Seeking information on Windham slave named Charity

Question

I am researching the Windham slave name Charity.&#160; She is mentioned in the testimony of her grandson before the Dept. of Interior after filing to be declared a Choctaw Indian.&#160; I want to learn about the Windham family and how she got from Alabama to Mississippi.&#160; In the Census her son appears to be owned by Quincy Windham however I am unable to connect him to any family information at this time. The Windham slave owners lived in Neshoba County, Mississippi.

Susannah Brooks · Answer

I can find no slave owner in Neshoba Co, Mississippi named Quincy Windham in the 1850 or 1860 slave schedules or regular censuses.&#160; There is a woman, named Unicy Windham, who owned 20 slaves in 1850, including a 45 year old mulatto female.&#160; In the 1860 slave schedule she is listed as U P Windham and she owned 14 slaves, including a 50 year old Black female.&#160; Looking at the regular census for 1850 Unicy is 43 years old and born in Georgia.&#160; Living with her is Jeptha Windham, age 20, born in Alabama.&#160; I would assume that Jeptha is her son and his birth in Alabama might explain how Charity got from Alabama to Mississippi.&#160; She came with her owners.&#160; I looked for probate records in Neshoba Co in hopes that I could find them for whoever Unicy's husband was.&#160; Probate records usually list slaves by name, age, and value.&#160; The probate records for the county are not available on-line prior to 1860.&#160; I also tried to find probate records for Unicy (she does not appear in the 1870 census), but could not find them.&#160; She was selling land at least into 1864, according to land records for the county.

Jewell Dunn · Answer

I found a couple of things that might point you in the right direction (or a different direction). First I would check out all the land records for Neshoba County as Unicy sold land after 1864 which was to a Davis family which I found to be her daughter (Eleanor Windham Davis). The deeds refer to Kemper and Neshoba Counties so you might want to broaden your search slightly to the east as Kemper adjoins Neshoba. The Grantor-Grantee indexes are very poor reading in some spots. They are on www.familysearch.org under Neshoba County. There was a land transaction between Benjamin Windham and Charlotte his wife to Unicy which you might want to look at. I believe Uni cy Patterson Windham's husband to be Houston Windham (also found Hartis Windom, Hughston Windham) who supposedly died in 1842. There is no real indication where he died that I could see and the people researching did not have supporting documents for this date. The census index lists him as Hartis Windom who had 9 slaves 1830 in Lowndes Co., AL, then in 1840 enumerated 16 slaves in Butler County.&#160; Lowndes and Butler are next to each other so searching both for records is important. Huston Windham made cash land purchase from the U.S. Government in both counties prior to 1837. Those land files would&#160; be available from the NARA in Washington, D.C. Other Windham's in Neshoba County: Patterson Windham born 1823 in Alabama who had a son name Jepthe in 1846, and a daughter Nicy born in 1865. I think Patterson's first name must have came from his mother's last name. There is also Benj. Windham born 1805 in Georgia. It looks like WIndhams are an extensive family so it will not be easy. Keep digging you will find that record you need.

mooregr · Answer

It is interesting that I have found a relative named Charity Windham, who is listed in the 1880 Census for Neshoba County, MS as age 20. She is the daughter of Levi Windham and Tenner Harrison Windham. She is the sister of my Great-Grandfather Levi Davis who was born in Alabama in the 1800s.

Seeking information on Windham slave named Charity

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