Lineage of

Cowles Mead

Second Territorial Secretary of Mississippi

And First Acting Governor of the Mississippi Territory

1806-1807

 

 

 

Signature of Cowles Mead

From Mississippi Territory Papers, 1806-1807.

Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Record Group 2  Agency R169-B14-S1-00105

 

John Mead was born 1703 in Cecil Co., Maryland, and died 1754 in Bedford Co., Virginia. He married Mary Abrell March 2, 1725/26 in New Garden MM, Chester Co., Pennsylvania, daughter of Richard Abrell and Elizabeth Unknown. She was born in Cecil Co., Maryland, and died before 1764.

 

Children of John Mead and Mary Abrell are:

                   1. Colonel William Mead, born October 10, 1727 in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania; died 1805 in Augusta, Georgia.

                   2. Abrell Mead, born 1728 - 1740.

                   3. Robert Mead, born about 1750 in Bedford Co., Virginia; died January 1825 in Floyd Co., Kentucky.

 

Colonel William Mead was born October 10, 1727 in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, and died 1805 in Augusta, Georgia. He married (1) Ann Haile 1750 in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, daughter of Nicholas Haile and Ann Long. She was born December 30, 1732 in Baltimore Co., Maryland, and died July 22, 1769 in Bedford Co., Virginia. He married (2) Martha Cowles after 1770 in Bedford Co., Virginia, daughter of Colonel William Cowles of Charles City County, Virginia. She was born November 2, 1749.

 

Children of William Mead and Ann Haile are:

 

1. Nicholas Mead, born February 16, 1752 in Royal Forest Place, Bedford Co., Virginia; died in Bedford Co., Virginia. 

2. John Mead, born November 20, 1755 in Royal Forest Place, Bedford Co., Virginia; died 1798 in Augusta, Georgia.

3. Mahlon Mead, born March 26, 1757 in Bedford Co., Virginia. He married Elizabeth Yokely.

4. Samuel Mead, born December 13, 1761 in Bedford Co., Virginia; died in Bedford Co., Virginia.

5. Elizabeth Mead, born July 30, 1764 in Bedford Co., Virginia.

6. Reverend Stith Mead, born September 25, 1767 in Bedford Co., Virginia; died 1834.

7. Unnamed Daughter Mead, born 1769 in Royal Forest Place, Bedford Co., Virginia; died 1769 in Royal Forest Place, Bedford Co., Virginia.

 

Children of William Mead and Martha Cowles are:

 

                   I. Martha Mead, born April 1, 1773 in Bedford Co., Virginia; died in Augusta, Georgia.

II. Priscilla Mead, born January 7, 1775 in Bedford Co., Virginia.

                   III. Col. Cowles Mead, born October 18, 1776 in Bedford Co., Virginia.  Died May 17, 1844 in Clinton, Hinds Co., Mississippi.

                   IV. Marston Mead, born January 22, 1779 in Bedford Co., Virginia.

                   V. Catherine Mead, born October 20, 1780 in Bedford Co., Virginia. She married Thomas Jones.

                   VI. William C. Mead, born December 5, 1782 in Bedford Co., Virginia; died about 1850 in Texas.

 

 

Col. Cowles Mead was born October 18, 1776 in Bedford Co., Virginia, and died May 17, 1844 in Clinton, Hinds Co., Mississippi, aged 67 years, 6 months, and 29 days. Apparently it was Cowles father William who moved with his second wife (Martha) and children from this marriage to Georgia in about 1785.  At the age of 30 years, 5 months, and 15 days, Mead married (1) Mary Green April 2, 1807. They were married by the Hon. Thomas Rodney, the Territorial Judge of the Mississippi Territory and namesake for the town of Rodney, Mississippi.  Mary died June 29, 1828 in Cincinnati, Ohio, after they had been married 21 years, 2 months, and 27 days. She was the daughter of Abner Green of Jefferson County, Mississippi.  Her place of burial is unknown at this time.  Unmarried for 4 years, 8 months, and 27 days after her death, Mead then married (2) Mary Lilly Mills on March 28, 1833 when he was 56 years, 5 months, and 10 days old. She died October 27, 1834. She was born on March 10, 1797 and was 37 years, 7 months, and 17 days old at her death.  They had been married only 1 year, 6 months, and 29 days.  Once again without wife for only 10 months and 21 days, Mead, now at the age of 58 years, 10 months, and 30 days, married (3) Mary Magruder September 17, 1835.  Mary Magruder’s date and place of burial is unknown at this time.

 

Children of Cowles Mead and Mary Green are:

 

1.     Mary C. Mead, born May 22, 1815 in Mississippi.  At the age of 17 years, 2 months, and 2 days she married U.W. Moffett July 24, 1832.

 

Children of Mary Mead and U.W. Moffett are:

1.     Cowles Moffett

2.     Mary Moffett

3.     Ulysses Williams Moffett

4.     Thomas Gale Moffett

5.     Craven Peyton Moffett

6.     Ellen Moffett

7.     James Moffett

8.     Henry Moffett

9.     Robert Moffett

10. John Moffett

 

2.     Cowles Green Mead, born November 18, 1818; died October 25, 1849.  He married Sallie F. Woolfolk December 1846.

 

Children of Cowles Green Mead and Sallie Woolfolk are:

 

                                      I. Ada Mead, born 1848

                                      II. Unnamed Mead

 

3.     Ann Eliza Mead, born June 18, 1821; died September 2, 1824, at the age of 3 years, 2 months, and 15 days.  {Ed. Note: In a newspaper article at http://vaiden.net/mead_article4.jpg, there is mention that Cowles Mead and Mary Green had a daughter named Sarah, born in 1821.  The article is possibly in error, as to the name of the child, but, if her name was Sarah, instead of Ann Eliza, it is possible that she was named after Mead’s first cousin Sarah, whom he was in love with (but couldn’t marry because of their family relationship) before he left Virginia.]

 

4.     Thomas Lafayette Mead, born December 20, 1824; died September 1, 1827.

 

5.     Martha Ann Mead, born October 14, 1826.  The day she turned 14, she married (1) Samuel Fisher October 14, 1840. He died 1842. When she was 18, she married (2) Dermot I. Brennan 1844. He died 1850.

 

 

Child of Martha Mead and Samuel Fisher is:

 

1.     Mary S. Fisher, born August 1841

 

Child of Martha Mead and Dermot Brennan is:

 

    1.  Dermot I. Jr. Brennan, born 1846

 

[Ed. Note # 2: The article (listed above) also states that (at Mead’s gravesite in Clinton, Mississippi) “[a] monument to Mead’s daughter, thought to have been a Mrs. Shearer, who died in 1840 at the age of 29, was described. . .in 1903 to be ‘broken into countless fragments.’  Nothing of it remains today.”  Based on this information, the daughter would have been born in 1811.  Any information on this daughter, if she existed, is unavailable.  However, there is an obituary that follows, to wit: FThe Southern Star (Gallatin, Miss.), Page unknown: August 8, 1840 – Died near Clinton, Hinds Co., on the 29th ult., at the residence of Gen. Mead, Miss Sarah B. Mead, aged 29 years.  First, if this obituary is accurate (and without typographical errors), this would disprove that Mead’s daughter-in-question had been married, since she was listed as “Miss.”; Secondly, it would provide the missing name of “Sarah B. Mead” (confirming the comment listed in child # 3 (above)) * or * Mead had a previously-unmentioned daughter named Sarah B. Mead, in addition to Ann Eliza Mead.  The date of death, as compared to the obituary (above) however, puts Sarah B. Mead as having been born in 1811, which indicates that she was probably erroneously omitted from the listing.  If Mead did have a daughter born in 1811, she would have been the Mead’s firstborn child.  So far, much of this is purely speculation.]

 

 

No issue is listed from the marriages of Cowles Mead and Mary Mills or Cowles Mead and Mary Magruder.

For further information on the Mead lineage (from the beginning), please visit http://www.stanley-mead.com/Ourline/Meade/gen1.htm.

 

COWLES MEAD FACTS, RUMORS, TRIVIA, AND VARIATIONS IN-BETWEEN

 

 

All three of Mead’s wives were named Mary.

 

Mead’s first mother-in-law was also named Mary (Mary H. Green).

 

According to the newspaper article at http://vaiden.net/mead_article4.jpg, “on Feb. 1, 1807, Mead fought a duel with Capt. Robert Sample of Wilkinson County; it was fought on the Louisiana side of the river.  Mead suffered a wound in his right thigh and was lame the rest of his life.”  This writer has searched every available newspaper at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and has found no printed indication that the duel ever took place.  However, news of duels, etc., were seldom reported, but one would think that a person of rank, as Mead was, would have been mentioned…unless, it would have threatened his position as Acting Territorial Governor.  Please note that this might be the case, since the duel “supposedly” took place after Aaron Burr had landed at Bruinsburg and Mead had officially taken charge of the Mississippi government.

 

Mead was in love with is first cousin, Sarah Cowles, while in Virginia.

 

Sarah Cowles (after marrying Joseph Vaiden) named her son Cowles Mead Vaiden, the founder of Vaiden, Mississippi.

 

Mead’s mother’s maiden name was Martha Cowles.

 

Mead probably named his home in Clinton, Mississippi “Greenwood” after his first wife’s family (Green).

 

Mead named his son Cowles Green (after his wife’s maiden name).

 

Mead, according to the article above (possibly) had a daughter named Sarah, born in 1821.  If true, it is possible that she was named after Mead’s first cousin Sarah.

 

No known photo of Mead exists.

 

This writer has been unable to find any type of detailed obituary for Cowles Mead, including any resolution or memoriam by the Mississippi Legislature.  Only two mention of his death have been found, so far.  They are as follows:

 

          From the Vicksburg Daily Whig (Vicksburg, Miss.), Page unknown:

 

May 27, 1844 – Died on the 17th, near Clinton, Miss., of disease of the heart, General Cowles Mead.  He was born in Bedford county, Virginia the 18th of October, 1776.  In 1806 he came to Mississippi as Secretary of the territory, under the appointment of Mr. Jefferson.

 

 

From the Jeffersonian Democrat (Macon, Miss.), Page unknown:

 

June 1, 1844 -- Died near Clinton, May 17th, General Cowles Mead, aged 88 [sic] years.

 

 

Mead’s home in Washington, Mississippi, (Adams County) which is still standing as of 05/02/2002 – see pictures at cowles_mead.html) was named “Meadvilla.”  Plans are currently underway for its renovation/restoration in the near future (possibly beginning in 2002).

 

Mead’s home at/near Fayette, Mississippi, (Jefferson County -- burned around 1998 by an arsonist), was named “The Pines,” which later became the home for Mississippi Governor Charles Clark.

 

Mead’s home at Clinton, Mississippi (Hinds County -- burned in 1863 by Yankee soldiers), was named “Greenwood.”  No indication is given as to how this name was chosen.

 

Cowles Mead was a Colonel.  Some sources indicate that he later became (or was nicknamed) “General” Cowles Mead.

 

Cowles Mead’s father, William Mead, was also a Colonel.

 

Cowles Mead’s mother’s father (Mead’s maternal grandfather) was also a Colonel.

 

Cowles Mead is said to have introduced Bermuda Grass into the United States.  His Clinton, Mississippi home “Greenwood” had a fifty-acre “front yard” that was covered with Bermuda Grass.  The land for “Greenwood” was purchased in 1828.  Although records indicate that Mead had at least 1820 acres in and around Clinton at one time, it had dwindled to a “mere” 640 acres shortly before his death.

 

In January 1807, while in the capacity of acting Territorial Governor, in the absence of Territorial Governor Robert Williams, Mead had Aaron Burr arrested and tried for treason when Burr and his party landed at Bruinsburg, Mississippi.  Burr was already famous, as he had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel on July 11, 1804.

 

There were four governors of the Mississippi Territory: Winthrop Sargent, 1798-1801; William C. C. Claiborne, 1802-1803; Robert Williams, 1805-1809; and David Holmes, 1809-1817. David Holmes was also the first governor of the state of Mississippi, 1817-1820.  Cowles Mead served as Territorial Secretary and as Acting Governor of the Mississippi Territory under Robert Williams.

 

Cowles Mead was the first Acting Governor in the history of the Mississippi Territory (served under Robert Williams).  The other two Acting Governors both served under David Holmes.  They were Henry Daingerfield and Nathaniel A. Ware.

 

Click on the text below to see the actual writing of Cowles Mead.

Petition of William Tyrrell

The power of pardoning

or relieving from a sentence

of a court of law, is not

conceded by the Ordinances

of the General Government

or the Statutes of the Territory

therefore the Executive

is precluded from action

in favor of the petition.

Cowles Mead

June 22nd 1816

 

 

Historic Jefferson College, circa 1802, was the first preparatory school established in the Mississippi Territory.  Named after President Thomas Jefferson, it is located in Washington, Mississippi, which is also the site where tradition holds that Aaron Burr was arraigned for treason in 1807 beneath what came to be known as the “Burr Oaks,” also seen in this photo.  Ironically, Jefferson College is directly across the road from Mead’s home “Meadvilla” in Washington, Mississippi.  However, there is a genus of oak tree called a “burr oak,” or, more specifically, “bur oak,” which is an oak tree (Quercus macrocarpa) of eastern North America, having pinnately lobed leaves, acorns enclosed within a deep fringed cup, and hard durable wood.”  A monument has been erected at the Jefferson College entrance dedicated to the members of the Mississippi’s First Constitutional Convention in 1817.  Cowles Mead is listed among those from Jefferson County.

 

Mead’s first wife, Mary Green Mead’s place of burial is unknown. She is said to have died in Cincinatti, Ohio, on June 29, 1828, according to information found at http://www.stanley-mead.com/lineage/mead/gen3.htm#10.   Mead’s second wife, Mary Lilly, is buried with him in Clinton, Mississippi.  Information on the tombstone at the Mead cemetery in Clinton, Mississippi states: “To the Memory of Mary Lilly, Wife of Cowles Mead, Born March 10, 1797; Died October 27, 1834.”  Another article indicates that it is Mead’s third wife, Mary Magruder that is buried at the Clinton location, but the date on the tombstone speaks for itself.  Still another article states that Mary Macgruder was Mead’s second wife and that she (Magruder) died in 1879.  There is no indication as to where his third wife (Magruder) is buried.

 

Meadville, Mississippi (Franklin County) is named after Cowles Mead.

 

At the “creation” of the state of Mississippi from the Mississippi Territory in 1817, Mead voted to name the state “Washington,” but “Mississippi” was selected instead, by a vote of 23 to 17.

 

Mead’s daughter, Martha Ann Mead (b. 10/14/1826) was probably named for her grandmother, Martha Cowles.

 

One newspaper article states that Mead had only one child, a son, which is incorrect.

 

Mead was elected to the Mississippi College Board of Trustees in 1833, and was selected as the Mississippi College Board of Trustees President in 1842.

 

Mead was one of the founders of the original Bank of Mississippi at Natchez.

 

Mead kept Aaron Burr’s surrendered sword many years after the event.  It is said to have been taken to Virginia in 1861 and lost at the First Manassas battle.

 

 

Abner Green, father to Mead’s first wife Mary Lilly, was Treasurer of the Mississippi Territory.  Information indicates that Abner Green (01/21/1762 to 02/21/1816) and his wife Mary H. Green (02/04/1768 to 02/04/1825) are buried at Grove Plantation Cemetery in Adams County, Mississippi (Highway 61 South in Natchez).  A short (incomplete) lineage chart for Abner Green  is as follows:

 

Thomas I Green #1442 married Martha ____ #1443. Thomas settled near Petersburg, VA 1635/36.  

The Clay Family by Zachary Smith and Mary Rogers Clay, 1899 Filsom Club # 14


 Children:
i daughter Green #1444 born Holland ?, Md. ____ Blocksom.
ii daughter Green #1445 born Holland ?, Md. ____ Eaton.
iii Thomas "the Seagull" II Green #407 born 1635.

 

Thomas "the Seagull" II Green #407 born 1635, at sea coming from Holland, married Martha (Elizabeth?) Filmer #408, born 1640, East Sutton, Kent, Eng.?, (daughter of Major Henry Filmer, (COLONIAL DAMES) #409 and Elizabeth ____ #410) died VA, buried: VA, 6 children ?. Thomas died ca 1714, VA, buried: Va.
Martha Filmer is descended from King Olaf III of Sweden, King Harold II of Norway, King Louis VII of France, Emperor Otto II of Germany, and 6 Magna Charta barons: Roger Bigod, Hugh Bigod, John deLacie, Saher de Quincy, Richard de Clare, Gilbert de Clare.
Colonial Families in the U.S. vol 4 p. 174; Lynn G. Tyler "Encyclopedia of VA Biog. 1915 vol 1 p. 234; Genealogies of VA Families vol II p. 815-819; lived near Petersburg, VA; The Clay Family p 219-200 addenda; Hening's Statutes Vol I (VA)


Children:
3. i John Green #1239.
4. ii Thomas III Green #405 born ca 1689 (1665?).
5. iii Elizabeth Green #1240.
6. iv Rebecca Green #1241.
7. v Mary Green #1242.
8. vi Col. Abram Green #1243.
9. vii Filmer Green #1244.
10. viii William Green #1245.
ix Hannah Green #1246 married James Turner #2651. They had two sons who died young

 

Thomas III Green #405 born ca 1689 (1665?), VA, married Elizabeth Marston #406, born 25 Nov 1692(72), of Henrico Co., VA, (daughter of Thomas Marston #1247 and Elizabeth (Marvell) Marvel #1248) died 11 Aug 1759, Nottoway parish, Amelia co., VA. Thomas died 1730, VA, buried: Va. Elizabeth made out her will on 12 Nov 1758; probated 24 Jan 1760
Tyler's Quarterlies vol V p 135-138; Living Descendants of the Blood Royal vol 5 p 265; The Clay Family p 220 addenda; will of Eliz. in Nottoway Parish, Amelia Co., VA 12 Nov 1758, probate court 24 Jan 1760


Children:
11. i Lucy Green #1249 born 1717.
12. ii Martha (Patsy) Green #404 born 25 Nov 1719.
13. iii daughter Green #1250.
14. iv Elizabeth Green #1251.
v William Green #1252 died pre 1758, no issue.
15. vi Thomas Marston Green #1253 born 19 Nov 1723.
vii Rebecca Green #1254 married Francis Jones #2612. Rebecca died ?South Carolina
viii Marston Green #1255 born ca 1726, married Eliza Aperson #2652. Marston died Amelia Co., VA

 

Thomas Marston Green #1253 born 19 Nov 1723, James City co., VA, married Martha Wills #2605. Thomas died aft 1776, Natchez, Mississippi?, Md. Martha Wills 21 Nov 1752. Martha: daughter of Filmer and Ann Harwood Wills. Ann Harwood was daughter of William Harwood, member of the VA convention in 1776 from Warwick Co.; President Andrew Jackson was married in the Green's home in Miss.


Children:
i Elizabeth Green #2606 born 21 Oct 1753, Va.
ii Henry Filmer Green #2607 born 11 Nov 1755.
iii Thomas Marston Green II #2608 born 6 Feb 1758.
iv Anthony Green #2609 born 1 Jan 1760.
v Abner Green #2610 born 21 Jan 1762.
vi Grief Green #2611 born ca 1765.

 

 

Click HERE for information on Cowles Mead and the Vaidens