Wednesday’s Words

William Meadows War of 1812 Patriot

William Meadows was born about 1794 in Wilkes County, Georgia. His parents were Frances Acree Meadows and the second Isham Meadows. William married his first cousin Gincy Jane Meadows daughter of John Meadows and wife Lydia. They married in Greene County, Georgia 29 June 1815. All seven of their children were born in Georgia.

 

William and Gincy were living in Dawdells, Harris County, Georgia in 1840-1850. Living near William and Gincy are his sons Seaborn and Gilbert and their families; and William and Gincy’s daughter Elizabeth and her family. Gilbert his son is a carpenter by trade. He was born in Georgia.

William Meadows served in the War of 1812 from Greene County. He served in Company 2, Jenkins Regiment, Georgia Volunteers and Militia. William was doing quite well for a farmer. His real estate value was $5000.00. William was fifty-eight years old and Gincy was fifty-four. Living with them was a thirty-three-year-old male Lasley Odem and a farmer however, he was born in South Carolina. So, what relationship was he to the family? Since relationships were not stated on the 1850 census more research needed to find out what his relationship is to William and Gincy. William and Gincy were first cousins so he would be related to both. William and Gincy’s fathers' were brothers.

William and Gincy’s daughter Elizabeth were living nearby. Joseph Flurry age twenty-seven was a farmer and his real estate value was $600.00. Joseph was born in Georgia also. He could not read. Elizabeth could not read either. Joseph and Elizabeth had one daughter Louisa J. age nine born in Georgia.

Seaborn Meadows, William’s thirty-two-year-old son and his family were living nearby. Living with him was eighteen-year-old John Odem born in South Carolina, and a farmer. He most likely is the brother to Lasley Odem. Lasley Odem married Martha A. Oliver. 28 Jul 1852 in Harris County, Georgia. He is related to the Meadows family on the Oliver line. Her father was John Joseph Oliver.

Children of William and Gincy Jane Meadows are Seaborn, John C., Susan F., Elizabeth, Pricilla, Levisa, and Gilbert Meadows. Direct line ancestors from Daniel Meadows are the first Isham, the second Isham, William, John Calvin, Emma Meadows, to Alice Lee. 

 
In 1860 William and Gincy Jane had removed from Georgia and are living in Tallapoosa County Alabama. William was on the 1866 Tallapoosa County, Alabama State census and would have been about seventy four years old. There was a Wm Meadows in the age category of 70-80 range. Gincy Jane Meadows died after 1860 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. She is on the 1860 Tallapoosa County, Alabama census with three of her daughters and two of her grandchildren.

Tallapoosa County, Alabama 1866 State Census

Wm. Meadows

Daniel Meadows the progenitor of the Meadows family 

lived in this area of Virginia. 

Tombstone Tuesday

Ace Crayton Meadows son of John Calvin Meadows and Sara Ann

Photos from Findagrave.com

Mystery Monday

Finding Meadows in the Meadows

Daniel Meadows the progenitor of the Meadows families from Prince George County, Virginia to Granville, Bute, and Warren Counties North Carolina, to Wilkes, Greene, and Taliaferro Counties, Georgia, and Tallapoosa, Talladega, Lowndes Counties, Alabama and beyond probably never realized he would have so many descendants. He probably never thought about his descendants researching his life and writing about him. It looks as though this line of Meadows came from England and this assumption is based on DNA test results. Did Daniel know about the naming patterns in his family when he was naming his children? If he did that would help in finding his parents and his wife’s parents; however, there is no knowledge of his parentage even though extensive research has been done for the Medo, Meadow, Mead, and Meadows in Virginia. The closest record to parentage for Daniel Meadows of Virginia is a birth record for Daniel Meadows 29 October 1687 to John Meadows and Elizabeth White in Suffolk, England; however, the link isn’t proven. 

Daniel’s known sons in order of births are James (according to the naming pattern that was popular in England the first son named after the father’s father), John (the second son named after the mother’s mother), Daniel (the third son was named after the father), William (fourth son named after the oldest paternal uncle), and Isham Meadows (named after the second oldest paternal uncle or oldest maternal uncle.  Same names were used over and over in the Meadows families. This pattern of naming their children after their elders was a way to honor them. Unlike today’s generation that is not the case. Today’s naming of children often focus on names that are popular or what sounds good to the parents. The pattern of naming children resulted in duplication of names which can be a difficult problem for family historians.

With all the repeated names in the Meadows family, where are we as far as researching the family and proving the link back to this man Daniel? The link back will be the direct line of his descendants from Emma Meadows born about 1851 Troup County, Georgia to Daniel Meadows born about 1685 Charles City County, Virginia. Daniel Meadows and wife Jane had a fifth son named Isham. Isham is in the direct line back to Emma.

Why did Daniel and Jane name their child Isham? Today that would not be a name parents would choose for their child. Was Isham a family name? Per Ancestry’s name and origin of surnames the name Isham is English. Isham is a habitational name from a place in Northhamptonshire named Isham, from the river name Ise (of Celtic origin) + Old English ham ‘homestead’ or hamm ‘promonotory’ or ‘enclosure hemmed in by water.’ http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=isham. Isham the first had a son and his name was Isham. The next generation from Isham the second was his son William Meadows. Williams descendant was John Calvin and he is the father of Emma Meadows. The direct line back to the progenitor Daniel Meadows is proven.

After all the research and the direct line has been proven the question still  remains, did Daniel Meadows’ family immigrate from England and settled in Charles City County, Virginia? Or was Daniel Meadows born in Virginia and knew of his ancestry? Daniel was a tailor. Where did he learn the tailor’s trade? Where was he schooled? Who trained him? Was this a trade that he knew and learned by working it? Daniel was a from the class of yeomen who owned their own land and tilled it with their own hands. He possibly had help from others in the household.  This small group of farmers were a minority in Virginia; About twenty to thirty percent of the population in the years 1680 to 1760.

Meadows was about twenty-seven years old when he bought fifty acres of land in Prince George County, Virginia in 1712. He bought one hundred acres adjoining the fifty acres five years later. November 10, 1719 court when he was about thirty-four years old Daniel Meadows served on a grand jury in Prince George County.  Who was advising Daniel in making these decisions as a young man? How did Daniel learn all these skills of acquiring land as a young man? Daniel had to have a mentor who was guiding him in these important decisions. But who?

Then, Peter Fairfax of Prince George County, sold land to Daniel Meadows in 1712. There is a Peter Fairfax who arrived in Virginia in 1702. His name showed up on the U. S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration List Index for 1500s to 1900s. What is the connection with Peter Fairfax and Daniel Meadows?

Prince George County Virginia Land deed from James Lundy from the Isle of Wight sold land to Daniel Meadows. Who are the people named in this deed? What relationship if any are they to Daniel Meadows?

There are several names in the trail of papers such as the Coroner’s Inquest that proof of the connection to Daniel is unknown. Researching names that were on the inquest Silvanus Stanton, Mary Medows, Thos. Morris yielded no results to connect them to Daniel Meadows.

 

Researching in Virginia has been difficult because it is a burned county and many records were destroyed. The few records that have been located for Daniel Meadows are lacking in genealogical value. They have not yielded Daniel’s parentage, nor his wife’s maiden name, nor her parentage. Therefore, the research continues and one day there possibly will be records found that will prove them.

Sunday’s Sentiments

Daisy Ann Lee First Cousin Twice Removed

It is interesting to track an ancestor or collateral relative through the censuses. Sometimes it is easy to track them other times it is challenging. If they stay in one place over time, then it easier to track them. This was the case with Daisy Ann Lee daughter of great grand uncle Benjamin William Henry Lee and his wife Sarah Ann Black Lee.  She stayed in one county from 1900through 1940. Sarah Ann reared her daughter alone in Childersburg in Talladega County, Alabama. Her husband was killed in a tragic accident seven months after Daisy Ann was born.

Daisy Ann was blind. While tracking Sarah Ann after her husband Benjamin died Daisy Anny continued to live at home. My curiosity was piqued as to why she remained at home and no occupation. Carefully gleaning all the information from the censuses bingo, on the 1910 census it stated that twenty-seven-year-old Daisy Ann was blind, she could read and write, single, occupation none, and living at home with her mother Sarah Ann and Missouri Raifield a servant age fifty-five. Sarah Ann was sixty-nine years old.

Daisy Ann and Sarah Ann were living with Minnie C. Coleman sister, and daughter of Sarah Ann. John M. Coleman son-in-law of Sarah was the head of the household and was forty-one years old. They had three children. Daisy Ann is single and was born June 1881 in Alabama.

In 1920 seventy-eight year, old Sarah Ann Lee and thirty-seven-year-old Daisy Lee is single and they are living alone in the same county they have lived in for years. Daisy Ann wasn’t working and didn’t have an occupation. By 1930 circumstances have changed for Sarah Ann and Daisy Ann and they are living with another of Sarah Ann’s daughters fifty-year-old Lilly Lightery a widow. By this time eighty-nine years old. Living with them is a boarder and widow Ada Watson.

Life for fifty-eight-year-old Daisy and her sixty-one-year-old sister have changed drastically in 1940. They are living alone. Their mother Sarah Ann died 12 March 1932 at the age of ninety-one. Lillie and Daisy lived Fourteenth Avenue in Childersburg. Daisy still isn’t working and has no income; however, she has income from other sources. The census shows that Sarah Ann had four years of college. Lillie owned her home on Fourteenth Avenue. About 1965 in Alabama Daisy Ann applied for Social Security. She would have been eighty-four years old when she applied. The 1940 is the last available public census; therefore that is the last census that she is on until the 1950 census is made available.  

Daisy Ann Lee lived a long life even though she was handicapped with blindness. She died 8 November 1973 in Sylacauga, Talladega County, Alabama. She is buried in the Childersburg Cemetery where several other family members are buried.

Photo from Lee Collection on Ancestry.com

Friday’s Family

Robert C. Meadows

There must have been something going on in the John Calvin Meadows family. Martha Francis was born about 1844 in New Site, Tallapoosa County, Alabama. She was living with her family on the 1850 through the 1880 census. Then she disappears and isn’t found again. She apparently didn’t marry because she was thirty-four years old living with her father John C., her sister Elizabeth age thirty-two, two brothers Asa age seventeen, and James age fifteen.  Her father was sixty-one years old and widowed.

Then, there is Mary Elizabeth on the 1860 census through the 1880 census. By 1880 their mother Sarah had died and Elizabeth along with her sister are keeping house for John C. and the two younger brothers. Sarah, their mother is on the 1870 census and is forty-eight years old; however, by 1880 she is no longer living. There possibly is a physical disability or health issue with the two daughters. On the 1870 census, they both are listed as assistant house keepers. Neither can read or write. There are no suggested records for the two daughters. There are no family trees with Martha Francis and Mary Elizabeth married. Death records are not found for the two daughters. So, the conclusion is they died between 1880 and 1900.

The seventh child of Sarah Ann Meadows wife of John Calvin was Robert C.  Meadows. Robert was born June 1853 in New Site, Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Robert like the rest of the family was an ordinary farmer. He owned a farm and worked it along with his family.

Robert married Sophronia C. Malear in Tallapoosa County, Alabama 13 August 1876 by J. C. Allen Justice of the Peace in Tallapoosa. Witnesses to the marriage were J. C. Meadows his father, and J. W. Spates uncle of Robert C. Meadows. J. W. Spates married Robert’s sister Dolly.

The marriage bond for Robert C. Meadows and Sophronia C. Malear. 

Marriage license for Robert C. Meadows and Fronia Malear. At the bottom

of the license John Calvin give his permission for him to marry. John Calvin is 

Robert C. Meadow's father.

In 1880 Robert and Sophronia were living in Newsite, Tallapoosa County, Alabama. They had two children Seretha J. E. age two years and Frances B.  age one. Sophronia was twenty-one and Robert was twenty-three years old. By the time the 1900 census was taken they had moved to DeKalb County. He owned his farm and it was mortgaged. The couple had been married twenty-four years and Fronia was the mother of eight children and all eight were living.

One can only surmise the reasons for Robert moving to another county away from family. Possibly better farming land and a better opportunity for raising a large family. Both of his parents were deceased by 1900. In 1910 Robert and his wife Sophrona were still living in DeKalb County, and he was farming, owned his farm and it was mortgaged. Five of his eight children were still living at home with him. Francis B. daughter was twenty-eight years old and single, Robert E. a son was nineteen years old and was single. Robert’s three daughters Eumer L. was fifteen, Jessie I. was fourteen, and Obera E. was eleven. Robert and Saphrona were married thirty-six years and they were married only once. 

By 1920 live was changed for Robert C. and Sophronia. They had aged and were living with their daughter Seretha Germany and her family on Dutton and Hunger Road in District 49, Dutton, Jackson County, Alabama. Their daughter was widowed. Seretha “Reathie” Meadows married William Oscar Germany 11 November 1894 in Tallapoosa County. This possibly was the reason for Robert C. and Sophronia moved to DeKalb County. Their daughter was living there after she married. By 1930 neither parent was living with Seretha. Robert Caleb died 23 January 1925 in Jackson County; and he was seventy-two years old when he died.  Sophronia Catherine died 16 March 1931 in Dawson, DeKalb County, Alabama, and she was seventy-five years old when she died. Both are interred at the Lusk Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery.  

Findagrave.com

Lusk Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetetery

Dawson, DeKalb County, Alabama

Thursday’s Thoughts

Martha Francis Meadows

Martha Francis Meadows was the oldest daughter of John Calvin Meadows and Sarah Ann Oliver Meadows. Francis was born about 1845 in Georgia. Francis is little known, in that she isn’t on any records after 1880 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. There isn’t any evidence that Martha Francis married, and it looks as though Martha Francis Meadows died after the 1880 census was taken. She is listed on the 1850 through 1880 censuses, however, those censuses don’t yield a lot of information about her or her family.

Martha is shown with her parents J. C. and Sarah Ann living in District 699, Troup County, Georgia in 1850. She was five years old. Her father was a farmer and his real estate value was $1000. 

The 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses do not name the relationships of individuals listed with the head of the house. As a matter of fact, these censuses give very little information on an individual. It does show that Martha was born in Georgia, she was sixteen years old on th1860 census.  By 1860 Martha was sixteen years old and her family had moved to the New Site, Western Division, Tallapoosa County, Alabama. It states that John Calvin was a farmer and his real estate value was 1000, and his value of personal estate was $2800.

The 1870 census the family is living in Daviston, Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Her father continues to farm and his real estate is 700, and his personal is 500. Francis is twenty-three years old on this census. Francis cannot read or write, and she states she is an assistant in house.

Now, Francis is living at home with her widowed father who is sixty-one years old. He is still farming. Francis can’t read or write, and has never married. Possibly she had a disability of some kind. She states on this census she is keeping house. She is living with her sister Elizabeth age thirty-two, and Asa her brother age seventeen, James age fifteen her brother, and Henry Meadows age twenty-one a laborer, and he had married with the year. He probably was working for John Calvin on the farm. Henry is probably related to the family. There are family members living nearby them.Living nearby John Calvin Meadows family are relatives. His daughter Dolly, his son Robert and wife Sephronia, another relative Zada P. Spates, his son Asa Crayton's mother-in-law.    

Martha Francis Meadows apparently died after the 1880 census was taken because she hasn’t been found on any records after that census.There no death information for her. There isn't a marriage record for Martha Francis and she doesn't show up in suggested records with another name.  Research continues on this line. 

Wishful Wednesday

William Thomas Meadows

The wish for Wednesday is there will be a marriage record for William Thomas Meadows and Nancy Oliver placed online. The other wish is that their place of burial will be found and there will be a memorial and headstone for them. William was a Confederate Veteran and he deserves a memorial to be placed on his grave site to honor his service for his country. William and his wife Nancy were the typical hard working farmers. While researching the Meadows family, there has been a recurrent occupation listed on the censuses – farmers or farm laborer; and own their farm or rent their farm. The Meadows families worked the land. Their wives kept house. William Thomas Meadows was no different than his ancestors. He was a farmer and a veteran. He served in the Confederate War, survived, and came home to his family.  

There isn’t much to tell about William Thomas Meadows. He was born 10 December 1842 in Harris County, Georgia. He died after the 1910 census was taken and before 1920. He isn’t found in the census after 1910. He died intestate or he died without having a will.  Nancy Oliver was his wife, and they married about 1864 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. There isn't a record of death for either of them. 

William Thomas Meadows was the oldest child of John Calvin Meadows and his wife Sarah Ann Oliver. William is listed on the 1850 District 69, Troupe County, Georgia census with his parents and siblings. Before the next census was taken the family was on the move from Georgia to Alabama. They are on the 1860 New Site, Western Division, Tallapoosa County, Alabama Census. He is eighteen years old on this census. 

On the 1870 census has William Meadow age twenty-six living with Nancy Meadow age twenty-four, William Jr. is five years old, Sapronia is three, and John is one year old. In 1870 William is surrounded by family. His Uncle Caleb Oliver lives nearby in dwelling 307, where William is 304. Uncle Thomas Oliver brother to Caleb and Sarah Ann William's mother live in 308. There were Oliver families living all around the Daviston, Tallapoosa area where William lived. Then living in 309 is William's parents John and Sarah with his siblings. 

These folks were farm laborers and the paper trail was almost nonexistent except for censuses. However, censuses tell a story about the family. The one great feature of censuses is that a family can be tracked through time.  The next census is the 1880 Daviston, Tallapoosa County, Alabama Census W. T. is on there with his wife and three children and an uncle C. C. Oliver living with them. C. C. Oliver is Caleb C. and is the brother Sarah Ann Oliver mother of William Thomas.

The next census William Thomas is on is the District 70, New Site, Tallapoosa County 1900 census. He is widowed by 1900 and his thirty-five-year-old son William Jr., his two daughters Sophronia, and Evie are living with him. Sopronia was a widow and her daughter, Johnie M. Abbett, was seven years old. Sopronia his daughter was born March 1867, Evie was born October 1886, and William was born July 1865. Sopronia was married to an Unknown Abbett. The 1900 census was of poor quality. It looks like the name was written through on the original copy of the census. 

In 1910 William Thomas is sixty-seven years old and living with his son William T. Jr. Junior is forty-four years old. Sophronia and her daughter are still living with them.  Junior is single, and his father is widowed. He didn’t marry again after the death of Nancy. Nancy was about fifty-one years old when she died.

The census or enumeration of Confederate Soldiers residing in Alabama record provided the vital information for William Thomas Meadows. His birth date and place of birth was on the record, as was his military information.  

Census or Enumeration of Confederate Soldiers Residing in Alabama in 1907

William Thomas Meadows was born in Harris County, Georgia 10 December 1842. He was a private on 4 March 1862 at Montgomery, Alabama in the Company H 8^th Confederate Calvary. He continued until paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina May 1865. 

Tuesday’s Tips

Zady Lee

For years researching was all about finding direct line ancestors. Grandparents great grandparents, and great great grandparents are ancestors, and it was important to make that link back to maternal and paternal line parents. Once you are satisfied with the research of the direct line ancestors, it may be time to focus on those other relatives – collaterals.

Researching direct line ancestors is the focus of most genealogists, and these individuals are the ones who are most researched and tracked down when possible. They give us the family histories and in some cases interesting ones. If for some reason there is a difficult problem in finding ancestors then the focus is on collateral relatives or cousins, nieces, nephew, aunts, uncles, siblings, and those family members who might lead you to the ancestor. One way to remember what a collateral is think of someone related, but are not in the direct line of descent. They may have migrated together, married within the family, been a witness on a record, attended the same church, lived near one another, lived in the same household, or had spelling variations of their surnames. Collateral relatives share a common ancestor with you. Recently when researching a Meadows great grand uncle, the brother of a direct line second great grandfather John Calvin Meadows, the research lead me to another collateral a second great grand aunt – Zady Lee.

This second great grand aunt’s name kept coming up in the census records. She was living with her daughter and son-in-law and their children. The name was familiar from previous research on the Hodge and Lee paternal lines. Once, she was found in the family tree program, then her relationship to the Hodge and Lee families was clear. She was the daughter of Jordan Lee and his wife Lydia Hodge Lee. She was the mother-in-law to Asa Crayton Meadows, and the relationship was stated in the 1900 census. Research on Asa Crayton Meadows lead me to the second great grand aunt. That was a fantastic find since finding women in records after they have married has proven difficult. 

So, that research lead to Zady, and while researching her the records for a Margaret Strange came up in the suggested records. Margaret was another familiar name from previous research on the Lee and Hodge families. When going back to the family tree program to look for the connection Jordan and Lydia had a daughter named Margaret; and their daughter Margaret married a Strange. If the birth month and year are correct on the 1900 censuses Zady was born July 1819 and Margaret was born July 1819 in South Carolina – they were twin sisters.  Siblings are our best friends and our worst enemies, and our ancestors were no different. Apparently, these two sisters were friends because they lived in the same area near each other. They shared life, love, good times and bad times, and probably were there for each other.

The research on Zady began to move forward after getting more pertinent information such as marriage information. In addition, research for Margaret and her family will begin when Zady and her family are firmly established in the family tree. 

While researching, the collateral relatives remember they are part of family. They have an important part in the family and their relationships. They are the ones that were witnesses to weddings, probates, deeds; or they shared meals with your direct line ancestors and were there when they needed them. They called on each other for support and assistance when life got rough. Our ancestors related to the folks they were related to; they turned to them in a time of need. That is what being a family is all about. Cousins are friends, neighbors and acquaintances we meet. Their nieces and nephews were like their own children, and when needed they took them in as their own. These folks are family and they are collateral relatives; and they have secrets to tell; therefore tell them. 

The story of the collateral relative Zady Lee will continue. ■

Image from Google Images

Monday Meadows

Asa Crayton Meadows

The path the direct line ancestors of Crayton Meadows journeyed on from Virginia to Alabama is an interesting one. Where did the Meadows family originate? How did they end up in Alabama? The Meadows family originally came from Prince George County, Virginia. They lived around the James River area. The DNA Project World Tree shows that this Meadows familial lineage was from England. Whether the progenitor of the Meadows family, Daniel Meadows, came directly from England to Virginia is unknown now.

Research continues since records are frequently being added online. Daniel Meadows migrated from Virginia to North Carolina. His son Isham Meadows Sr. had a son named Isham. Isham the second left Bute County, North Carolina and headed toward Georgia. He settled in Alabama. Three of Isham the second’s children were born in North Carolina, and the other eleven were born in Georgia. William Meadows, Isham the second’s son, was born 1794 in Wilkes County, Georgia. William had a son John Calvin born in Greene County, Georgia in 1818. Isham the second died in Lowndes County, Alabama 16 Dec 1844. John Calvin Meadows was the father of twelve children of which seven were born in Georgia and five were born in Alabama. Asa Crayton was the third from the youngest of the twelve children. Why am I writing about him first? His descendant was one of the first matches that contacted me on the autosomal DNA test results. From the information, he gave me the family tree program shows that the Asa Crayton Meadows is a great grand uncle and his son Samuel Jackson Meadows is a first cousin twice removed. Samuel’s son is a second cousin once removed. This information sparked interest in the Meadows familial lineage, and it proved my genealogical paper trail for the Meadows line.

 Asa Crayton Meadows was born in New Site, Tallapoosa County, Alabama. His mother was Sarah Ann Oliver daughter of Thomas White Oliver and Frances Roebuck. Asa is seventeen years old on the 1880 District 142, Newsite, Tallapoosa County census. His mother Sarah Ann was deceased by 1880. The next census Asa is on, is the 1900 District 70, New Site, Tallapoosa County census. He is married, has three sons, one daughter and his eighty-year-old mother-in-law is living with his family. On the 1900 federal census the relationships to the head of house are stated, a birth month and year is given, the years married, the mother of how many children and how many living is information asked for on the census. Asa and his wife Sara Ann had been married sixteen years. Asa was born June 1863 and Sara Ann was born May 1867 in Alabama. Her mother Zada Spates was born in South Carolina.

While looking at the information for Sara Ann Spates Meadows the name Zady stood out to me, and was a familiar name that had come up in previous research of the paternal Lee family.  After researching further, the name Zady kept coming up with the Margaret, the other daughter of Jordan Lee. Zady Spates is the daughter of Jordan Lee and Lydia. Zady married a Spates; therefore, the conclusion was that Asa married his cousin. Jordan’s wife Lydia had a sister named Zady Hodge, and Lydia named her daughter Zady after her sister. Zady Lee was born July 1819 in South Carolina. Zady was the mother of ten children, with seven living children. She was widowed.

The 1900 census has information to be gleaned about the residents of the counties; information that will tell a story of an ancestor. Asa was a farmer as was his father, and his ancestors back to Daniel Meadows. On the 1900 census Zady, his mother-in-law, stated she was a farmer.  Researching collateral line family members helps to find other family members that might otherwise prove difficult to locate. This has been the case while researching Asa Crayton Meadows. His mother-in-law is a daughter of Jordan Lee whom would not have been found if the Meadows collateral ancestors weren’t researched.

In 1910 District 165, New Site, Tallapoosa County census Asa and wife are living with four of their sons and one daughter. They were all working on the farm as laborers. Asa owned the farm, and he and Sarah Ann had been married twenty-six years. They had five children and all were living. This was the last census Asa Meadows was on. Those times were hard and families were farm laborers; that was a backbreaking occupation and survival was difficult during those times. 

 He died 5 December 1917 in New Site, Alexander City, Tallapoosa County, Alabama and is buried in the Harmony Cemetery in Tallapoosa. Asa Crayton was only about fifty-four years old when he died. No will or probate record was found for Asa Crayton Meadows. 

Sunday’s Colonial Ancestor

Daniel Meadows

There are several spelling variations for the surname Meadows, however the one thing that has been consistent is the spelling of Meadows. Emma Meadows’ familial surname from her birth to Daniel Meadows 1685 has been spelled Meadows. The progenitor of the Emma Meadows family is Daniel Meadows born about 1685 possibly Bristol Parish, Prince George, Virginia. The Daniel Meadows line is the Meadows familial lineage that Emma descends from. The Meadows direct line ancestors of Emma Meadows per DNA testing were from England originally. Research of this Meadows lineage has shown they settled in Prince George County in Virginia. They eventually moved on to North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and parts unknown. Daniel Meadows' wife was Jane. Jane’s parentage is unknown. Daniel married Jane and they had six children:  James, born circa 1730, John, Daniel, William (unknown birth dates), Isham Meadows born 16 February 1740 in Bristol Parish, Prince George County, Virginia. Emma Meadows is descended from the Isham’s familial linage.

It is interesting to note that Daniel Meadows was a landowner and tailor as stated on the deed dated 11 August 1712. Daniel also was impaneled on a Grand Jury in Prince George County Court 10 November 1719. Research on Daniel Meadows prior to 1712 has been extensive and with meager results to prove anything. I was researching Daniel looking for records would show a connection to other Meader, Medo, Medow, or Medeaw families, that possibly would show where he learned his tailor’s skill, an apprenticeship with a sponsor, or guardianship papers but was unsuccessful in finding those records. Daniel was a yeoman or a person who owned a small estate and cultivated the land; a freeholder, a farmer. He was a laborer.

Prince George County, Virginia Wills & Deeds 1710-1713.

 Daniel Meadows bought about fifty acres of land from Peter Fairfax of Prince George County 11 August 1712.

This deed places Daniel Meadows in Prince George County in June 7, 1717. 

Benjamin b. Weisiger, III,  Prince George County, Virginia Wills & Deeds 1713-1728. p.171.

When Daniel Meadows was found lying not far from his home he was face up lying on his back. He was about seventy years old, and he apparently died from an act of God. not far from the Daniel died 7 April 1755 in Granville County, North Carolina. Looking at the records that was found in researching Daniel, he was an active man in throughout his life. Extensive research was done on Daniel Meadows looking for his parentage; however, to date they have not been identified. Many records were lost Daniel married Jane unknown, although I think he possibly was married to Jane Woodlief in Virginia; however, the maiden name of his spouse may never be known. While researching Daniel Meadows, he wasn’t connected to the other Meadows in Prince George County, Virginia or surrounding area. His place of birth is unknown now.  

            Coroner's Inquest of Daniel Medows Granville County, North Carolina

                 16 April 1755

Fridays Faces from the Past

More About Untangling Ramsey, Blunt, and Coon Families

Asa Martin Ramsey and Eliza Jane Burnett married about 1873 in Pike County, Mississippi. Unable to find Asa Martin Ramsey on an 1870 census, the first census the couple is on is the 1880 census. Asa served in the War Between the States, therefore he possibly wasn't enumerated on the census for 1870. 

Asa was born in Ceytesville, Chariton County, Missouri February 28, 1849 to Narcissa Raymond Wingo and her husband George Henry Ramsey from Charlotte County, Virginia. Narcissa died January 2, 1856 after the birth of their last child. George Henry’s parents were John Scott Ramsey and Nancy Hazelwood from Charlotte County, Virginia. After the death of his beloved wife, George took the children and migrated to Fannin County, Texas. They were on the 1860 census in Fannin. The family left Texas and were headed to meet the Wingo family in Mississippi; however, that turned out to be a tragic mistake. When they arrived in the camp there was a disease and George became ill and died on August 31, 1962. This information per a Ramsey family member from Mississippi. Not long afterwards Asa was drafted into the War. He served his time made it through the war, then married Eliza Jane. Their first child Florence A. was born January 1875, then along came Mary Lavenia November 1876. Trying to reading the poor quality 1880 Pike County census was a challenge, but I found A. M. Ramsey and family. 

1880 District 39, Beat 3, Pike County, Mississippi Census with A. M. Ramsey, E. J., F. A. and M. L. 

1880 Third Beat, Pike County, Mississippi Census M. L. (Mary Lavenia) Ramsey age three years old. She is living with her father A. M. (Asa Martin) Ramsey, her mother E. J. (Eliza Jane) and her oldest sister F. A. (Florence Ann) Ramsey. Then by April 5, 1893 M. L. (Mary Lavenia) is married. Her spouse is W. G. Blunt of whom little is known. He died about 1906. She would have been fifteen years old at the time of her marriage in 1893.

Marriage record for M.L. Ramsey and W. G.Blunt

The 1900 District 109, Beat 3, Pike County, Mississippi Census Mary Lavenia "Venie" (Ramsey) Blunt is living with her husband  W. G. Blunt "Willie," and their five-year-old son Joe Blunt. Mary was the mother of three children, however one living child. Mary was 23 years old on this census. Mary and W. G. Blunt had been married seven years. 

 1900 District 109, Beat 3, Pike County, Mississippi with Willie Blunt, wife Venie, and son Joe.

On June 7, 1900 District 98, Mclendon, Lincoln County census Clifton Coon was eighteen years old, single and living with his sister Sarah Lentz and her family. Clifton married his first wife Missouri Cowart June 9, 1900 in Lincoln County, Mississippi.

1900 District 98, McClendon, Lincoln County, Mississippi Clifton Coon 

living with his sister and her family. 

Clifton Coon and Missouri Cowart Marriage

Changes have been made in Clifton Coon’s life by 1910. Clifton’s first marriage to Missouri has dissolved whether by divorce or by another means is unknown; however, he is shown with another wife and family on the 1910 census. Shown as Clifton (head) is Mary L. Coon. Mary L. is thirty-three years old. The relationships are named in the 1910 census; Mary L. is wife of Clifton Coon, a stepson Luther Coon age 7, Roan Coon a son age seven, daughters Jullie Coon age five and Mammie Coon age three, and son Morris Coon fifteen months old. They were living on Brookhaven Road.

Clifton Coon in 1910 living with wife Mary L. and children. 

Clifton is on the move again by 1920 and more changes in his life whether by choice, chance or divine appointment; he is found as a widower and living as a boarder with an Alexander family. He is thirty-eight years old and living in Marion County, Mississippi in District 113, Beat 1. Mary Lavenia, his wife and children are living in Pike County, Mississippi in 1920, and she states she is married; and the 1920 census is the last record Mary Lavenia was found on. After tracking down all the children and researching them the death date for Venie has been narrowed down to about 1924 in Pricedale, Pike County, Mississippi.

Clifton Coon living with an Alexander family in Marion County in 1920

Mary Lavenia "Venie" in 1920 with all the children 

Mary Lavenia Ramsey Blunt Coon was deceased by 1930. Clifton is off and moving again this time he is going West. The widower Clifton Coon is living in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana with children Alma and George (children by Mary Lavenia), and Mary Lavenia’s daughter (with W. G. Blunt) Mamie Blunt and her husband Edd Etherege and three children. Clifton is forty-six years old on this census. 

1930 District 7, Ward 4, West Carroll Parish, Louisiana

By 1940 Clifton Coon has now met and married a young woman half his age in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana. She was born in Mississippi, so did she migrate with the group who left Mississippi?  Is she connected to the Ramsey, Blunt, Coon and related families? More research is needed to prove that. Whatever the case, Clifton has migrated west after leaving Mississippi, and by 1940 he has married again taking a third wife, and an orphan per her marriage license information. While researching Mildred Easterlin his wife, I found her living with her grandparents in 1910 Beat 5, Jasper County, Mississippi. Her mother, Irene Easterlin was twenty-three years old living with her parents. Mildred’s grandfather was eighty years old and his wife was forty-three. Mildred was two months old on the 1910 census. The census for this family was very poor quality, but by enlarging it I was able to transcribe this family's information. 

Clifton Coon and Mildred J. 1940 West Carroll Parish, Louisiana

Clifton Coon, widower of Mary Lavenia Ramsey Blunt, and husband of Mildred J. has up and moved again without his last wife. He migrated further west to Silsbee, Hardin County, Texas and died there. What happened to his last wife Mildred is unknown? Research is ongoing to find his last wife. She deserves to be found and to know what happened to her.

In conclusion, I worked out the relationships in these families, and have the children with the correct parents. As for Clifton Coon, I think that he left his first wife Missouri Cowart, then married Mary Lavenia Blunt, or possibly they lived as a common-law couple since there hasn’t been a marriage record found for them. There was however, a marriage record for his first marriage and third marriage. Clifton then left Mary Lavenia with all the children. Mary Lavenia died under questionable circumstances and just disappeared from the family.  After Mary was gone from the family, Clifton then migrated to Louisiana and married Mildred J. Easterling. He then left her and migrated west where his son Henry Roan was living near his mother Missouri, and where he and Mary Lavenia’s sons Morris and George were living. 

Marriage for Clifton Coon and Mildred J. Easterling was 

found in Marriage Book F in the West Carroll 

Parish Courthouse in Oak Grove, Louisiana.

Clifton Columbus Coon died February 21, 1963 in Silsbee, Hardin County, Texas.