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 [log in to unmask] Visit the Library of Virginia's web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html