Robert Carter III
#151,975 Most Popular
About
Planter in colonial Virginia who is famous for freeing over 500 slaves decades before the civil war and the emancipation proclamation. He gave many of the freed slaves places to live on his vast plantation land, and also supported refugees from Haiti escaping the revolution.
Before Fame
His open minded nature led him to listen to Quaker, Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist preachers. When he converted to a Baptist in 1787 he began to free his slaves.
Trivia
For two decades he sat on the Colonial Virginia Governor's Council.
Family Life
He and his wife Frances Ann Tasker had 17 children, 12 of which reached adulthood.
Associated With
He was a neighbor of George Washington.
