Armistead Family History #1 - Shirley Plantation

I'm taking a short side trip today to talk about a different family.  I was putting pictures in a photo album from last year and came across pictures of a trip Kay and I took to Virginia along with her cousin Tom Wilkinson.  Those pictures triggered some very fond memories of the trip and also I remembered a very exciting story about the Armisteads I came across while I was there.  I just couldn't wait to share it.

I am so thankful that Frank Meixner came to Texas in 1881 bringing along his two year old son Harmon.  I am also very thankful that Robert Stewart Armistead came to Texas from Florida sometime in the 1870s, got married, and had a daughter, Alice, who coincidentally was born in 1881.  Both families settled in Bell County, TX. Twenty four years later Alice and Harmon were married.  They are my grandparents.  So of course the Armisteads are equally as important to me as the Meixners.

When we set out on our trip to Virginia I had 3 things in mind that I wanted to accomplish:  see the scenery, do research on Kay and Tom's great grandparents, Fanny and William Cabell, (they lived in Amherst County, VA but we can not locate William's parents), and visit some of the historical sites that are such a huge part of American History located in Virginia.

The scenery was spectacular.

I highly recommend a family vacation to Virginia.  The historical triangle of Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown is a must see.  In that triangle you have, established in 1607, the first enduring English settlement in the New World, (Jamestown), the colonial capital of Virginia 1699-1754, (Colonial Williamsburg), and the site of the decisive last major battle of the American Revolution in 1781, (Yorktown).

But what about the interesting story of the Armisteads you say?

On one of our side trips we took a drive a little northwest of Williamsburg toward Charles City to visit a place called Shirley Plantation.  It is the oldest of the great plantations along the James River.  The land for the plantation was granted by King James in 1613 and is still going strong today.

It is a very interesting place to see.  It has a number of buildings from the 18th and 19th century you can walk through as well as the Great House of Shirley.  This house was completed in 1738.  The Great House is where I found my surprise.

Below is a picture as you approach the Great House.  Below that is a picture inside the smoke house, only one of the many old buildings on the property you can tour.

After we entered the main room of this magnificent old home, the guide gave us the history of the home and pointed out several paintings in the room.  One of the first portraits was that of Judith Armistead Carter.  As soon as he said the name I recognized it from my genealogy records.  Judith Armistead was married to Robert "King" Carter.  To quote their book on the plantation "...Robert "King" Carter, the wealthiest man in North America.  Owning over 50 working plantations and over 330,000 acres of land, Robert was called "King" because his wealth was said to rival that of the King of England."

Below is Judith Armistead Carter's portrait.

Robert and Judith had 5 children.  Their son, John Carter, married Elizabeth Hill who had inherited Shirley Plantation from her father.  They would begin building the Great House shortly after their marriage in 1723 but it would take 15 years before it was completed in 1738.  The plantation has remained in the Hill-Carter Family for eleven generations.

I was very excited when I heard Judith's name because I am related to her.  Her grandfather is also my 9th great-grandfather, William "The Emigrant" Armistead, who came to America about 1635 and settled in Virginia.  You've got to admit.  That's pretty cool!

A day or so latter we visited Yorktown.  It is really fascinating to walk where history was made and to realize you are walking the same paths some of our nations historical figures had walked.  We visited Grace Church, established in 1634 and of course I had to visit the cemetery.

Buried in the cemetery are William Nelson and his son Thomas Nelson, Jr.  William Nelson was president of the Governors Council in Virginia and served as acting governor.  Thomas Nelson, Jr. was one of the most powerful and influential men in Virginia.  He was active in the movement to separate the colonies.  As a  Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress he signed the Declaration of Independence.  Back in Virginia during the revolution he was asked to manage Virginia's military and civil policy.  When the state's funds ran low he borrowed heavily on his personal security which ended up destroying his personal wealth.  He died a pauper.  

The Nelson house:

William's wife and Thomas' mother was Elizabeth Carter Burwell.  Elizabeth's parents were Nathaniel B Burwell and Elizabeth Carter.  Her grandparents (Elizabeth Carter's parents) were....you guessed it.... Robert "King" Carter and Judith Armistead Carter.

So I accidentally came across several of my Armistead relatives, and some pretty impressive relatives they are as well.  In addition, according to the FamousKin.com website, Robert "King" Carter and Judith Armistead Carter's great-great grandson was none other than Robert E. Lee.

The Armistead Family Tree has many distinguished and prominent people on it that had an impact on the history of our country.  I hope to talk more about these relatives in the future but for now I wanted to relate how exciting it was to walk along the historical pathways in Virginia and realize so many of my ancestors walked there before me.

If you would like more information about any thing in this post please e-mail me.  I will be happy to share family trees, information, pictures, etc.

I'll get back to my next installment on the Meixners next week.