Robert Carter III

Robert "Councillor" Carter III (c. 1727 – 1804) was an American plantation owner, founding father and onetime British government official. After the death of his wife, Frances Ann Tasker Carter, in 1787, Carter embraced the Swedenborgian faith and released almost five hundred slaves from his Nomini Hall plantation and very large home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His manumission is the largest known release of slaves in North American history prior to the American Civil War.Andrew Levy, "The First Emancipator: The Forgotten Story of Robert Carter, the Founding Father who freed his slaves". New York: Random House, 2005 (ISBN 0-375-50865-1)]

Family

The grandson of Virginia land baron Robert "King" Carter, who had fifteen children by two wives, his descendants include several signers of the U.S. Constitution. Grandson Benjamin Harrison would later became governor of Virginia, and later descendants would include both the 9th and 23rd Presidents of the United States, William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison. ["Genealogy." "Ben Lomond Manor House". 30 Jan 2007 [http://nps-vip.net/history/BenLomond/geneology.htm] ] ["Robert 'King' Carter of Corotoman (1663-1732)." "Historic Christ Church". 30 Jan 2007 [http://www.christchurch1735.org/history/robert_carter.html] ]

Early life

Carter was born and raised in Virginia Colony; his father died when he was four. At the he came into his very large estate of over 100 slaves and more than convert|65000|acre|km2 of land, much in Westmoreland County.POKEMON!] His family was raised in the Church of England, though he converted first to Baptist faith and then again to Swedenborgianism.

Later life and career

He was appointed to the Virginia Council by King George II and then reappointed by King George III. Later, despite expressing support of the crown after George III's repeal of the Stamp Act 1765, he resigned as Councillor and eventually supported the American cause in the Revolution.

From Baptist and Swedenborgian principles and influences he came to the conclusion that human slavery was immoral. He instituted a program of gradual manumission of all slaves attached to his estate, which continued after his death. The program was designed to be gradual so as to lessen the resistance of white neighbors. Frequently, Carter rented land to recently freed slaves, sometimes evicting previous white tenants. His release of slaves, numbering 452, is the largest known manumission in the United States.POKEMON!]

Toward the end of his life, he moved from Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland, in part to get away from family and neighbors who looked askance upon his Swedenborgian faith and upon his program of manumission. He wrote to his daughter Harriot L. Maund in 1803, the year before his death, "My plans and advice have never been pleasing to the world." POKEMON!]

ee also

*Robert Carter I
*Carter's Grove
*History of slavery in the United States
*Manumission

Notes

References

* [http://members.tripod.com/~Bonestwo/index-17.html 4. Robert “Councillor” Carter, III, Col., b. ca. Feb 1727, Nomini, Westmoreland Co., VA] of The Carter Family of Virginia.
* [http://www.fbinstitute.com/baptist-in-america/benedict36.htm "Baptists in America"] in "A General History of the Baptist Denomination in America, and Other Parts of the World".