Carter Braxton was the son of an aristocratic family in Virginia. His father, George Braxton, Jr., was granted many acres of land by King George II. He was also a member of the House of Burgesses. Carter’s mother, Mary Carter, was the daughter of Robert “King” Carter. He earned the nickname, King, due to his vast wealth and prominence. She died seven days after birthing Carter. His father passed away when he was a young man.

Young Braxton was educated at the College of William and Mary. Shortly after William and Mary, he married Judith Robinson. Tragedy struck their household when she died after giving birth to their second child. He was wracked with grief. Subsequently, he moved to England and lived there for three years. While there, he learned of the government’s disposition toward the colonies. It viewed the colonists as its means to repay the Exchequer for the debts it incurred during the Seven Years War.  

When he returned to Virginia in 1760, Mr. Braxton was elected to the House of Burgesses. As tensions grew with England, he was loyal to his home state, but was one of the more conservative members of the governing body. He did not support separating from the crown’s authority. Little by little, though, he supported policies that drove a political wedge between the two parties. In 1769, he supported Virginia’s right to tax itself and signed the Virginia Resolves. He also supported the Virginia Association, a series of non-importation agreements. This helped Virginia speed up its economic recovery and resist English taxes and trade control.

Carter Braxton was selected to replace Peyton Randolph in the Continental Congress after he died suddenly in October 1775. The debate to separate from England grew more intense in 1776. Delegate Braxton was not convinced independence was absent of lingering obligations that in the end would prove more negative than positive. In April, he wrote, “Independence is in truth an elusive bait which men inconsiderably catch at, without knowing the hook to which it is affixed.” He pointed to the failures of The Netherlands and Venice. He stated the good of republics “existed only in theory and were never confirmed by the experience …”

But he was eventually convinced independence was the best choice for the colonies. On July 2nd, Mr. Braxton joined his fellow delegates and voted for the resolution for independence. He voted for the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. And he signed the document on August 2nd.  

His support of battling England for the colonies’ independence was full-throated. He invested much of his own money even as he was losing money due to the British destroying much of his shipping fleet. His plantations and other land holdings were wrecked. At one point of the war, he loaned £10,000 to fund the revolutionary efforts. 

Carter Braxton never returned to the monetary status he possessed and enjoyed pre-war. He became greatly indebted and was forced to leave his country estate and reside in a simple, Richmond residence. Through all of this, he was known as a gentleman in manners. He possessed a “cultivated mind and respectable talents. … His oratory was described as easy and flowing.” And during his lifetime, he attended and served his local church dutifully. In 1797, Virginia lost one of her sons who helped father a dream into a reality. He is buried at his estate, Chericoke, in King William County, VA.

Carter Braxton lived to be 61 years of age.