Archibald Cary

Archibald Cary (January 24, 1721 – February 26, 1787) was a Virginia planter, soldier, politician, and major landowner, in the colony of Virginia.

While a member of the 1776 Fifth Virginia Convention he chaired the committee which passed what became the Lee Resolution, the call for the Second Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain.

Early life Col. Archibald Cary was born on January 24, 1721. He was the son of Henry Cary Jr. and Ann Edwards Cary. He was educated in Williamsburg and Ampthill, Virginia and is believed to have attended the College of William and Mary.

Upon his father's death in 1749 or 1750, Cary inherited over 4,000 acres, lying on both sides of the Willis River, in what would eventually become Cumberland and Buckingham counties. His plantation, called Buckingham, was identified on the Joshua Fry-Peter Jefferson map (1752).

Career Cary was a member of the House of Burgesses from 1756 to 1776. In 1764, he served on the committee of Burgesses that wrote resolutions against the proposed Stamp Act, but the following year he voted against Patrick Henry's Virginia Resolves as being premature and too inflammatory. He owned British thoroughbred horses and traded with England.

Personal life On May 31, 1744, Cary married Mary Randolph, the daughter of Richard Randolph of Curles, and sister of William Randolph of Tuckahoe (1713-1746), who married Maria Page (daughter of Mann Page). The two had nine children together and, through his marriage, Cary's children were lineal descendants of Pocahontas. Their children included:

Anne Cary (1745–1789), who married Thomas Mann Randolph (1741–1793), her first cousin. Jane Cary (1751–1774), married Thomas Isham Randolph (1722–1778), the son of Isham Randolph and an uncle of United States President Thomas Jefferson, in 1768. Henry Cary (1752–1758), who died young. Sarah Cary (1753–1773), who married Archibald Bolling II (1748–1827) Elizabeth Cary (1760–1775), who married Robert Kincaid (1751–1801) Mary "Polly" Cary (1766–1797), who married Carter Page (1758–1825)