Thomas Meriwether
© The Meriwether Society, Inc.

Thomas Meriwether was born about 1713, the first child of David Meriwether and Anne Holmes. He was a large landowner, obtaining most of his holdings from the bequests of his grandfather, Nicholas Meriwether II. He was prominent in local politics, being one of the Justices of Louisa County, and numbered among his friends Peter Jefferson, father of Thomas Jefferson; Col. Robert Lewis who married his aunt Jane Meriwether (and, later, Thomas’s widow); and Dr. Thomas Walker, who married his cousin Nicholas Meriwether’s widow, Mildred (Thornton) Meriwether and who was also the sister of his wife Elizabeth Thornton.

Thomas married Elizabeth Thornton, daughter of Col. Francis Thornton and Mary Taliaferro. They had 11 known children: Nicholas, Francis, David, Mary Elizabeth, Sarah, Anne, Lucy, Mildred, Thomas and Jane.

Through his daughter Lucy, Thomas was the grandfather of Capt. Meriwether Lewis, co-leader of the Corp of Discovery.

Birth
The birth date of about 1713 is based on an analysis of land deeds indicating when Thomas became active as an adult. Most genealogies have abt 1714/1715.

Death
Thomas signed his will in 1754, the day and month being illegible. The will was recorded on 25 June 1757. Thomas and Elizabeth had two children after 1754, Thomas Jr. who died about a day old and Jane, born April 1757. Since Thomas does not seem to have written an addendum to his will to cover Jane, it is probable he died well before her birth, so late 1756 or early 1757.

Burial
One source claims he is buried at the Jordan Family Cemetery near Monticello. It seems probable he was buried in the Meriwether Burial Ground where his father and grandfather were buried.

Will of Thomas Meriwether
Will dated: __ ___ 1754
Witnesses: John Davis, Robert Martin, James Maury, Tho. Merewether.
Executors: Joshua Fry, Peter Jefferson (father of President Thomas Jefferson), Dr. Thomas Walker and John Thornton.
Will recorded: 25 June 1757, Louisa County, Virginia

Note that Thomas consistently used the spelling “Merewether” in his will.

Names and relationship of those mentioned in the will:

Merewether, Elizabeth; wife.
Merewether, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Ann, Lucy, Mildred; daughters.
Merewether, Nicholas, Francis Francis, David; sons.

Brown, James; purchased land from Thomas

Not mentioned: son Thomas and daughter Jane, both born after Will was signed.

Full transcript found in The Meriwethers and Their Connections by Nelson Heath Meriwether, 1964, pp. 73-76.

Thomas Meriwether & Elizabeth Thornton 70
Nelson Heath Meriwether

The marriage of Thomas Meriwether and Elizabeth Thornton brought together two families who were well established in the political and governing groups in Virginia from 1699 to 1744, and both families held great tracts of land, and from 1744 until after the Revolution several counties were largely populated by these two families. Their close ties with many of the famous names of the Revolution gave them a secure position for many years in the political, economic and social life in Virginia. All of these families and their allied lines were not only landowners who saw to the management of their plantations with its myriad details of management and marketing, but whose duties, both husband and wife, was equally to supervise their slaves as well as look to their general well-being. It has been the custom of many to regard the planter class as one who had no duties other than to live graciously and entertain on a lavish scale. Only a little cursory reading of old letters and historical accounts of the work- a-day world of the owner and his wife on these plantations reveal that the mistress of such an establishment was the first to arise and the last to retire; she it was who carried the keys to the larder and who delegated the tasks of the day for the immediate household. It might be the duty of their slaves to do the actual work of cooking, washing, cleaning, but always there was the guiding hand for direction and ad- vice and the settlement of the jealousies that arose between the cook and other domestics.

The master of such a plantation, to be successful, might have the advantage of an overseer; but the management of the land, what crops to be planted and when, tending and harvesting the crops, all found their way to the plantation owner, to say nothing of his decisions as affecting the placement of his slaves to various duties on the plantation—which above the regular agricultural pursuits-had a carpenter and blacksmith shop. There was never a successful operation of these landed estates that did not have a knowledgeable and hard-working owner at its head.

The Thomas Meriwether operation was such a one as has been described. As his family increased and grew to maturity the sons were trained for managerial duties at home, as were their sisters, to assume their duties in the management of a home. Because of Thomas's large holding he was able to provide all of his sons with great plantations when they married, which was usually at an early age. Thomas also gave several of his daughters plantations at the time of their marriages. He had about 9,000 acres in his several estates. By the time of his death in 1756 this holding had dwindled to 3,000 acres through his gifts of land to his children.