Grandmother Andrews holds her great-grandson Bobby Mead
We do not know Grandmother's Andrews' first name. She was the mother of Pearl Andrews and does not appear on the family tree. One day, I will update the tree to include Grandmother Andrews.
The Mead-e Newsletter is a delightful publication covering the first generations of Meads in America. Here is brief introduction to what is known of the Founding Meads, written by Lee Mead:
"Controversy continues to surround the arrival of William Mead and his family in the American Colonies. There is no hard evidence to show where the meads came from, when they arrived or how they got here. Over the years, as family genealogists have attempted to dig deeper, they have succeeded only in disproving many of the early popular beliefs. William, generally believed to have been the first of his family to arrive in the colonies apparently came from England some time before 1641. It has been reported he and his family were passengers on the Elizabeth captained by William Stagg, which did sail from England to Massachusetts in April 1635. But there is no mention of William nor his family on an incomplete list of passengers... To my knowledge nobody has been able to trace the family farther than their arrival in Stamford, Conn., on Dec. 7, 1641, exactly 300 years before Pearl Harbor."
The Question of William Mead’s Wife
By Lee Meade
From Mead-e Family Tree Vol. I, Issue 1 Summer 1996
What was the name of William Mead's wife?
a) Martha Davis
b) Mary Barker
c) Philippa Kilvey
d) All of the Above
Actually, we don’t know the answer. Apparently, nobody does for sure. In fact, the Mead Memorial in the Tomac Cemetery in Cos Cob, CT, does not list a spouse. Only William, his sons, Joseph and John, and his daughter, Martha.
There is evidence in support of each of the three wives by no less an authority than the Family History Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City. In fact, each of the three is listed as a spouse of William Mead in various sources.
It could be that William was married more than once – first or twice in England, then again in the American Colonies.
A recent publication titled “The Early Settlement of Stamford, CT 1641 – 1700” by Jeanne Majdalany (Published 1990 by Heritage Books, Inc.) suggests William’s wife may have been Philippa. Majdalany writes an outbreak of “a deadly illness” in 1657 and 1658, possibly malaria, resulted in a number of deaths within the Stamford community. Stamford death records list the names of 16 people who died in 1657, 11 of them between July 21 and Sept. 19, suggesting a possible epidemic.
Among the names is a “Philippa Mead, William’s wife.” Her date of death is recorded as Sept. 19, 1657, which is the date generally associated with William’s wife.
There is no mention of Mary Barker or Martha Davis in the Stamford records."
While the question of William's relation or lack thereof to Gabriet has been answered definitively, and the question of Wm.'s wife had at least one solid answer, I have left Lee's articles on the site. for the answeres to the question of Wm.'s wife and Gabriel, scroll down to "History and Genealogy of the Mead Family."
The above link answers two of the questions posed by Lee Meade in the articles below: Were William and Gabriel brothers? The answer according to Vance Mead's research is "no."
Vance Mead cites Burke's Peerage on his site, hence the Burke's banner below is for those who like to have their own references and documentation.
Domesday Book chest at PRO
Many Meads subscribe to the theory that the Mead family in England originated in 1066 when Wm. the Conqueror invaded. The theory goes that Normans using the names De Prato or Ad Pratum eventually changed their names (over the course of centuries) to atte Mead and then to Mead.
This is a viable theory and so I post a link to the Domesday Book Online for those who would like to get a feel for life under Norman rule.
I do not subscribe to this theory as my research on the evolution of the English language tells me that a person of Norman ancestry would not lower himself to use a Saxon equivalent for his name.
In addition, there was already a honey wine called Mead in England from the time of Beowulf and long before.
To me, this is the more logical origin of our name, but I am a little prejudiced against the Normans. They were nasty folks, and I would not be proud to name them as ancestors although they are certainly in the tree of everyone of English ancestry.
Libby Prison ~ Photo from the copy owned by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Visual Archives: Album 14.76
1863 photograph of Libby Prison, looking east - prison guards in formation at present arms. Taken by C. R. Rees. Original at the Chicago Historical Society.
Robert Bryce spent time in Libby Prison during the Civil War. He returned home in ill health, never fully recovering. For more photos and information on Libby Prison, visit Civil War Richmond at www.mdgorman.com
Excerpted From Lee Meade's Mead-e Family Tree Volume I, Issue 1, Summer 1996
Updated by Danielle Mead Skjelver
"The descendants of William Mead played major roles in the settlement of the United States, moving across Vermont, New York and Pennsylvania into the Midwest and to the Pacific Coast.
General James Mead, a descendant of John, was the Founder of Meadville, PA, while Dr. Elwood Mead, also a descendant of John, was a Director of the Interior and the namesake of Lake Mead at the Hoover Dam just southeast of Las Vegas. Family relationships also exist to Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone."
A side note to any of my nieces and nephews, I would be thrilled to help you with your application to the SAR, DAR, or CAR. I have never researched this side myself and would welcome the opportunity. I joined through Abner Waters.
You are also eligible through John Mead and John Hawks (Florence Waters Orcutt's line; your father's maternal Great Grandmother) to join the following societies which follow America's history before the revolution:
It is probable that our families were in some way touched by the Pequot War as well. I have included a fictional Mead in my novel MASSACRE: Daughter of War referenced below. Here is an excerpt from Mystic Voices: The Puritan justification for the action is simply stated by Captain Underhill:
It may be demanded, Why should you be so furious? Should not Christians have more mercy and compassion? Sometimes the Scripture declareth women and children must perish with their parents. Sometimes the case alters, but we will not dispute it now. We had sufficient light from the word of God for our proceedings.
