Notes
Note N1572 Index
The exact date of the marriage of John Carter and Elizabeth Taylor in Rockbridge Co. VA is not known but was certainly before November 1761. Elizabeth is presumed to have remained in Rockbridge Co., VA with her three young children while John and Landon operated a trading post in Carter's Valley, NW of present day Kingsport, TN about 1766-1767. John's Store was burnt out by hostile Indians about 1769 and he removed his operations then to the Watauga River area, near Watauga Old Fields (a deserted former Indian village).
Elizabeth and her children joined John and Landon at the Watauga River area when her brothers settled on Buffalo Creek in the area that later became Carter Co., TN about 1771 or 1772. She was still alive in 1776 but is presumed to have died before her husband made his will in 1780 as he made no mention of her in his will, probated in 1781 and daughter Susan is named as his executrix.
Notes
Note N1573 Index
Colonel, NC Militia, American Revolution
John Carter was one of the first permanent white settlers in Tennessee in 1766. He opened a store at Carter's Station in Carter's valley (just west of Kingsport, TN). He and other settlers thought they were in Virginia but learned later that they were a little too far south and in land claimed by North Carolina. After Indians burned his store in 1768, he moved east to a safer region along the Watauga River. The area near his settlement later became Elizabethton, TN. He was a merchant, farmer, land agent (entry taker) and land speculator, who before his death in 1781 became the richest man in North Carolina, though his home is now in Tennessee.
A gentleman educated in England, John greatly loved wandering in the wilderness and often went on long hunting trips into uncharted territory, taking along his overseer as guide and companion. It was on these trips that he saw much of the land and was able to acquire the choice property (cheap) for resale to later settlers at significant profit.
John was principal Author of the Articles of the Watauga Association (the first Constitution of a self governing body in America) and served on the committee which drafted North Carolina's first State Constitution, He served as a Colonel in the NC Militia during the American Revolution and Commanded the defense of the Watauga Settlements against a British incited raid by the Cherokees in 1778. He trained the troops used by Col. John Sevier in the battles he won against British Gen. Howe in North and South Carolina.
There are those who question the ancestry of John Carter, claiming that he was an illegitimate son of Secretary John Carter rather than the legitimate first born son mentioned in Robert "King" Carter's will. I do not believe this to be the case. First, the children attributed to this John and Mary by these researchers do not include Landon, who was definitely the oldest son of John Carter of Tennessee and was born in 1756 (as he was ten years old when he and his father moved to Carter's Valley in 1766). John must have been born before 1732 (as John's education precludes the possibility of him having a legitimate son earlier and there is no question of Landon's legitimacy). In addition, John was emotionally attached to some panelling and furniture which he shipped to Tennessee from Virginia at great expense and then built "The Carter Mansion" at his home specifically to house these treasures. His residence was beside this structure and he used it mainly as an office and for entertaining.. These are undoubtedly the great room, ballroom, a Stairway and a small "Virginia" room from Robert "King" Carter's Mansion, Corotoman, and as such would have little or no value to an illegitimate child raised in Williamsburg, but would be family heirlooms to the oldest son of "Secretary" John Carter who was born at Corotoman, probably in the mansion before it was destroyed by fire. These were the relics of his birthplace.
Then there is the name of his oldest son, Landon (only son of his first wife Mary). Betty Landon was Robert "King" Carter's second wife and he named two of her sons matronymic names. These were Ludlow Carter (named for Robert's mother, Sarah Ludlow,) and Landon Carter (named for Betty). This particular Landon Carter became the guardian of "Secretary" John Carter's minor children when he died before any of them were raised. It would be natural for John to name his firstborn after a guardian uncle, but quite unusual for him to pick that name over his own if he were the illegitimate son. He did name a younger son (by his second wife) John.
Then there is the Tendency of John Carter to desire the solitude of the wilderness, a trait evident in Elizabeth Hill's father (which leads to legitamacy). And finally the hereditary foot problem evident in Robert "King" Carter who had to be carried the last couple of years of his life. This same problem is still in the family and has shown up in most of the direct decendants. Apparently everyone over 65 in the family gets it and this links directly to Robert "King" Carter
Notes
Note N1574 Index
John Carter III (usually called John Carter Junior) was a Captain in the Militia in 1796 and oversaw the sale of town lots when the city of Elizabethton was laid out as the County seat for Carter Co., TN in 1796.
In 1812, John swore that he had assisted his father as entry taker and verified the accuracy of a number of North Carolina land grants which were being registered to establish land ownership in the State of Tennessee. To have legally assisted his father he would have to have been at least 16, and the earliest land grant he testified to was in 1778, which would put his birth date at 1762 or earlier.