Excerpts from A History Of The Sandidge Family Of Virginia And Their Descendants, pp. 1,2,3,4,28,29, and 30 of 52. by Martin Sandidge

Generations 1 Through 4

This family name is extremely rare in English records circa 1600 under any of its spelling

variations found later in Virginia. And, owing to the peculiarities of pronunciation and

spellings of that period, it gives rise to several conjectures as to what the name had been

originally. It appears in christening records in London, England as early as 1608 spelled

as Sandiges; and later as Sandige, Sandidge, Sandge, Sandigh, and possibly as Sandwich.

It appears later in Virginia records spelled as Sandage, Sandige, Sandidge, Sandwich,

Sandrich, Sandridge, Sandrige, Sandedge, Sandrage, Sanrich, Sanridge, Sanrage,

Sandiage –finally becoming fixed primarily as “Sandidge” or “Sandridge” after the

Revolutionary War. Later, the spelling variation “Sandage” became the third primary

spelling after some family members apparently moved from Virginia to South Carolina

and then subsequently northwestward to what is present day Indiana.

First Generation (About 1620 to About 1690)

Colonel James Sandige (herein identified as James Sandige I for clarification purposes)

{another reference lists the given name as “Thomas”}, born about 1625 in England,

reportedly left England for political reasons during the reign of Oliver Cromwell (1653 –

1658) and immigrated to America where he settled in King & Queen County, Virginia.

He reportedly married Kathleen Pendleton (or Pemberton). Details concerning his life

are lacking at present; however, he seems to have been one of the immigrant ancestors of

this name in Virginia. He may have been the James Sandige, christened 16 February

1633, Saint John, Hackney, London, England, son of John Sandige.

John Sandige (herein identified as John Sandige I for clarification purposes), born about

1628, in England, also reportedly left England for political reasons during the reign of

Oliver Cromwell. He immigrated to America where he settled in London (?) County,

Virginia, and married Dorothy Cary. Other details of his life are lacking at present. He is

possibly the John Canninge listed in Cavaliers and Pioneers, I-274, as headright of John

Oliver, 23 February 1652. He may also have been the John Sandige, christened 25

October 1629, Saint John, Hackney, London, England, son of John Sandige and brother

of the James Sandige listed above, christened 16 February 1633, Saint John, Hackney.

When migrating, early history has shown most individuals usually did not do so alone.

They tended to move in large or small groups of their own family or one into which they

or a close relative had married.

Although not substantiated, it appears that there was possibly a third Sandige family

member of this generation – Thomas Sandige (herein identified as Thomas Sandige I for

clarification purposes) who immigrated to America. He may have been the individual

confused by some with Colonel James Sandige above – and, by others, as a son of John

Sandige I. However, the age of his wife, Mary Brazier (1644-1698), would make it

appear that he was probably of the same generation as John Sandige I and Colonel James

Sandige. Other details concerning his life are lacking at present. He may also have been

the Thomas Sandige, christened 19 February 1631, Saint John, Hackney, London,

England, son of John Sandige and brother of the James and John Sandige mentioned

above as born in Saint John, Hackney, London.

Second Generation (About 1660 to About 1730)

John Sandidge (herein identified as John Sandige II for clarification purposes), born

about 1666, presumed to be the son of Colonel James Sandidge, settled in New Kent

County, Virginia, prior to October 1695. About 1690, he had married Mary Vaughn,

born about 1670, in England. His name appears on the Quit Rent Roll in New Kent

County in 1704. Other New Kent County records mention him as being paid as a “chain

carrier” (a surveyor). The American Compendium of Genealogy, Vol. IV, states that the

wife of John Sandige was Catherine, daughter of Philip and Isabella (Hart) Pendleton.

However, this is believed to be an error. There is no information as to the identity of

John’s mother or any brothers or sisters. John Sandige II died in 1708, in New Kent

County, Virginia. His wife, Mary Vaughn Sandige, died after 1707, in Virginia. Some

of their children are believed to have been:

(1) Thomas Sandige (herein identified as Thomas Sandige III for clarification

purposes), born about 1691,Virginia.

(2) John Sandige (herein identified as John Sandige III for clarification

purposes), born about 1695, in Virginia.

(3) William Sandige (herein identified as William Sandige I for clarification

purposes), born about July 1698, in Virginia.

James Sandige (herein identified as James Sandige II for clarification purposes),

presumed to be the son of John Sandige I, was born about 1660. About 1685/1690, he

married Elizabeth Pleasants and later resided in Henrico County, Virginia. Some of his

children are believed to have been:

(1) Thomas Sandige (herein identified as Thomas Sandige IV for clarification

purposes), born about 1685, in Virginia.

(2) James Sandige (herein identified as James Sandige III for clarification

purposes), born about 1687, in Virginia.

(3) Richard Sandige, “of Surrey”, born about 1710, in Virginia.

Thomas Sandige (herein identified as Thomas Sandige II for clarification purposes), born

about 1660, and presumed by some to the son of John Sandige I. It is believed by those

individuals that he and Thomas Sandige I discussed above are one and the same person.

Third Generation (About 1685 to About 1765)

James Sandige III, believed to have been the son of James Sandige II, was born about

1687, in Virginia. Details concerning his life are lacking at present.

Thomas Sandige IV, believed to have been the son of James Sandige II, was born about

1685, in Virginia. He married Elizabeth Brooks of Maryland; however, other details of

his life are lacking at present.

John Sandidge III, believed to have been the son of John Sandige II, was born about

1695, in New Kent County,Virginia; died before September 1739. By 1739, he resided in

Hanover County, Virginia. (Hanover County was formed from New Kent County in

1720.) By September 1739, a tract of land there was called “Land of John Sandidge’s

Heirs”. Possible children were:.

(1) John Sandidge (herein identified as John Sandidge V for clarification

purposes), born about 1725/1730, in Virginia.

(2) Gideon Sandidge, born prior to 1737, in Virginia.

(3) James Sandidge (herein identified as James Sandidge IV for clarification

purposes), born about 1735, in Virginia.

Thomas Sandige III, believed to have been the son of John Sandige II, was born about

1691, probably in New Kent County, Virginia. On 20 February 1712, in St. Paul’s

Parish, New Kent County, he married Frances Chappell, born about 1695, probably in

New Kent County. According to Parish records, he was a member of St. Paul’s Parish

from at least 1711 to 1719. St. Paul’s Parish later became part of Hanover County,

Virginia, in 1720. One of their children was:

Nathan Sandidge, born about 1720, probably in Virginia.

Richard Sandige, “of Surrey”, may have been the son of James Sandige II or he may have

actually been a fourth generation Sandige. He is reported to have had at least three

children, one of whom was born as late as 1765. Some of his children were:

(1) John (or James) Sandige (herein identified as John Sandige IV for

clarification purposes), born abut 1730, in Virginia.

(2) Nathaniel Sandige, born in 1746, in Virginia.

(3) William Henry Sandige, born in 1765, in Virginia.

William Sandige I, presumed to be the son of John Sandige II and a grandson of Colonel

James Sandige, was christened on 10 July 1698, in St. Peter’s Parish, New Kent County,

Virginia. John Sandwich and Mary, his wife, are recorded as his parents on the baptism

records. William I later resided in St. Margaret’s Parish, Caroline County,Virginia. The

Richmond Times-Dispatch genealogical column, dated February 1, 1914, “Taylor-

Sandige” by Elmore Dickinson, Professor at West Virginia University and a descendant

of William Sandige I, states as follows: “William Sandige of Caroline County married

Ann Taylor, daughter of John Taylor and Catherine Pendleton.” (The American

Compendium of Genealogy erroneously lists Catherine Pendleton as William’s mother.)

However, Ann Taylor’s reported marriage to William Sandige I is believed to be an error

also. Mr. Dickinson gave his reasoning and facts for the basis of his deductions

concerning Ann Taylor; then, he later retracts the deduction and is not so sure about the

maiden name of Ann, William’s wife. The age of Ann Taylor (born 1712-1715) was his

chief obstacle. Since Mr. Dickinson’s death, it has been proven that Ann, wife of

William Sandige I, was not Ann Taylor. Ann Taylor, as described, died unmarried as

shown by copies of the family Bible records in the possession of Mr. Trist Wood of New

Orleans. The question still remains open to research as to the maiden name of Ann, wife

of William Sandige I. One genealogy researcher thought it seemed probable that her

maiden name may have been “Holliday”. Other sources believe that she was Ann

Pullam/Pulliam, christened November 22 or 23, 1702, in New Kent County, Virginia, the

daughter of Ann Patterson and William Pullam-Pulliam, born in 1665, in New Kent

County, Virginia. She was also the granddaughter of James Pulliam, born in 1640, in

Henrico County, Virginia; and the great granddaughter of Edward Pulliam, born in

England, in 1600, who came to Virginia in 1636.

In 1734, William Sandige I, of St. Margaret’s Parish, Caroline County, Virginia,

purchased land in St. George’s Parish, Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and moved there

with his wife, Ann, whom he had married in 1718. Their children were:

(1) Mary Sandige, born about 1718, Virginia; married (1) Anthony Gholson Jr.;

married (2) John Brown.

(2) William Sandige (herein identified as William Sandige II for clarification

purposes), born about 1719. He and many of his descendants would later use

the “Sandridge” spelling of their surname. Others would use “Sandidge”.

(3) James B. Sandige (herein identified as James Sandige V for clarification

purposes), born 22 May 1724. He and his descendants would later use the

“Sandidge” spelling of their surname.

(4) David Sandige, born 1722-1728. He and his descendants would later use the

“Sandidge” spelling of their surname.

(5) John Sandige (herein identified as John Sandige VI for identification

purposes”, born about 1730. He and his descendants would later use the

“Sandidge” spelling of their surname.

William Sandige I died at his home in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, between March

1747 and 2 June 1747. His widow, Ann, qualified as executrix of his estate on 7 July

1747, with her bond signed by Benjamin Holliday and Joseph Holliday. In 1754, she

married Joseph Martin, a gentleman from Louisa County, Virginia. She died after 1754,

in Louisa County. Most of William and Ann’s children would eventually sell their

holdings in Spotsylvania County and some of them moved south. Those using the

“Sandidge” spelling of their surname generally moved into Amherst and Louisa County,

Virginia; and those using the “Sandridge” spelling of the surname generally moved into

Albemarle County, Virginia. In later years, some of those using the “Sandridge” spelling

would adopt the “Sandidge” spelling of their surname used by most of their cousins.

 

 

While certainly not complete, the limited listing above is the only information I

presently have concerning the first six generations of the Sandidge/Sandridge family.

There are many other second through sixth descendants of the Sandidge/Sandridge family

who are not identified or accounted for in this brief history. I have included only those

Sandige/Sandidge/Sandridge/Sandage family members whose identity and relationship

has been fairly well established. There are many other Sandage/Sandige/Sandidge/

Sandrige/Sandridge names appearing in official and unofficial records such as population

censuses, tax rolls, marriage records, family Bibles, land deed records, probate records,

family letters, etc. awaiting further research by some interested person to establish their

relationship to known family members. And, while such information is available,

seventh and succeeding generations were omitted because this was meant to be a brief

history of the Sandidge family in early Virginia; and most later descendants were

scattered as they joined the pioneer flow to the south, west, and southwestern parts of the

United States beginning about 1790/1800. In the relatively short span of about 350 years,

the first generation’s descendants now number in the thousands and can be found from

coast to coast. And, since the family name is rather rare, the chances are pretty good that,

if one traces themselves back far enough, they will find that they share a common

ancestor in Virginia or later. Exceptions, naturally, would be those who have adopted the

family name, those descended from slaves who adopted the surname of their former

owner prior to emancipation, and those descended from a later immigrant from Canada,

England, Scotland, or Ireland. Even then, for this latter group, a common ancestor could

probably be found further back in time in England or Ireland.

　

A feeling of family unity is something we strive for, yet there are factors such as

time, distance, and circumstances which can adversely affect achieving this unity. The

Civil War is a prime example of one or more of those factors. Like so many other

families of that time, some descendants of the Sandidge/Sandridge/Sandage family found

themselves on opposite sides in that conflict. Of the approximately 78 family members

serving in that war, 23 were Union soldiers and the remainder was Confederate soldiers.

As an example, such was the case for the following five, great, great grandsons and five

great, great, great grandsons of William Sandige I.

2G Grandsons of William Sandige I

(1) John M. Sandidge, son of Garrett Longmire Sandidge.

Prior to the Civil

War, he was a prosperous planter who was first elected to the Louisiana

House of Representatives, then subsequently elected to the U.S. House of

Representatives where he was serving at the time Louisiana decided to

withdraw from the Union. At that time, John resigned his congressional seat

and returned to Louisiana where he was appointed a colonel in the

Confederate Army with staff officer duties for the Governor of Louisiana. At 　

the conclusion of the Civil War, he was assigned the responsibility for

surrendering the archives of Louisiana to Union Forces.

(2) James P. Sandidge, son of Christopher “Kit” Sandidge and grandson of John

S. Sandidge, volunteered for the Union Army and was commissioned a

captain in command of Company “B”, 21st Kentucky Infantry.

(3) Micajah Carr Sandidge, son of John W. Sandidge, grandson of John S.

Sandidge, and a first cousin of James P. Sandidge above, was a member of

the Confederate Missouri State Guard. He was taken prisoner by Union

forces after he was sent into the Federal lines as a spy.

(4) George R. Sandidge, son of James Madison Sandidge and a grandson of

Claiborne Sandidge, was a Confederate corporal and a prisoner of war of the

Union Army when the Civil War ended.

(5) Thomas Hastings Sandridge (Sandidge), son of Benjamin Thurmond

Sandridge and grandson of Stephen Sandridge, was a 43 year old Confederate

private, captured at the surrender of Vicksburg on 4 July 1863, and paroled

home to his farm after signing the “I will fight no more” pledge.

3G Grandsons of William Sandige I

(1) William Scott Sandidge, son of Thomas Hastings Sandridge/Sandidge ,

enlisted in the Confederate Army in March1864 at age 16 by lying about his

age. He served throughout the remainder of the Civil War as a member of

Harvey’s Scouts, 28th Mississippi Regiment, Jackson’s Division, Army of

Tennessee -and surrendered with his unit in Alabama at the conclusion of the

war.

(2) Daniel Sandidge Jr., son of Daniel Sandidge Sr. and grandson of John W.

Sandidge, served in the Union Army’s 85th Illinois Infantry Regiment from 2

August 1862 to 5 June 1865 without furlough and saw sustained action in the

Civil War.

(3 – 5) Perry, Henry Clay, and John Leonard Sandidge, sons of Archibald Sandidge

and great grandsons of Stephen Sandridge, all enlisted in the 2nd Battalion,

Kentucky Mounted Rifles of the Confederate Army. Henry Clay was

wounded at the Battle of Bull’s Gap in Tennessee.

As a reminder of their past presence, in Amherst County, Virginia, a few miles

west of Lynchburg, near the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and near the forks of the

Buffalo River, there used to appear on maps of the area a village which was shown on

older maps as “Sandidges” and on others as “Sandidge Town”. It was located about one

mile off Highway 60. In 1955, it consisted of a few houses, a store, and a rural post

office. According to one resident, “All the land around there had belonged to old man

William Sandidge who had died land poor.” This would have been William E. Sandidge,

great, great grandson of John Sandige and Keziah Gatewood.

 

Above history originally compiled by Martin Sandidge, Rockwall, Texas, January

2009, with the invaluable assistance of Karen Jorgensen, Texas; William L. “Sandy”

Rowe, Virginia; and Rita Sandidge, Maryland, who so graciously agreed to devote their

time and resources to review the original draft for accuracy, completeness of what is

presently known, and suggestions concerning content and format. This history is meant

only to pull together the scattered information which others and I have developed over

the years while researching the genealogy of the Sandidge family of Virginia. Much of

the information contained herein has not been verified and any errors are those of the

original sources. It may not be disseminated, in part or in whole, for commercial

purposes or for financial gain. This revised history replaces the History Of The Sandidge

Family Of Virginia And Their Descendants, Generations 1 through 6, dated January

2009, as well as the History Of The William Sandige Family of Virginia compiled by the

undersigned in August 1992, and revised in January 1993, September 1995, and January

1998 which are now considered incomplete and, in some cases, incorrect. Copies of any

versions of these obsolete histories should be destroyed and replaced with this one.

An “Alphabetical Index” is included on pages 31 – 40 for those researchers who

want to quickly determine whether or not a person of interest appears in this history. A

“Descendants Index” in the form of a descendants chart is included on pages 41 – 52 to

assist those who wish, beginning with the sixth generation, to use this “history” to help

trace their individual family line further back through each preceding generation. Once

those individuals have been identified and highlighted in the chart, they can then be

easily located in the appropriate generation section and page number(s) of the “history”

indicated on the indexed chart. Thus, this “history” serves not only as an overview of

what is known or thought to be known of the early generations of the family in Virginia

as a whole, but also as a tool for later descendants to use to help trace their own

individual lines through each generation covered.

 

Martin Sandidge

10 October 2010