The case for Elizabeth

Will of Francis Armistead. Richmond County, Virginia.

This month I have been digging through various Colonial Virginia records, trying to validate with available records the written history on the Carter family, published in 1912 by Joseph Lyon Miller in The descendants of Capt. Thomas Carter of "Barford". Miller's account on our John Carter is based on the recollections of Norborne Sutton (a son of William Sutton and Sarah Carter). Again, the book states that John Carter's first wife was Elizabeth Armistead. From the will of her father, Francis Armistead, dated 8 April 1719 in Richmond County, Virginia, we can see that she was named, along with her brother John Armistead.

As Jacqi covered in her post this morning on Elizabeth Armistead, from the Richmond County records involving her parents, Francis and Sarah, we can confirm that part of the story as valid. I am so far unable to find a marriage record connecting John Carter and Elizabeth Armistead. My assumption is they married around 1735, somewhere between Spotsylvania, Richmond County, or perhaps King George County, depending on who was the guardian of young Elizabeth. She may have been about 19 or 20 at this time, given her birth date from Richmond County records in 1716.

I cannot confirm this yet, but I suspect John and Elizabeth had two daughters:

• Margaret Carter (about 1736)
• Frances Carter (about 1738)

I do not know why the Miller book does not mention Sarah Kenyon. She was the mother of six children with John Carter, including Sarah Carter (mother of Norborne Sutton). An answer to the question could be that Norborne was an unreliable source, as he was born in 1791, both of his parents died fairly early. Sarah Kenyon died about 1763, and John Carter remarried to Hannah Chew. He had another six children with Hannah. Norborne may have grown up without knowing about Sarah has the second wife of his grandfather John.

Back to Elizabeth, she likely died in 1738 in Spotsylvania County, at the age of 22. Her mother, Sarah, remarried in 1722 to Joseph Russell, and may have relocated to Cumberland County, Virginia. Sarah Armistead Russell's son, John Armistead, moved with his family to Cumberland County. There are quite a few Cumberland chancery cases involving Armistead and the Russells.

Richmond County Order Book 8, p. 103.

Richmond County Deed Book 7, p. 106.