Thomas Carter & Magdalen Moore

Sally’s 7-great Grandparents:

Thomas Carter ca 1651 – 1710 | parents
& Magdalen Moore ca 1655 – aft 1737 | parents
of Isle of Wight County, Virginia

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This is my working hypothesis — the way I see it as of this moment!!

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Thomas Carter married ca 11 Aug 1673 Magdalen Moore, who was the daughter of George Moore.

9 Aug 1669 Thomas Carter first appears in Isle of Wight records when William Cooke and his wife Mary convey “to Thomas Carter Junr, sunne of Thomas Carter late of county” 400 a.

Thomas Carter of UP give George Carter, son of said Thomas and Magdalen–Whereas Geo. Moore of sd Parish, father of Magdalen, by deed, 11 Aug 1673, did in consideration of marriage, convey to said Thomas and Magdalen 400 acres, part of 1400 acres in Blackwater Swamp, pat 5 May 1669–now they confirm to said Geo. Carter 200 of said 400 acres. 30 Dec 1700. Wm Brown, Saml. Griffin.

Thomas Carter left his will in Isle of Wight County, Virginia 6 Feb 1710. Will proved 10 April 1710.

5 Feb 1736/7. Magdalin Carter, widow, and Martha, her daughter, of Bertie Precinct NC to Alexander of Chowan NC for ¬£3 Va money 350 acres where Thomas Carter dec’d lived , part of a patent to Wm Miles which Thomas Carter bought of Wm Cook in 1669. Thomas Carter died in 1709 and left this land by will to Madgalin, his wife, and Martha, his daughter, for their lives and then to Alexander Carter, his son. [Isle of Wight Deed Book 5, p 85]. NCGSJ 2-125.

Children of Thomas Carter and Magdalen Moore:
1. Thomas Carter ca 1675 – 1736 Isle of Wight Co, VA
married Elizabeth Knight?
a. Thomas Carter ca 1695/1700 – 1739
b. James Carter ca 1700 – 1775 Halifax Co
c. Benjamin Carter ca 1710 – ? nfi
d. George Carter ? – ca 1749 Edgecombe Co
i. William Carter
e. Samuel Carter ca 1710 – aft Apr 1787
married Rebecca [maybe Strickland]
married 2nd Catherine Ruffin
f. William Carter
married Martha
g. Elizabeth Carter
h. Ann Carter
2. Joseph Carter ca 16xx – Aug. 1730
married Rachel Dickinson?
Joseph Carter’s estate divided 1731
by Moore Carter, Francis Parker, James Bryant, and John Dickerson
a. Joseph Carter
b. Matthew Carter
3. George Carter died June 1736
married Sarah Neville?
a. Robert Carter of Bertie Co NC ca 1722 – Nov 1784 Bertie Co NC
executors son George Carter and James Purvis
married Olive ?
I. Michael Carter
ii. Rachel Carter
iii. George Carter
iv. Olive Carter
v. Robert Carter
vi. Isaac Carter
b. Benjamin Carter
4. Martha Carter ca 1670 – aft 1736*
married John Jones ca 1660/65 – 1736
5. John Carter ca 1682 – 1736
6. Moore Carter ca 1688- 1740 Bertie Co
married Jane Kindred ? – 1764 Northampton Co
7. Alexander Carter ca 1700 – 1769 Hertford Co [Gates part]
married ca 1722 Ann ? ca 1705 – 1790
step-daughter of Richard Barnes and wife Mary Odom

e-mail from Dr. Barry B Hayes

Concerning the identity of Moore Carter’s father, we have the following record:

(1) On 6 February 1710, Thomas Carter… being very sick and weak of body…made his will which left his estate to his wife and devised …unto my daughter Martha the plantation which I now live on, as long as she lives after my loving wife…. Then,…after my daughter Martha [dies] I give the plantation to my son Alexander…. The will was probated 10 April 1710 (Isle of Wight Wills and Deeds # 2, p. 499). These unfortunately were the only two children mentioned; other children can be proved by deeds and other devices more easily than others.

(2) One son who can be proved without any difficulty was George Carter. On 30 December 1700, Thomas Carter and his wife Magdalen conveyed to …son George Carter… 200 acres, …part of the 400 acres George Moore father of Magdalen… had given to Thomas Carter on 11 August 1673 at …the Red Root Point Branch and the Beaver Dam Branch… (Boddie, Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight, pp. 642-43).

(3) On 20 April 1710, the court took notice of a deed of 22 February 1710 whereby George Moore and wife Jane, George Carter’s grandparents, deeded to Thomas Ward of Surry County 100 acres,…part of a patent of 1,400 acres to Moore in 1669… and adjoining land …lately bought by Ward from Robert Munger…. The witnesses included George Carter, Moore Carter, and their cousin Henry White (named as a grandson in George Moore’s will). See Isle of Wight Deed Book # 2, p. 145.

(4) On 30 Nov 1710, the grandfather George Moore (for whom George Carter and Moore Carter would appear to have been named), signed at …age 78… his will to which a codicil was added prior to probate on 24 January 1714 (Chapman, Isle of Wight Wills, p. 54). The primary legatees were grandchildren among whom Moore named…Moore Thomas White… But George Moore did not have a grandson named Moore Thomas White. He did have a grandson George Thomas White who can be correctly identified in the will of his mother, Ann Moore White, 18 September 1739. George Thomas White left a will, received by the court on 25 June 1744. See Chapman, Wills, pp. 142, 147. The name Moore Thomas White or Moore White appears on no other record than the codicil. The recorder clearly erred in giving George Thomas White the wrong first name …Moore… The compiler supposes that the late Rev. E.S. Lucas of Southern Historical Press was correct in speculating about a mistake of the recorder who confused Moore Carter and his first cousin George Thomas White and mangled the two names to read …Moore Thomas White…

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Below some Carters that have been removed from the list of children as they don’t belong there.

Perhaps this is a grandson, the son of Moore Carter. ?e. Jacob Carter ca 1715? – 1783 St Bartholomew Parish, Colleton Dist. SC married Sarah Middleton i. George Carter ii. Jesse Carter iii. David Carter iv. Jacob Carter v. James Carter vi. Rebecca Carter married Stephen Crummy vii. Rachel Carter viii. daughter Carter married Phillip Herndon ix. Isaac Carter

Edward Carter ca 1674 – 1735 a. Edward Carter Jr ca 1696 – 1759 lived on Potecasi Creek b. James Carter c. John Carter i. Edward Carter ? – 1795 Lenoir Co. married Elizabeth Roberts ii. Solomon Carter ca 1725 – 1808 Duplin Co married Constantina Roberts Hello! I am a descendant of the Carters of Washington Co, VA and Duplin Co, NC. I found your page athttps://sallysfamilyplace.com/MapleLawn/carterto.htm – very well done! Thank you for sharing all that, especially the will references and the pictures.However, I would like to bring something to your attention about one of the Carter lines you show on this page. You have:

I believe this Edward was not the son of Thomas Carter and Magdalen Moore of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, but instead was the son of another Edward, of Northampton County. This has been demonstrated by genealogist Paul Heinegg:

http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Campbell_Charity.htm (scroll down to CARTER FAMILY, and then to: “4. Edward2 Carter (Edward1), born say 1680…”

As you can see by following this Carter family, the grandchildren of the Edward who left a 1736 will in New Hanover County were counted as African Americans in North Carolina records. For example, you have Solomon who m. Constantina Roberts (and, by the way, there’s no proof of her maiden name, nor is there proof that Solomon’s father was John, just that he was a grandson of Edward of New Hanover) — if you look at the 1800 Census, Solomon is listed in Duplin County as “other free”, not white, thus was a mulatto, or mixed-race person. Although some descendants want to claim that this indicates Native American ancestry, if you follow the Carter line back (as Heinegg has done), you find them listed as “negro.”

This page has a good summary of the overall history:

http://www.common-place.org/vol-05/no-01/heinegg-hoff/index.shtml

Note: “Edward Carter was the fourth largest Dobbs County landowner with 23,292 acres in 1780. He was head of a Dobbs County household of eight “other free,” one white woman, and twenty slaves in 1790. In a most extraordinary move, in 1773 the Dobbs County court recommended to the general assembly that Edward Carter’s daughters be exempted from the discriminatory tax against female children of African Americans.”

This refers to the brother of the Solomon who married Constantina.

Based on all this evidence, I believe Heinegg is correct about this Carter line being African-American in origin.

I notice that you have a picture (which looks a drawing?) of Solomon and Constantina – they appear to be white, which probably means they were very light-skinned African Americans, which is I imagine why they were counted as white in 1790, but as “other free” in 1800.

Regards,

Steve Williamson

Thomas Carter 1697
“A portrait of Thomas Carter, still in its original Baroque frame, hangs at the headquarters of the Duplin County, North Carolina Historical Society in Rose Hill. On one of the original stretchers was written ‘Thos Carter/Nanticoke/ Ile of Wight 1697.’ The portrait shows a middle aged man with olive skin, a slightly hooked nose and sparkling gray eyes. He has a plump healthy face and is dressed in peruke, dark coat and linen shirt with flowing jabot. In his hands he hold a letter or possibly a bill of lading.” letter from Mr. William Murphy to Dr. Barry Hayes. The portrait had descended through the line of Edward Carter for many generations to Mr. Murphy who had made the gift of the portrait to the library.

I asked Steve how he accounted for the portrait of Thomas Carter. He replied.
“I have not seen this portrait myself, so I can only speculate. I am considering taking a trip down to North Carolina to see if I can look at it firsthand, but here are some possibilities I can think of:

– As you have in your description, he is “olive skinned” – that is not a skin tone normally associated with English people, as you would expect from the Thomas Carter ancestry. But “olive skin” would fit with some Portuguese/African ancestry. To me, the man in the painting could be Hispanic or even Middle Eastern, if I had seen it without an explanation. Or it could be an Englishman, if the painting itself had darkened as it aged (that happens sometimes).

– Perhaps this is really Thomas Carter, but the painting wasn’t passed down from him, it was instead bought by one of Edward’s descendants who assumed it was his ancestor (or wanted people to think he was from the white, not the black Carters) and then passed down from that point in the family with the story ‘Hey, that’s our ancestor.’

– It could be a fake, or a case of mistaken identity. Maybe it is actually a black Carter ancestor (like Edward of Northampton), thus the “olive skin,” but someone decided it must be Thomas, and so made the inscription based on that assumption.

There is a slight resemblance between the man in the painting and the little drawing of Solomon Carter (who m. Constantina), but not so much that it’s possible to say for sure if they are related.

I think the real proof will come when a direct male descendant of Edward Carter of New Hanover has DNA testing. That would settle it, as the paternal line should be clearly either European or African.”

Another point of interest ….”but, let me tell you, the man in the portrait is most certainly a Carter. My grandmother, daughter-in-law of Henry Norfleet Felton, was a Carter and looked almost exactly like the man in the portrait. The nose, the skin, all of it runs in the Carter (and the Williams) lines.” e-mail from Susan Woodward”

15/9/15 – from Gary

Hi,
really great and helpful website. thanks so much for all the work.
If I may contribute. I noticed someone had asserted that the Bertie county
Edward Carter (1698) has been "proven" to be descended from Thomas Carter
slave. This is not at all true. There is no evidence. If you look at the
book in question the dates don't even match up. Thomas born in 1647 Edward
born in 1690's (1698)? Everybody knows that's not right without other
evidence. Also there is a Lenoir county court case concerning his
descendants in 1840 with a deposition that states "straight hair descended
from Indian".
Also, in this same direction, your John Freeman 1718 Chowan Co. father of
Solomon Freeman 1738. 11 males clearly in this line have tested  Y-DNA
hologroup Q-M3 native american. 41 male freemans south of the james have
tested Q-M3. Most likely all descendants of John 1718. It is likely that
this John is the signer of some Chowanoke indian tribal land deeds.

thanks again for your work,
Gary