George T. (Meadings) Meddings (abt. 1808 - bef. 1891)

Born about 23 Jun 1808 in VA

Descendants

Died before 21 Jun 1891 before about age 82 in Putnam County, WV

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Pam Ellis [send private message]

Biography

His father is cited in one record as "Geo. F." ^[1]

This ancestor appears in the the 1850 census as George Meadings, then in the 1860 census as G. Meddings. More peculiarly, there is conflict about his date of death and place of burial. References 3 and 4 report his date of death as 23 Jun 1889 and his burial place as the Chapman Cemetery. His tombstone is in fact in the Chapman Family Cemetery. County records found through FamilySearch.org at wvculture.com report his place of burial as the Ellis Graveyard. Ref. 3 reveals there are only two Ellis cemeteries in Putnam County, and there are no Meadings or Meddings buried in them.

George and his wife Mary are the only non-Chapmans in the Chapman cemetery. Perhaps they are there because their granddaughter, Dora Blanche Ellis, was married to Eliot Chapman.

The discrepancy in dates is curious. The only one of George and Mary's 13 chiildren mentioned in the Findagrave.com entry is their daughter Charlotte Meadings Wise, who died in 1929. When the tombstone was placed at the Chapman Cemetery and by whom is not known to me. - Robert Ellis

Further confusion surrounding his date of birth and death:

The compilation "Putnam County Cemeteries" ^[2] cited the date of his death on his tombstone, 21 Jun 1891 (see photo). However, two different Putnam County death registries conflict with this, and one of them contradicts his date of birth.

One registry appears to be older ^[3]. On page 75, line 67, it gives his name as "Geo.T. Meddings," a farmer of Scott District, who died 17 Sep 1889 of cancer at the age of 86 (thus, born 1803). This records "Geo F." as George T's father. The informant cited was his son "JR," likely James Ross Meddings.

Another registry ^[4] has almost duplicate entries at lines 133 and 138. These give his name as George Meddings and his date of death as 22 Jun 1889 in his 81st year (thus, born 1808). The original entry gives his residency as Scott District and is crossed out, apparently correcting it on Line 138 to Teays District, with brain cancer added as the cause of death. The implied informant was the attending physician, but may have been Thomas H. Wise, son-in-law and also his undertaker.

The tombstone seems suspicious. Its preservation suggests it may have been carved and installed as a replacement - there is a 9-year difference in the date from his death to that of his wife. Clearly that date for his death is wrong. The age of death James Ross cited is not consistent with what George T provided the census takers when he was 41 and 52 years old^[5][6] , which seems an unlikely mistake on George's part. I would expect James to have a more accurate memory of the date of death (17 September), but the set of duplicate register entries gives consistent dates of death (21 June), burial (22 June), and recording by the county (23 June). The true month and day of death are uncertain, but it seems likely that George was born in 1808. - Roger Wise

Sources

• 1) Ancestry.com search 14 Aug 04, revisited 5 Jan 05: 1850 Census, District 46, Putnam, VA:
• 2) Our Ellis-Shawver Ancestors, revised 2013, prepared by Robert L. Ellis
• 3) Putnam County Cemeteries, published 1990 by The Upper Vandalia Historical Society, page 24, Chapman Cemetery
• 4) "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV2K-Q62M : accessed 15 July 2015), George T. Meddings, 1891; Burial, Hurricane, Putnam, West Virginia, United States of America, Chapman Family Cemetery; citing record ID 71437873, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com
• 5) "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8DL-ZLV : accessed 16 July 2015), George Meadings, Putnam county, part of, Putnam, Virginia, United States; citing family 765, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• 6) HeritageQuest search 4 Feb 2016: G Meddings in the 1860 United States Federal Census

by Roger Wise

1. ↑ Source: #S240a Death record #1
2. ↑ Source: #S250
3. ↑ Source: #S240a Death record #1
4. ↑ Source: #S240b Death record #2
5. ↑ Source: #S1850 US Census 1850
6. ↑ Source: #S1860 US Census 1860

• Source: S240a Putnam County death registration viewed online at WV Archives & History, Vital Research Records Search, http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=4780435&Type=Death
  

• Source: S240b Putnam County death registration viewed online at WV Archives & History, Vital Research Records Search, http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=4781133&Type=Death
  

• Source: S250 Putnam County Cemeteries, published 1990 by The Upper Vandalia Historical Society, page 24, Chapman Cemetery
  

• Source: S1850 United States Census,1850, viewed online
  

• Source: S1860 United States Census,1860, viewed online