clarence windham
1880-1923
Life Story
From a Widowed Mother’s Farm to Landownership in Newton County
Early Life and Family Responsibilities
Clarence Windham was born in Mississippi in late December 1880, with records suggesting that his birth occurred on or about December 25, 1880. He was the son of Hannah (Hanna/Anna) Walker Windham and Sanday (Sandy) Windham, and he spent his childhood in the rural communities of Scott and later Newton County, Mississippi.
Following the death of his father, Clarence assumed increasing responsibilities within the family. By 1900, nineteen-year-old Clarence was living with his widowed mother in Beat 4 of Newton County, helping support the household as a farm laborer. Living alongside him were his younger siblings—Ollie, Katie, George, Emma, and Martha—whose well-being depended in part upon the labor of the older children.
Despite the hardships of rural life during the Jim Crow era, Clarence learned to read and write, accomplishments that reflected both his own determination and the value his family placed upon education.
Marriage and Building a Farm
Around 1904, Clarence married Leathy (whose name also appears in records as Letha and Lisha).
Together they established their own household in Newton County, where Clarence began farming on his own account. By 1910, federal census records identify him as the head of a farming household renting land while supporting his wife and their young daughter, Lettie.
Like many African American farmers of the early twentieth century, Clarence worked tirelessly to move beyond tenancy toward landownership. Farming demanded long hours, uncertain harvests, and the constant challenge of securing credit, yet it also offered the hope of economic independence.
From Tenant Farmer to Landowner
Clarence’s years of hard work produced meaningful results.
When the United States entered World War I, he registered for the Selective Service between 1917 and 1918. His registration card described him as a self-employed farmer of medium height and build with dark hair and dark eyes.
By 1920, Clarence had achieved an important milestone. Federal census records document that he owned his own farm, although it remained mortgaged. For an African American farmer living in rural Mississippi during the Jim Crow era, landownership represented far more than property. It symbolized independence, security, and the opportunity to provide a more stable future for one’s family.
The 1920 household also included an elderly woman named Mandy Trotter, aged seventy-five, and a thirteen-year-old boy, Joe Lewis. Although surviving records do not clearly identify their relationship to Clarence, their presence reflects the extended and often multigenerational households that characterized many rural Black communities.
Illness and Death
Clarence’s promising life was cut short.
During the early months of 1923, he became seriously ill and remained under a physician’s care beginning in January of that year.
On August 30, 1923, Clarence Windham passed away in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi, at approximately forty-two years of age.
His Mississippi death certificate identifies asthma and dropsy (a historical term commonly used to describe severe swelling associated with heart or kidney disease) as the causes of death.
Final Resting Place
Following his death, Clarence was laid to rest on August 31, 1923, at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.
His burial among generations of Windham family members reflected the deep ties his family maintained to the Lawrence community.
Legacy
Although Clarence Windham’s life lasted only a little more than four decades, his story reflects the perseverance of the first generation of African Americans born after emancipation.
As the son of Hannah Walker Windham, he helped support his widowed mother and younger siblings during difficult years. Through determination and hard work, he progressed from farm laborer to tenant farmer and ultimately to landowner—a remarkable achievement during an era when economic opportunities for Black farmers were severely limited.
Today, Clarence is remembered as a devoted husband, father, farmer, and one of the builders of the Windham family’s enduring legacy in Newton County, Mississippi.
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery
Photos/Albums
Sources
- Federal census records, World War I draft registration records, and Mississippi death records identify Clarence Windham as having been born in Mississippi in late December 1880. While no birth certificate has been located, multiple records suggest his birth occurred on or about December 25, 1880.
- 1880 U.S. Census, Scott County, Mississippi, household of Sanday (Sandy) Windham; documenting Clarence as a young child living with his parents, Sanday Windham and Hannah (Hanna/Anna) Walker Windham, and his siblings.
- Following the death of his father, Sanday Windham, Clarence remained in the household of his widowed mother, assuming increased family responsibilities as one of the oldest sons.
- 1900 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Hannah Windham; documenting nineteen-year-old Clarence Windham working as a farm laborer while living with his widowed mother and younger siblings Ollie, Katie, George, Emma, and Martha.
- 1900 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi; recording that Clarence Windham was able to read, write, and speak English, reflecting the Windham family’s commitment to education despite limited educational opportunities available to African Americans during the Jim Crow era.
- Federal census records indicate that Clarence Windham married Leathy (whose name also appears as Letha and Lisha) about 1904.
- 1910 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, household of Clarence Windham; documenting Clarence as the head of his own household, farming rented land with his wife and daughter, Lettie Windham.
- During the early twentieth century, many African American farmers in Mississippi began as tenant farmers or sharecroppers, with landownership representing one of the few avenues toward long-term economic independence despite the barriers imposed by segregation and discriminatory lending practices.
- World War I Draft Registration Card, Clarence Windham, Newton County, Mississippi (1917–1918); describing him as a self-employed farmer of medium height and medium build with dark hair and dark eyes.
- 1920 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Clarence Windham; documenting that he owned his farm, although it remained mortgaged.
- For African American farmers during the Jim Crow era, ownership of even a mortgaged farm represented a significant economic achievement, providing greater stability and independence than tenancy or sharecropping.
- 1920 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi; documenting the residence of Mandy Trotter, age seventy-five, and Joe Lewis, age thirteen, within Clarence Windham’s household. Surviving records do not clearly identify their relationship to the family.
- Mississippi Death Certificate of Clarence Windham (1923); documenting his death on August 30, 1923, in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.
- Mississippi Death Certificate, Clarence Windham; identifying the causes of death as asthma and dropsy (a historical medical term commonly used to describe generalized swelling associated with heart, kidney, or liver disease).
- Mississippi Death Certificate, Clarence Windham; noting that he had been under a physician’s care beginning in January 1923, several months before his death.
- Mississippi Death Certificate, Clarence Windham; documenting his burial on August 31, 1923, at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.
- Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery Records, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi; documenting the interment of Clarence Windham among generations of the Windham family.
- Through his progression from supporting his widowed mother as a young farm laborer to becoming the owner of his own farm, Clarence Windham’s life illustrates the perseverance and determination of the first generation of African Americans born after emancipation.
- Family records, federal census records, World War I draft registration records, Mississippi vital records, cemetery records, and genealogical research collectively document the life of Clarence Windham as a devoted son, husband, father, farmer, and member of the Windham family of Newton County, Mississippi.
Sources Consulted
1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 U.S. Federal Census Records; World War I Draft Registration Card for Clarence Windham; Mississippi Death Certificate of Clarence Windham (1923); Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery Records; Newton County Genealogical Research Collections; Windham Family Records and Oral Histories.
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