Colonel Landon Carter I, of Sabine Hall

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/carter-landon-1710-1778/

• A Patriot of the American Revolution for VIRGINIA. DAR Ancestor # A020013
• Reference: Arlis Herring

Son of Robert Carter, president of the Virginia council, and Elizabeth Landon, youngest daughter of Thomas Landon, of Crednal, county Hereford, England, was born June 7, 1709; educated at William and Mary College; resided at "Sabine Hall," Richmond county, and was a member of the house of burgesses from 1748 to 1764 inclusive; was a strong defender of the Two Penny Act in 1757; engaged in a pamphlet war with Dr. John Camm, the head of the clergy, in which he took the ground that "necessity made its own law"; in 1764 he was a member of the committee which reported the remonstrances against the Stamp Act and claimed to have been largely concerned in drafting these great papers. He spent the rest of his life in retirement at his splendid mansion, "Sabine Hall," in Richmond county, on the Rappahannock river. He frequently contributed articles on scientific subjects to the "American Philosophical Transactions," and to the newspapers, and kept a diary. He was chairman of the Richmond county committee of safety, but, while he strongly condemned the arbitrary action of Great Britain, he deplored the action of the Virginia convention in 1776, in declaring independence for fear of falling into a worse situation under a Republican government. He, nevertheless, patriotically cast in his fortunes with his country. He married three times: (first) Elizabeth, daughter of John Wormeley, of "Rosegill," (second) Maria, daughter of William Byrd, of "Westover," and (third) Elizabeth Beale, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Beale, of Richmond county. By his first wife he was father of Robert Wormeley Carter, a member of the house of burgesses.

Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume II I--Fathers of the Revolution

Sabine Hall - National Register of Historic Places

Sabine Hall, one of the ancestral homes of the Carters, is situated in Richmond County near Warsaw, the county seat. Its private road leaves the highway shortly before reaching Warsaw and winds for a mile through the woods to the lodge.

Significance: Sabine Hall was built in 1730 for Colonel Landon Carter by his father, Robert Carter, of Corotoman, whose extensive possessions in the Colony of Virginia caused him to be called "King" Carter by his compatriots. According to tradition Colonel Carter named his estate for Horace's Sabine Farm because of his interest and great delight in the Roman poet Horace. The estate consists of some four thousand acres on the Rappahannock in Richmond County. On the river side of the house is an excellent example of a Colonial garden at its best. Practically unchanged since it was laid off about 1730 by English gardeners, it has a series of six terraces. Broad grass ramps lead down from one terrace to the next. It was in this garden that George Washington unfolded to Landon Carter his plans for the campaign at Morristown. Upon leaving he took with him the young son of Sabine Hall to enlist in the Army of the Revolution. Sabine Hall has come down for nine generations and is still owned by Carter descendants.

The woods adjoining the lawn are composed entirely of native trees, mainly oak and hickory, some of the oaks by their size evidencing great age. The lawn contains many native trees, but the presence of mulberry, Ailanthus, aspen, English elms, linden and other foreign varieties prove that the former owners of Sabine Hall, yielding to the urge of fashion from time to time, introduced trees that in many instances proved far inferior to those of native growth.

Sabine Hall was built by Robert (King) Carter of Corotoman, for his son Landon, in 1730. It is situated on the hills a mile from the Rappahannock, commanding an extensive view of the river and overlooking most of the cultivated area of the four-thousand-acre estate. The house fronts the lawn, and has in the rear a terraced garden laid out by an English gardener when the house was built. The garden extends in five terraces from the top of the hill to the level of the fields below. The first and second levels are devoted exclusively to flowers, and on the eastern side of the second level is a large box hedge of unknown age dividing the flower garden from a portion of the vegetable garden.

The main house and the wings are of brick. The main building is of Georgian architecture, having a front portico the pediment of which is supported by four large cypress columns. The walls are massive, and the cellar, beneath the entire house, is divided by brick partition walls extending to the roof. Entrance is made through heavy doors into a broad hall, which runs from front to rear and opens through similar doors on to a covered porch which extends along the entire rear of the main building. Over the entrance to a side hall is an arch through which one passes to a beautiful, hand-carved staircase. The halls, as well as the parlor, dining room and most of the bedrooms, are wainscoted from floor to ceiling.

On the left of the main hall hangs one of the few known portraits of "King" Carter, and on the walls opposite are portraits of two of the three wives of his son, Landon. In the library is a fine portrait of Landon Carter. There are also portraits of his third wife and all, save one, of the other Carter owners of Sabine Hall.

Robert Wormeley Carter, the last of the name, died in 1861, leaving no son. By his will he gave Sabine Hall to his oldest grandson, Robert Carter Wellford, son of his daughter Elizabeth Landon, who married Dr. A. N. Wellford of Fredericksburg. After his death, in 1919, Sabine Hall passed, after a life estate to his widow, Elizabeth Harrison, to his two sons, Armistead Nelson Wellford and William Harrison Wellford, the present owners.

Son of Robert Carter, president of the Virginia council, and Elizabeth Landon, youngest daughter of Thomas Landon, of Crednal, county Hereford, England, was born June 7, 1709; educated at William and Mary College; resided at "Sabine Hall," Richmond county, and was a member of the house of burgesses from 1748 to 1764 inclusive; was a strong defender of the Two Penny Act in 1757; engaged in a pamphlet war with Dr. John Camm, the head of the clergy, in which he took the ground that "necessity made its own law"; in 1764 he was a member of the committee which reported the remonstrances against the Stamp Act and claimed to have been largely concerned in drafting these great papers. He spent the rest of his life in retirement at his splendid mansion, "Sabine Hall," in Richmond county, on the Rappahannock river. He frequently contributed articles on scientific subjects to the "American Philosophical Transactions," and to the newspapers, and kept a diary. He was chairman of the Richmond county committee of safety, but, while he strongly condemned the arbitrary action of Great Britain, he deplored the action of the Virginia convention in 1776, in declaring independence for fear of falling into a worse situation under a Republican government. He, nevertheless, patriotically cast in his fortunes with his country. He married three times: (first) Elizabeth, daughter of John Wormeley, of "Rosegill," (second) Maria, daughter of William Byrd, of "Westover," and (third) Elizabeth Beale, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Beale, of Richmond county. By his first wife he was father of Robert Wormeley Carter, a member of the house of burgesses.

Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume II I--Fathers of the Revolution

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

King Carter died in 1732, and Landon inherited a fraction of his father's estate. Shortly thereafter, he married Elizabeth Wormeley, daughter of John Wormeley, who died in 1740. In 1742 Landon married Maria Byrd, daughter of William Byrd II, who died in 1744. He married his third wife, Elizabeth Beale, in 1746.[1]

Shortly after his first marriage, Landon settled on lands he had inherited in Richmond County. His mansion house, Sabine Hall, which he built about 1734,[2] stood at the heart of his plantation there. At his death he left to his heirs 50,000 acres (200 km²) of land and as many as 500 slaves.[3]

Ref: "A genealogy of the known descendants of Robert Carter of Corotoman"

Landon (I) [1710-1778] had 3 wives and a total of 10 children, in this order:

Elizabeth Wormeley: m. 1732 [1713-1740]

1. Robert Wormeley Carter [1733-1797]
2. Landon Carter, Jr. [1738-1801]
3. John Carter [1739-1789]
4. Elizabeth Wormeley Carter [c1739-1778] m. 1758 Nelson Berkeley

Maria Byrd: m. 1742 [1727-1744]

1. Maria Carter [1744-1817] m. 1763 Robert Beverley

3) Elizabeth Beale: m. 1746

1. Judith Carter [1749-1836] m. 1773 Reuben Beale
2. Fanny Carter (no info, other than 2nd of Elizabeth Beale's children)
3. Lucy Carter m. 1775 William Colston & then George Carter [-1802]
4. Beale Carter [d.young]
5. Susannah Carter [c1757-1758]

This is countered by the well-documented site Zieman Family Tree, which does not list the last two children (Beale-daughter & Susannah), but does have a Reuben Beale Carter.[]

Parents: Robert King Carter 1663–1732 Elizabeth Landon 1684–1719 Corotoman Plantation in Lancaster County, Virginia.

Married 16 Nov 1732 to Elizabeth Wormeley. Children:

1. Robert Wormeley Carter 1734–1797
2. Landon Carter Jr 1738–
3. Elizabeth Wormeley Carter 1739–
4. John Carter 1739–1789

Married 22 Sep 1742 to Maria Horsmanden Byrd. Children:

1. Maria Byrd Carter 1744–1817

Married 1746 to Elizabeth Beale Children:

1. Frances A. Carter 1748-
2. Judith Carter 1749-
3. Lucy Carter 1750-
4. Beale Carter 1751-
5. Susannah Carter 1757-

Inherited Eight fully equipped and operating plantations: Round Hill in King George County. Bloughpoint, Jones Place, Old Place in Nortumberland County. Hickory Thicket, Fork, Mangorike, and Lansdowne in Richmond County, Virginia. PROP: "Rings Neck," on the York River in King and Queen County,. A thousand-acre plantation by his first wife. Built Sabine Hall abt 1734 He left an estate consisting of nearly 50,000 acres of land.

• Reference: Find-A-Grave
• Reference number 59 https://archive.org/details/cartertreecompil00cart/page/120/mode/2up