I entirely agree this hasn't received the notice it deserves, but I'm
not sure it's fair to say that it passed largely unnoticed in the one
previous biography. There is a fairly detailed look at Carter's
manumission of 500 slaves in Louis Morton's  _Robert Carter of Nomini
Hall_ in the chapter, "Manumission." That's where I first learned of the
details years ago anyway.

Linda Rowe
Historical Research
Colonial Williamsburg
757-220-7443
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brent Tarter
Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 11:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Andrew Levy's FIRST EMANCIPATOR

I, too, enjoyed Levy's book on Councilor Robert Carter and his
emancipation of an unprecedentedly large number of enslaved people.

One question that Levy started at the beginning of the book and never
pursued, though, and which has set me to thinking off and on since it
came out, is this: Why did that remarkable event pass largely unnoticed
in the historical literature, even in accounts of the family and the one
previous book on Carter?

My first reaction was that. . . 

On second thought: Here's a good topic for discussion on  Va-Hist.

Brent Tarter
The Library of Virginia
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