed, at his own expense, this sacred edifice - a signal monument of his piety toward God. He furnished it richly. Entertaining his friends kindly, he was neither a prodigal nor a parsimonious host. His first wife was Judith, daughter of John Armistead, Esq.; his second Betty, a descendant of the noble family of Landons. By these wives he had many children, on whose education he expended large sums of money. At length, full of honours and of years, when he had performed all the duties of an exemplary life, he departed from this world on the 4th day of August, in the 69th year of his age. The unhappy lament their lost comforter, the widows their lost protector, and the orphans their lost father."

Robert married Elizabeth Landon on 9 Apr 1701 in , , Virginia, USA. Elizabeth was born in 1683 in Credenhill, Hereford, England; died on 3 Jul 1719 in Williamsburg, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Col. married Marion (Maria) Taylor on 9 May 1724 in Westover, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA. Marion was born on 10 Nov 1698 in Kensington, Middlesex, England; died on 28 Aug 1771 in , Charles City, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]