_James ALBRITTON ____+
| (1705 - 1770)
_John ALBRITTON _____|
| (1750 - 1815) m 1756|
| |_Elizabeth __________
|
|
|--Matthew ALBRITTON
| (1785 - 1850)
| _____________________
| |
|_Abigail THOMAS _____|
m 1756 |
|_____________________
[710]
Matthew Albritton was one of the first Baptist ministers to come to the
Wiregrass area of south Georgia. He was born about 1785 in Effingham
County, the son of John Albritton, a Revolutionary soldier, and
Averilla Atherton Albritton. His elder brother was Thomas Albritton
born 1776. He grew up in Bulloch County and met and married Ann
Bulloch, the daughter of James and Dinah Bulloch. She was born in
Bulloch County in 1792 and they were married about 1805. Rev. Albritton
and his wife lived in Bulloch, Bryan, Laurens, Irwin counties. He
became a Justice of the Inferior Court of Lowndes County and served in
1826-27. He served many Baptist churches in the area and was a member
of Union Church in Lowndes County at his death in 1850. He is buried at
Bethany Church in present day Brooks County. Ann Albritton was a member
of Bethany Church. She lived with her daughter Sophronia, in Madison
County, Florida, but later moved back to Brooks County and lived with
her daughter and son in law, Martha Ellen and John W Allen until she
died. Ann Albritton died in 1871 and is buried on the old John W Allen
place one mile east of Dix
_Charles D'ORLEANS __+
| (1459 - 1495) m 1487
_Francois I DE VALOIS _|
| m 1514 |
| |_Louise DE SAVOIE ___+
| m 1487
|
|--Charles DE VALOIS
| (1522 - 1545)
| _____________________
| |
|_Claude DE VALOIS _____|
(1499 - 1524) m 1514 |
|_____________________
_____________________
|
_Daniel EPPS ________|
| m 1681 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Elizabeth EPPS
| (1712 - 1863)
| _Dominicus JORDAN ___+
| | (1664 - 1703) m 1681
|_Elizabeth JORDAN ___|
(1690 - ....) m 1681|
|_Hannah TRISTRAM ____+
m 1681
[191]
From the book "Our Colonial Meador Ancestors" by Victor Paul Meadors
"At present nothing is known of the early years of Thomas
Meads. The first records of this name are in the headright
grants by the Governor of the Jamestown Colony; a Thomas
Meades surrendered his headright grant of 50 acres of land in
1636 to John Gater of Elizabeth City . This grant was
reconfirmed two years later when it was combined and
reissued with two others, and Thomas Meades is again shown as
surrendering his 50 acres.
"While there is no proof that this Thomas was our ancestor, no
other suitable immigration record has been found. While the
date shown is possibly several years behind the actual entry
of the transaction, due to the usual delay in confirming and
recording grants, certainly the available evidence points to
this as the approximate time of his arrival. This would
indicate that the age of Thomas was similar to that of
Ambrose Meador, whose headright was also granted in 1636.
"The name of Thomas Meads is next found in the records of
Lancaster County, Virginia, in 1653, at which time he
purchased 700 acres of land from William Underwood . As
detailed in the previous chapter, Underwood was granted 1400
acres on the northeast shore of the Rappahannock River,
between Milleck Creek (sometimes known as Willimson's Creek,
but now known as Ball's Creek) and Bushwood Creek (now known
as Little Carter Creek). The portion purchased by Thomas
Meads appears to have been the lower half of this grant,
which was the portion falling next to Milleck Creek. Here
Thomas established his home on higher ground behind and
excellent river landing. This place still appears on modern
maps as "Islington Landing", but this name does not seem to
have been applied to the area until a hundred years later,
for it does not appear in early records.
"It is important to note that the above purchase could not
have been made by Thomas, the son of Ambrose Meador, as that
son was no more than 16 to 18 years old, too young for such
a deed. This transaction is of such magnitude as would
indicate a man of moderate wealth, a status hardly to be
expected of a younger son. This distinction becomes more
apparent later in the will of Thomas Meads the elder. But
because they lived less than two miles apart, it is rather
difficult to separate the records of these two Thomas
Meadors, as well as those of the son of the elder Thomas.
Nevertheless, it would appear likely that the following
entries are for the elder Thomas Meads.
"An entry in Lancaster records in 1653 concerns an indentured
servant of Thomas Meads name Bour Harrison, who ran away and
was returned, for which he was sentenced by the court to
serve an additional nine months at the expiration of his
term of indenture . It should be noted that many children
were bound out to earn their support of to learn a trade,
particularly orphan children. When the age of 17 years was
reached they were discharged, with a suit of new clothes and
provisions, or to keep the results of their labors if they
chose to stay. Many fared far better under this arrangement
than they would have otherwise.
"Another entry concerns two cows sold by Thomas Meads in 1653
to Minor Doeders . As all cattle had been imported
originally from England, they were quite valuable at this
time and were often mentioned in wills. Thomas Meads was
appointed constable on April 6,1654, with the oath
administered by James Williamson . As a reflection of his
standing in the community, the plantation of Thomas Meads
was chosen in February, 1654, as the rallying point for a
small army of volunteers who marched from his grounds
overland to the village of the Rappahannock Indians to
obtain a peace treaty (see chapter on the Indians and
Bacon's Rebellion). Undoubtedly the excellent landing at
Thomas's plantation and the proximity of the Indian village,
which was perhaps near the site of the present town of
Warsaw, had some influence in this choice. In
September/October, 1654 Thomas Meads tithed for 3 male
adults . The levy (tax) was 60 pounds of tobacco per poll.
"The remaining records of Thomas Meads (Meades, Meader) in
Lancaster County concern his will and the court
deliberations over the distribution of his estate. The will
was written March 5,1654; but it should be noted that under
the Julian calendar then in effect the year was not changed
until March 25th, so that in modern terms the year would
actually be 1655. The will was entered for probate 3 months
later on June 6,1655; it also bears the date June 12, 1655,
perhaps added by the copyist. (See the reproduction as it
appears in the actual records.). It reads as follows :
"The Will of Thomas Meads/Meador
"The last will & testament of Tho. Meads made the 5th day of
March (54.) Imp ^Nd. I do bequeath my body to the Earth &
my soul to God that gave it. I do make my wife my sole &
absolute Exch.. I do give to my wife & daughter Mary this
plantation 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 Tho. & 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
either 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 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, likewise I do give
unto her one shilling in money. This is my last will &
testament as witness my hand the day & year above written.
itness Thomas Mead
awleigh Travers
12 da. Juny 1655
John Richardson
Edward Bradshaw
(his mark)
pbat. 6 da. Juny 1655
"It should be pointed out here that the will presently exists
only as a third-hand copy. Of course, the actual will
itself was not filed in the record book --the will was
copied by the clerk. That original record book no longer
exists. In the early 1700's many of the badly deteriorated
volumes were laboriously hand-copied for preservation, this
book among them. So what we have today is a copy of a copy,
and copying errors are to be expected. Certainly the
signature to the will is not that of Thomas Meads, and the
spelling may well be questioned. Early day penmanship (as
anyone attempting to read these early documents will
testify) was such that it was often impossible to
distinguish between and "o" or "e", or a terminal "s" or
"r". That the signature of Thomas Meads was written out,
perhaps even the entire will, and those of the witnesses
(except for Edward Bradshaw) (and Rawleigh Travers who was
the county sheriff), indicates a degree of literacy for
Thomas and his witnesses.
"Probate of the will was granted to George Bryer, a neighbor,
and as was the custom, an appraisal of the estate was
ordered by the court . This appraisal was done by four
men, including Ambrose Meador and Francis Gower, and was
returned to the court December 10,1655 . The value was
established as 17,502 pounds of tobacco, equivalent at the
time to about 109 pounds sterling, a respectable, though not
huge, sum for the time. Because "hard" money was scarce in
the colonies, everything was valued in terms of its worth in
tobacco, on as sort of barter system.
"As testified by the will, Thomas Meads left a widow, two
sons, and four daughters. Quite possibly all these children
were under legal age, since at the time when Thomas had
entered the country some nineteen years or so before, he had
been single. His son Thomas Jr. seems to have been the
oldest, but was still under the legal age, as in the court
session of August 6,1655 Thomas Meads, orphan, petitioned
the court that William Underwood be appointed his guardian.
Further, it was ordered that the estate of Thomas Meades,
deceased, then in the hands of George Bryer, be delivered to
Underwood .
"In January, 1655 (actually 1656 by modern dating), the
Lancaster Court found that the estate was still undivided
and in the hands of George Bryer. The court then ordered
four men, again including Ambrose Meador and Francis Gower,
to divide the estate according to the will of the
deceased .
"It will be seen from the above records that not only did
Ambrose and Thomas Meads (Meader) live less than two miles
apart, but that there was considerable participation by
Ambrose in the affairs of Thomas. Yet we find no statement
in the records of their relationship, though many
opportunities for such a simple expression as "brother" or
"cousin" were passed by, leaving the question unresolved.
"Nor are the records clear about the fate of the unnamed
widow of her children, except for the daughter Mary, as will
be seen in a succeeding chapter. There is only one
reference that daughter Joyce was in the custody of William
Underwood ; that is all.
"The land mentioned in the will of Thomas Meads appears to
have been the 700 acres that had been purchased from William
Underwood. The creek mentioned in the will is not
identified there, but a plot of this tract reveals that it
would have been divided roughly in half by the lower section
and first branch of what is called "Juggs Creek" today.
This would imply that approximately 350 acres west of "Juggs
Creek would have been intended for sons Thomas (Jr.) and
John, while the remaining 350 acres east of the creek was to
go to daughter Mary, after the death of her mother.
"The tract was still undivided in December, 1658, when Thomas
Meades (the orphan) contracted to sell 25 acres of his
portion to James Haire , "that was given to me by my
father, Thomas Meades, deceased, and to my brother (name
missing) in case that part of the land...shall fall to my
lott at the dividing of the said land." In actuality, it is
found through later deeds that Mary obtained possession of
the entire 700 acre tract, but in what manner is unknown.
Perhaps the portion allotted to Thomas was exchanged for
rights to the grant on Hoskins Creek. Further disposition
of the property is covered in the chapter on Mary Meads
Hobbs and in the chapter titled "Islington Plantation".
"Nor does the will of Thomas Meads make mention of grant
lands on Hoskins Creek, south of the Rappahannock River,
possibly because these grants had not been finalized. Yet,
a grant in 1664 applying to the 450 acres on Hoskins Creek
indicates that the grant had been left to Thomas Meader,
orphan, by the will of his father, Thomas Meader,
deceased . Thus, we have evidence that the elder Thomas
Meader (Meads, Meades) bought from John Cooke this 450 acre
tract, which descended after his death to his son, Thomas
Meader, orphan. While this series of transactions was
recorded in 1664 (long after Thomas Meads had made his will
and died), it would appear possible that the actions were
started about the time Thomas Meads died, and were carried
to completion later by Thomas Meader, orphan. The fact that
he did not yet possess the land on Hoskins Creek may explain
why Thomas Meads (the elder) did not include mention of it
in his will. Of course, one could conclude that there was
yet another Thomas Meades who was the recipient of the
grant. But this would require that there be a second pair
of Thomas Meaders father and son, with the further
coincidence that the son would be known as Thomas Meader,
orphan. A review of the lineage on Ambrose Meador in the
previous chapter will reveal that such a father/son
combination did not exist among the descendants. This is a
vital link in determining our lineage, for subsequent deeds
for this 450 acre tract make clear that, after the land was
inherited by (3) John Meador from his father, Thomas Meador,
orphan, the lineage is unmistakable.
"In summary, it has been found that (1) Thomas Meads let only
two surviving heirs to his property, son (2) Thomas Meader
and daughter (2) Mary Meads Hobbs. These will be covered in
the following chapters.
"Note: The use throughout this chapter, as well as in the
remainder of the book, of the name "Thomas Meads" is not
intended to add to the confusion, but to promote clarity. This
reference has been chosen solely because this is the
spelling most often encountered in the old records.
However, divergent spellings are often found (and have been
used in the text in this connection), but should be
understood to refer to the first ancestor in our lineage.
The name "Meador" has been used for the remainder of the
family members because this is the spelling preferred by the
majority of these descendants. Many variant spellings are
in evidence, and generally should not be regarded as
indicating a different individua
_Artavasdes I MEDIA _+
| (0060 - 0020)
_Atropene Darius\Dareios\Dareh MEDIA _|
| |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Atropatene Vonones II PARTHIA-MEDIA
| (0010 - 0051)
| _____________________
| |
|______________________________________|
|
|_____________________
_Cinaed II (Kenneth) of SCOTLAND _+
| (0932 - 0995)
_Mael-Coluim II (Malcolm) SCOTLAND _|
| (0958 - 1043) |
| |_Daughter LEINSTER _______________
|
|
|--Bethoc (Beatrix), Heiress of Scone SCOTLAND
| (0984 - ....)
| __________________________________
| |
|____________________________________|
|
|__________________________________