Early Years
Cary was born on January 24, 1721, probably in Williamsburg. He was the son of the builder Henry Cary and his second wife, Ann Edwards Cary. He grew up in Williamsburg and at Ampthill, the elegant brick mansion that his father erected near the mouth of Falling Creek in the portion of Henrico County that in 1749 became Chesterfield County. Cary probably attended the College of William and Mary. He was handsome, strong, tall, and pugnacious. On September 21, 1742, his father deeded him 4,132 acres of valuable land in the part of Goochland County that in 1749 became Cumberland County. In 1744 Cary married Mary Randolph, of Turkey Island, in Henrico County. They had one son and eight daughters, several of whom died in infancy or childhood.