William Mead (1727 - 1805)

Born 10 Oct 1727 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Haile) Mead — married 10 Oct 1750 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Husband of Martha (Cowles) Mead — married about 1771 in Bedford County, Virginia Colony

Descendants

Died 30 Dec 1805 at age 78 in Augusta, Richmond County, Virginia, United States

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Biography

William Mead was a Virginia colonist.

William Mead is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A076819.

Col. William Mead (The name is spelled "Mead" in the William and Mary Quarterly)^[1]

Origin

William was born 10 October 1727 at Bucks County, Pennsylvania.^[1] He was the eldest child of John Meade and Mary^[1] (here profiled as Mary (Abrell) Meade.^{[citation needed]}

John and his wife, Mary, were Quakers. They were married at New Garden Monthly Meeting, Bucks County, PA. He was a land owner and a carpenter. They moved to Northern Virginia about 1730. In 1741, John's name appeared on the poll list for election of members to the House of Burgesses in Prince William County, Virginia. In 1746, John and his brothers, William and Samuel, had moved to the part of Fairfax County which later became Loudoun.^[1]

William's siblings were: Abrell Mead, Sr., Robert Mead, and John Mead, Jr.

Family

William married twice.

• He married on Sunday, _____ 1750 at Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as his 1st, to Ann Haile (born December 30, 1732 in Baltimore Co., Maryland), daughter of Nicholas and Ruth Haile of Bucks County.^[1] They had seven children before she died in childbirth on July 22, 1769 in Bedford County, Virginia.

• He married, between two and three years after Ann's death, at Bedford County, Virginia, as his 2nd, to Martha (Cowles) Stith (born November 2, 1749), the widow of William Stith and daughter of Colonel William Cowles of Charles City County, Virginia.^[1]

Col. William Cowles, the chief surveyor in Bedford, was William Mead's sometime boss.^[2]

Children

Children of William Mead and Ann Haile:^[3][1]

1. Nicholas Mead b Feb 16, 1752 in Royal Forest Place, Bedford Co., VA, d 04/07/1831 in Bedford Co., VA; mar Mary Jones Bates Mead (b. 09/28/1756 in n/a; d. 01/18/1779 in Bedford Co., VA)
2. John Haile Mead b Nov 20, 1755 in Royal Forest Place, Bedford Co., VA d 1798 Augusta, Georgia; mar Elizabeth Crump (b. circa 1754 in Bedford Co., VA; d. 03/1813 in Nanclause, Green Co., GA)
3. Mahlon Meade b Mar 26, 1757 Bedford Co., VA, d Sullivan, TN; mar Elizabeth (Betty) Yolely (b. circa 1760 in TN; d. in n/a)
4. Samuel Mead b Dec 13, 1761 in Bedford Co., VA; d Bedford Co., VA 03/07/1793. Never married. Died of fever at brother, Nicholas' house.
5. Elizabeth "Betsey" Mead b July 30, 1764 in Bedford Co., VA; mar Captain Ambrose Gordon (b. 06/28/1751 Monmouth, NJ; d. 06/28/1804 in GA).
6. Reverend Stith Mead b Sep 25, 1767 in Bedford Co., VA, d 1834 in Amherst, VA: mar Prudence Watkins Blakeley Mead (b. 09/13/1788 near Richmond, Henrico Co., VA; d. 01/18/1865 near Lexington, MO) the daughter of Reuben Blakeley and Mary Blakeley of Henrico Co., VA.
7. Unnamed Daughter Mead b 1769, d 1769 in Royal Forest Place, Bedford Co., VA; She lived 1 day and was not named. The Mother, Ann Haile, died in confinement giving birth to this child.

Children of William Mead and Martha Cowles:^[3][1]

1. Martha Mead b April 1, 1773 in Bedford Co., VA dAugusta, GA; mar Alexander McMillan.
2. Priscilla Mead b Jan 7, 1775 in Bedford Co., VA d 1857 in Augusta, GA; mar Benjamin Sims (b Augusta, GA, d 1840)
3. Col. Cowles Crowder Mead b Oct 18, 1776 in Bedford Co., VA, d May 17, 1844 in Clinton, Hinds Co., MS
4. Marston Mead b Jan 22, 1779 in Bedford Co., VA d 1858 near Blountsville, AL; mar Sarah Whitehead Meade (b. 01/22/1779 in TN; d. in n/a near Blountsville, AL.
5. Catherine Mead b Oct 20, 1780 in Bedford Co., VA; mar Thomas Jones (b. 1776 in Bedford Co., VA)
6. William C Mead b Dec 5, 1782 in Bedford Co., VA d c. 1850 Texas. No wife or issue known.

Quakers

William and his family were Quakers. At Buck's County, Pennsylvania, they attended Fall's Monthly Meeting. From there, he was issued a certificate of removal to Virginia on April 4, 1746 (Pg 193).^[1]

Fairfax (later Loudoun) County, then Bedford County, Virginia

William moved about 1746, probably with his father and his uncle, William Meade, to Fairfax (later Loudoun) County.^[1]

As of July 22, 1754, William had removed once again, this time to Bedford County. He is referred to in the Bedford County, Virginia Deed-Book A, Page 6 as "William Mead, carpenter, and Ann his wife to William Boyd."^[1]

Offices and Positions

William was a carpenter by trade and a prominent member of the community at Bedford County. In November, 1761, he was one of the original incorporators of the town of New London.^[1] Col. William Mead was the Sheriff of Bedford County, Virginia. He was deputy surveyor under Richard Stith (his father-in-law), Justice of the County Court, and Lieutenant of the County Militia in Bedford County.^[1] He served as vestryman for Russell Parish at Bedford, for a number of years.^[1]

He fought at Fort Duquesne against the French and was in the Militia during the Revolutionary War.^[4] He was given several grants of land in southwestern Virginia for his service during the Revolutionary War.^[1]

Researcher, Lisa Anderson believes:

Possible the same William Mead mentioned by L.P. Summers in "Annals of Southwest Virginia" as being a private under Col. William Christian during his Cherokee Indian Expedition in August 1776.^[5]

Augusta Georgia

William moved with most of his family in about 1775 to Augusta, Georgia.^[1]

Death and Legacy

William's will was dated February 19, 1805 and probated January 8, 1806; recorded in Book of Wills A, folio 31, etc., Court of Ordinary, Richmond County, Georgia.^[1]

William died December 30, 1805 in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia. John is buried in New London, Bedford County, Virginia in the Mead Family Cemetery.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16} Callahan, G. C., (1902) "Some of the Meads." William and Mary Quarterly, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Richard Lee Morton, Institute of Early American History and Culture., JSTOR.org (Vol 10, No. 3. Pages 193-96).
2. ↑ Worthy, J. W., III Down the Blue Ridge accessed February 21, 2015
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Lineage of Cowles Mead accessed February 21, 2015
4. ↑ Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. SAR Membership # 78090
5. ↑ Anderson, Lisa, Descendents of William Mead of Cecil County, Maryland, A Quaker July 31 2014, accessed February 21, 2015

See also:

• Callahan, G. C., "Some of the Meads." (Vol. 10, No. 4 (Apr., 1902), pp. 242-245) The William and Mary Quarterly. Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, JSTOR.org accessed June 2, 2015

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65690218/