WASH CANADY AND HIS DESCENDANTS (FACTS OR FICTION)
Old man George Washington (Uncle Wash as he was sometimes called) came to Wilmington, North Carolina on a boat from overseas according to Ma Bet (Betsy A. Murray). Exactly where from overseas she did not know. Hopefully, I will be able to investigate this area with some more of the older folks there. Story has it that he saw someone eating some ice cream during the time he was in Wilmington and had never seen ice cream before. He found out what it was from the person eating it and went into the ice cream store to get some. He liked it so well and ate so much of it until he almost froze the story goes. In speculation as to his origin, I do recall my late uncle Doug (Wheeler Canady) saying during his bouts of drunkenness, that he was not a "nigger" but he was Portuguese. Thus from this statement by my uncle, I speculate that "ole man Wash" may have originated some place in the Portuguese islands of the Caribbean or perhaps Portuguese Brazil. When I get more details on the family tree in that time span this will be the lead I will pursue to find something about his origin unless, of course, I get more promising leads during the course of my genealogical research.
As my research continued, I was able to find his name listed in an index of the 1870 Census at the Ladson Genealogical Library in Vidalia, Georgia. This discovery was made in January 1997. Further research in this endeavor during the same month led me to the actual census record at the National Archive in East Point, Georgia. The members of his household in 1870 per the census, was his wife Laura; who was 23; his son George who was 6 months, Van Maggie who was 16 and Rose who was 5. The 1870 census listed 'Ole man' Wash's age as being 44. The census was taken in the Holly Township of the County of New Hanover in the state of North Carolina. Pender County had not been formed at that time.
Using the Soundex method (C530) of census searching, the 1880 census was checked while at the National Archives to no avail. Wash CANADY was not listed in it. The soundex code of K530 for KENNEDY was also used. A Soundex search of the 1900 census showed George CANADY with his wife Winnie and their children. The name was still CANADY. Hence, it was after the 1900s when the US Post Office changed the CANADY name to KENNEDY for uncle George. The township of this census was Cape Fear Township of New Hanover County, the state of North Carolina.
Grandpa Wash and Grandma Laura originally lived up in Buckhorn which is on the other side of Hickory Hill using Ma Bet's home as the reference location. Ma Bet said Papa (Andrew Canady, her father) would take them to Buckhorn on a mule and cart when she was a little girl. This trip would be essentially an all day trip. She said they would leave early in the morning and would not get back home until late that evening.
BEGINNING OF CARR/WILLIAMS FAMILY TREE TIE-IN
When Grandpa Wash passed away, Grandma Laura married Uncle Owen Carr. Uncle Owen and Grandma Laura had one child by the name of Alton (Uncle Alton) Carr. Hence, Uncle Alton was half-brother to Ivory, Andrew, Frank, George, and Annie Canady. Also Uncle Owen Carr had fathered some other children prior to marrying Grandma Laura. He was the father of Victoria (Cousin Blench) Carr, Maggie Susan (Cousin Took) Carr, and Ed Carr. Hence, Grandma Laura was Cousin Blench, Cousin Took, and Cousin Ed stepmother.
Ma (Mary Susan Carr Canady) and Cousin Blench were cousins Ma Bet said but she did not know exactly how they tied in. She said that Uncle Owen may have been her maternal grandfather's (Jerry Carr) brother but she was not certain. Ma's father was Jerry Carr and her mother was Charlotte (Grandma Tab) Carr. Ma's mother Grandma Tab was a Williams before she married Grandpa (Jerry). Grandma Tab's brother and sisters were Uncle Johnny, Aunt Lucy, and Aunt Julia. Uncle Johnny Williams was the father of Cousin Jessie Williams, Cousin John Henry Williams, Aunt Sadie, Cousin Laura Williams Nixon, Cousin Duke Williams, and Cousin George Williams. Aunt Julia was the mother of John West Carter and Aunt Lucy was the mother of cousin Amy who married cousin Poolem (James Carr). Grandma Tab and Aunt Julia were auctioned off as slaves.
Thus it can be readily seen from the description of the above tie in that the
CANADY/KENNEDY, CARR, and WILLIAM families are closely tied in as far as the early family
tree is concerned.
Web Author: Jim Canady