Scope and Content
This addition to the papers of the
Meade familyof
Amelia County, Virginia, contains ca. one
hundred items (1 Hollinger box; .5 linear feet), 1770-1872,
and chiefly consists of correspondence, business, and legal
papers.
The largest group of correspondence is that of
Hodijah Baylies(1755-?) and his son,
Edmund Baylies, to his namesake,
Hodijah Meade(d. 1842 ?) and his son,
William E. Meade. These letters show a
continuation of friendship and affection that had begun
between
Hodijah Bayliesand
Everard Meade(1746-1802), father of
Hodijah, when they were both aides-de-camp to Major General
[Benjamin ?] Lincolnduring the
Revolutionary War.
One letter, December 20, 1832, discusses the rank of
Everard Meadein the Continental Army and
the possibility of erecting a tombstone to his memory. Another
letter, September 13, 1835, from the northerner,
Edmund Baylies, expresses sympathy for
anti-abolitionist sentiments.
Letters to
Everard Meadeinclude correspondence from
R[ichard] K[idder] Meade, July 3, 1777,
concerning the actions of a party of militia who captured a
ship of produce on the New Jersey shore;
D[avid] M. Randolph(son of Richard
Randolph, Jr. of Curle) and
David Meade.
Letters to
Hodijah Meadeinclude the following
correspondents:
T.H. Drew,
T.B. Massie,
John R. Meade,
William E. Meade,
J. Parker,
L.J. Prestonand
William E. Preston. One letter, April 3,
1837, mentions a poisoning attempt by a servant girl and
failures in the Panic of 1837.
Correspondence to
William E. Meadecontains chiefly news of
friends and family and includes the following writers:
Edward Coles,
John P. DuVal,
R. Gwathmey,
J.V. Ligon,
Hodijah Meade,
J.R. Meade,
Francis H. Smith, and
Edmund Randolph.
Known correspondents in the miscellaneous group of letters
include:
Peter Hagner,
Hodijah Baylies Meade,
Peyton Meade,
R.H. Meade,
William E. Meade, and
W[illiam] B. Tabb. Topics of interest
include: the movement of some Confederate forces under General
Henry S. Wise, February 6, 1863; the
critical condition and eventual death of
Jane Meade(daughter of William E. and
Mary (Steger) Meade, February 21, and March 21, 1864; and
Hodijah Baylies Meadeurging his brother
[William ?] to sell his farm at the Hermitage and to buy a
small farm in the "valley," presumably the
Shenandoah Valley, and warning him not to
consider
Danville, Virginia, as suitable farming
country as it was overworked by tobacco, January 30,1868.
Letters of
Thomas Rutherfoord, Sr.(father-in-law of
Hodijah Meade) to members of the
Meade familymainly concern the family flour
mill business, family news, and grandfatherly advice. This
group of letters also contains a few letters by
Thomas Rutherfoord, Jr.and
Samuel Rutherfoord, brothers of
Hodijah Meade's wife, Jane (d. 1839
?).
Other items in this collection include: an almanac, an
arithmetic book, wills, receipts, a survey, deeds and
indentures and accounts. Of special interest are: a survey for
Everard Meadein
Amelia County(October 5, 1770); the will
of
Everard Meade(January 13, 1801); the will
of
Hodijah Meade(May 30, 1840); and a bounty
land claim based on
Hodijah Meade's service in the War of
1812 (May 1859).
The correspondence is arranged chronologically by the
correspondent or recipient of the letter. The business and
legal papers are also in chronological order.