Col. Archibald "Old Iron" Cary of Ampthill

https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Cary_Archibald_1721-1787

Archibald Cary was a member of the Convention of 1776, Speaker of the Senate of Virginia (1776–1786), and one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Virginia during and after the American Revolution (1775–1783). Raised in Williamsburg and at his family home of Ampthill, in Chesterfield County, Cary probably attended the College of William and Mary, later working a large farm on land deeded to him from his father. He served in the House of Burgesses, representing Goochland County (1748–1749) and Chesterfield County (1756–1775) and in 1766 was named presiding judge of the Chesterfield County Court. He used his power to curtail the activities of local Baptists. Although Cary voted against Patrick Henry's Resolves on the Stamp Act in 1765, thinking them too inflammatory, he went on to unfailingly support colonial protests against the power of Parliament. In 1773 he was appointed to the Committee of Correspondence and, from 1774 to 1776, to five Revolutionary Conventions. He was a member of the committee that drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the first state constitution. From 1776 until 1786 he served as Speaker of the Senate of Virginia, in many respects as powerful a voice as many of his contemporaries but little known outside Virginia. He died at Ampthill in 1787.

Early Years

Cary was born on January 24, 1721, probably in Williamsburg. He was the son of the builder Henry Cary and his second wife, Ann Edwards Cary. He grew up in Williamsburg and at Ampthill, the elegant brick mansion that his father erected near the mouth of Falling Creek in the portion of Henrico County that in 1749 became Chesterfield County. Cary probably attended the College of William and Mary. He was handsome, strong, tall, and pugnacious. On September 21, 1742, his father deeded him 4,132 acres of valuable land in the part of Goochland County that in 1749 became Cumberland County. In 1744 Cary married Mary Randolph, of Turkey Island, in Henrico County. They had one son and eight daughters, several of whom died in infancy or childhood.

Cary was appointed a justice of the peace in Goochland County on April 22, 1747, and represented the county in the House of Burgesses in the two sessions of 1748 and 1749. Named to the new Cumberland County Court on April 27, 1749, he also became a vestryman of Southam Parish in December of that year. In 1750, after the death of his father, Cary moved to Ampthill and quickly became one of Chesterfield County's wealthiest and most important public men. He was appointed to the county court on June 15, 1750, on November 6, 1766, was named presiding judge, and by October 22, 1760, also became county lieutenant, or commander of the militia.

Cary erected an iron foundry near the site of the first ironworks established by the Virginia Company of London in the seventeenth century. He built a successful flour mill and other manufacturing enterprises at the James River landing called Warwick. In 1769 the General Assembly appointed Cary a trustee of the town of Warwick, which it expanded onto his property near Ampthill, and also of Manchester, a town lying across the James River from Richmond that became an important commercial and manufacturing center. Cary led early efforts to improve navigation on the Appomattox and James rivers and served on the committee that the assembly appointed in 1772 to attempt to extend the navigation of the upper Potomac River. He also kept a well-known stable of fine horses.

Between 1770 and 1774 Cary used his power as presiding justice of the county court to try to curtail Baptist activities. He fined or jailed Baptist exhorters who preached without a license, and after people crowded around the jail and the incarcerated ministers attempted to preach through the grated windows, Cary enclosed the jail with a brick wall. If Baptist ministers were whipped in Chesterfield County for preaching without a magistrate's permission, as some testimony suggests, it may have been with Cary's assent. In spite of, or perhaps because of, Cary's notorious persecution, the number of Baptists in the county increased rapidly during those years.

Cary represented Chesterfield County in the House of Burgesses from 1756 until the outbreak of the Revolution. Recognized as a man of ability, he took responsibility in the mid-1760s for managing the large supply of trade goods that the colony purchased in an attempt to ensure an alliance with western Indians. He became chairman of the Committee of Public Claims in November 1762 and retained that influential position through 1775. By the end of the 1760s he was routinely appointed to high-ranking positions on several of the other most important committees, including Privileges and Elections, Propositions and Grievances, and after 1769 the Committee for Religion.

Cary's rise to prominence reflected his intelligence and competence, but he was also allied through marriage and financial dealings with other leading burgesses. By the 1760s he was heavily in debt to John Robinson, the Speaker of the House and treasurer of the colony, who was not only the most powerful Virginia politician of the age but also the principal in the colony's largest financial scandal. Shortly before it became publicly known that Robinson owed the colony more than £100,000, Cary had sat on a House committee that reported that Robinson's treasury records were in good order. After the scandal became public, Cary was one of the men who spent decades attempting to pay off their loans and preserve their fiscal and personal integrity.

Revolution

Cary's relationship with Peyton Randolph, who succeeded Robinson as Speaker, and with the younger generation of burgesses was equally strong but not tinged with financial dependency. In 1765 Cary opposed Patrick Henry's resolutions condemning the Stamp Act because he deemed them too inflammatory, but never thereafter did he fail to support the most energetic Virginia protests against Parliament. Cary signed the nonimportation associations adopted later in the 1760s and early in the 1770s, and in March 1773 he was appointed to the new Committee of Correspondence that the House of Burgesses created to coordinate Virginia's actions with those of the other colonies. He was elected to each of the five Revolutionary Conventions that met between August 1774 and July 1776.

During the convention in the summer of 1775 he was a member of nearly every important drafting committee and in August came within a few votes of being elected to the Committee of Safety that in effect governed Virginia for the next eleven months. Cary also served on every significant committee in the fourth convention during the winter of 1775–1776 and usually presided during debates in the committee of the whole. In the fifth convention, which assembled on May 6, 1776, he was one of the two or three most influential members. Cary regularly presided over the committee of the whole and chaired the committee appointed on May 15, 1776, to draft the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the first constitution of Virginia. The convention unanimously adopted both documents, as well as the resolution calling for independence from Great Britain.

During the Revolutionary War, Cary directed recruitment of soldiers and procurement of supplies in central Virginia, and he erected factories in Manchester and Richmond to produce gunpowder and rope. Ampthill became well known to Continental army officers who relied on Cary for advice and assistance or who stayed there while on duty in or in transit through Virginia. He was one of the commissioners named in 1779 to manage the move of the state government from Williamsburg to the new capital at Richmond, and he continued his staunch support of the Anglican Church even as the Revolution brought about its disestablishment as the official church in Virginia. Because Cary was a strongly opinionated man capable of enforcing his beliefs with violence, at least some of his contemporaries believed a story that Cary, after hearing a rumor that Patrick Henry might be appointed dictator of Virginia, swore to stab Henry to death.

Speaker of the Senate

In 1776 Cary was elected to the new Senate of Virginia to represent the counties of Amelia, Chesterfield, and Cumberland (and also Powhatan after 1778). At its first meeting on October 7 he was unanimously chosen Speaker, and each year thereafter through 1786 the senators reelected him to that office. The Senate's fragmentary surviving records make it uncertain whether the elections were all unanimous, but they probably were. Because of poor health Cary missed the October 1779 assembly session, when the members chose Nathaniel Harrison to preside in his stead. Again in the autumn of 1781 Cary was unable to attend, and Harrison was acting Speaker.

Scarcely known at all outside Virginia, Cary was in many respects the peer of the distinguished Virginians who gained international fame in the Continental Congress or on the battlefield during the Revolutionary War. Within Virginia his eminent status was undoubted. He may have owned more than 14,000 acres of land and more than 200 slaves during the 1780s. On paper Cary was a wealthy planter with valuable commercial and manufacturing enterprises at his command, but he suffered from a variety of economic problems. His Richmond mills were destroyed during the war, he had trouble collecting money owed to him, and he could not pay his British creditors. Because he was involved with many other men in large-scale partnerships, their similar financial situation created additional difficulties for him. In that, Cary was not in an unusual circumstance, but the range of his interests made the scale of his financial problems especially notable. As a Richmond merchant reported to Cary's close friend Thomas Jefferson after Cary's death, "no Gentleman of this Country in the memory of man ever left his affairs so distracted. The debts are immense. I had almost said innumerable. His family will be left very bare indeed."

Cary presided over the Senate of Virginia for the last time during the session that began on October 16, 1786. He served until at least November 21, so far as extant pay records show. He then became ill and returned home, and by or on December 7 the senators chose John Jones to succeed him.

Cary died at Ampthill on February 26, 1787. He may have been buried there, where a legend circulated as late as the early years of the twentieth century that his ghost occasionally appeared in the basement. No evidence of a grave was found when the mansion was moved during the winter of 1929–1930 to a site north of the James River in western Richmond.

Time Line

January 24, 1721 - Archibald Cary is born, probably in Williamsburg.

September 21, 1742 - Henry Cary deeds his son, Archibald Cary, 4,132 acres of land in the part of Goochland County that later becomes Cumberland County.

1744 - Archibald Cary and Mary Randolph marry in Henrico County. They will have one son and eight daughters, several of whom die young.

April 22, 1747 - Archibald Cary is appointed a justice of the peace in Goochland County.

1748–1749 - Archibald Cary represents Goochland County during two sessions of the House of Burgesses.

April 27, 1749 - Archibald Cary is named to the new Cumberland County Court.

1750 - After the death of his father, Archibald Cary moves to Amphill, the family estate in Chesterfield County.

June 15, 1750 - Archibald Cary is appointed to the Chesterfield County Court.

1756–1775 - Archibald Cary represents Chesterfield County in the House of Burgesses.

October 22, 1760 - Archibald Cary becomes county lieutenant, or commander, of the militia in Chesterfield County.

November 1762 - Archibald Cary becomes chairman of the Committee of Public Claims in the House of Burgesses.

May 29, 1765 - Archibald Cary votes against Patrick Henry's Resolves on the Stamp Act, finding them too inflammatory.

November 6, 1766 - Archibald Cary is named presiding judge of the Chesterfield County Court.

1769 - The General Assembly appoints Archibald Cary a trustee of the towns of Warwick and Manchester.

1770–1774 - Archibald Cary uses his power as presiding justice of the Chesterfield County Court to try to curtail Baptist activities in the county.

1772 - Archibald Cary serves on a legislative committee appointed to attempt to extend the navigation of the upper Potomac River.

March 1773 - The House of Burgesses appoints Archibald Cary to the new Committee of Correspondence.

August 1774–July 1776 - Archibald Cary is elected to each of the five Revolutionary Conventions that meet in Virginia.

1776–1786 - Archibald Cary serves as Speaker of the Senate of Virginia.

May 15, 1776 - Archibald Cary chairs the committee appointed to draft the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the first constitution of Virginia.

1779 - Archibald Cary is one of the commissioners named by the General Assembly to manage the move of the state government from Williamsburg to the new capital at Richmond.

October 1779 - Nathaniel Harrison serves as acting Speaker of the Senate of Virginia due to Archibald Cary's poor health.

Autumn 1781 - Nathaniel Harrison serves as acting Speaker of the Senate of Virginia due to Archibald Cary's poor health.

October 16, 1786 - Archibald Cary presides over the Senate of Virginia for the last time.

November 21, 1786 - Archibald Cary ends his service in the Senate of Virginia.

February 26, 1787 - Archibald Cary dies at Ampthill, his estate in Chesterfield County.

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A Patriot of the American Revolution for VIRGINIA with the rank of COLONEL. DAR Ancestor # A020159

From Wikipedia:

Cary was a member of the House of Burgesses from 1756 to 1776.[2] In 1764, he served on the committee of Burgesses that wrote resolutions against the proposed Stamp Act, but the following year he voted against Patrick Henry's Virginia Resolves as being premature and too inflammatory.

From rootsweb:

(1) "The Randolphs of Virginia," by Jonathan Daniels (Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY, 1972) p.xv. (2) "The Randolphs - The Story of a Virginia Family," by H.J. Eckenrode (Bobbs-Merrill Co., New York, 1946) p.41. (3) "Tyler's Quarterly Magazine," issue unknown, p.206. (4) "Colonial Families of the Southern States ," by Stella Pickett Hardy (1911) p.129. (5) "Genealogical Abstracts from 18th-Century Virginia Newspapers," by Robert K. Headley, Jr. (Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, 1987) p.59,279. Cites: (a) "The Virginia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser," 1 Mar 1787. (b) "The Virginia Gazette and General Advertiser," 31 May 1797. (6) "Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia," by Bishop William Meade, Vol. II (Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, 1978. Reprint 1857) p.34. (7) "The Virginia Carys," by Fairfax Harrison, p.90,91-93. Cites: (a) The Ampthill Family Bible. (b) Will of Archibald Cary, 1787. (c) Goochland Co., VA Deed Bk, iv, 95. (d) Hening, vii, 440. (e) Brock, VA Hist. Soc. "Collections," vii, 51. (f) "William and Mary Quarterly," v, 102; xxvi, 167. (g) "Virginia Mag.," xi, 416. (h) Calendar of VA State Papers, i, 471. (i) Benedict Arnold's report of 12 May 1781 to Sir Henry Clinton, in Tarleton, "Campaigns in North America (1787), 337. (j) Wirt, "Life of Patrick Henry (1836) 223. (k) Rowland, "George Mason," i, 334. (l) Greene, "Nathaniel Greene" (1871) iii, 506. (m) Ford, "Writings of Washington," ii, 428. (n) Anburny?, "Travels Through... America" (1791) ii, 312. (o) Anderson, "Making the American Thoroughbred" (1916). (p) Grigsby, "Virginia Convention of 1776," 90. (q) "Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography," i, 548. (8) "Albemarle Co., VA Wills and Deeds No. 1 1748-1752" (Antient Press) Vol. 1, p.70. (9) "Some Prominent Virginia Families," by Louise P. duBellet (1907; reprint, Genealogical Pub. Co., 1976) Vol. 2, p.63. FHL #975.5D2p. (10) "Harrison Heritage," by Ruth Harrison Jones (Dec 1986), "Notes on Benjamin and Priscilla Harrison of Cumberland County, Virginia," by Malcolm N. Gardner, p.747-751. Transcribed on http://rentsv1.uokhsc.edu/bbonner/HHDOCS/BEN_PRIS.htm (27 Feb 1998). Cites: (a) Goochland Co., VA Deed Bk 4, p.95. (b) Cumberland Co., VA Deed Bk 6, p.93. (c) Bedford Co., VA Deed Bk 4, p.347,349. (11) "Cary-Estes Genealogy: The Cary Family History," by Mary Folk Webb (1939) p.50-62. Cites: (a) Chesterfield Co., VA Will Bk 1, p.36. (b) Chesterfield Co., VA Will Bk 4, p.420. (c) "The Virginia Carys," p.91-95. (d) "Archibald Cary of Ampthill, Wheelhorse of the Revolution," by Robert K. Brock (Richmond, VA: 1937) 8 Vol. (12) Chesterfield Co., VA Will Book 1, p.33. FHL film 30871.

! Birth: (1,7,11) 1721. (4,9) 1720. (4) s/o Henry CARY/Elizabeth. (7,11) s/o Henry CARY/Ann EDWARDS. (7,11) Williamsburg, VA. Probably named for his father's friend and physician, Dr. Archibald BLAIR. (9) s/o Henry CARY. Marriage to Mary RANDOLPH: (1,2,4) (7,11) 1744. Death: (1,4) 1787. (5a) On Tues. last (notice dtd 1 Mar 1787; d. 27 Feb 1787), at his seat in Chesterfield. Burial: (7,11) Tradition has it that he was buried in the cellar of Ampthill House, where his ghost was seen. No stone marks his grave.

(7,11) Educated at William and Mary College. (8a) 1742, 21 Sep: Henry CARY of Dale Parish, Henrico Co., for the natural love and affection I bear unto son Archibald CARY, deeds 4,132 acres in Goochland Co. on both sides of Willis' Creek, and 10 slaves. Wits. David BELL, David DALYELL, Clement READ. (7c,d,11) 1742: When he came of age, his father vested him with the property known as "Buckingham," 4132 acres of land on Willis Creek, then in Goochland Co., VA. (7) 1743-1749: Burgess for Goochland Co., VA. (7,11) 1747: Justice of the Peace, Goochland Co., VA. (4,11) 1748-1749: Burgess for Goochland. (11a) 1748, 27 May: Henry CARY of Parish of Dale, County of Henrico, wrote his will. Gives to my son Archibald CARY all the residue of my estate both real and personal, he paying all legacies and just debts. Names Archibald his executor. (7,11) 1749: On the organization of Cumberland Co., VA, to include his lands, he was in the first Commission of the Peace and a vestryman of St. James Southam Parish. (4) Supporter of the established church. (6) Vestryman of Southam Parish, which in 1745 was cut off from St. James Northam, Goochland Co.. That on the south side of the James River was called Southam, which was in Cumberland and later in Powhatan Co. (7g,11) An uncompromising member of the Established Church. (7,11) 1750: On his father's death, he became "of Ampthill" and removed to Chesterfield Co., VA. (2,4) Of "Ampthill," Chesterfield Co., VA. [NOTE: His wife was from "Wilton," just across the James River from "Ampthill."] (6) 1750: Removed from the vestry of Southam Parish. (8) 1750, 20 Apr: George KLEINHOFF of Chesterfield Co., VA deeds to Archibald CARY of the same place, for L25, 400 acres in Albemarle Co., VA, formerly Goochland, on the North branches of Willis's River near Willis's Mountain, being all that parcel of land granted to George KLEINHOFF by patent 10 Jul 1745, with all woods, marshes, mines and quarries and all profits belonging thereto. Wits. John HUNTER, John FLEMING Jr., David BELL, James MEREDITH. Proved by HUNTER, BELL & MEREDITH 8 May 1750, Albemarle Co., VA. (12) 1750, 31 May: Elizabeth CARY of Dale Parish, Chesterfield Co., VA, made her will. Gave to Ann CARY daughter of Archibald CARY 100 pounds current money. Appointed Mr. Archibald CARY executor. (4,7) 1750: Justice of the Peace for Chesterfield Co., VA. (7,11) As Justice of the Peace, long Presiding Magistrate and County Lieutenant, he advocated the construction of roads and bridges. (7g,11) As a magistrate he persecuted the Baptists. (7,11) He extended his father's manufacturing interests, maintained the flouring mills at "Warwick," established a ropery, developed the deposits of limonite iron ore on his lands in Buckingham, and set up a furnace and foundry at Falling Creek, where in 1622 the first such venture had been made in the colony. (7f,11) He imported pure-bred cattle which found their way into the Valley of Virginia and in time into Kentucky, carrying with them the name "Cary's Stock." (7,11) 1756: Succeeded to the seat in the Assembly for Chesterfield Co. which had been held by Richard EPPES since the creation of the county. He at once took active part in the organization of the colony against the French invasion then expected. Thenceforth until his death he represented Chestefield continuously. (4) 1758-1774: Burgess. (3) 1761, 14 Jan: Benjamin HARRISON of Cumberland Co., VA wrote his will, naming Col. Archibald CARY and Alexander TRENT his executors. States that Col. CARY promised to give him 1000 acres, which he left to his children. Proved 23 Feb 1761. (7,11) 1762: By 1762 he had taken the place in the Assembly of his great-uncle Miles CARY, being Chairman of the Committee of Public Claims, a post he held during the remainder of the colonial period. (7,11) 1764: One of the committee of nine which prepared the memorials to the King, the Lords and the Commons against GRENVILLE's determination to impose stamp taxes. (7,11) 1765: He voted with the conservatives against Patrick HENRY's resolutions. (7,11) 1769-1774: Took an active role in the Revolution by signing the Associations of 1769, 1770 and 1774. (7) 1772: Became a member of the Committee of Correspondence. (4,11) Member of the Colonial Committee of Correspondence and of all the Revolutionary Conventions. (10c) 1772, 24 Aug: Archibald CARY of Chesterfield conveyed to Cary and Benjamin HARRISON, both of Cumberland, for 5 pounds current money, 500 acres each in Bedford Co. on branches of Goose Crook and near Flat Top Mountain. (4) 1774-1776: Member of the Committee of Safety. (7f,11) Chairman of the Chesterfield County Committee of Safety. (7) 1775: Was in all the Revolutionary Conventions of 1775. (7,11) 1776: In the Convention of 1776 he was Chairman of the Committees, so that "it was from his lips that the words of the resolution of independence, of the declaration of rights, and of the first constitution of Virginia first fell upon the public ear." (4,5a) 1776-1787: Speaker of the State Senate. (7,11) On the organization of the state government he became Speaker of the Senate and died holding that office. (7,11) 1776: He had indeed developed a peremptory disposition, as witness his celebrated message to Patrick HENRY and the subsequent description of him as the "Old Bruiser." (7h,11) 1781, Jan: He called the Governor's attention to the fact that there was due him by the government 40,000 lbs. on one account and 18,000 lbs. on another for his subscriptions during the Revolution, while he was faced with the obligation to provide 16,000 lbs. "for my proportions toward raising the 3000 men." While these figures were in VA depreciated currency, not sterling, they represented large values, and put him in "straitened circumstances" at the end of his life. (11) He subscribed liberally to the Revolution in money as well as in influence. (10b) 1781, 20 Feb: Archibald CARY of Chesterfield, for 200 pounds current money, conveyed to Cary HARRISON of Buckingham 200 acres in Cumberland adjoining Cary HARRISON, thence on Benjamin HARRISON's deceased line, then on Alexander TRENT. Wits. by Dolphin DREW, David BELL, Henry BELL, Anthony Parr (X) LIPFORD. (7i,11) 1781, 30 Apr: His mills at Warwick and Falling Creek were destroyed by Benedict ARNOLD. (7,11) 1785: With his kinsmen Col. Wilson Miles CARY and Judge Richard CARY, he was a delegate to the convention which organized the incorporated Episcopal Church in Virginia. (7,11) By tradition he was called "Old Iron," but whether it was a reference to his furnace or his character is not known. George WASHINGTON, though 11 years his junior, called him Archy. (7,11) Had a reputation for courtesy and genial hospitality. (11b) 1787, 12 Feb: Archibald CARY of "Amptill", Chesterfield Co., VA wrote his will. (11b) 1787, 19 Feb: Wrote a codicil to his will. (11b) 1787, 21 Feb: Wrote a codicil to his will. (11b) 1787, 17 Apr: An inventory and appraisement of his estate was filed, Chesterfield Co., VA. (7,11) According to the land and tax books he died seized of 2180 acres in Chesterfield Co., with 36 slaves; 4992 acres in Cumberland Co., with 189 slaves; and 7000 acres in Buckingham Co., with 41 slaves. (7,11) After he died, a street was named after him in Richmond, VA. (5b) 1796, 7 Jun: High Court of Chancery, case of Thomas M. RANDOLPH and William RANDOLPH, acting executors of Thomas Mann RANDOLPH, vs. Elizabeth RANDOLPH, John MURCHIE, William MEWBURN, Thomas THOMPSON, Carter PAGE executor of Archibald CARY, James WARDOP, Thomas MASON, Richard POTTS and Ann EVANS administrators with the will annexed of Thomas ELDER, John BLAIR surviving partner of Prentis & Co., Benjamin HARRIS, and Samuel FLOURNOY executors of James HARRIS and Daniel ASTIN, defendants. (7) 1805: "Sir Archy," the race horse and sire known as "The Godolphin Arabian of America," was named for him. [NOTE: See notes under John TAYLOE.] (7,11) His correspondence and papers were destroyed. (11) The elder PEALE painted a portrait of him which survived.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=adgedge&i...

Info added per DAR's "Lineage Book of the Charter Members" by Mary S Lockwood and published 1895 stating he was a "member of the Committee of Correspondence in Virginia and of the Covention of 1776" and of whom Rives said, "Liberty never had a firmer friend or tyranny a more dtermined foe."