A to Z
C is for Captain Charles Windham,
His Majesty’s Commander
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Birth 1709 Virginia
Death 20 Aug 1771 South Carolina
My 6th great grandfather
Photo credit: National Trust
The Windham family is on my father’s side. A female Windham married a Mercer, and a granddaughter from that union married a Crane.
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Charles’s Windham /Wymondham /Wyndham line is traced back to Sir John De Wymondham in 1320 Wymondham, Norfolk, England.
Three hundred years later, in the early 1600s, Charles’s great grandfather was also born in Norfolk. Apparently the family didn’t get around much. Grandpa was a judge and military advisor. He migrated to America in 1634 on the ship “John and Dorothy.” After hundreds of years in the same town, I wonder what the family thought of him going to America. I would imagine they weren’t very pleased.
The family settled in Virginia for a couple generations, then Charles moved south to South Carolina. Charles married Mary around 1730 and had at least five children in South Carolina before her death around 1750, including my 5th great grandfather Major Amos Windham who served in the American Revolution in South Carolina.
From Virginia Colonial Records:
Public Record Office, London
Book of Letters Vol. 5
4 Feb 1737. Encloses report of threatened attack by Spanish on Georgia and South Carolina. Has asked Capt. Windham for help. Windham was send to Virginia.
29 Mar 1737. Capt. Windham has ordered Capt. Compton at Virginia to join him quickly.
In the early 1730s, King George II established Georgia as a colony. His main reasoning was to keep the Spanish who were occupying Florida and the Native Indians from attacking South Carolina. Georgia was nothing but a buffer, but King George dumped time, money, and settlers into the colony, helping it to grow and prosper. Wonder where he got the name from? 🙂
The best part of the story is while the King was sending over settlers to build up the colony and munitions to fight off invaders, the Princess of Wales gave birth to a son who would later become King George III. This is the same King the colonists would declare their independence from in 1776. They would never have been able to do so if George II hadn’t supplied them with weapons. Hmmm.
Lori Crane 
Wonderful read. Thanks. Major Amos is my 6th Great Grandfather
Hey, my name is Blaze and I’m currently tracking my family history. Captain Charles Windham is my 8th great grandfather. I have them tracked to Thomas Wyndham of Stokesby but I’m stuck there. I see you have them back to the 1300’s. Is there a way you could email me and help me complete to that time frame? Thanks!
blazec98@gmail.com
Hi Blaze! I’m sorry, but I haven’t gotten any further back than you. Actually, I stopped in Virginia in the early 1600s. There seems to be a big hole in the records between where the family came into prominence with their own town Wymondham in the early 1300s and the time they started keeping records in the colonies in the 1600s. I’m sorry, they’re just not one of the lines I’ve really delved into, so I’m no help. Good luck in your research!!