Carter Braxton: Signer of the Declaration of Independence
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This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 70-6889 STEVENS, L. Tomlin, 1941- CARTER BRAXTON: SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1969 History, modern University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan (J) Copyright by L. Tomlin Stevens 1970 CARTER BRAXTON: SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By L. Tomlin Stevens, A.B., M.A •J'r * - The Ohio State University 1969 Approved by Advidpr Department cW'l H istory ■.ri'i'r: VITA January I, 19^1 . » • Born - Youngstown, Ohio 1962 ........ A.Be, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 196U ........ MoAo, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio I 96I4- I 968 ...... Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History Colonial and Revolutionary America. Professor Paul C. Bowers Early National. Professor Eugene H. Roseboom American Diplomacy. Professor Marvin R. Zahniser English History. Professor Philip P. Poirier i i _____________________________________________ _ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page VITA • ...o.e.oc. ...... ..a....... H INTRODUCTION ....... .....a. ......... I C hapter I. VIRGINIA ARISTOCRAT ........ ....................... 2 II. COLONIAL MERCHANT AND POLITICIAN ........ 23 III. OUTBREAK OF REVOLUTION....................................................... h i IV . INDEPENDENCE ..................................... ..................................... 72 V. WARTIME COMMERCE AND CONTROVERSY................................ 118 VI. POLITICAL RESPECTABILITY..................................... 175 V II. ECONOMIC DISASTER..................................... .... * . 211 VIII. CONCLUSION ..... ............................................................ 22f> BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................. 230 INTRODUCTION Carter Braxton has been awarded a prominent place in the history of Virginia and the United States because of his distinc tion in belonging to that honored group of men who signed the Declaration of Independence in 177&. Historians have generally- associated Braxton with the more conservative statesmen of Revolu tionary Virginia, but little else is known about him other than the fact that he led a stormy life full of controversy and died virtually penniless despite his former status as one of the wealthiest indi viduals in Virginia society. But exactly how influential was he in affecting the course of events that led the thirteen colonies to break away from Great Britain and then establish themselves as a nation? 'Where did he stand on the great constitutional issues of his time? What role did he play and how effective was he in the impor tant developments within his own state? The answers to these ques tions are necessary for a thorough understanding of the man and a valid evaluation of his contribution to the Revolution and the new n a tio n . 1 CHAPTER I VIRGINIA ARISTOCRAT One of the most important clues to the character and behavior of Carter Braxton is the high social position he held among the first citizens of Virginia; a position which was inherited rather than acquired. Braxton was born into the ranks of the aristocracy on September 10, 1736 a't the family estate of Newington in King and -i Queen County, one parent rivaling the other in blueness of blood. 2 His mother, who died one week after his birth, was the former Mary Carter, a daughter of "King" Robert Carter and sister of Landon Carter. Through her, Braxton was connected directly to one of the most important family names in the entire colony. I t should also be noted that Braxton not only inherited much prestige from his mother's side, but, judging from his letters, he also acquired a rather Important political confidant in his uncle, Landon Carter. Carter (August 18, 1710 - December 22, 1778) was one of the most respected of Virginia's gentry. A member of the House of Burgesses from ^Geneological Notes on the Braxton Family (unpublished material in the Virginia State Library). ^Virginia Gazette (Parks), September 2^, 1736. The paper noted that the infant had also died, an error corrected in the issue for October 15* ^Louis Morton, Robert Carter of Nomini Hall (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg, Inc., 19^1)* P* 22. 2 3 1752 - 1768, a prolific correspondent, and writer of nearly fifty- essays, he was thoroughly immersed in Virginia politics all his h life. People of all political inclinations sought his advice and used him as a sounding board for their own opinions.-’ His influence was great and he undoubtedly was a factor in shaping Braxton's political views. The co n trib u tio n s made to B raxton's s o c ia l p o s itio n by h is paternal lineage were equally significant, although more difficult to trace. His grandfather, a Welsh colonist named George Braxton, was the first known Braxton to reside in Virginia,^ evidence of whom can be found in the fragmentary records of King ’William County as early 7 as 1703 and on the q u it re n t r o l ls from King and Queen County in 8 1704 for 2825 acres. The Patent Books provide further evidence that George Braxton was a substantial landowner,^ but he also classified himself as a merchant^ and was actively involved in politics, ^Jack P. Greene, Landon Carter: An Inquiry (Charlottesville, Va.: The University Press'of Va., 196?), pp. 1-11 • -’See The Diary of Landon Carter (ed. by Jack P. Greene, Charlottesville, Va.: The University Press of Va., 19^5)* ^Geneological Notes on the Braxton Family. r r Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, VI (April, 1899)> 434. 8I b id ., XXXII (January, 192*4-), 1*44-1*4-5. ^Patent Books in Virginia State Library, No. 11 for 1719-1724, p. 52, No. 12 for 1724-1726, o. 224, No. 13 for 1725-1730, p. 340, No. 14 fo r 1728-1732, p . 3 9 9 / ^Virrdnia Magazine of History and Biography, VI (April, 1899), 434. 4 representing King and Queen County in the House o f Burgesses con tinuously from 1718-1734 and possibly for a while during the 1740‘s.^ His offspring consisted of two daughters and a son, George, the 12 father of Carter. One of the daughters, Elizabeth, married Humphrey Brooke and became the mother of George Brooke of Mantapike in King William County, who was a colonel in the Revolution and Treasurer of Virginia as well as a prominent cousin of Carter Brax ton.^ It is uncertain exactly when George Braxton, Senior, died, even though his tombstone s till exists in the graveyard of Mattapony Church. According to Alfred Bagby, who erroneously dated the death 14- in 1718, the inscriptions on the stone "are scarcely decipherable." 1 ‘j The d ate has more o fte n been read 1748; J however, given the absence of any Braxton in the House of burgesses during the 1736-1740 Assembly, an equally justifiable guess would be 1738. George Braxton, Junior, appears to have carried on the tradi tions established by his father. Indeed, given the identity of names, it is often difficult to distinguish him from his father. Maintaining his residence at Newington, this second George added ^^Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 1619—1777 (ed . by H. R. M cllwaine and J . P . Kennedy, Richmond^ 1905-1915), 1712-1726, pp. vii-ix, 1727-1740, p. vii, 1742-1749, pp. vii~ix. 1 9 Alfred Bagby, King and Queen County. Virginia (New York and Washington: The Neale Publishing Co., 1908), p. 62. ^V irginia Magazine of History and Biography, VI (April, 1899), 433, XV (October, 1907)1 201. 14 Bagby, p. 62. ^Geneological Notes on the Braxton Family; Virginia Magazine of History and Biogra-phy, VI (April, 1899), 433* 5 16 greatly to the family land holdings. He also pursued a career in commerce, dealing largely in tobacco and indigo with a number of English mercantile houses, ' 17and helped John Robinson represent King and Queen County in the House of Burgesses continuously from 17^2- 1 ft 17^9» In 1733 he married Mary Carter, who bore him a son, George, 19 in 173^ and another son, Carter, two years later. As mentioned above, Mary Braxton died a week after Carter’s birth, and her hus band apparently never remarried, no one else being mentioned in his • t , 20 Carter Braxton’s father and grandfather had earned eminent respectability for the family name and had accumulated a great for tune, both of which were to be passed on to Carter early in his life. Carter was only thirteen when his father died, the will being pre sented by the executors John Robinson and Humphrey H ill in a court Frederick Horner, The History of the Blair, Banister, and Braxton Families (Philadelphia; J. B. Lippincott Co., 1898), p. 1^7; The patent Books in the Virginia State Library, Ho. 13 for 1725-1730, p. 3^1, No. 23 for 17^3-17^5, p. 606, Ho. 26 for 17^7-17^8, p. 270. ^Horner, pp. 1^0 ff. The Virginia Gazette (parks) for August 9, 1736 indicates that the slave trade was also included in his commercial activities. 1 ft Journals of the House of Burgesses, 17^2-17^9> pp* vii-ix. This assumes, of course, that George, Senior, died in 1738; other wise, the George Braxton mentioned in the journal could have been the elder one, at least until i?^8, after which the reference is undoubtedly to the son. ^William and Mary Quarterly (First Series), VII (January, 1899), 151 . The date of the birth of Carter's brother can be deter mined from this reference to his seventeenth birthday in 1751* quoted from the diary of John Blair. ^W illiam and Mary Quarterly (Second Series), XIX (October, 1939), 318-320. 6 21 h eld fo r King and Queen County on October 10, 17^9« Some idea o f the Braxton wealth can be gleaned from this id 11 in which George Braxton, Jr., states: I give and bequeth to my son George all my land in King and Queen and Essex Counties to him and his heirs forever.