Matthew (Meade) Mead (1630 - 1699)

Born 1630 in Soulbury, Buckinghamshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Walton) Meade — married 3 Jan 1654 in St Mary Woolnoth with St Mary Woolchurch Haw, London, England

Descendants

Died 16 Oct 1699 at about age 69 in Stepney, Middlesex, England

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Matthew (Meade) Mead is Notable.

Biography

Matthew Mead or Meade, the second son of Richard Mead of Bragenham, Soulbury, Buckinghamshire, by his wife Joane, was born 1629/30 at Soulbury, Bucks and baptised in March 1629/30. ^[1]

He studied at Eton College in 1648 and, in Aug 1649, was elected to King’s College in Cambridge. He resigned two years later “to avoid expulsion for refusing to take the engagement to the Commonwealth.”^[2]

Matthew married Elizabeth Walton on 3 Jan 1653/4 at St. Mary Woolnoth Church in London. Elizabeth was from Allhallows, Lombard Street. He had thirteen children, of whom the physician Richard Mead was the eleventh. An elder son, Samuel, was a fellow-student with Calamy at Utrecht in 1687; published at Utrecht a ‘Disputatio,’ 1686, an ‘Exercitatio,’ 1687, and an ‘Oratio,’ 1689; in 1694 he was an evening lecturer at Salters' Hall, but was not ordained, and became a chancery practitioner.^[3]

About 1655, he and began delivering the morning lecture at St. Dunstan and All Saints in Stepney. He identified with the Independents during Oliver Cromwell’s rule, and was accordingly appointed curate of New Chapel in 1658, a position which he lost upon the Restoration. In 1659 he became lecturer at St. Bride’s.

In 1661, Mead preached a series of seven sermons which were later turned into the manuscript for his most enduring work, "The Almost Christian Discovered". Shortly after it was printed, he was ejected from his lectureship due to his nonconformity. His final sermon, “The Pastor’s Valediction” (1 Corinthians 1:3), encouraged his hearers to stay the course and be true to ideals, rather than conform.^[2]

Mead had a close working relationship with William Greenhill, first as his assistant, then his assistant pastor, then his successor, at Stepney. It was as pastor over this congregation that Mead spent the majority of his career, preaching there from 1671 until his death in 1699. During this time, the Stepney congregation was reported to be the largest congregation in London.^[2]

He strongly supported attempts at reconciliation between Presbyterians and Congregationalists, as led by John Howe in 1690. Mead preached a popular sermon, “Two Sticks Made One” from Ezekiel 37:19, teaching that needless denominationalism was dishonouring to Christ.^[2]

Matthew Mead died 16 Oct 1699, at the age of seventy, and was buried in Stepney churchyard.^[3] He was the father of thirteen children. His good friend John Howe preached his funeral sermon, calling him “a very reverend and most laborious servant of Christ.” ^[2]

The Works of Matthew Mead:^[2]

1. The Almost Christian Discovered (or, The False Professor Tried and Cast). (252 pages) Acts 26:28 Open in Logos Bible Software (if available). PDF Internet Archive
2. A Name in Heaven the Truest Ground of Joy. Luke 10:20 Open in Logos Bible Software (if available). and “The Power of Grace in Weaning the Heart from the World” together (189 pages). PDF Google Books
3. Two Sticks Made One (or, The Excellency of Unity). (39 pages) On Ezekiel 37:19 Open in Logos Bible Software (if available) concerning a sermon delivered in 1691, to encourage reconciliation among Presbyterians and Congregationalists by showing that needless denominationalism is harmful to Christ’s honour. PDF Internet Archive
4. Original Sermons on the Jews, and on Falling into the Hands of the Living God. Also known as The Sermons of Matthew Mead. Containing five sermons on the restoration of the Jews (Ezekiel 37), twelve sermons from Hebrews 10:31 Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), and his farewell sermon, “The Pastor’s Valediction” (1 Corinthians 1:3 Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).
5. Solomon’s Prescription for the Removal of the Pestilence.
6. The Vision of the Wheels.
7. The Young Man’s Remembrancer and Youth’s Best Choice.
8. The Good of Early Obedience.

Notes

In earlier documents he spelled his name ‘Meade,’ but used the spelling ‘Mead’ from about 1679.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Soulbury Bucks parish records 7 Mar 1630 Matthaus filius Richardi MEADE
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Digital Puritan profile of Matthew Mead.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Wikipedia.

See also:

• A Puritan's Mind profile of Matthew Mead.
• Father of William Mead: Krause, Herbert and Carolyn Krause, Our Cup Runneth Over: Our Story for Our Children and Their Children. AuthorHouse, 2013, GoogleBooks.com accessed May 26, 2015, page #1164 & 1165.
• Ancestry Family Trees: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. (link broken at 30 May 2019)

Acknowledgements

WikiTree profile Mead-625 created through the import of altic Family Tree.ged on Aug 3, 2011 by Todd Altic.