Seeking information on Windham slave named Charity

Hi

My name is Hunter Harris, and I descend from Unicy Windham through her son Jeptha.  I am an avid genealogist and have been tracing the Windham family for over 20 years.  Unfortunately, it is a somewhat remote branch of my tree, and very little in the way of "family lore" has made its way down to me.  Almost everything I know has been based on research, and I have quite a bit of info about Charity and her descendants.  I have been (and currently am) in touch with a group of researchers that descend from Charity, and would suggest you link up with them!

There is a rather obscure, but very important, court case from 1854 that provides some clues as to Charity's origins.  It is Unicy Windham v. John Williams, Administrator & Co. and was tried in the High Court of Appeals of Mississippi (basically the "Supreme Court" of Mississippi).  The case involved multiple slaves belonging to Unicy Windham.  In particular, it mentions Charity, Peter, Levi, Rainey (with unnamed child), and Edy.  The case summary implies that Charity was the mother of the other slaves mentioned (though there may be some room for interpretation). 

The case furthermore states that Unicy Windham inherited a slave named Viney from her father John Sutton, who died testate in Monroe County, Alabama in 1819.  John Sutton's Will (a copy of which is on file on file in both Monroe County, AL and Neshoba County, MS) mandated that the inheritance was subject to the life estate of his widow, Sarah Sutton (in essence this means that Unicy's inheritance would become "official" only after the death of her mother Sarah Sutton).  Viney was exchanged for Charity in "1825 or 1826," by agreement of all the heirs of John Sutton, with the understanding that Charity would belong to Unicy upon the death of her mother Sarah Sutton.  The case summary does not state with whom the exchange took place.  Unicy's husband (Houston Windham) pre-deceased Sarah Sutton.  And the implication of the case is that Unicy's right to the inherited slaves died with him.  The administrator of Sarah Sutton's estate originally sued Unicy Windham for the slaves in Neshoba County Court, and the case made its way through the appeals process to the highest authority of Mississippi.  It is a rather a brutal example of conservative views of women's rights combined with the morally reprehensible idea of humans as property.  Blech.

Unfortunately, the original case files from both Neshoba County and the High Court - which would presumably contain testimony, evidence, etc. - have not been found.  It is only a summary of the case, published prior to the Civil War, which survives today.  I hope someday the case files will be found - as they may provide more detail (for example they may identify additional detail related to the "exchange" of Viney and Charity). 

John Sutton had 5 daughters.  The oldest daughter (Levicy), married John Hays and they moved from Alabama to St. Tammany Parish, LA prior to 1820.  They both died in 1835 and left a substantial paper trail, inclusive of a "succession file" that contains many receipts (including a receipt of slave exchange with John Sutton - which shows that the families exchanged slaves amongst themselves).  The next oldest daughters (Polly and Priscilla) married into the Talbert family and remained in Alabama.  The youngest daughters (Unicy & Dicey) both married into the Windham family (Unicy married Houston Windham and Dicey married Houston's brother Thomas B. Windham).  After the death of John Sutton, it would appear (based on census records) that his widow Sarah Sutton lived with the Windham family.  In 1830 she was living in the household of Thomas B. Windham and in 1840 she was living with Houston Windham.  It is not clear which family Charity would have been living with at this time.  Both Windham households owned slaves that could have been Charity.  But in the mid-1820s - when the slave exchange (Viney for Charity) took place - they were living in Lowndes and/or Butler County Alabama.

Hope this helps!  Happy to connect you with other researchers of Charity, if you have not already linked up with them.

-Hunter

Hi

My name is Hunter Harris, and I descend from Unicy Windham through her son Jeptha.  I am an avid genealogist and have been tracing the Windham family for over 20 years.  Unfortunately, it is a somewhat remote branch of my tree, and very little in the way of "family lore" has made its way down to me.  Almost everything I know has been based on research, and I have quite a bit of info about Charity and her descendants.  I have been (and currently am) in touch with a group of researchers that descend from Charity, and would suggest you link up with them!

There is a rather obscure, but very important, court case from 1854 that provides some clues as to Charity's origins.  It is Unicy Windham v. John Williams, Administrator & Co. and was tried in the High Court of Appeals of Mississippi (basically the "Supreme Court" of Mississippi).  The case involved multiple slaves belonging to Unicy Windham.  In particular, it mentions Charity, Peter, Levi, Rainey (with unnamed child), and Edy.  The case summary implies that Charity was the mother of the other slaves mentioned (though there may be some room for interpretation). 

The case furthermore states that Unicy Windham inherited a slave named Viney from her father John Sutton, who died testate in Monroe County, Alabama in 1819.  John Sutton's Will (a copy of which is on file on file in both Monroe County, AL and Neshoba County, MS) mandated that the inheritance was subject to the life estate of his widow, Sarah Sutton (in essence this means that Unicy's inheritance would become "official" only after the death of her mother Sarah Sutton).  Viney was exchanged for Charity in "1825 or 1826," by agreement of all the heirs of John Sutton, with the understanding that Charity would belong to Unicy upon the death of her mother Sarah Sutton.  The case summary does not state with whom the exchange took place.  Unicy's husband (Houston Windham) pre-deceased Sarah Sutton.  And the implication of the case is that Unicy's right to the inherited slaves died with him.  The administrator of Sarah Sutton's estate originally sued Unicy Windham for the slaves in Neshoba County Court, and the case made its way through the appeals process to the highest authority of Mississippi.  It is a rather a brutal example of conservative views of women's rights combined with the morally reprehensible idea of humans as property.  Blech.

Unfortunately, the original case files from both Neshoba County and the High Court - which would presumably contain testimony, evidence, etc. - have not been found.  It is only a summary of the case, published prior to the Civil War, which survives today.  I hope someday the case files will be found - as they may provide more detail (for example they may identify additional detail related to the "exchange" of Viney and Charity). 

John Sutton had 5 daughters.  The oldest daughter (Levicy), married John Hays and they moved from Alabama to St. Tammany Parish, LA prior to 1820.  They both died in 1835 and left a substantial paper trail, inclusive of a "succession file" that contains many receipts (including a receipt of slave exchange with John Sutton - which shows that the families exchanged slaves amongst themselves).  The next oldest daughters (Polly and Priscilla) married into the Talbert family and remained in Alabama.  The youngest daughters (Unicy & Dicey) both married into the Windham family (Unicy married Houston Windham and Dicey married Houston's brother Thomas B. Windham).  After the death of John Sutton, it would appear (based on census records) that his widow Sarah Sutton lived with the Windham family.  In 1830 she was living in the household of Thomas B. Windham and in 1840 she was living with Houston Windham.  It is not clear which family Charity would have been living with at this time.  Both Windham households owned slaves that could have been Charity.  But in the mid-1820s - when the slave exchange (Viney for Charity) took place - they were living in Lowndes and/or Butler County Alabama.

Hope this helps!  Happy to connect you with other researchers of Charity, if you have not already linked up with them.

-Hunter