Goochland County Records - Will of Nicholas Meriwether
Dated 21 July 1758

In the name of God Amen I being in my perfect sences and memory do make this my last Will and Testament my Body I give t o him that gave it to me, as to my worldly Estate I give as follows viz.

My will and Desire is that my tract of land lying in James City County Containing by Estimation six hundred acres be sold and the money to be applied towards paying of my debts likewise the Money that Majr. John Stark owes me be applyed to the same use.

I give and bequeath to my loving wife Eight negros Named Will Squire Hannah Judeth Naw Essix little Hannah and Mildred and the Tract of Land I bought of John Parrish in Goochland County also another small tract of land I Bought of my Brother William Meriwether whereon I now live which said lands I do make he a fee n so far she has Liberty and Authority to give it to any of my children as she shall think proper likewise the Negros and their Increase she may give to any of my children and such gift may be as good as if I had given them. I give her all Silver Spoons and I give he a childs part of all my household and kitchen furniture forever. — Also I give her my Riding Horse and my Young Mare and my riding Chaise to her and her heirs forever.

My will and desire is that after my Debts be paid that the remainder of my Estate be Equally divided among my three sons and daughter and if any die before they come to lawful age or Married then their part or parts to be equally Divided among the survivors likewise the negros that belongs to me of my Grandfathers estate which are in possession of my Grandmother I give to be Equally Divided among my children.

I give the land on the waters of the Masicipie which I have an order of Councel for to be Equally Divided among my four children and their heirs forever. My Will is that all the divisions be made by my Executors and my Estate be not brought to any appraisement. I do Constitute and appoint my Brother Frans, and William Meriwether and Col. Richard Johnson my Executors and my loving wife Frans. Meriwether Exer. of this my Last Will and Testament.

Signed with my hand and sealed with my seal this 21st day of Jany 1758.

Nicholas Meriwether (seal)

Signed in the presents of us Samuel Mosby, Thos. Clark, Townhill Johnson.

At a Court held for Goochland County July the 18th 1758. Samuel Mosby and Townhill Johnson, proved this writing to be the last Will and Testatment of Nicholas Meriwether deceased, which was admitted to record.

Teste Val. Wood Clerk
A Copy. Teste, P. G. Miller (Deputy Clerk) 106

^DEATH **RMDH has 1763. The WRG BL has "12th Day of May 1738", with a correction supposedly by Minor Meriwether to May 3 1758.4

Not sure what following means:
“WILL: (Albemarle Co.??) DB 7 p307, 18 Jul 1758. Dated 30 Jan 1758 and recorded in Goochland County, Va. 16 Jul 1758.”

Analysis of Will:
wife: Frances
Brothers: William and Francis (Sons of David Meriwether & Anne Holmes)
Children: three sons and a daughter, none named. (Reuben, George, Nicholas, Mary)
Gradfather - not named, but acknowledges gift of Negos held by Grandmother. (Nicholas Meriwether II and Elizabeth Crafford)

Col. Nicholas Meriwether (1719-1758) 107

NICHOLAS MERIWETHER (1719)-1758) AND FRANCES MORTON

(He was the third son of David Meriwether and Anne Holmes)

Nicholas Meriwether, b. Feb. 11, 1719/20, d. May 3, 1758. He m. Frances Morton about 1740. After his death she married Samuel Pryor. Frances Morton was listed as "Mary Frances Pryor" in Louisa H. A. Minor's genealogy in 1892. I cannot account for the Mary—but Miss Minor had given her the "Pryor" name as an understandable con- fusion of the records furnished her by members of the family in Maryland—who had not made clear that as the widow of Nicholas Meriwether (1719-1758) she had married Samuel Pryor Aug. 27, 1760. He died July 26, 1765. She was a sister of Joseph Morton and a half-sister of John Morton Jordan. Frances Morton by her marriage to Nicholas Meriwether had eight children, and by her second marriage she had one son. There is evidence that the estate she inherited from her husband Nicholas Meriwether was dissipated, as well as her inheritance from her half-brother John Morton Jordan. Later in life a trust fund was established by her Meriwether children for her support. From some sources in Kentucky it is asserted that Frances (Morton) Meriwether, as Mrs. Samuel Pryor, lived in Kentucky for a short period, but this has not been substantiated. However, it is certain that some of her grandchildren did settle in Kentucky, after the ill-fated attempt of her son George to emigrate to that state.

This Nicholas Meriwether had an interesting military career in the French and Indian Wars ("The Seven Years' War," or "The War of the Spanish Succession," or coin your own expression to suit the occasion). According to family history, there were two men named Nicholas Meriwether with General Braddock near present-day Pittsburgh (Ft. Duquesne) when that ill-fated general decided to resplendently array himself in a decorated red coat on the field of battle, making himself an even easier target for the redskins. Contrary to the advice given him by Indian-wise colonists, who were serving as aides and soldiers, he persisted in displaying a general's sartorial accouterments, to his undoing on July 9, 1755. It is too bad that the general was not familiar with fifth grade American history! Still recounting family history, Nicholas Meriwether (b. 1719) was along on the expedition with another Nicholas Meriwether (1736-1772) who was his nephew, a son of Thomas Meriwether. Down through the years the descendants of the younger Nicholas have claimed the honor for him of having borne the fatally wounded General Braddock off the field and to have received the red coat—from the General!

It was with some small shock to learn in 1962 that Nicholas—the uncle of my Nicholas—had descendants who claimed both the honor and the red coat. Mrs. Harry H. Vaughan (Margaret Pilcher) wrote me, sending along a note written by Mrs. Bessie Vaughan Baker, of Marshall, Missouri (1957), saying: "Grandfather Vaughan (Richard Cocke Vaughan) wrote this little sketch on the flyleaf of an old book, and I found it and copied it." The writing in the old book by R. C. Vaughan stated:

In 1754, during the French and Indian Wars, Braddock was Major General and was in America with 2000 British troops. They reached the Monongahela River in July 1755, forded the river twice, and were attacked by the French and Indians at Fort Duquesne. They were surrounded by the enemy, and after two hours of fighting, the remnants of the British Army had to retreat. General Braddock had four horses shot from under him, and, while trying to rally his men, he was mortally wounded. Washington was the only member of his staff uninjured; 477 men were killed or wounded. General Braddock fell into the arms of one of his staff—Colonel Nicholas Meriwether, who was my great-great grandfather. He came home, and General Braddock's sister, Lady Braddock, presented Col. Meriwether with a scarlet coat embroidered in gold as a token of regard. This was a relic and a curiosity, and was held in great veneration by the Meriwether family for many generations. Colonel Meriwether's son-in-law, Shadrach Vaughan, who was my great-grandfather, was one of Braddock's assistants, and for his services he received a grant of 6000 acres of land in Kentucky and Virginia. A lot of land patents signed by King George and also by Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia when the patent was issued, were no good.

Braddock was a brave man, but was called "foolhardy." The name on his land patent was signed by his guardian.

Signed: R. C. Vaughan, a descendant of Shadrach Vaughan.

The R. C. Vaughan who wrote the above account was Richard Cocke Vaughan, of Lexington, Missouri. He was born in Goochland Co., Va., July 30, 1813 and died in Lexington, Mo. Dec. 8, 1888. He was Brigadier General commanding the Tenth Military District of Missouri during the Civil War. He was the son of Nicholas Meriwether Vaughan and Anne Randolph Pleasants.

The land grant to Shadrach Vaughan mentioned above was signed by Thos. Jefferson Oct. 17, 1779 "according to the terms of the King of Great Britain's Proclamation of 1763"—evidently a confirmation of ownership under the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was sold in 1803 for the sum of $20,000.00 to Robert Carter Harrison.

Not a great deal remains to be said, other than to recount that the Vaughan ancestor has done his part to set their record straight, which is good Democratic doctrine! It should be noted further that the Nicholas Meriwether who provided the daughter Mary who married Shadrach Vaughan, was born 1719 and thus was thirty-six years old in 1755. My ancestor—the nephew Nicholas Meriwether—was born 1736 and was nineteen at the time of the set to at Ft. Duquesne. At this late date I will await with studied demeanor a release of the "White Paper" by the ever-alert British government, giving the names of those at the engagement in 1755.

Nicholas Meriwether and his wife Frances were of record in Louisa Co. Deed Book "D"—May 1, 1755, pp. 38-41: [Very long deed] . . . "Nicholas Meriwether, Gent'l., of Parish of St. Paul, County of Hanover, and Frances, his wife, with Henry Davis of Parish of St. Martin's to Charles Palmer of Parish of St. John, County of King William, for 17£, 5 s., 362 acres in Fredericksville Parish, Louisa County [etc., described].
Signed: Nicholas Meriwether, Gent'l., Frances Meriwether, Henry (X) Davis.
Witnesses: James Maury, Ben Brown, John Hawkins."

Note the following deed from Louisa Co. Deed Book "B"—26 Aug. 1755, p. 265: "Nicholas Meriwether of County of Hanover, Gent'l., and Frances, his wife, for 300£, to John Moor 1,720 acres in Louisa County [described].
Signed: Nicholas Meriwether, Frances Meriwether.
Witnesses: Robert Jennings, Bartelot Anderson, John Woodall, Richard Foster."

Thus between May 1 and Aug. 26, 1755, Nicholas Meriwether had to make a hurried trip to Ft. Duquesne and return to Louisa County, Va. I am willing to wager only that he had a fast horse! (NHM)

Nicholas Meriwether & Gen. Braddock 108

He served as a Colonel on the staff of Major General Edward Braddock in the French & Indian Wars. In June, 1755, the general was mortally wounded near Ft. Duquesne, near present day Pittsburg, and reportedly fell into Col. Meriwether’s arms. Upon Nicholas’ return, General Braddock’s sister, Lady Braddock, presented Col. Meriwether with a scarlet coat embroidered in gold as a token of regard. A nephew of Col. Nicholas, Nicholas Meriwether (1736-1772), the son of Thomas Meriwether & Elizabeth Thornton, was also present at the battle and for many years his descendants mistakenly thought he was the recipient of the coat. (According to Richard Cocke Vaughan).

Nicholas Meriwether & Gen. Braddock 109

In Louisa H. A. Minor’s history and records of the family she mentions that Nicholas Meriwether “was one of the colonels of the Virginia regiment attached to Braddock’s army, who bore the wounded General from the field of battle after his defeat near Pittsburgh, Pa., July 9, 1755. Gen. Gilmer has told of the laced military coat sent him (Meriwether) from Ireland by General Braddock’s sister.”

Interestingly enough, and quite by coincidence, in 1962, a letter sent me by Margaret Vaughan (Mrs. Harry H.), told the story of the “red coat” given to Col. Nicholas Meriwether by Gen. Braddock’s sister. There was just one flaw in the picture: The Col. Nicholas was not my Nicholas!
Down through the generations this story has stood the test of time. Every schoolboy has heard the story of the resplendent general, his troops almost as magnificently decked out as he, going onto the field, a fair target for all the Indians, and French. If the General had only had fifth-grade American history he would have known better than to venture out on that field!

Down through those same generations the story has come down through my branch of the Meriwether family that it was our Nicholas who helped drag the General off the field and that Nicholas got the red coat from the General’s sister. Now that a new claimant has entered the field (for the coat), in the interest of fairness it is only just to say that there were two Nicholas Meriwethers available at the time. My Nicholas, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Thornton, was nearly nineteen years of age at the time. The other Nicholas Meriwether, a son of David and Anne Holmes, born 1719, was 36. This Nicholas was the uncle of my Nicholas. At first glance it would seem that the elder Nicholas had more claim to being a colonel in the Vir- ginia regiment; but this is not necessarily so. It was the custom in those early days for interested individuals to furnish supplies and horses for the mounted troops, and many young men of means did just that; as a consequence they were either given or assumed titles of command that reflected their contributions which were denied those serving under ordinary conditions.

Service by the Colonists in the Army was not a matter that was referred to a political body; the rules were carefully set down for each of the planters to furnish a certain number of troops for disposal by the Commanding General sent by England—and these additions to his army were generally sons of prominent families, who had the freedom to go and in a great many cases were not heads of families. Such then was my Nicholas's opportunity. He was desirous of advancing his service in the Colonial government; his father Thomas had the where- withal to outfit the troops and Nicholas, free of family obligations, could assume command as a Colonel.

His uncle Nicholas Meriwether was the head of a family; his growing family were all under 12 years of age and while he would have been eligible under all other conditions, there remains only his cares of home and the management of a plantation to dissuade him from being in “Pittsburgh” on July 9, 1755. The rolls of service show this older Nicholas to have furnished, over several years, animals for the “mounted” troop, and also “provender” during the years 1744 through 1756, and it seems a reasonable assumption that he would not have felt that he should serve in a personal capacity. There is always the sneaking suspicion that if he is finally declared to be the recipient of the General’s Coat that he might have been glad of an opportunity to be away from home!

The one thing that can be stated with certainty is that there was a red coat—and that a Nicholas Meriwether—received it from the General’s sister.

One item remains to be cleared up—Governor Gilmer, who wrote so entertainingly of the Gilmers and Meriwethers in North Georgia— was referring to which Nicholas when he wrote “First Settlers” around 1842? Lacking the Rolls concerning the service of Braddock’s colonial recruits, there is no positive answer to the interesting question posed.

One wants to believe that Louisa H. A. Minor knew what she was talking about in 1892; also, indubitably, Richard C. Vaughan, cer- tainly felt that he was giving history as he had always heard it. I am absolutely willing to credit each with honesty and sincerity in each of their accounts. The abjuration of "neither a lender nor a borrower be" poses a fine line of distinction here, and I am glad that the issue is only a coat!

After the death of Nicholas, she married Dr. Samuel Prior/Pryor on 27 Aug 1760 in Goochland County; they were the parents of one son, Samuel (1762–1812). Dr. Prior died in 1765. Son Samuel married Sally Drumwright in 1791.

^DEATH ARR has Dec 1772, but she is mentioned in the will of her son, George, dated 7 Jul 1775.