_William BRYANT _____+
| (1810 - 1888) m 1836
_Robert T. BRYANT ___|
| (1855 - 1910) m 1877|
| |_Rebecca CHAMBLESS __
| (1818 - 1896) m 1836
|
|--Julia BRYANT
|
| _____________________
| |
|_Nellie WILLIS ______|
m 1877 |
|_____________________
_Hermanus COLE (KOOL) _+
| (1740 - 1813) m 1760
_Samuel COLE ________|
| (1765 - 1843) |
| |_Margaret SWARTWOUT ___+
| (1736 - ....) m 1760
|
|--Nancy COLE
| (1810 - ....)
| _George WELSH _________+
| | (1757 - 1837)
|_Rachel WELSH _______|
(1783 - ....) |
|_Nancy CANNON _________+
(1763 - 1834)
[500] Married John Swain 1
_Toustien LE GOZ ________+
| (0989 - ....) m 1014
_Richard "le Goz" D'AVRANCHES _|
| |
| |_Judith DE MONTANOLIER __
| (0994 - ....) m 1014
|
|--Margaret (Maud) D'AVRANCHES
| (1054 - ....)
| _Herlevin DE CONTEVILLE _+
| | (1001 - 1066) m 1053
|_Emma DE CONTEVILLE ___________|
|
|_Herleva DE FALAISE _____+
(1003 - ....) m 1053
_William Samuel KNIGHT __+
| (1849 - 1938) m 1870
_Thomas Jefferson KNIGHT _|
| (1883 - 1958) m 1909 |
| |_Martha Ann COLLINS _____+
| (1852 - 1950) m 1870
|
|--Fred LaRue KNIGHT
| (1912 - 1987)
| _Walter Jackson ROBERTS _+
| | m 1876
|_Reba ROBERTS ____________|
(1887 - 1968) m 1909 |
|_Martha Emma BRYANT _____+
(1851 - 1928) m 1876
[268]
As is the case with many other early immigrants to the
Virginia Colony, there is a scarcity of records concerning
the first generations of the Meador families. Few definite
facts can be stated on the basis of these sparse records.
Furthermore, the wide variety of spelling of names in the
early documents adds confusion as to exactly which individual
is referred to in a given document. Nevertheless, if one
combines the few definite facts with other records of the
actions and movements of these early settlers and many of
their associates, a fuller picture emerges with a better
understanding of their lives. Such is the case with Ambrose
Meador.
ach immigrant to the Virginia Colony in the 17th century was
granted 50 acres of land as a "headright" to get them in the
new world. But often these grants were assigned to a
benefactor who had paid for their passage by ship from
England and the Colony. Thus, we find that Ambrose Meador
had, by June 1, 1636, surrendered to a Peter Johnson in
Warrisquicke County (later to become Isle of Wight County)
150 acres of headright land due for the immigration of
Ambrose, his wife, and 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).
oon 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 Pagan River . These purchases were in what became Isle
of Wight County of the Virginia Colony, south of the James
River. It is evident that other purchases were made for
which records no longer exist, on the basis of references to
land that Ambrose owned at "Ambrose Meador's Point", cited as
a landmark (see map). Adjoining these lands of Ambrose
Meador on the Pagan River were grants of 300 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.
he 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 he
hierarchy of 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 English church with regard to (1) forms of worship and
the clerical vestments; (2) the organization of the church;
and (3) certain theological doctrines.
riginally the main body of Puritans expressed no desire to
be separated from the English Church, but rather purify it.
Later, under discouragement over the prospects of such
reforms, they increasingly proposed to separate themselves
from it. This led to association with the "Brownist" or
"Separatist" movement founded by Robert Browne, who urged
withdrawal from the Church of England and the establishment
of independent churches. The implied separation of church
and state was in violation of the royally established
dominance of the Church (which continually played a strong
part in the political, as well as the religious, life of
England). Browne was forced to flee to Holland temporarily,
but returned and eventually became reconciled to the
established Church. Nevertheless, Browne's ideas found a
convert in Francis Johnson , who became a leader of a group
of like thinkers, but was also persecuted by the civil
authorities for his activities. After attempting to plant a
colony in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Johnson retreated to
Holland, where he became a leader of the so-called "Ancient
Church" portion of the Puritan movement.
hen James VI of Scotland became James I, King of England,
the Puritans had high hopes for their cause and presented an
appeal to the King. After hearing their case in 1604,
however, James I declared "If this be all they have to say, I
shall make them conform themselves, or I shall harry them out
of the land, or else do worse." The result of this
repression was to drive even more Puritans into separation
and exile. Before 1620 this had led to the organization of
the exiles in Holland, and to efforts to send a colony to
America.
oday when we think of Puritans, their colony in
Massachusetts comes immediately to mind; the true facts are
that long before, the Puritans had sought the freedom of the
Jamestown Colony and had made many voyages carrying settlers
to Virginia. Indeed, the Mayflower, with its ill-fated
companion the Speedwell, had set out in 1620 for lands of the
Virginia Company when the Speedwell was forced back to
England by a leaking hull. This delayed the passage of the
Mayflower until the stormy season of the North Atlantic blew
her off course, finally making necessary a desperate landfall
on the unpopulated shores of Massachusetts.
en years earlier, in 1610, the Puritans had begun to settle
in Virginia on both sides of the Pagan River in Warrisquicke
County (now Isle of Wight). Life in the primitive
environment of the new colony was much harsher than in the
established communities of England, and many settlers
succumbed to the hardships, diseases, and recurrent Indian
attacks. After the Indian massacre of 1622 throughout the
Virginia settlements only 33 persons were left in the
Warrisquicke County area.
Sometime after this tragedy, but certainly before his
headrights were recorded in 1636, Ambrose Meador came
to the Virginia Colony. Because the records show that
he was married when he arrived, but no children, this
passage must have taken place before 1633, the year in
which hid first son, John, was born.
t is not presently known whether Ambrose came to Virginia
from Holland, where many Puritan leaders had fled, or from
England. His home in England and relatives left there are
also unknown at present. However, some indications point to
Suffolk County in agricultural East Anglia, northeast of
London, as the probable origin of the Meadors (Meaders,
Meadows). Because of natural barriers between it and the
rest of England in a much earlier period, East Anglia had
tended to be rather isolationistic. It was also noted for
its outspoken political and religious non-conformists.
Puritanism was strongly supported in the area, and it was
readily accessible to Holland, just across the English
Channel.
s we attempt to recreate Ambrose Meador's background, it is
quite significant that in the Virginia Colony Ambrose 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 was certainly one of
the more prominent members of the sect, as he owned a fleet
of ships that transported and supplied many of the Puritan
colonists. Edward had joined the Puritan movement in
Holland, had married into the wealthy Bourne family , and was
granted thousands of acres in the colonies for transporting
hundreds of colonists and their servants. His relative,
Richard Bennett, was overseer of his plantations and later
became Governor of Virginia.
lso nearby to Ambrose Meador was Col. Thomas Davis, a
Burgess of the Legislature of Virginia and son of Capt. John
Davis, another pillar of the "Ancient Church". As mentioned
above, Ambrose bought land in partnership with John White,
probably a relative of Rev. Thomas White, a clergyman of the
"Ancient Church". It may also be significant that passage
for Ambrose Meador, his wife, and servant, was sponsored by
Peter Johnson, conceivably a relative of Francis Johnson, the
noted leader of the "Ancient Church" movement, as mentioned
above. Neighbors of Ambrose also were Capt. John Moone,
Henry Watts, James Williamson, and Thomas Jordan, all
prominent members of the Puritan movement. Then, it is
apparent that Ambrose Meador, who resided in their midst,
must have been an active, if not prominent, member of the
Puritan movement. Unfortunately, records are not directly
available to confirm that conclusion. (It may be noted here
also that in future generations the Meadors intermarried with
descendants bearing these names of White, Jordan, Bourne, and
Watts).
uring the period of Puritanism in the Virginia Colony,
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. It is not beyond possibility that Ambrose and his
family may have attended this "Brick Church".
uring the 1630's and 1640's, as they overcame the initial
hardships, the Puritan colonists generally prospered and the
Puritan Colony expanded greatly, as did the rest of the
Virginia Colony. A continuing stream of ships brought new
colonists, and the Indians had been driven some distance away
and were less troublesome. The Puritans expanded their
holdings to Nansemond to the southeast of the Isle of Wight
County and the lands between.
ut difficulties now arose from a different quarter. During
the 1640's, the officials of Jamestown became increasingly
concerned that the Puritans were not teaching the prescribed
doctrines of the Church of England. By 1648 and 1649, the
county courts had ordered such teachings to be in conformity
with official doctrine. This in turn caused rebellious
church leaders under Richard Bennett to flee to Maryland.
This remained a permanent colony there despite the return of
Bennett in 1652 to Virginia, where he was restored to good
graces and eventually became Governor of Virginia . In that
same period there was also considerable emigration to the
lands between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, known by
its Indian name of "Chicowane", but generally called the
"Northern Neck".
nitially, settlement in the Northern Neck was along the
banks of the rivers and their larger navigable tributaries.
Until the late 1640's, settlement along the Rappahannock
River was largely confined to the lands below Piscattaway
Creek on the south side, and below Totuskey Creek on the
north side of the River. Under a treaty with the Indians in
1622, settlement in Indian territory north of the Pamunkey
River had been forbidden under penalty of death; but this
treaty was revoked in 1646. Even before that, the first
grant of the south side of the Rappahannock River above
Piscattany Creek was to Bartholomew Hoskins in 1645. That
grant included the present site of Tappahannock, the county
seat of Essex County. The large stream that empties into the
Rappahannock at that site still bears the name of "Hoskins
Creek".
he grant to Hoskins encouraged future encroachment in Indian
lands. The area south of the mouth of the Potomac River
became settled enough to be formed into Northumberland County
on January 1,1648, and Lancaster County was formed on both
sides of the lower Rappahannock River in 1651.
lthough a number of land grants had been made earlier at the
mouth of the Rappahannock and along its lower shores, on May
22,1650 a large concerted group of grants was approved
extending upriver. The grants on that date along the north
side of the river, presumably the customary one mile deep,
extended over 21 miles of the 37 miles of Rappahannock
shoreline above the Corrotoman River. These grants amounted
to a total of about 18,800 acres, not including another block
of 1350 acres granted below the mouth of the Corrotoman
River.
o put into perspective the political atmosphere at the time
these grants were made, bear in mind that Parliament had just
won the Civil War in England; that Charles I had just been
beheaded; and that Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan sympathizer,
had just assumed power as Lord Protector of England. It
should be expected, therefore, that Puritans would be
prominent among those to benefit from these 1650 grants. It
will be noted that a number of those who had settled in
Warrisquicke County and its successor, Isle of Wight, were
quite prominent in the list of grantees.
rogressing upstream along the north bank of the
Rappahannock, we note the following grants:
Rice Jones (350 acres) and Epaphraditus Lawson (1000
acres) were granted land below the mouth of the
Corrotoman River where it empties into the Rappahannock.
Above the mouth of the Corrotoman, 5350 acres were
granted to Moore Fauntleroy, nearly equally divided
above and below Farnham Creek.
Moore Fauntleroy and Edward James on May 22,1650
received grants of 700 and 350 acres respectively
between Richardson's Creek and Totuskey Creek (sometimes
called Welling or Willing Creek).
James Williamson received a grant of 1800 acres between
the mouth of Totuskey Creek and Milleck Creek (what is
called Balls Creek today, but which was also called
Williamson;s Creek in the late 17th century).
William Underwood received a grant of 1400 acres between
Milleck Creek and Bushwood Creek (now called Little
Carter Creek).
James Williamson received a second grant of 1150 acres,
which probably lay near Bushwood Creek.
Moore Fauntleroy received another grant, this of 1800
acres above Bushwood Creek.
William Underwood received a grant of 600 acres at the
south of Indian Creek (probably the one now called Cat
Point Creek).
George Taylor received a grant of 800 acres somewhere
along the north side of the Rappahannock on that
particular date may 22,1650. Perhaps there were also
other grants not herein noted.
till other grants were made along the south side of the
Rappahannock River on that day. The recipients included John
Cox, Richard Axom, Thomas Godwin, and William Tigor. It may
be noted here that many of the grants along both sides of the
river were reconfirmed after 1660, when the monarchy was
reestablished under Charles II and a pro-Royalty
administration took over the Virginia Colony.
n addition to these grants on May 22,1650 and those that had
already been made prior to that date, a number of grants were
made shortly afterwards that essentially covered both shores
of the Rappahannock below the falls. Among those receiving
these later grants were Robert Bird, Sylvester Thacker,
Thomas Whitlock, and Francis Hobbs on the north shore.
Bartholomew Hoskins (one of the first), Robert Payne, Richard
Bennett, Henry Deadman, and Ralph ?? were among those to whom
land was granted on the south side of the Rappahannock in
that same period.
t will be noted that a number of those mentioned were from
Isle of Wight County, and were neighbors of Richard and
Ambrose Bennett, the Puritan leaders. In particular, Robert
Bird, Moore Fauntleroy, Epaphraditus Lawson, Rice Jones,
Sylvester Thacker, William Underwood, and James Williamson
are from Isle of Wight originally. Among these neighbors and
associates of Ambrose Meador in Isle of Wight, two were of
particular importance to the Meadors in the migration to the
Northern Neck. These were William Underwood and James
Williamson, who were related to each other by marriage.
illiam Underwood, father of William Underwood Jr.,
apparently was ?? man with several children when he came to
Isle of Wight County before 16??. He purchased 400 acres in
Isle of Wight County from Lt. John Upton. The date of his
death is not known, but his widow, Margaret, married John
Upton before 1650. In his will, dated January 16,1652 ,
Upton left to the children of William Underwood and Margaret
1500 acres of land in Isle of Wight, to be divided equally
among them, and large holdings of "lands at Rappahannock".
It is not clear whether these were lands solely acquired by
Upton, or were grants previously acquired by Underwood and
passed to Upton through his marriage to Margaret, Underwood's
widow. No records have been noted of grants along the
Rappahannock to Upton, but as he was well to do, he could
have purchased property there.
s noted above, William Underwood received grants on May 22,
1650 of 1400 acres and of 600 acres . These may have been
the "lands at Rappahannock" left the Underwood children by
Upton. Whether they were, or were granted to the younger
Underwood, it is clear that the latter subsequently sold the
lower half of the 1400 acre grant to Thomas Meads, as
indicated later. The younger William Underwood also received
grants of 366 acres on September 10,1658. He became on of
the most influential men in Lancaster County, and a leader in
the county court. His estate, which he called "Bushwood",
stood on the shore of the upper portion of this 1400 acre
grant land, and the first courthouse on the eastern shore was
built on his property. After his death in the early 1660's,
his widow, Elizabeth, married Archidale Coombes and the lands
were shared with the daughters of James and Ann Williamson.
nn Underwood, daughter of the elder William Underwood and
sister of the younger one, married James Williamson of Isle
of Wight County, who was granted 1800 acres adjoining
Underwood on the south side, as indicated above. Through Ann,
Williamson also acquired some of the lands left to Ann by Lt.
Upton in his will. Williamson called his estate "Cobham
Park", and it stood on the upper portion of the grant of 1800
acres.
he last record of Ambrose Meador in Isle of Wight County is
in 1649, when his lands are mentioned as bordering the 200
acres sold by Ambrose Bennett to Ralph Warrener on April
9,1649 . Ambrose apparently soon followed the other Puritan
colonists to Lancaster County on the Rappahannock River. He
is first found there on a list of tithers on October 24,1653
. He settled on the northeast side of the river in the
Totuskey Creek area. On September 3,1656 he purchased from
James Williamson the lower 1000 acres of the 1800 grant on
Willing Creek (Totuskey Creek) . His neighbors here,
besides Williamson, included George Bryer, William Underwood,
Abraham Moone, Thomas Robinson, William Denby, and others
known to be from the Isle of Wight colony.
he 1000 acres purchased by Ambrose included Accokeek Point
at the mouth of Totuskey Creek, across the river and a few
miles downstream from present Tappahannock. Of this 1000
acres, he soon sold 300 acres to Thomas Robinson and 300
acres to his son, Thomas Meador . Ambrose retained 400
acres for himself as a home plantation, probably near the
present site of Wellford, which appears to have named
"Accoksek". The 400 acres was then inherited by his son,
John Meador, and later traded by John to Robert Tomlin on May
3,1663 for 500 acres of land on Peumansend Creek in what is
now Caroline County. Evidently Ambrose Meador was dead by
that date. His last reference in the records is December
24,1661 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 left a will, as is likely, it has not survived the
loss of Lancaster County records; nor is his last resting
place kno
_Esla VON SAXONY ____+
| (0411 - ....)
_Elesa VON SAXONY ___|
| (0439 - ....) |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Cerdic WESSEX
| (0467 - 0534)
| _____________________
| |
|_____________________|
|
|_____________________