Lt. William Lewis
© The Meriwether Society, Inc. (Edy Macdonald)

William Lewis of “Locust Hill”, Albemarle County, VA ~1735-14 Nov 1779. Son of Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether (M128). Married Lucy Meriwether (1752-1837), daughter of Capt. Thomas Meriwether and Elizabeth Thornton. William was the father of explorer Meriwether Lewis.

He was the 3rd signer of the Albemarle County Declaration of Independence 1779. He died of pneumonia after swimming his horse across the rain swollen Rivanna River in winter as he hastened home on furlough (sic - wasn’t he returning to duty AFTER being on furlough?). Died and is buried at “Clover Fields” plantation east of Charlottesville.

Birth
William's birth date is not known and references range from 1733 to 1748. Based on original documents, GMB has stated he and brother Charles were born between 27 Apr 1734 and 1 Sep 1736. This is consistent with a number of references; NHM, for instance, uses 1735. His headstone, however, erected by the DAR many years after his death, has 1748.

William is not mentioned by Nicholas Meriwether II in 1734 when he provides money to purchase slaves for children of Robert Lewis. Nor is he mentioned in the will, dated 12 Dec 1743. He is mentioned in the 1757 will of Robert Lewis, in statements that perhaps imply that he was at or over the age of 21.

His wife Lucy was born in 1752, so the 1748 date on his headstone is more consistent than a 1736 date. There is no mention in the records of William, Lucy and their famous son Meriwether Lewis that William was 16+ years older than Lucy. There is also no evidence that William had a previous marriage, which might have accounted for such an age difference.

Thomas Jefferson stated that William was the fourth and youngest son of Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether. Unfortunately, Robert and Jane had five known sons, so either he was not the youngest or he was not the fourth son.

Military Service, American Revolution

1st Lieutenant in Albemarle Militia that Marched toward Williamsburg July 1775 to confront Lord Dunsmore. Officer in Virginia Continental Line from 1776, stationed mainly in Yorktown area. He served the revolutionary military a total of 7 years and 1 month. (sic - how could he have served 7 years if he died in 1779? jmo).

Death Date of William Lewis
NHM on P511 gives dates of 1730-1780, on P580 gives dates of 1735-1784. DSM gives date of death as 14 Nov 1779 and states that the date on the gravestone (1748-1780) is incorrect. ____ gives death as 17 Nov 1781. NHM references military records that indicate he was taken prisoner at the fall of Charleston in 1780. DSM & SA state he died while on leave after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown (19 Oct 1781). (Further thought: in 1779, British patrols would have been heavy in the area. After Cornwallis' surrender, they would have been almost non-existent! This argues against the 1781 date)

Current conclusion: Based on the deposition by Lucy that he died in 1779 and she remarried in 1780, and the existence of the 1780 inventory of his estate, the Keeper of the TMSI Data Base will use 14 Nov 1779 as his date of death until evidence to the contrary is found. This, of course, ignores the depositions stating that he was at Yorktown in 1781.

• Lucy Meriwether is the 1C1R* of Lt. William Lewis

Common Ancestor: Col. Nicholas Meriwether II & Elizabeth Crawford
• Grandparents of Lt. William Lewis
• G Grandparents of Lucy Meriwether