Dorothy Meador

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 9619

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 9758

Notes:

These presents witnesseth that I Sarah Meader widdow wife of Thomas
> Meader the younger lately deced in the County of Rappahanock I Sarah
> Meader do bind and oblige myself my exrs. or adms. to confirme unto my
> son John Meader sone unto Thomas Meader lately deced one yoak of oxen
> & one gun seaven foot by the barrell to be delivered unto my son John
> Meader when he comes of age & furthermore I give as my full act & deed
> unto my eldest daughter Susanna Meader one red cow called Cherry & her
> cow calf & increase to my aforesaid daughter only excepting the male
> of the catle to fall unto me the abovesaid Sarah Meader untill my
> daughter be full eleven years of age & after the expiracon of the
> aforesaid years male & female to fall unto my eldest daughter Susanna
> Meader. Item I give unto my youngest daughter Mary Meader daughter of
> the abovesaid Thomas Meader one Black heaffer named Slippey she & her
> increase to my youngest only the male excepted to fall unto I the said
> Sarah Meader untill my youngest Daughter be fully nine years of age &
> after the Expiracon of the aforesaid nine years male & female to fall
> unto Mary Meader & if it shall please God that my eldest daughter
> shall dye in her inority that all her catle & their increase shall
> fall unto her sister Mary Meader and likewise in case it should pleas
> God that my youngest daughter Mary Meader should dye in her minority
> that her catle unto my eldest daughter Susanna Meader & furthermore in
> case that my youngest daughter Mary Meader her heiffer should miscarry
> before she comes to perfeccon that there shall another heiffer or cow
> of the same age & her increse to be made good as aforesaid to my
> duaghter Mary Meader these premises to be recorded in Court the first
> or second courte ensuing the date hereof by any person that I the said
> Sarah Meader shall lappoint always provided that there be severall
> markes nominate & recorded for the abovesaid Childrens Catle them &
> their increase. In confirmatcon I Sarah Meader bind my self myheirs
> for the performance this above menconed & no other act nor deed as
> Witness my hand this thirteenth day of Aprill 1662.
>
> These presents testifieth that I Sarah Meader late wife of Thomas
> Meader deced in the County of Rappa. oblige my self to give and allowe
> unto my children a sufficient & compleat maintenance in every respect
> as all other ought to do and further more to give them four years a
> peice Education in learning according as the Country doth aford. In
> Confirmacon whereof I Sarah Medr. do bind & oblige myself my heirs or
> assignes for the performance of this above menconed as witness my hand
> & seal this 13th day of Aprill 1662 to write read to to cast accompt
>
> Recorded July 12, 1662 Deed Bk 1656-1664, p 187-188

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In that grant, it is stated that it was being made to Thomas Meador, Orphan, son of Thomas Meador, deceased. As no such father and son pair (both named Thomas) existed in the family of Ambrose Meador, it must certainly have been that Thomas Meads who died in 1655 and his son Thomas. The further descent of this 450 acre tract (Rappahannock Co Deed Book 5, p. 261 and Deed Book 6, p. 98) through John Meador is very clear. This grant adjoined the grant of Henry Awbrey on Hoskins Creek, and particularly the portion given by Henry to his son Richard Awbrey. It is most logical that Thomas Meador, Orphan, and Thomas Meador the Younger were the same, and that Sarah Meador, the widow of Thomas Meador the Younger, who made provision for her son 'John Meador of Hoskins Creek,' was the wife of Henry Awbrey and the mother of Richard Awbrey. Thus the conclusion is virtually inescapable that Sarah was the mother of both John Meador and Richard Awbrey, making them half-brothers. This would explain why Richard called John Meador his 'brother' in his will

Thomas married Sarah Hoskins 1658, Lancaster, Virginia, USA. Sarah (daughter of Bartholomew Hoskins and Mira Dorcas Isham) was born 16 Sep 1637, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; died 1672, Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 7399

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 9760

Notes:

Thomas Meador was born in 1612, England. He came to the new world 1 June 1636 using the headright system. Thomas settled on land about 50 miles north of Jamestown on a part of the Charles River, Northumberland, Lancaster, Rappahannock, and Essex counties as each was established. He married, and between 1635-37 Thomas Jr. was born. Thomas did well raising tobacco and paid passage for others claiming their land.

The Will of Thomas Meads/Meador

The last will and testament of Tho. Meads (Meador) made the 5th. day of March (54.) Imp nt. I do bequeath my body to the Earth & my soul to God that gave it. I do make my wife my sole & absolute Excr. I do give to my wife and Daughter Mary this planation that I now live upon and all the land on this side of the Creek, and the sd. plantation not to be my Daughter's 'till after my wife's decease. I do give to my two sons Thos. & John Meads all the land that is on the west side of the Creek provided that they pay unto my two Daughters Margaret & Joyce out of the s. land two thousand pounds of tob. & cask at their day of marriage, and in case eithre of the(m) die that the sd. tob. to belong to the survivor. I do give unto my wife & sons & my Daughters above mentioned all my goods and chattels after my debts are paid and that they shall be equally divided amongst them. I do give to my Daughter Anne all the cattle that belongeth to her which is about five head of cattle, and likewise I do give unto her one shilling in money. This is my last will and testament as witness my hand the day & year above written.

Witness:
Thomas Mead
Rawleigh Travers
John Richardson
Edward Bradshaw (by his mark)
pbat 6 da. Juny 1655

GRANTEE Meads, Thomas. grantee. DATE 7 September 1654. Location: County location not given. Grantee(s): Meads, Thomas, and John Phillips. Description: 1000 acres on the south side of the Freshes of Rappa: River about 16 Miles above Nanzemum Towne. Source: Land Office Patents No. 3, 1652-1655, p. 376 (Reel 2).

Thomas married Sarah (Unknown) 1636, Virginia, USA. Sarah was born 1600, England; died 1655, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Sarah Meades
• Name: Sarah Wellstead
• Reference Number: 12417
• Death: 1655, Essex, Virginia, USA
• Death: 1655, Essex, Virginia, USA

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 7398

Bartholomew — Mira Dorcas Isham. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 7720

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 9604

Notes:

Ambrose Meador immigrated from England to Warrisquicke (later Isle of Wight) County, Virginia before 1636, and moved about 1649 to Lancaster County, Virginia. Descendants lived in Virginia and elsewhere.

http://www.geocities.com/janet_ariciu/Meador.html

Not much is found in the records about Ambrose Meador, but we do know that he, his wife (name unknown), and servant arrived in Virginia in late may of 1636. It is presumed that his son Thomas arrived on the same ship; however Thomas would have been an adult and possibly married at that time. He traded part of his head right property for the cost of his wife's and slaves' passages. That was a very common practice at the time of the colonization of the "new world". A head right was 160 acres, and was granted to the head-of-house upon arrival. They had to work the land and make it productive for 15 years before they could "patent" the land. Their names were kept on a "rent" roster until the end of the 15 year period. If they bargained for more than one head rights, then they served 15 years for each and they could not serve them consecutively. They had to be served one after the other and all land was held until the end of all the 15 year periods. Ambrose surrendered 150 acres to Peter Johnson on June 1, 1636 for the passages previously mentioned. We also know that Ambrose designated his "sonn" Thomas as his "true ans lawfull attorney" in his "place and stead" to appear for him in court and awarded Thomas 300 acres out of one thousand acres sold to him by a Mr. James Williamson as payment for his work. Ambrose used a large "m" as his mark for all legal purposes. Thomas apparently was literate as it is recorded on legal documents that he signed his own name. We also know that Thomas then signed over 150 acres of that land to a Mr. Richard Tomlynson. All legal documents state the following concerning land transfers: "give grant bargain and sell unto..(name of person) ...(amount of land) lying and being on ...(location of land) with all the houses privileges thereunto belonging according to the tennour of by the rents and services unto ..(person) his heirs and assigns for ever against all persons claiming by from or under ..(orginial owner) ... (spelling errors are copies of actual documents, not typo errors.) These transactions took place between late 1657 and September 1658.
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As it appears on the website at mccormack.cherrytreewv.com:

Ambrose Meador:

Every immigrant to the colony in the 17th century was granted 50 acres as a "headright" to get them started. But often these grants were assigned to a benefactor who had paid for their passage from England to the colony. There, we find that Ambrose Meador had on 1 Jun 1636, surrendered to a Peter Johnson in Warrisquicke County. (later Isle of Wight County.) 150 acres of headright land due for the immigration of Ambrose, his wife and a servant. It should be noted that in many cases delays of several years occurred in the official recording of such documents, therefore, the actual date of Ambrose's arrival could have been a few years previous to 1636.

Soon after the recording of this headright, other records show that Ambrose Meador in partnership with John White purchased 50 acres of land from Thomas Davis. Then, in 1649, he bought 300 acres from Ambrose Bennett on the south side of the Pajan River. These purchases were in what became Isle of Wight in the Virginia colony, south of the James River. It is evident that other purchases were made for when records no longer exist, on the basis of reference to land that Ambrose owned at "Ambrose Meador's Point", cited as a landmark. Adjoining these lands of Ambrose Meador on the Pajan River were grants of 300 acres and 600 acres to Richard Bennett, and 1100 acres to Ambrose Bennett. Much can be learned from these associations. All of the above mentioned men with whom Ambrose Meador dealt and whose lands adjoined his own were prominent members of the early Puritan Church.

The Puritan movement had originated in England in the late 16th century as part of the Protestant reformation directed against the Catholic Church. It continued its reformation efforts against the Church of England (Anglican) which had been created when Henry VIII severed all ties with the Catholic Church. In particular, the Puritan adherents felt that Henry VIII had not gone far enough in merely separating from the Catholic Church. The designation "Puritan" derived from their determined efforts to "purify" the Church of England with regard to: 1) forms of worship and the clerical vestments; 2) the organization of the church; and 3) certain theological doctrines.

The Puritan movement was not treated favorably by James I, King of England, and migration began into Holland. By 1610 the Puritans had begun to settle in Virginia on both sides of the Pajan River in Warrisquicke County (now Isle of Wight). Many settlers succumbed to hardships, disease and recurrent Indian attacks. After the Indian massacre of 1622 throughout the Virginia settlements, only 33 European persons were left in the Warrisquicke County. area.

Sometime after the tragedy but certainly before the recording of his headright in 1633, Ambrose Meador came to the Virginia colony. Because the records show he was married when he arrived but had no children, the passage must have taken place before 1633, the year in which his first son, John, was born.

It is not known if Ambrose Meador came to Virginia from Holland or England. Some indications point to Suffolk in agricultural East Anglia, northeast of London, as the possible origin of the Meadors.

As we attempt to recreate Ambrose Meador's background, it is quite significant that in Virginia he settled near and dealt with Ambrose Bennett, a relative of Edward Bennett, who was one of the Elders of the "Ancient Church" faction of the Puritan movement. Edward owned a fleet of ships that transported and supplied many of the Puritan colonials. Edward married into the wealthy Bourne family and was granted thousands of acres for transporting hundreds of colonists and their servants. His relative Richard Bennett was overseer of his plantations and later became Governor of Virginia.

A neighbor of Ambrose Meador's was Thomas Jordan, a prominent member of the Puritan movement.

Perhaps as early as 1632, construction was begun on a church, just a few miles south of the lands of Ambrose Meador. Durably built of hand-fired brick, the building still stands today.

The last record of Ambrose Meador in Isle of Wight County. is in 1649, when he sold land to Ralph Warrener on 9 April 1649. Ambrose soon followed the Puritan colonists to Lancaster County. on the Rappahannock River. He is first found there on a list of tithers on 24 Oct 1653. He settled on the northeast side of the river in the Totuskey Creek area. On 3 Sep 1656 he purchased from James Williamson the lower 1,000 acres at the 1800 grant on Willing Creek (Totuskey Creek). The neighbors here besides Williamson included Bryer, William Underwood, Abraham Moore, Thomas Robinson, and William Denby from the Isle of Wight colony.

The 1,000 acres purchased by Ambrose Meador included Accokeek Point of the mouth of Totuskey Creek, across the river and a few miles downstream from present Tappahannock. Of this 1,000 acres, he soon sold 300 acres to Thomas Robinson and 300 acres to his son, Thomas Meador. He retained 300 acres for himself as a home plantation, probably near the present site of Wellford, which he appears to have named "Accokeek". This 400 acres was then inherited by his son, John Meador, and later traded by John to Robert Tomlin on 3 May 1663 for 500 acres of land on Peumansend Creek in what is now Caroline County. Evidently Ambrose Meador was dead by this date. His last reference in the records is 24 Dec 1661 when he shared a purchase with his son, Thomas. His wife was mentioned (but not by name) in the deed to Thomas Robinson in 1656, but may have preceded him in death. If Ambrose Meador left a will, as is likely, it has not survived the loss of Lancaster County. records, nor is his last resting place known.

It appears probable that Ambrose Meador's son, Thomas Meador, met with an early death. He left no property of record to be divided and no deeds or wills have been found.

Source: Our Meador Families in Colonial America - as found in the records of Isle of Wight, Lancaster (old) Rappahannock, Richmond, Essex and Caroline Counties, Virginia; 1983; Victor Paul Meador & Bernal M. Meador

Ambrose — Elizabeth Lee. Elizabeth was born 1560, England; died , England. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 8654