Our Scottish Cousins

Previous Post: A Candle in the Dark. What ydna Testing has Told Us

It is important to understand the political and religious situations of Scotland and England during the 17nth century to understand all the reasons that our William Meeks might have immigrated to Virginia.
The main religion in England at the time was Anglican (Church of England) and in Scotland it was Presbyterian. The Scottish Presbyterians called themselves Covenanters, after the covenant between the Israelis and God in the Old Testament. In both countries, Catholics were the minority and despised by the Anglicans and Covenanters.
In 1626 Charles I was crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was the son of King James I (as in the King James Version of the Bible). King Charles made two mistakes, he married a Catholic, and he tried to consolidate power away from Parliament to himself. He believed that the King should have absolute power, and his agenda’s reflected that. His other agendas were also viewed as favorable to Catholicism. These actions eventually lead to the English Civil War which started in 1642 that eventually lead to the arrest and execution of King Charles I in 1649. This was the first civil war. During the civil war, Catholics were considered Loyalist. After Charles’ execution, Parliament operated the entire government, under the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. Two more civil wars would happen before the century finished. After Oliver’s death parliament reinstated the monarchy, with restrictions and crowned Charles’ son, Charles II, King of England, Ireland and Scotland. When Charles II died without heir in 1685 his brother, James was crowned King.
King James II was a Catholic, and failing to learn from the mistakes of his father, pushed pro- Catholic agendas and he was over thrown during the Glorious Revolution, also known as the 3rd civil war, in 1688 and the thrown went to King William and Mary.

During this century, you often had to pick which side you were going to support, if you chose the loosing side, then you would receive punishment that often involved being shipped as an indentured servant to the colonies. Click here for a great article that explains all this. From this article we see that there are countless of opportunities William Meeks could've come to our country as a political prisoner.

So where does our family fit into all of this? We start with a property called Fortissat. Fortissat is in Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland. The property had been in possession of the Hamilton family during the 16nth and 17nth centuries. The Hamilton's sided with Charles I during the first civil war. As a result of being on the losing side of the war, the family was left broke and they started selling off their land.

Our Scottish Cousins were tenant farmers in Burnhead, which is a property in Longridge, West Lothian Scotland. Burnhead was only eight miles away from Fortissat. In 1664, William Meike was able to acquire the Fortissat property which allowed him and his family to become minor Lairds.

By the time of the 3rd civil war our Fortissat cousins were Covenantors. There are three people who I am most interested in that are associated with Fortissat: James Meek, William Meek, and John Meek. James and William were both from Fortissat, and John was most likely a relative.

• 1679, after the Battle of Bothwell Brig, we find William Meek of Fortissat locked up in the Canongate Tolbooth at Edinburgh where he was held for suspicion of joining the Covenanters. 
• 1683, James and William Meek both of Fortissat  subscribed to the Bond and Test, which is where they are forced to swear allegiance to the King.
• 1686, John Meek was a portioner in Hinshellwood, Lanarkshire. His lands and houses were forfeit for treason and rebellion. His lands were returned to him in 1690 after the war. 

James Meek above was the son and heir of the William Meike who acquired the Fortissat property. As such, James descendants are well known since the property passed to his descendants. The person who interests me the most however is William, who found himself arrested in 1679. Surely he was either the father, or brother of James. If he was the father, then he would've been quite old to be participating in dangerous political activities. One might think it more likely that he was James' brother, running around with the Covenanters and being forced to swear allegiance to Charles II. If this William is the brother of James, then we have a real good candidate for our immigrant ancestor. There are no records of him after 1683, he is the right age, has the right name, and has the right dna. Was he shipped off to Virginia as a political prisoner?? Its a fun idea to think about.

After the war the Fortissat Meek family became very wealthy as they got involved in the cotton trade at Glasgow, coal was discovered on their land in the industrial revolution, and some descendants got into banking. Since, not all members of the family can live off the land, only the eldest son inherited the property while the other sons would go into law, or the Kirk (church). One of James Meek's great grandson, James Meek (1742-1810) became the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1795. He borrowed his crest from the Perthshire Meik family that has a duck with a bores head and two crescents. 

The modern day commercial coat of arms companies use a rendition of this crest for all Meek surnames associated with Scotland. Notably the duck, bores head, two crescents, and the motto.

It has been estimated that before the American Revolution, 150,000 Scots immigrated to the New World through either political prisoners, selling themselves as indentured servants or just going on their own. It is almost certain that our immigrant ancestor was among them.

Next Post: So Many Williams

A Candle in the Dark: What ydna Testing has Told Us

Previous Post: Before Goochland

In 2004 the Meek dna surname project was started. Its website is meekdna.com. Participants will have a last name of Meek or variants of it. The testing consists of ydna only. For those who do not know what ydna testing is, it compares the genetic make up of the y chromosome. Since it is only looking at the y chromosome, only males can take it. This benefits genealogy because it follows the surname.

The main thing that surprised me is just how many people named Meek(s) that are not related to each other. Right now the project has eleven different family groups with another 15 individuals that don't relate at all. I didn't know this surname was that common.

Our family, descendants of William Meeks belong to group F where several descendants of Athe, Priddy, Littleton and Nacy have submitted test. The results show that Athe and Priddy do not share the same father as Littleton and Nacy. But the test does show they are related. Their closest possible relation would be 1st cousins, but even that relationship would have a high mutation rate. As stated in previous posts, I personally believe they were first cousins. Littleton and Nacy being the sons of John Meeks, brother of William Meeks.

The major find for the project though, comes from a donor in Scotland, whose ancestry is a family that has owned Fortissat in Scotland since 1664. Fortissat is a property in the village of Shotts, Lanarkshire County, Scotland. This property was purchased by William Meike, who is from Burnhead. Burnhead is a property just south of the village of  Longridge in West Lothian Scotland. Looking at ancestry.com, there are numerous Meek families throughout West Lothian during the 17nth century. Not all of them are related though. One other person who has ancestry in West Lothian has donated and he is among the 15 individuals that didn't match any group.

Another donor from from Indiana, whose immigrant ancestor was William Meek, born around 1795 and married in Edinburgh in 1827 (I believe this is the earliest record of him). This William immigrated to Ontario Canada in the 1830's. The donor is more closely related to the Fortissat family than we are, and has a good chance of being a descendant of William Meike who purchased Fortissat. A connection just hasn't been made yet.

That's two points for the Lothians in the Lowlands of Scotland. Looking at our deep heritage, we belong to the L193 haplogroup. Haplogroups are like the worlds family tree, with everybody belonging to the oldest haplogroup, then as mutations happen throughout the ages, younger haplogroups are created that parcel out portions of the population that belong to them. The L193 haplogroup is part of the older R1b group (R1b is generally associated with Western Europe). L193 has been estimated to be 1100-1800 years old, which is a really young haplogroup. What this means is the first person to carry the mutation that is unique to L193, lived 1100-1800 years ago, and everyone that belongs to L193 has a direct paternal lineage back to that person.

The heaviest concentration of people belonging to the L193 haplogroup are in the Lowlands of Scotland. This is why we need to question Dr. Priddy Meeks when he said the immigrant ancestor came from England. If he did come from England, he (or his ancestors) almost certainly came from Scotland before he (they) went to England. But there wasn't a lot of immigration between Scotland and England before the union in 1707.

This is a wealth of information that the early researchers of the family did not know. It allows us to narrow our search in the Lowlands of Scotland, or try to make connections between a Scottish family and an English family. Also, connections between the Fortissat family with any other family will do wonders to our research. While researchers have been studying our Meeks family in America for over 50 years, and a great deal of knowledge is known about them, knowledge about Meek(s) families in Scotland and England have not yet been so thoroughly researched. More than likely, all the records on the America said of the Atlantic have been researched, so researchers should focus their time and energy towards the Scotland and England and start making connections.

Next Post: Our Scottish Cousins

Before Goochland County

Previous Post: The Oral Tradition

The earliest record we have to a provable member of the family is for Priddy Meeks, living with a John Martin in Goochland County Virginia in 1762. There are other records for William, Priddy and Susannah that appear in this county up until 1771. There is however, reason to believe that before Goochland County, the family was living in Hanover County.

In 1788, Littleton's name appears in a deed book selling land that he inherited from John Meeks. This land is on Allen's creek, in Hanover County Virginia. Also mentioned in the same book are John Meeks and Martin Meeks, selling land on Allen's creek in 1783. It mentions that Martin inherited the land from John Meeks also. The deed records mention the following:

• June 1783: John Meeks and Elizabeth his wife of Louisa Co. To Edward Bryers of Hanover County 60 pounds for 67 acres on Allens Creek near the River parting said Meeks and Watson along Watson's line to corner of said Meeks and Martin Meeks and said Joseph Watson......along Martin Meek line to Allens Creek down the Creek to the River. Wit. John Hughes, Isaac Robeson, John Robertson, 4 December 1783, proved by oath of Isaac Robertson, John Robertson and Martin Meeks.
• 7 November 1783: Martin Meeks and Margaret his wife of Hanover County. To Edward Bryers of same 100 pounds 1/3 part of 2 acres on Allens Creek being a Mill Seat on said Creek devised by the last will and testament of John Meeks, decd. Which will being proved in Court of Hanover County. Martin (X) Meeks, Margaret (X) Meeks. Wit. John Hughes, Daniel Hawes, John (X) Farris, William Hawes, John Shelburn. 4 December 1783 acknowledged by Martin Meeks.
• 17 November 1783: Martin Meeks and Margaret his wife of Hanover County. To William Hawes of same for 100 pounds for 50 acres on Allens Creek bounded by Edward Bryers, Joseph Watson and the main run. Wit. Daniel Hawes, Edward Briers, John Hughes, John Farris. 7 May 1784 acknowledged by Martin Meeks and Margaret his wife.
•  2 October 1788: Littleton Meeks and Elizabeth his wife of North Carolina, Surry County, to Frederick Bartlett of Virginia, Hanover County, 117 pounds for 117 acres in St. Martins Parish on south side of Pamunkey River on both sides of one of the branches of Allens Creek which land conveyed to said Littleton by John Meeks by will of said John Meeks of record in court of Hanover. Signed Littleton (X) Meeks. Wit. Thomas Pollard, Walter Coles, Thomas Rogers. 1 January 1789 proved by oath of Thomas Pollard, Thomas Rogers and Walter Coles.

From these records we can sum up the following information:

• There was a John Meeks, who I believe is the brother of William (not proven) that owned land on Allen's creek in Hanover County Virginia. He died before 1783. 
• In 1783 there is a John Meeks who lives in Louisa County, sales the land he owns on Allen's Creek. This land is located next to land owned by Martin Meeks. 
• In 1783, there is a Martin Meeks who lives in Hanover county, he sales the land he owns on Allen's Creek. He inherited his land from a John Meeks, different from the John Meeks mentioned above. 
• In 1788, Littleton Meeks also sold land on Allen's Creek. He inherited this land from a John Meeks. At the time, Littleton Meeks was living in Surrey County North Carolina, the same county William Meeks was living in.

These records imply that John, Martin, and Littleton are the sons of John Meeks. The reason Littleton waited until 1788 to sell his land is because the laws at the time required a person be 21 years of age before they can buy or sell land. Littleton, born in 1766, wasn't old enough to sell in 1783. 

From a genealogical standpoint, Hanover County is a bad county to have your ancestors from. Their records; wills, deeds, and marriages, were removed to Richmond during the civil war for safe keeping. The building that was keeping them safe was burnt to the ground by the Union army on April 3, 1865. The only records to survive are deed records covering the years 1734 to 1735, and 1783 to 1792, which is where we obtain the four deed records mentioned above.

It is generally accepted that Nacy is the brother of Littleton, do to the fact that they had the same professions, migrated to Georgia together, and named each others children after each other. Nacy is about two years younger than Littleton, so if he inherited and sold land along Allen's creek, it might've happened after 1792, and the record of it was lost. 

Both Littleton and Nacy would've been minors when their father John died, so by law somebody would've adopted them. I believe they went to North Carolina to live with their uncle William. Which is why 100 years later, Dr. Priddy Meeks thought Littleton and Nacy were the children of William. Recently, yDNA has shown that Athe and Priddy, did not share the same father as Littleton and Nacy. But they were related. 

Some Parish records from St. Paul's parish did survive in Hanover county that can give us clues about our ancestors. John Meeks appears in Parish records from 1711 to 1739 in Hanover County. On many of these records, he is living next to a John Snead. William Meeks' son Athe, married a Margaret Sneed. According to researcher Marjorie Meeks Perine, land owned by John Meeks in 1739 is the same spot of land that Allen's creek would be located on in the 1780's. This brings up an interesting scenario, since you can't own land until you're at least 21 years old, this John Meeks had to of been born before 1718. Which is likely too old to be the father of Littleton, who was born in 1766. If the John Meeks owning land in 1711 is the same as the one that held land in 1739, then he would've been born before 1690. This leads me to believe that this John, was a grandfather of Littleton, Martin, and John. And by extension, the father of William Meeks. 

This is contrary to what Dr. Priddy Meeks told us. But since it is possible that Dr. Priddy skipped a generation or two, this is a likely scenario. It is also unfortunate from a genealogical standpoint, because the farther back in time you go, the less records that are available. In future posts I will be explaining political situations that probably place the immigration year sometime between 1650 and 1700. 

Next Post: A Candle in the Dark. What ydna Testing has Told Us

The Oral History

Previous Post: The Family of the Immigrant Ancestor

As with a lot of families, there is an oral history that has survived through the centuries about our immigrant ancestor. The oral history tells us the immigrant ancestor's name was William Meeks, and that he is from England. The main source for this oral tradition was a story written down by Dr. Priddy Meeks sometime in the 1870s. Dr. Priddy, was born in South Carolina in 1795, he was the son of Athe Meeks and grandson of William Meeks (d. 1797). Dr. Priddy tells us:

"William Meeks came from England, he had two sons, John and William. They lived in Virginia.
William Meeks married and had three sons, Priddy, Athe and Jesse. His wife died; he married again and had two sons, Middleton and Nacy. They lived in Georgia. My father had two sisters that I remember, Candice Williams and Susannah Mitchum. My father, Athe Meeks married Margaret Snead and had ten children.”

This note has been widely used by Meeks researchers, and has often been taken as absolutely correct by most researchers. At the time it was written down, Dr. Priddy may have been the oldest surviving member of the family. However, Dr. Priddy never knew his grandfather William, much less his great grandfather. He never knew his uncles Littleton and Nacy, (he didn't know the correct pronunciation of Littleton either). His father died when he was only 17 years old, and any family members that knew more about the history of the Meeks family had passed away before 1860. So the items of the above quote, that Dr. Priddy wouldn't of had first hand knowledge of, needs to be considered as an oral history and should be scrutinized.

When studying the life of Dr. Priddy Meeks, we can conclude that the only first hand knowledge Dr. Priddy had from the above quote was the names of his parents, and uncles Priddy and Jesse, and his aunt Susannah. The rest he would've heard through stories. Documentation as shown that he was correct about his grandfather, but records and ydna evidence has shown that he was most likely wrong about Littleton and Nacy being his father's half brothers.

Throughout the generations, oral histories/stories can evolve and change. What once was true can morph into something that isn't entirely accurate. The name of an ancestor us usually not forgotten through stories I generally accept the given name of our immigrant ancestor to be William. However, it is common for generations to be skipped when talking about an ancestor four or more generations back. Dr. Priddy Meeks thought the immigrant ancestor was his great grandfather, but it is possible William is older than that. The subject of the ancestor coming from England needs to be debated also, since ydna evidence places our ancestors squarely in the lowlands of Scotland.

The tradition that William Meeks is the immigrant ancestor displayed itself again among the descendants of Athe Meeks in the early 20th century. In 1920, The Latter-Day-Saint Biographical Encyclopedia ran a story about William Meeks who was born in 1848 and was the great grandson of Athe Meeks. He claimed the following:

"His great great grandfather was William Meeks, who with his wife Sarah came to America in the Mayflower in 1620"

This shows a classic example of skipping generations with oral traditions. William's (b. 1848) great great grandfather is the oldest provable member of our family, William Meeks born in 1725 in Virginia. About 100 years after the Mayflower landed in Massachusetts. But we see from this, that the tradition of the immigrant ancestor being named William Meeks was still strong in 1920. Of course, William (b.1848) could have gotten his information from his great uncle Dr. Priddy Meeks. They would've known each other and William's father is mentioned multiple times in Dr. Priddy's journal. One important fact about this information however is William (b.1848) gave us a name of William's wife, Sarah. No other document or oral history can tell us that.

There is another oral tradition that survived through the family of Athe Meeks Jr. about the first William Meeks arriving in America:

“When the first William Meeks came to settle in what would become the United
States, he was single as were other men in the area, so they sent for women to
marry. When the boatload of women arrived in the New World, William looked all of
them over as they disembarked and chose the one who looked big and strong, like
she could do the most work. Supposedly, she was something like six feet tall, with
stately bearing and red hair, and she was carrying a small chest or trunk”

I obtained this story from "The Life and Times of Dr. Priddy Meeks and his Progenitors", written by Lenora Meeks. Lenora referenced this quote as from “Patty Bracken, An Amalgam of Family Folklore", which is a book or a paper that I have yet to find.

This is an interesting story because it matches historical events in Virginia in 1619 and 1620, where bride ships came from England to provide wives for the mostly male settlers. The problem is, bride ships didn't happen after 1620.

So did William Meeks arrive in Virginia before 1620? That seems unlikely since he doesn't appear on any of the census records taken in Virginia a few years later. But we do find settlers with the last name of Meeks throughout Virginia starting in the 1640s. So anything is possible.

Any William Meeks born before 1680 will be too old to be Dr. Priddy Meeks great grandfather. But since there's a real good possibility that a generation was skipped, we are looking at a possibility range of William arriving in these shores anytime between 1620 and 1720, a huge window. Personally, I think it happened after 1650. Strictly looking at land records, there is some reason to believe that Dr. Priddy's great grandfather is named John Meeks, the proof of this is weak, but stronger than his name being William.

Next Post: Before Goochland County

The Family of the Immigrant Ancestor

Meeks Family Saga
To start the search of who my immigrant ancestor is, I will first present the general information of the descendants of the immigrant. The oldest provable member of this family is William Meeks, born around 1725 in Virginia. Anyone older than him has not been proven. Those whom we can confidently call his children are Priddy, Athe, Jesse and Susannah. We can confidently say that William had a brother named John, who also lived in Virginia. It is likely that the children of John are: Martin, John, Candace, Littleton, and Nacy. The descendants of this family are found all over the United States by the 1870's. However, only the families of Priddy, Athe, Littleton, and Nacy have well documented genealogies.
Priddy Meeks settled in Kentucky, with his descendants remaining in Kentucky, or moving onto Indiana, Illinois and Arkansas.
Athe Meeks settled in Indiana, with his descendants staying in Indiana, or moving on to Illinois, Arkansas, Utah and California. I am the fourth great grandchild of Athe Meeks.
Littleton Meeks settled in Georgia and has descendants all over the south, including Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.
Nacy Meeks settled in Mississippi and also has descendants all over the south, including Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.
DNA testing has added a wealth of information on the family, the most important of which is our connection to a wealthy Meek family from Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland. This family has a good paper trail back to the 1660's. Members of this family mostly stayed in Scotland. Also from DNA testing is a Meek family that immigrated from Edinburgh Scotland to Canada in the 1830's.
It has been a long goal of mine to figure out who the Meek(s) ancestor was that first stepped foot on the shores of America. Though we might never figure out who it is, with enough information, we might be able to paint a halfway descent picture of where he was from, and when he came here.

Next Post: The Oral Tradition