JAMES RICHARD MEAD - Photo courtesy of Wichita - Sedgwick County Historical Museum.
JAMES RICHARD MEAD (1836 - 1910)
A hero of Old West
(EDITOR'S NOTE: A buffalo hunter and fur trader, James Richard Mead was one of the original founders of Wichita, Kansas. He came to the Kansas Territory in 1859 and was instrumental in bringing the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad through Wichita, securing the city's position as a trade center. He is the great great grandfather of mead-e family tree contributor Vance Mead.
MAIN STREET IN 1870 WICHITA - Photo courtesy of Wichita - Sedgwick County Historical Museum.
James Richard Mead was born on May 3, 1836, in Weybridge, Vermont, the son of Enoch Mead and Mary Emmes James, and the grandson of Ebenezer Mead and Elizabeth Holmes.
When he was still a small boy, his family, James and his younger sister, Lizzie, went west and settled in Rockingham, Iowa. He grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River, learning in early life to use a rifle and hunt. There was an abundance of wild game in the countryside -- turkeys, prarie pigeons, quail, racoon and deer.
In the spring of 1859, when James had just turned 23, he organized an expedition of his friends, with covered wagons and a couple of teams of oxen, and set out for the plains. During May, they made their way across Missouri, crossing the Missouri River on the ferry to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. There, James' two companions decided they had had enough adventure and returned to Iowa. James joined a wagon train and continued west.
He went as far as Burlingame, Kansas, where he staked out a claim and attempted to break up 80 acres of prairie.
"But, the sun and wind dried the ground until it was as hard as a grindstone," he said. "I became disgusted with honest endeavor, and quit."
For awhile, he sat on the front porch of Col. I.B. Titus' house, watching the wagon trains go past along the Santa Fe Trail. It also was where he met his future wife, Miss Agnes Barcome from Montreal.
In the fall of that year, James organized a hunting party and headed west on the Santa Fe Trail as far as the Smoky Hill River just west of Salina, Kansas. They found a good supply of turkey, antelope and buffalo. Camping there awhile, they lived on a comfortable diet of buffalo meat, flapjacks cooked in buffalo fat, and coffee with plenty of sugar. They built cabins for themselves and corrals for their horses and cattle in a small bend of the river. It became known as Mead's Ranch.
They remained at the ranch over the winter, exploring the Saline River and hunting elk and buffalo. James established a trading post with the Kaw tribe for buffalo furs and going to Leavenworth to buy coffee, sugar, flour and tobacco.
From 1859 until the spring of 1863, Mead was engaged in hunting and the fur trade on the Saline, Solomon and Smoky Hill Rivers. He took a trip to Leavenworth in 1863 and sold all of his furs for about $1,000. Then, he moved about 70 miles southwest to Towanda on the Whitewater River. Towanda was at the eastern edge of the buffalo range. James built a log cabin and trading post alongside a spring that produced good, clear water. He added a post office, an Indian agency and an inn to his holdings.
He put together hunting parties along the Osage Trail to the Arkansas River, near the site of present-day Wichita, and took his buffalo furs and tallow to Leavenworth, about 200 miles to the northeast. On his return trip, he picked up his wife, Agnes, and their son, James Jr., who had been born in January 1863, and brought them to his ranch in Towanda. He continued to trade with the Osage, Commanche and Wichita tribes, selling coffee, sugar, tobacco and cloth in exchange for buffalo furs.
A FRIEND OF JESSE CHISHOLM
In 1864, Mead built a trading post about 20 miles west of Towanda, between the Great and Little Arkansas Rivers, about two miles above their junction. His partners included Jesse Chisholm, Buffalo Bill Mathewson and Dutch Bill Greiffenstein. Chisholm bought goods and took them to his ranch at Council Grove on the North Fork of the Canadian River in the Indian Territory, nowadays Oklahoma.
The route from Wichita to Council Grove became known as the Chisholm Trail and, during the winter of 1866, James Mead established a trading post at Round Pond Creek, about halfway between the two towns.
In 1868, he staked a claim to a quarter section, 160 acres of prairie land, on the site of present-day Wichita. Other founders included Greiffenstein, Mathewson, Darius Munger and Nathaniel English. At first, there was nothing to distinguish Wichita from a thousand other small towns that remained a general store, a few farm houses and lots of prairie.
Two things changed Wichita into a thriving city: the Chisholm Trail over which the herds of cattle traveled north from Texas and the railroad which took them on to the stockyards of Chicago and the dinner tables of the Eastern United States.
COMPETITION AS A CATTLE CENTER
Competition between rival towns threatened Wichita's position as a cattle center in the spring of 1871. The Kansas Pacific Railroad, hoping to gain control of the cattle market, built a stockyard in Ellsworth, about 40 miles west of Wichita. They marked out a trail that intersected with the Chisholm Trail and sent out riders to meet the cattle herds being driven up from Texas, explaining the old trail was closed and there was a new trail to Ellsworth with a railroad connection to Chicago.
When the folks in Wichita learned of the maneuver, a group of four men, including James Mead, saddled up and rode down the Chisholm Trail to intercept the cattle herds. They traveled by darkness, but reached the crossroads only to learn four large herds already had passed through and were diverted toward Ellsworth. Continuing through the night, they overtook the cattle the next morning and convinced them the Chisholm Trail was open and remained the fastest and safest route.
Also, that spring, the Santa Fe Railroad had made a decision not to extend its line from Newton south to Wichita. When the news reached Wichita, Mead telegrapher T.J. Peter, the superintendent of the railroad, asking on what terms would they come through Wichita. Mead was told he must establish a local company and vote $200,000 of county bonds. A few days later, the Wichita and South Western Railroad was incorporated with Mead as president and Henry Sluss as secretary. The first train pulled into Wichita on May 16, 1872.
DIGGING DEEPER
Search in Watford goes on
By VANCE MEAD
The history of the Mead Family made a breakthrough in January 1998 when Gordon Remington's paper, "The English origin of William Mead of Stamford, Connecticut," appeared in The American Genealogist. He showed William Mead was born in 1592 in Watford, Hertfordshire, the son of Priscilla Mead and Dorothy Grey. The earliest record of this family was the marriage of William's grandparents, Richard Mead and Margaret Goldhurst, in June 1545.
As we all have learned, a genealogist's work is never done. Each new ancestor we find means two more remain to be found. I went to England in August 2003 to see if I could learn more about Richard Mead and Margaret Goldhurst.
I started with Goldhurst, an uncommon name. This was not her maiden name. In his will of 1559, Richard Mead writes, "Item I give to my wife's two daughters vis. viiid. apiece", indicating she had children from a previous marriage.
The only Goldhurst in the register of Herts wills was Robert Goldhurst, husbandman, of Rickmansworth, the parish next to Watford. The will, made in 1518, mentions his wife, Marion; his eldest son, Henry, and sons, Thomas, John, Robert, William, Richard and William (yes, two Williams). In the Public Record Office there is an undated record of a court case about 1530, of John Creke of London, gentleman, versus Henry, son of Robert Goldhurst of Rickmansworth concerning the manor of Rickmansworth of the demise of the abbot and convent of St. Albans, Herts. In the lay subsidy rolls of 1525, Richard Goldhurst was in Bushey, a neighboring parish. John Goldhurst, living in Rickmansworth in 1525, paid iiiid. on wages of 22s. Henry Goldhurst appears in the Watford manorial court rolls in 1542, 1543 and 1544. In the parish records, a child of Henry Goldhurst was buried in 1544; Edward, the son of Henry Goldhurst, was buried in January 1545, and Henry Goldhurst, himself, was buried in the same month.
Widows with young children didn't remain unmarried long. Margaret Goldhurst, the widow of Henry Goldhurst, married Richard Mede in June 1545. This Henry was probably the son -- or grandson -- of Robert Goldhurst.
MORE DIFFICULT TRACKING
Tracking Richard Mead was more difficult. I checked the lay subsidy rolls, parish records and muster rolls for Watford and the surrounding parishes and found only one Mead in that area before 1545, in a rental roll of 1544: "Margaret Meade, widow, and Thomas Haydon for rent of two tenements and 4 acres of land by estimation in St. Mary Shot, formerly of Emma Abbott and after that of William Monke."
Thomas Heydon was from a prominent Watford family, probably the same person as in the Victoria County History: "The site of the manor and of Oxhey Mill (in Watford) had been leased to Thomas Heydon for a term of years ending in 1546." Thomas Heyden was a witness to Richard Mead's will in 1559 and was probably the executor of the will of Margaret Meade's husband, which is why he sponsored her lease. Two houses were involved, probably for Margaret Meade and her son, Richard. Richard Mead starts to appear in the manor court rolls in 1545.
It seems likely that Richard Mead and his mother came to Watford in 1544. There are no surviving Oxhey court rolls for the 16th century, but if Richard's father had come to Watford, he would have appeared in the records of the 1520s and 1530s. The records are fragmentary, but enough remain to give glimpses of families, such as the Goldhursts.
So, I started checking in a wider circle. At that time, there were Meads in eastern Herts and in Bucks, within 15 to 20 miles -- and none around Watford that I have found. I checked the muster rolls for Herts and Bucks, thinking someone in the militia might move to a new area. For many people, this was the only time in their lives when they travelled far from home and met people from other parts of the country.
I found three Richard Meads. In 1539, Richard Mede of Soulbury, Bucks, was an archer. In an undated roll from around 1540, Richard Meyde of Thorley, Herts, was a billman. A bill was a bayonet on a long wooden pole. And, in 1535, Richard Mede of Princes Risborough, Bucks, was an "able man unharnessed."
REACHING A DEAD END
Richard Mede of Soulbury can be ruled out. He was living there in 1558 when his father, William Mede, made his will. Richard Mede of Thorley can probably be ruled out, too. I have the will of Robert Meade of Thorley, dated 1571, and this was probably Richard's son. Richard Mede of Princes Risborough can probably also be ruled out, since I have the will of Richard Mede of Ilmer, Bucks, a neighboring parish. Anyway, there's nothing in the three wills that point to Watford. So, that brings us to a dead end.
The next step will be Thomas Heydon, since he appears in the lives of the Meads of Watford a couple of times. There are wills of two Thomas Heydons at about the correct time: Thomas Heydon, Gentleman, of Northchurch, Herts, 1574, and Thomas Heydon, Yeoman, of Aldenham, Herts, 1584.
Either one could be interesting. Aldenham is the parish next to Watford, while Northchurch is about 10 miles away to the northeast. There are several Medes in neighboring parishes, such as Tring in Herts, and in Pitstone and Iv inghoe in Bucks.
Watch this space for further information as we continue our genealogical family diggings.
On the other hand, the Grey family had lived in Watford back to the beginning of the 16th century. Two William Greys, father and son, are in the lay subsidy rolls and manorial court rolls throughout this period. The will of William Grey, the elder of Watford, is dated 1535. In it, he mentions his wife, Jane. The inventory of William Grey, junior, is from 1558. Inventories are less useful to the genealogist than wills, though they provide a fascinating picture of how people lived, listing furniture and other possessions for each room of the house. In William's inventory, there is a record of a debt of 22 shillings to Richard Mede, showing that they were not only neighbors but also friends. It seems likely that the father and grandfather of Dorothy Grey were these two William Greys.
Between us ...
Grandchildren and great grandchildren of three Hvam brothers
By LEE MEADE
WE HAVE ALL LEARNED that tracing our family genealogy is a very strange and quite complex process. Like most, I had no idea what I was getting into when I began connecting small boxes with family names and dates in them. That was almost 30 years ago, and now I have a maze of more than 14,000 "cousins" on my computer, loosely connected in ways I can't even explain.
The common thread for most who read these pages is the name Mead. Or Meade. Or Meagh. Or Mayd. We spell it in an infinite variety of ways and the sources cover an even wider spectrum of places. And, we all have different methods in how we got to wherever this very tedious and often frustrating search has taken us.
Since we posted our last issue in May, Vance Mead has been combing the record bureaus of England, delving into 16th century files that have produced more interesting revelations on the ancestry of William Mead of Stamford, Conn. His interesting report is included in this edition. Meanwhile, I attended a couple of family reunions with friends and relatives, walked a few cemeteries and made some amazing connections via the internet.
My wife's Norwegian relatives figured prominently in our search. Her mother died young and the family was very loosely connected. About two years ago, I set out in earnest to see if I could locate any of them. I began with a simple plea for help on the family message boards of Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com. Finally, after an interminable wait, there was a message. It resulted in a July 4th meeting in the small town of Mantorville, Minn., last year with relatives from her father's side of the family (surname Wulf) we had never met before.
About a year ago, I received a short message that simply said: "My family were Hvams." It opened the door to a cross-country friendship with a second cousin of my wife, now living in a Tacoma, Wash., suburb. We began exchanging information, put together a family tree and coordinated a family meeting in the Rio Grande Valley last winter. Our reunion this summer in Brookings, S.D., was the result.
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A REUNION AT ITS BEST
I CONFESS I'm a nut-case at family reunions. I've reached the age where I'm not burdened down with day-to-day-raising-the-kids concerns. And, I have promised each of them I plan to live long enough to be as much of trouble them as they were to me. From their conversation, I think I'm on track. So, when we got together in Brookings and I saw 20 others waiting for us with scrapbooks, photos and, most of all, smiling faces, it was a genealogist's dream. There were no kids present to distract us, only adults between the ages of 50-plus and minus-90. Everyone had the same objective.
My wife and sister, who had come with us, met three people that day who had attended their mother's funeral almost 70 years ago. Like many genealogical tales, that was a grim fact of life, but one they both cherished. I spent most of the afternoon talking with a lady of 90 who was young in everyway except body. The overall result is I have been able to piece together a 200-page life story of an immigrant family's travels. It provided links back to the 16th century and stories of a son losing an arm in a threshing machine, their ship striking an iceberg on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and how they made new lives for themselves in Minnesota and South Dakota.
I'm sure we'll meet again, probably renewing our visit to Donna, Texas, and, perhaps, planning another reunion next summer. I highly recommend it to everyone. And, let us know about your own experiences on the genealogy trail.
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UPCOMING FOOTSTEPS
ALONG THE WAY, the hundreds of expressions of thanks, notes of encouragement and requests for assistance readers have sent us have been greatly appreciated. Vance and I now have a correspondent from Australia in Alan Fitzgerald, who will be writing from time to time on the Meades of Ireland. I'm also eagerly waiting for a story about a drummer boy from Vermont, who was a soldier in the War of 1812. And, I hope all of you enjoyed the article on James Richard Mead of Wichita, Kansas, as much as I did. He was Vance's great great grandfather and, not to be neglected, my sixth cousin, three times removed.
So, already, we're planning our next issue. It will be out about New Year's Day. We'll try and follow up with your requests and put together several more stories about the trials and tribulations of the incredible Mead-e family along its passage through time. If you have a story, please contact us so we can share it with our readers.
Regardless of how you spell it, the Meaghs of Ireland are members of the extended Meade family.
Research carried out 50 years ago by John A. Meade of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada has traced the Irish Mead family to England. He places its origin to Bristol in the 12th and 13th centuries, following a visit to Ireland by King Henry II to confirm the Anglo-Norman invasion and seek the submission of its inhabitants.
He reserved Dublin for the Crown and opened the way for the merchants of Bristol to move to Ireland and begin commerce with England. Hitherto, Dublin, a Viking settlement for 300 years, had conducted its international trade through the Scandinavian families settled there. These were expelled when "Strongbow" and his Norman allies attacked and captured the city in 1171.
Bristol was an ideal port to conduct trade with the Irish cities of Dublin, Kinsale and Cork. It is in these regions that the Meade (Meagh or Mide) family came to notice as mayors and burgesses of the towns, suggesting a commercial rather than baronial connection with Ireland.
CLIMBING THE SOCIAL LADDER
As successful merchants, the Meades would have lived in town behind the safety of the town walls, but owned estates in the surrounding countryside. As they moved up the social ladder, they would have built tower houses or castles on these estates. Eventually, they became knights and entered the ranks of nobility as Earls of Clanwilliam.
A further connection with England can be seen in the fact that by the 15th century, the Meade families of Cork and Kinsale shared a similar coat of arms with the Meades of Bristol, the only difference being in the colours. The Meades of Bristol had sable or black; the Meades of Meaghstown Castle, Cork had azure or blue. In the 18th century, the Meade Earls of Clanwilliam had gules or red on their coat of arms. The family motto was "Always Ready".
The Meades held considerable land in the area of Buttevant, County Cork, by 1300. In 1361, David Meagh, son of Philip Meagh of Buttevant, held 12,631 acres at Kilbrin and another estate at Killaney, near Kinsale, which remained in the family until 1766 when James Meade died.
David Meagh became mayor of Cork City in 1379 and was re-elected in 1381. He was succeeded by his son, John, who was a justice of the peace for counties Cork, Waterford and Limerick.
Following the Reformation, King Henry VIII appointed William Meagh to be bishop of Kildare in 1540. He was the first protestant to hold the position. William also was a member of the Privy Council. When he died eight years later, Meaghstown Castle passed into the hands of Patrick Meagh of Kinsale and Cork.
Patrick Meagh of Meaghstown Castle, a large landowner and merchant, obtained the manor of Tissaxon through his wife, Margaret Gelway, the grand daughter of Gerald de Courcy, 16th Baron of Kinsale and Tissaxon. He also was active in local politics, several times becoming Mayor of Kinsale and Bailiff of Cork.
Patrick was a staunch supporter of the Roman Catholic faith and in 1558 rebuilt the chancel of St. Multose Church in Kinsale. His monument can still be seen to the left of the altar.
THE REFORMATION IN IRELAND
When Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne in November 1558, a determined effort was made to impose the Reformation on Ireland. Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity were passed and recusancy fines were levied on Roman Catholics who refused to attend divine service at the reformed or Protestant Church. Among those subsequently fined were James Meagh of Kinsale and Robert Meagh of Tissaxon. Meanwhile, Patrick Meagh became involved in the rebellion by his friend, the Earl of Desmond, against Queen Elizabeth and was executed for treason in 1577.
Patrick's two grandsons, Sir Robert Meagh and William Meagh, were implicated in another revolt against the Crown in 1603 on the accession of James I. William was sent to trial, but acquitted by a sympathetic jury. He fled from Ireland to Spain. Other leaders of the revolt were executed.
Another generation of the Meaghs, now spelling their name Meade, came out in rebellion between 1641 and 1650. John Meade joined the Irish Catholic Confederacy which backed Charles I against the Puritans. His estate was confiscated by the victorious Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England.
To pay for the cost of the war in Ireland, funds were raised from English adventurers with a promise they would be given the estates of those Catholic landowners found guilty of treason. These, in turn, were forced to vacate and relocate themselves in Clare and Connacht. They were given "transplanters certificates" and told to establish themselves on poorer land west of the Shannon River by 1655. Among the thousands transplanted were a number of Meades.
FAMILY SPLIT
By this time, the Meade family had split into two main branches, one which held the lands of Meaghstown Castle and the other the Tissaxon estate. Both supported the Stuart cause. During Cromwell's rule, Tissaxon was used as a headquarters for the parliamentary army by General Ireton, Cromwell's son-in-law.
Robert Meagh of Tissaxon went into exile with Charles II and only returned to Ireland upon restoration of the monarchy in 1660, following the death of Cromwell. His estates, which had been confiscated by the Puritans, were restored to him. Robert received the Charles I silver medal for his services to the Crown.
He died in 1672 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Robert, who was appointed Mayor of Kinsale in 1687 by King James II. The following year, Robert was re-elected Mayor of Kinsale and supported James II against William III. James arrived in Ireland from France in 1689 with an army to regain his throne and was welcomed at Kinsale by Robert. The next day, the king and his supporters moved to Cork and stayed overnight at Meaghstown Castle with Sir John Meade.
In 1690, James II's army of French, Irish and English soldiers was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne by William III's army of Dutch, Danish and English soldiers. Following another defeat at the Battle of Aughrim, Robert Meagh of Tissaxon was tried for treason and his lands were forfeited.
However, they were regranted to his younger brother, Capt. Richard Meagh, who had turned Protestant and was a supporter of William III. When Richard died without issue, the estate reverted to his nephew, David Meagh, the son of his elder brother, Robert. David also died without issue in 1725 and the estate passed to his cousin, Martin Meade.
Martin became a burgess (alderman) of Kinsale in 1728 and died at the age of 69 in 1753. He had two sons, David of Tissaxon and James of Killarney. David succeeded his father as Burgess of Kinsale. Tissaxon manor house burned down in the 18th century and only the ruins remain today.
In 1766, Sir John Meade, the fourth baronet, was created Baron Gillford and Viscount Clanwilliam (peerage of Ireland). Ten years later, he became Earl of Clanwilliam, County Tipperary. Richard, the third earl, was made Baron Clanwilliam (peerage of the United Kingdom) in 1828 and his descendants retain the title and live in England today.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Alan Fitzgerald is a descendant of the Meades of Ireland and lives in Australia. U.S. Civil War Gen. George Gordon Meade also traced his heritage to Ireland and will be the subject of a future article.)
