Identity of John’s Wife
One wife of John Lewis is widely reported to have been Jane (Lewis) Meriwether, daughter of Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether, widow of Thomas Meriwether, son of William Meriwether and Elizabeth Bushrod. The Jane Lewis who married Thomas is proven to be the daughter of Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether; however, Thomas did not die until 1792, having remarried and removed to Georgia. His first wife, Jane, was never a widow and could not have married John Lewis.

Others maintain she was the widow of Richard Meriwether, brother of Thomas. There is no evidence that Richard ever married; he died in 1766 while serving with the British Army in Ireland. Since John and Jane Lewis supposedly married about 1751, Jane could not have been the widow of Richard, either.

So, did John married a Jane Lewis or a Jane Meriwether? One likely candidate for the latter is Jane Meriwether, sister of Thomas and Richard. This would explain the confusion where she was thought to be the widow of one of them. Jane was named in the 1743 Will of her grandfather, Nicholas Meriwether II, but nothing else is known about her.

Given the appearance of “Meriwether” in the names of some of the grandchildren of John Lewis and his wife Jane, it seems likely there is a Meriwether connection.

At this time The Meriwether Society is tentatively identifying Jane Lewis, wife of John Lewis, as Jane Meriwether, daughter of William Meriwether and Elizabeth Bushrod. There is only circumstantial evidence of this relationship, however.

She is named in the 1743 will of her grandfather, Nicholas II: "Jane Meriwether,… Daughters of William Meriwether…." No further information.

Could she be the “Jane Meriwether” who supposedly married John Lewis?

See: #353 Jane Lewis

She is said by some to be Jane Lewis, daughter of Col. Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether, and therefore the widow of Capt. Thomas Meriwether. NHM considers this unlikely. 307

WRG states that she was the widow of Thomas Meriwether’s brother Richard. As Richard did not die until 1766, this also seems unlikely.

PP and GK also state that she was the widow of Richard Meriwether and that her name was Mildred, sister of Jane. (Mildred married John Lewis, son of Joseph Lewis.)

Finally, even if she is Jane, daughter of Robert Lewis & Jane Meriwether, it is questionable that she was the mother of any of the children of John. Data indicate all of John’s children were born while it is known that Jane was still married to Thomas.

Anther possibility is she is Jane Meriwether, daughter of William Meriwether and Elizabeth Bushrod.

John Lewis obtained permission from the House of Burgesses to dispose of the Byrd Plantation and reinvest the money in land on Dan River in Pittsylvania County and Halifax County. His home was in Pittsylvania County. The date of his removal is not known, but it is before the Revolutionary War. 318

In his will he mentions his son, John Lewis, and three daughters: Mary Williams, Jane Read, Elizabeth Hopson.

MARR: AB-CTK p. 404 states his wife was Mildred Lewis, dau. of Robert Lewis & Jane Meriwether. 319 This is not correct, as Mildred married John Lewis, the son of Joseph Lewis. And another sister, Ann, married John Lewis, “The Honest Lawyer”.

Could he have married Jane Meriwether, daughter of William Meriwether & Elizabeth Bushrod?

John Lewis 308

5 John Lewis oldest son of "Charles of Byrd" and his wife Mary Howell, was born about 1720, or perhaps earlier, as his parents were married 1717. Of the early history of this John Lewis we have no definite account, and it is not until 1769, or when he was at least 49 years old, that he appears distinctively on the records. At this period of the Lewis family, there were so many by the name of John that it was difficult to distinguish one from the other, when their names appeared in a general way. John Lewis married his cousin Jane Meriwether, daughter of Col. Robert Lewis of Belvoir, and widow of Thomas Meriwether. It is very probable, indeed, almost certain that this John was married twice, though neither the records nor tradition sustain this conclusion, but the circumstances point very strongly in that direction. The first husband of Jane Lewis was living in 1765 when John Lewis was 45 years old, and very few men of that period lived to this age without marrying.

Mr. Alexander Brown, author of the "Cabels and their Kin,” insists that this was the Major John Lewis referred to in the will of Robert of Belvoir, and that he was the husband of Mildred at the time the will was written, and that he married Jane Lewis, the widow of Thomas Meriwether after the death of Mildred; but this is mere conjecture for which there is no authority, and besides, there can be no doubt that the husband of Mildred was the son of Joseph Lewis.

The most authentic account we have of this John Lewis is based upon generally accepted traditions, against which there is no proof, and is sustained by such conclusive circumstances that it is accepted as history. That he married Jane Lewis of Belvoir, daughter of Col. Robert Lewis, and widow of Thomas Meriwether, there can be no doubt.

As will be seen from the will of this John Lewis, written 1791, he left six children, three sons and three daughters. The sons were all twenty-one years old when the will was written, as they were all appointed Executors, and the daughters were all married. The names of the children were, John, Charles, Robert, Jane Read, Mary Williams, and Elizabeth Hopkins, all married. We have the partial record of Mary Williams and Jane Read, also of Charles and Robert Lewis.

John Lewis (Fifth Generation) 105

(1) John Lewis, 1720-1794, m. Jane Lewis. She is said to have been the widow of Thomas Meriwether. This is doubtful. Records from South Carolina show that Thomas Meriwether, as a widower, married a second time. Jane Lewis, who married Thomas Meriwether, was a daughter of Col. Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether. There were many Lewis families living in Virginia, and three of these Lewis families had a daughter named Jane. I don't want to deny that John Lewis m. Jane Lewis, I only insist that the Jane Lewis he married was NOT a daughter of Col. Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether. A number of genealogists have struggled with the marriage of John Lewis to Jane Lewis—and in trying to explain the difficulties have merely raised new ones.

Thomas Meriwether, b. circa 1718, son of William Meriwether and Elizabeth Bushrod, is given as the husband of Jane Lewis, daughter of Col. Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether, and their children are accounted for elsewhere in this volume—Chapter XL In records sent me from Columbia, S. C , Jane (Lewis) Meriwether died before her husband, and Thomas Meriwether married again.

That John Lewis married Jane Lewis, daughter of Col. Robert Lewis, has too many conjectures in view of the records from South Carolina. I believe that another Jane Lewis—either as a widow or as a single person—married John Lewis.

From: "michael neal" <m1chaelneal@hotmail.com>
To: <MERIWETHER-L@rootsweb.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2001 9:49 PM
Subject: Jane Lewis

William and Mary Quarterly page 382 and 383:
57 John[5] Lewis, Eldest son of Col. Charles 5 Lewis, of "The Byrd," moved to Pittsylvania county, where his will was probated July 21, 1794. He married his Cousin, Jane Lewis, daughter of his Uncle, Robert Lewis, of Albemarle (and Jane Meriwether, his wife), and widow of Thos. Meriwethrr. Issue named in his will, three sons and three daughters.
>
> Is this still doubtfull? NHM page 494

>
> mn

There is more to this than I realized! It goes on to name the children:

1. John Lewis, bachelor
2. Robert Lewis, married Anna Ragland, and had Capt, John Willis Lewis, of Milton, N. C.
3. Charles Lewis married Garthrey Johns and had issue: Nicholas Meriwether Lewis, who married Lucy Bullock (NO CHILDREN). and Lucy Meriwether Lewis that married Dr. Ajax Walker (son of Robert Walker and Grandson of Baylor Walker) of King and Queen. Walker children:
(1) Nicholas Lewis Walker, married Emily F. Hunt
(2) Nancy Ajax Walker, married Owens
(3) Fielding Lewis Walker, who married Penelope Cambell Wilson, has Issue, sons and Daughters living in Danville, Va.
4. Jane Lewis, married Jonathan Read, son of Clement Read, whose grandaughter , Mrs. Nannie Watkins, lives at Milbank, Va.
5. Mary, married Capt. William Williams,
6. Elizabeth Lewis, married Hopson but left no issue.

Well how much of this is true? mn

John Lewis 307

“John Lewis married Jane Lewis. She is said to be the widow of Thomas Meriwether. This is doubtful. Records from South Carolina show that Thomas Meriwether, as a widower, married a second time. Jane Lewis, who married Thomas Meriwether, was a daughter of Col. Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether. There were many Lewis families living in Virginia, and three of these Lewis families had a daughter named Jane. I don’t want to deny that John Lewis m. Jane Lewis, I only insist that the Jane Lewis he married was NOT a daughter of Col. Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether. A number of genealogists have struggled with the marriage of John Lewis to Jane Lewis — and in trying to explain the difficulties have merely raised new ones.

Thomas Meriwether, b. circa 1718, son of William Meriwether and Elizabeth Bushrod, is given as the husband of Jane Lewis, daughter of Col. Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether, and their children are accounted for elsewhere in this volume — Chapter XI. In records sent me from Columbia, S. C., Jane (Lewis) Meriwether died before her husband, and Thomas married again. That John Lewis married Jane Lewis, daughter of Col. Robert Lewis, has too many conjectures in view of the records from South Carolina. I believe that another Jane Lewis — either as a widow or as a single person — married John Lewis.” [NHM]

p. 438
In all records given by Louisa H. A. Minor [Thomas Meriwether] is presumed to have “died young” and his widow, Jane (Lewis) Meriwether married 2nd her cousin John Lewis, son of Charles Lewis “of the Byrd.” This John Lewis was born 1720. It is also recorded that John Lewis and Jane (Lewis) Meriwether, the widow of Thomas, had seven children,

John Lewis & Jane 320,77

“At the time of marriage to Jane (bet 1766 and 1770), she was the widow of Thomas Meriwether, and probably John had been married before.”

In 1770 an Act of Assembly mentioned “the three younger children of John Lewis,” implying that by this time he had at least three children.

The Will of John Lewis, written 1790, names as executors all three of his sons, so they must have been born no later than 1769 to have been of age to act as executors. One of his daughters, Jane, married 1776, was obviously born six years before the death of Thomas Meriwether (ed: abt 1768, according to PLF), and so most probably this alone points to an earlier marriage.

See Cook p. 212321 and Sorley p. 301-305322