#1. John Carter (ca. 1574 – 1630), Vintner of London
Note; John Carter’s family of Watford in Hertfordshire has been traced with full documentation back another four generations.
#2. William Carter of Surry (1600 – 1654/55)
Note; William Carter was living in Jamestown in 1624.
#5. Thomas Carter,Sr. of Isle of Wight (ca. 1628 – 1669)
Note; Thomas Carter’s uncle Col. John of “Corotoman” in Lancaster arranged for him to have a plantation in the Blackwater borderlands of Surry and Isle of Wight just after the father, William, died. As a mariner, Thomas never lived there.
#10. Thomas Carter,Jr. (ca. 1652/53 – 1710)
#22. Moore Carter (ca. 1690 – 1740) of Isle of Wight
#43. Isaac Carter (ca. 1716/18 – 1792) of old Bertie and Hertford Co. N.C.
#77. James Carter (ca. 1742 – 1811) of Hertford and Warren Co.,Ga.
Note; James Carter #77 had a brother, Jesse Carter, probably named for his uncle, Dr. Jesse Browne, of Southampton County, Virginia. He is believed to have been the first born son ca. 1741.
The paucity of evidence on the family of this Jesse Carter is perplexing. According to the notes of the late Rev. E. S. Lucas of Southern Historical Press, Jesse Carter and his wife Charity probably lived most of their married life close to the Hertford – Northampton boundry. His wife Charity was most likely Charity Vinson, the daughter of a Nothampton neighbor, Thomas Vinson, who may have been a descendant of John Vinson who left his will in Surry County, Virginia in 1667. The Vinson property was located mostly north of Urahaw Swamp and adjacent Bear Swamp and Scotchman’s Branch where Moore Carter’s, #22, nephew, James Carter, #77, patented in 1782, although he soon sold this property and left for Georgia; it was in the possession of Jesse Carter in 1798. There are numerous references to the location of the Vinson property in Northampton Deed Books, # 1-6, passim, where also were located Nicholas Maget and the Carter – Crafford – Dickinson kinsman, Joel Newsom.
Naming “daughter Charity Carter” as a legatee, Thomas Vinson made his will in 1762; it was proved on the same day as the will of Jesse Carter’s mother, Jane Kindred Carter, at the Febuary 1764 court (Northampton County Will Book #1, pp. 86-88).
In 1798 John and Martha Vaughn of Northampton conveyed to “Jesse and Charity Carter of Hertford” the 190 acres that James Carter, #77, had been granted by the state in 1782 but had subsequently sold to James Vinson in 1785. Aside from the Carters, the Vinson’s neighbors included the rather large Vaughn family. The name of Vinson Vaughn who made his will in Northampton 10 December 1764 points to the probability of his having a Vinson mother. Clearly, the James Vinson to whom James Carter ,#77, sold the property in 1785, was the son named in Thomas Vinson’s will as the heir to his plantation. An especially close relationship would appear to be indicated among James Carter, #77, Jesse and Charity Carter; the Vinson family; and the John and Martha Vaughn who made this conveyance.
The family of Jesse and Charity Carter was probably the one located at visit #431 in the Northampton Census of 1800. The census-taker at the household of “Jesse Carter” did not count him or any other males but only a female over 45, three others 16-26, and 9 slaves; Jesse may have been in Hertford at the time. Three other households at this visit included his possible sons, all born evidently between the late 1760’s and 1774 and all with wives and children. They were yet another Isaac Carter, Brittain Carter, and the youngest of the three, Moore Carter.
The name Brittain derives from the surname of the Albrighton family of Warwick County, Virginia.. Brittain Carter’s grandmother was undoubtedly Mrs. Sarah Browne Battle Carter who would appear to have had an Albrighton grandmother. It may well be that James Carter, #77, named his own son Jesse for his brother Jesse Carter who was undoubtedly named for his uncle, Dr. Jesse Browne.
Though unproved, I believe Isaac Carter, son of Jesse and Charity, is the father of Isaac Vinson Carter who was born 4 March 1812 in North Carolina and died 9 May 1879 in Keokuk Co., Iowa. Among his ten children were sons who were given the names; Moore, William, and Isaac and a daughter Charity.