Hello Frederick County researchers, I have a CARTER mystery that I'm hoping somebody has run across before and will be able to help me out with. I've been trying to solve this forever, it seems. First, I'll give y'all the info I have on my line and then the problem. I have my CARTER line back to a Landon CARTER. He was born in 1826 in Tennessee (Carter Co, I assume). Landon died in 1896 in Carter County, TN. He was married three times: 1) Deborah ELLIS 01 Feb 1846 / 2) Elizabeth A Cameron 19 Jun 1866 / 3) Rebecca Garland 30 July 1877. All of these marriages took place in Carter Co, TN. Landon served in the 13th Regiment, TN Volunteer Cavalry, where he was Capt. of Company H, during the Civil War. Landon had five children, of which I will spare the names at this time for lack of relevance. Now, on to the mystery: In 1850, Landon is living in Carter Co, TN, with his wife and small child. Also living with him, is a Mary CARTER, aged 73 years (born ca. 1777) and born in PA. I presume this to be his mother. The mystery lies in finding his father. I had narrowed it down to a William Carter, for various reasons, but was unable to find any information in regards to William's past. This led me to contact the Carter County genealogist to see if she had any information. She knew who my Landon was right off the top of her head, and was quick to tell me that his father, William CARTER, is believed to have been a CARTY in Virginia. She stated that at some point in time, it is believed that William changed the family name from CARTY to CARTER, but that nobody has been able to prove this. In her notes, she had an abstract from Frederick County, Virginia, marriages which listed a William CARTY wed to Polly WEAVER 09 Nov 1799. Recently, I have begun to research Polly (Mary) WEAVER... both names in the marriage abstract from Virginia match correctly with the names of Landon's parents. I have discovered that the Polly (Mary) WEAVER, who married William CARTY, was born in PA around 1777. She is the daughter of Adam WEAVER. So, it is a safe conclusion that this marriage between William and Polly, is the marriage of Landon's parents. The mystery now lies in the last name of his father, William. I have run across a will from Frederick Co, VA, from a Benjamin CARTER. The will is dated 13 Dec 1795, and was proved 07 Apr 1796. This Benjamin CARTER was born ca. 1751 in VA, and as mentioned earlier, died in 1796 in Frederick Co, VA. Benjamin had the following male children: Joseph, William, Isaac, Benjamin Jr., James, Jonathan, David, & Edmund. In referring back to the marriages of Frederick Co, VA - all of these males were married in Frederick Co, shortly before or after 1800 - with the exception of Isaac and William. But, keep in mind, there was a William CARTY (the only CARTY marriage listed) in the records. It is my hypothesis, that this William CARTY is actually William CARTER. It is very possible, given the circumstances of the time, that his name was misspelled. I know what most of you are thinking, for I have heard it a million times - the name Landon belongs to the family line of John and Landon CARTER, of which the county of Carter, Tennessee, was named. Family lore has it, that we are descendants of this line - but I have been unable to make any connection - at least in Tennessee. If, William CARTY is actually William CARTER, then the line would connect to the line after which the county was named - just much further back than we had expected. I don't feel it is just a mere coincidence that William and Polly decided to name their child Landon. During that time period, the Carters were not a family rich in history, as they are now. I apologize for such a lengthy message, but I wanted to make sure that my story was understood. I thank you all in advance for your time and I hope that somebody, somewhere, can provide me some assistance. Best regards, Morgan H Courtney [email protected]