Charles Woodmason
| Charles Woodmason | |
|---|---|
| Church | Church of England |
| In office | 1766–1789 |
| Predecessor | Rev. |
| Successor | Rev. |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1766 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | before October 23, 1720 probably Gosport, Hampshire, England |
| Died | March 1789 Sedbergh Parish, West Riding of Yorkshire, now Cumbria, England buried from St Andrew's Church, Sedbergh on March 30, 1789 |
| Residence |
England South Carolina Virginia Maryland |
| Spouse | Hannah Page (d. 1766) |
| Children |
Hannah Woodmason (1747-1747) James Woodmason (1748-1831) |
| Profession |
Planter Anglican Clergyman Mercer Storekeeper |
Charles Woodmason (c. 1720 – March 1789) was an author, poet, Anglican clergyman, American loyalist, and west gallery psalmodist. He is best remembered for his journal documenting life on the South Carolina frontier in the late 1760s, and for his role as a leader of the South Carolina Regulator movement.
The son of Benjamin Woodmason, a ship's carpenter, and his second wife, Susanna Pittard, Charles Woodmason was baptized on November 3, 1720 [O.S. October 23, 1720] at Holy Trinity Church of England Chapel, Gosport, Hampshire, England and was evidently a native of that town. Benjamin was from an old Devon family and apparently settled in Gosport after marrying the first time to a local girl. Charles Woodmason’s mother died in August 1722 and his father remarried in October 1725. In June 1735, Woodmason completed the seven-year apprenticeship to a Gosport mercer named Thomas Levet. He married Hannah Page in 1745 and they had two children, a daughter and a son. Only his son James Woodmason survived to adulthood. In 1747, he was responsible for the removal of the organ used by George Frederick Handel from the deceased Duke of Chandos' private chapel at Canongate to Holy Trinity, where it still remains in use today. His tune book, A Collection of Psalm Tunes with Basses Fitted for the Voice and Figured for the Organ, for the Use of Gosport in Hampshire, saw its second edition in 1748. Hannah Page Woodmason was buried from St. Mary's Church, Alverstoke in 1766.
In September 1750, Benjamin Woodmason died. Sometime in 1752, his son left England for America and settled in the colony of South Carolina where he initially prospered as a planter and store proprietor. The South Carolina Gazette issue of August 10, 1752 contains a long list of books “to be sold by Charles Woodmason.” This is the earliest mention of his presence in South Carolina. Both his wife and son remained in England. Initially, he prospered as both a merchant and planter. In addition to his mercantile and agricultural pursuits, he wrote a book on the production of indigo and published several poems in The Gentleman's Magazine, including one (which was widely reprinted) lauding Benjamin Franklin’s recent electricity experiment. One authority on colonial life described him as “South Carolina’s brightest literary light”. Both Franklin and Woodmason were considered "principal correspondents" (and were members) of the Royal Society of Arts, London. Writings from both of them were included in a microfilm edition Selected Materials Relating to America, 1754-1806 that the Society published in the 1960s.
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