Carter Braxton: VA Signer of the Declaration of Independence

Carter Braxton was born on September 10, 1736, on Newington Plantation in King and Queen County, Virginia, to George and Mary (Carter) Braxton. He was the only child of this union, as his mother died seven days after his birth. His family ancestry can be traced to England, where it was an ancient one in Liverpool. His paternal grandfather, George Braxton Sr., had immigrated to Virginia from London in 1690. His mother was the daughter of Robert “King” Carter, one of the wealthiest men in Virginia. He owned 42 different plantations at one time. At his death, Robert Carter owned 300,000 acres of land and 1000 slaves. Braxton’s maternal great-grandfather, Colonel John Carter, had come to Virginia in 1649 from Casstown, England. Through his mother, he was related to the Harrisons, Lees, and other prominent families of Virginia.

His father passed away in 1749 and left him 25,000 acres of land in Amherst County, as well as £1000. In his father’s will, the slaves and livestock are divided in half between him and his half-brother. This was unusual for the time period because of primogeniture laws. His guardians until he comes of age are John Robinson and Humphrey Hill. Four years later, he purchases Elsing Green from the Dandridges, who were related to Martha Washington. This estate would be sold after his death, to William Burnett Brown in 1797.

From 1755 to 1756, he completed his studies at the College of William and Mary. He has a slave with him while in school and does not take his studies too seriously. He then married Judith Robinson on July 16, 1755. She was the daughter of Christopher Robinson, who had been the Speaker of the House of Burgesses at one time. She was also the niece of John Robinson, the Speaker of the House of Burgesses, during this period, and his former guardian. He and Braxton would form a close friendship, which would result in a lifelong feud with the Lees of Stratford Hall. Braxton and Judith would have two children. Mary was born in 1756 and passed away in 1794 in Hanover County, Virginia. She marries Robert Page Jr. and has at least one child. Their next daughter, Judith, was born on December 30, 1757, and passed away on October 11, 1823. She marries John White and has at least two children. Braxton’s wife, Judith, dies during the birth of their second child in 1757.

After his wife’s death, Braxton travels to England to complete his studies by 1760. He has no profession to speak of, other than being an educated gentleman planter, so upon his return to Virginia in 1760, he attempts to engage in the slave trade. He wrote to the Browns of Providence, who are slave traders, stating, “I am told there is a great Traid carried on from Rhode Island to Guinea for Negroes, and I should be glad to enter into Partnership with some gentlemen for a Voyage or two and have sent here where I believe they sell as well as anywhere.” [1] The Brown brothers ultimately do not take him up on his offer but instead finance a different slave voyage that proves disastrous.

Then, in 1761, his older brother passed away, and Braxton inherited the rest of his father’s estate as the eldest living son. Due to Braxton’s lifestyle, he had several debts and had to sell off some of his holdings to satisfy those debts. Even after this, he still owned 12,000 acres of land and 165 slaves. He engages in tobacco farming and trade and enters into a business partnership with Robert Morris of Pennsylvania. Braxton becomes the guardian of his brother’s children and has to sell off the Newington estate due to his brother’s debts. He was then sent to the House of Burgesses from King County and would serve until 1775.

1761 was not all sadness and difficulties for Braxton, as he married Elizabeth Tayloe Corbin, who was the daughter of Colonel Richard and Elizabeth (Betty) (Tayloe) Corbin. Colonel Corbin was a member of the Council and the Deputer Receiver General for the Royal Government of Virginia. Her maternal family can be traced back to Sir Filbert Grosvenor, who was with William the Conqueror in 1066. Elizabeth (Betty) Corbin was the sister of John Tayloe of Mt. Arie Plantation and the aunt of Rebecca Tayloe, who married Francis Lightfoot Lee. Elizabeth enters the marriage with a £ 1,000 dowry. They have sixteen children together, with six children dying at a young age. Their first child, Elizabeth, also called Betty or Betsey, was born in 1761. She would marry Colonial Griffins. The next child, George, was born in 1762 and died in 1801. He marries Mary Carter and has at least three children. Corbin was born in 1764 and passed away in 1822. He would be a lifelong bachelor and the most devoted of Braxton’s sons. He dies from a horse’s kick. Another son, Carter, was born in 1765 but died in 1809. He became an attorney and a member of the House of Burgesses. He married Sarah Scandret and had at least seven children. The next two children, Ann and Richard, were born in 1767 and 1769, respectively. Their seventh child, Alicia, was born in 1770 and died a spinster. Two children named Richard were born in 1772 and 1773, respectively. Another son, Robert Carter, was born in 1775 but died in infancy. An unnamed child was born in 1777, and Lucy Fitzhugh was born in 1778. Lucy Carter was born in 1780, and then another son, John Tayloe, was born in 1781 and died in 1809. William Fitzhugh, their fifteenth child, was born in 1783 and passed away in 1823. Their final child, Eliza Griffith, was born in 1787 and passed away in 1802. Of the three sons named Richard, only one lived beyond infancy, and he died at eighteen.

While in the House, he was loyal to Virginia but was a conservative. He was present when Patrick Henry gave his famous resolves, in reaction to the Stamp Act. Braxton was on a committee with Richard Henry Lee to draft a protest letter over the Stamp Act. They leave it until the last days of the session so that the governor cannot dissolve the Assembly, which was a common practice of Royal governors who did not approve of legislative action. During this time, Patrick Henry wrote his resolutions that spread like wildfire through the colonies. He would serve in the House until 1775, with only one break between 1772 and 1773, when he was a County Sheriff. Colonial law forbids an individual to be a sheriff and a member of the House of Burgesses at the same time.

In 1766, his former guardian and the Speaker of the House of Burgesses, John Robinson, died, and before his death, the Treasury scandal had become an issue. What happens is that Speaker Robinson does not call in the notes in 1763, as he was supposed to, and continues to loan money to friends who were heavily in debt, usually men of the James and York gentry. Several individuals want to enforce the sterling debt, but some have protested that it is unreasonable. Enter Richard Henry Lee, who wants it to be enforced. This would be the start of the bad blood between Carter Braxton and Lee, who was usually at odds with the leadership. Before Speaker Robinson’s death, Lee was trying to oust him as Speaker during each session after Lee was elected to the House in 1758. He was demanding an investigation, and Speaker Robinson acquiesced and appointed a committee to investigate, which found no wrongdoing. Lee was outnumbered at this point. The battle would continue until 1765, when Patrick Henry was elected and joined forces with Lee, but by then, the James and York factions were much stronger and more powerful.

After Speaker Robinson died, it was discovered how large the debts were and how much money was involved. Control of the Treasury was separated from the Speaker’s control and established as a separate department. Between Braxton and his late brother’s estate, the family owes £7104 to the Treasury. Braxton pays off his brother’s debt by 1792 through the sale of various parcels of land. He then repays his own debt through the forced sale of 3300 acres of land on the Roanoke, as well as lands in Amherst, King William, and King Kent counties. By 1782, Virginia owed him £11, and by 1792, the debt was cleared off the books. Braxton’s anger does not appear to be over the scandal itself but instead is directed towards Richard Henry Lee’s attempt to smear Speaker Robinson, deprive him of his own position, and go against his own class, which was not done at that time.

Braxton was supportive of the House protest against the Townshend Acts in 1768, but 1769 was a very active and exciting year, politically, for Braxton. Lord Botetourt dissolved the Assembly that year, and then Braxton was appointed Trustee of the Pamunkey Indians and their lands. He would be reappointed seventeen years later at the tribe’s request. In 1786, he was the only member of the original board still alive. He also signed the Virginia Resolves, a protest document to Parliament, and the Virginia Articles of Association in 1769, a non-importation agreement. At the next assembly, he would be appointed to three of the six major committees. Braxton follows the Articles of Association and withholds shipments from British houses, but does sell them to American agents in the British Isles. During this time, Richard Henry Lee and Braxton remain mortal enemies due to the Treasury Scandal and Lee’s treatment of Speaker Robinson prior to his passing.

In 1767, the Braxtons built a new home which they called Chericoke, just north of their Elsing Green estate. The original building no longer exists, as it was destroyed by a fire sometime between 1775 and 1776. The current structure on the property was built by his grandson, Charles H. C. Braxton, in 1828, and is adjacent to the site of the original structure. The fire forces a move to Delaware Town, which would become West Point, on the York River. It is said that Braxton was buried in an unmarked grave on this property. Upon his death, the property transferred to his son, George Braxton, and then to his grandson, Charles. As of 1980, it was still in the Braxton family’s hands and is currently privately owned.[2]

He attended the last House of Burgesses meeting under Royal authority before Lord Dunmore dissolved it in 1774. The House of Burgesses retires to Raleigh Tavern, where Braxton takes part in the tumultuous debates that occur. He was not actually a member of the House at this time, due to his duties as sheriff and not yet having been re-elected. Another non-importation agreement was signed, but Braxton refused to sign it because of the debts he needed to pay off. This proposal does call for a Continental Congress to meet. By July of 1774, he was re-elected to the House of Burgesses and was a member of the First Virginia Convention, which elected delegates to the First Continental Congress.

In April of 1775, he was a member of the Virginia Convention, which was being held in Williamsburg. It was during this time that Lord Dunmore seized the gunpowder at the local magazine and put it on a British warship. Peyton Randolph and George Washington are working to calm the men, but Patrick Henry is not pacified, as he leads the Hanover County Militia into Williamsburg. This leads Braxton to speak with his father-in-law, who was the Receiver General of the Colony, and convinces him to pay for the gunpowder. This averts the crisis brewing in Williamsburg.

By June of that same year, he was serving on the Committee of Safety at the convention meeting in Richmond. This committee governs the colony after Lord Dunmore flees Williamsburg. They would sign the order that drives Lord Dunmore from the colony, effectively ending royal government in Virginia. Before Lord Dunmore’s flight, the Colonial Royal Assembly meets one more time. Lord Dunmore puts forward a proposal that Parliament would not tax the colonies if they would pledge contributions to the continent’s defense. This proposal was rejected, and Braxton delivered the news to Lord Dunmore, who had joined his family on the Fowery, which was in port.[3]  By May of 1776, the House of Burgesses had gone through several more sessions, but there was never a quorum, and on the last page of the journal, the clerk of the House signs it “FINIS”.

In October of 1775, Peyton Randolph died suddenly, and Braxton was elected to fill his seat in the Second Continental Congress. He arrived on February 23, 1776, to take his seat in Congress and rented the home of James Allen, a loyalist. His wife and a daughter accompanied him to Philadelphia.

On April 14, 1776, he wrote “Independence is in truth a delusive bait which men inconsiderably catch at, without knowing the hook which it is affixed.”[4]  Then he wrote a pamphlet titled An Address to the Convention of the Colony and the Ancient Domain of Virginia, on the Subject in General, and Recommending a Particular Form to Their Consideration, which was considered a rebuttal to John Adams’ Thoughts on Government. However, it only fueled rumors that his wife and father-in-law were loyalists, and it caused Braxton to receive considerable criticism. His father-in-law had been a loyalist and a senior official of the Virginia Royal Government. He was commissioned the Royal Lieutenant Governor in June of 1775, but did not act on it and instead locked it in a drawer. His commission would be found after the Revolution.

Braxton’s committee assignments were numerous and varied. He was assigned to the Committee to secure saltpeter and sulphur for gun manufacturing, as well as Military Developments in the Northern Department, collating reports of the Canadian invasion and the Committee on Territorial Disputes. In addition, he was the Chairman of the Committee to recommend punishment for those aiding the British and served on a committee to study and report on the Dr. Connolly plan. This was a plan in which Loyalists would march to and capture Alexandria, Virginia, a frontier town at the time.

In May of 1776, he was not re-elected to the Congress or the Fifth Virginia Convention and returned to Virginia because he promoted a conservative government. During this time, he was working on a plan of government and presented it, but Richard Henry Lee and John Adams worked together to destroy it. Their efforts failed because it ended up being received better than expected, though not enough to be out the George Mason plan. Braxton was the most conservative member of Congress at this time, and as such, he was a frequent target of the liberals in Congress. Members of the Virginia Convention, led by the Lees of Stratford Hall, wanted to remove Benjamin Harrison and Braxton because they were deemed too conservative. [5]  By June of 1776, their plot had failed, and Braxton was re-elected to the convention because another newly elected member had a conflict of interest, even though he was in Philadelphia at the time. In June of 1776, he caused some controversy because he was slow to accept the independence movement; as well, the acrimonious relationship between Richard Henry Lee and himself was causing problems. He continues to oppose independence, as he is not sure the colonies are ready to take such a momentous step forward. On July 2, Braxton was still opposed to independence during the debates, but voted in favor of it. There was nothing in the historical records that indicated why he changed his vote. He signed the engrossed document on August 2^, 1776. He left Congress in 1777, and, along with Jefferson, would be offered a public expression of appreciation for their work in the Continental Congress.

From 1777 to 1785, Braxton was active and influential in the Virginia Legislature. His return to the Fifth Virginia Convention meant he was a representative in the newly created Virginia House. Braxton was appointed to four of the six standing committees and would support Jefferson’s bill for Establishing Religious Freedom during the 1785- 1786 session. Since he was friends with Speaker Pendleton, he was frequently called on to preside over the Committee of the Whole. Once again, most of the rumors and problems that Braxton would encounter during his time in the legislature, especially during the first session, were the result of Richard Henry Lee’s actions.

During his first session in 1777, he moved to Delaware Town after Chericoke burned down and developed a wartime trade. The home he built here was called Grove Point, and it stood until 1903, when it was destroyed by fire. He eventually deeds this home to his son, Carter Jr., and buys a 2,000-acre plantation just outside the town of Delaware. He earns a reputation for being a ruthless businessman and employs agents who buy and sell commodities to the Northern Colonies. The agents were generally men of property and active in politics. He would not form any partnerships but would transact most of his business with Robert Morris. They would import items needed for the war and export tobacco, staves, and other provisions. They lost about £ 3,000 on arms imports, and after the 1778 Treaty with France, there was no need to continue in this business. Their exports were more profitable, and this once again caused problems with Lee, who tried to exploit Braxton by profiting off the war. Lee tries to get the new Chair of the Committee of Commerce, Henry Laurens, to open an investigation into Braxton, but Laurens refuses. He continues to supply tobacco to Virginia, for foreign trade from 1779-1781, and by 1780, inflation was at its worst in the colonies. He agreed to supply an additional 400,000 pounds of tobacco, but would not get paid until after the war was over.

In 1780, he, along with Robert Morris, was censured for their role in the Phoenix incident, in which a privateer they had financed illegally seized a Portuguese ship. Both men would face lawsuits, which would financially hurt them. By 1781, his finances were a complete mess. He had been heavily invested in shipping, but the British captured most of his ships and ravaged his lands and other holdings during the war. These commercial setbacks would ruin him in later years. The British seized one of his ships in 1779, which carried a cargo worth about £40,000, and he also loaned a great deal of money to the cause.

By 1786, he was forced to leave his estate at Chericoke and settle at Elsing Green, due to his debts. In 1785, Braxton was sued by John Ross for unpaid wartime debts, and his son, George, was named in the suit so that Chericoke could be sold to repay the debt. Braxton had deeded Chericoke to George, upon his marriage to Mary Walker Carter, in 1781. John Ross failed to collect on the debt owed to him, with this tactic, because the transfer of the estate was a condition of a marriage contract and not a result of trying to hide assets.

By 1782, his interest in politics was waning, and he did not run again. He left the House in 1784 but returned in 1785 because it had become an annual rather than a semi-annual meeting. He would leave the House at the end of 1785 because he was a member of the Council of State. He would continue on the Council of State until 1797. The Council advised the Governor on issues, and its members were paid £250 per year. During this time, he deeds his house and lots in West Point to his son, Carter Jr., and then moves to Richmond, renting a townhouse so that he can be present at all the Council Sessions. He was only off the council once in three years, due to restrictions in the Virginia Constitution.

Braxton would make no statement on the Federal Constitution in 1788 and was named a special Advisor on the Virginia Continental Debt. He did write to John Adams about his interest in the Constitutional Convention, but the letter is mostly an introduction for his son who was in England at the time. He became a Federalist and was a strong supporter of President Washington.

Between 1789 and 1797, his landholdings decreased from 8500 to 3900 acres, and he sold approximately 123 slaves. His father-in-law had died, but his wife, Elizabeth, received no money from the estate. In 1790, he purchased Strawberry Hill, a 439-acre farm, and placed it in trust for his wife and for the benefit of their two sons, Carter and Corbin.

From 1791 to 1794, while off the Council of State, he served in the House of Burgesses and on the committee that defended President Washington’s neutrality proclamation. During this time, he continues to be involved in a variety of lawsuits for wartime debts, including one he brought against Robert Morris when they could not reach an amicable settlement. Braxton finally prevailed in the case in 1795, but was essentially insolvent at the time. He was re-elected to the Council of State in 1794 and resigned his seat in the House. He would serve on the Council until October 6, 1797.

Braxton passed away at his Elsing Green estate on October 10, 1797, after having suffered a stroke. Before his death, in the spring or summer, he had begun to experience impaired speech and hand movements. Most of his debts would be taken care of by selling off his estate, and some were paid by his son, Corbin. His exact burial site is unknown. Family history says he was buried on Chericoke, but the family cemetery was moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. His grave was not among those moved.[6]

Tidbits

John Adams did not like Braxton and called him one of the “nabobs and bashaws” of the Virginia establishment. His dislike was based on the fact that Braxton was a conservative.

He was not much of an orator and preferred person-to-person contact.

His obituary was printed with the bare minimum of information and made no mention of his signing the Declaration of Independence.

[1] Kiernan, Denise, and Joseph D’Agnese. Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of The Men Who Signed The Declaration of Independence (Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2009) 167

[2] US Dept. of Interior, NPS, National Register of Historic Places Inventory

[3] Dill, Alonzo Thomas. Carter Braxton, Virginia signer: a conservative in revolt / Alonzo Thomas Dill. (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1983) 49

[4] Barthelmas, Della Gray. The Signers of The Declaration of Independence: A Biographical and Genealogical Reference, (Jefferson, NC, London, McFarland, 2003) 32

[5] Please note that the term "liberal," as applied to John Adams and Richard Henry Lee, did not have the same meaning it does in 21st-century America. To be a liberal in the 18^th century was to truly support the idea of limited government and individual freedoms. Today’s liberals are more concerned with expansive government, in which the state prioritizes the social group over the individual. This is a result of the progressive movement of the late 19^th century.

[6] The John Adams quote is taken from Dill, Alonzo Thomas. Carter Braxton, Virginia signer: a conservative in revolt / Alonzo Thomas Dill. (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1983) 7