Very little is known about Ann, other than she was a widow at the time she married Thomas. The name of her first husband, a Mr. Durret or Durrett, is not known. An agreement was signed by the couple on 23 Jan 1782 whereby each gave up any claim to the other’s estate.

The birth date of daughter Ann is either incorrect or she is not the daughter of Ann or Thomas. It’s possible that she was a daughter of Ann and her Durrett husband.

Check PPP for marriage of Ann Yancey.

Ana Starr (AnaStarr46@gmail.com
1 May 2012
Postem Note on Ann Durret's page. (I25936)

Ann Durrett was the widow Durrett when she married Thomas. I have had no luck in finding out her maiden name or who her Durrett husband was. The Colonial Durretts were seated in Caroline & Spotsylvania - Halifax Co was far from any known Durrett home.

Halifax Co., Va. Deed Book 12, page 3 - dated 23 Jan 1782 & recorded 19 Sep 1782. Whereas a marriage is shortly intended between Thomas Merriweather & Ann Durrett, each agrees to give up any claim to the others estate, now or later.

Wit: John Lewis, Charles Taylor, William Taylor

Birth Year
Published records, such as WRG, have stated that Thomas Meriwether was b. 1708. [NHM] believe[s] the confusion has arisen over another Thomas Meriwether, son of William’s brother David. There are complications in the early records of three men named Thomas Meriwether.” NHM p. 430. see page for additional clarification. 105

Lineage and Residence

NMII's will and the deeds cited by NHM make it certain that Thomas was the son of William (M121) and that he was married to Jane Lewis, daughter of Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether as late as Oct 1767 (the date of the deed that disposed of Jane's inheritance.) Two of the deeds in NHM were dated Oct 1766 and the other Oct 1767 - makes one wonder whether there was a transcription error. It would appear that Thomas and Jane were selling out and moving somewhere. It may be they had other land but they sold over 4,000 acres. It appears from the processing records that Thomas (known as Thomas Meriwether, Jr. to distinguish him from his cousin, Thomas Meriwether (M1221)) was living on his 2,331a Mountain Tract as late as 1764, so he was selling his home plantation. Did they go south this early? Should be some land records in South Carolina to establish that.

Revolutionary War Service

Thomas served at Yorktown:
"Coll. Meriwether who reliev'd me to day had three Men wounded this afternoon." (William & Mary Quarterly, Series 3, Vol. 5 (1948), p. 385.

He was frequently mentioned in connection with a Frenchman, Maj. Declumer.

From Virginia Revolutionary Pension Applications by John Frederick Dorman

John Connelly, pension application S.30345, 18 Nov 1839, Nelson County, Kentucky

John Connelly of said county declares he was born in Virginia on 22 Aug 1757. In 1777 he lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, and on 01 Sep 1777 he volunteered and joined the company of Captain Benjamin Moody, Lt. William Daniel and Ens. John Hunter under Col. John Gilpin, Maj. James Wren and Col. Lumley. He served three months and on 01 Dec 1777 left the army and returned home. He rendezvoused at Alexandria, Virginia, and marched to Georgetown, Maryland, and then to Yorktown and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and then on the Schuylkill River where they were dismissed and returned home.

In 1781 he lived in Loudoun County, Virginia, and in July was drafted for three months in the company of Captain John Linton, Lt. William Debell and Ens. Francis Adams under Col. George Summers and Maj. Risby who took command when they rendezvoused at West’s Town in Loudoun County. They marched to Malvern Hill where they joined the brigade of Gen. Stephens and where Col. Summers and Maj. Risby were released from any further command. Thomas Merriweather and William Hardyman took command in their place. They marched to the old magazine near Williamsburg, then to the encampment called Springfield, and there were dismissed and returned home in October 1781.

^BIRTH **From NHM; WRG has 1708; EGH has Albemarle Co. which did not exist until 1744.

On page 435, NHM attributes information on descendants of Thomas Meriwether and Jane Lewis to Mrs. Robert Lee Meriwether [9657].

GA Archives:

Plat 2759D Thomas Meriwether
7 Feb 1785 150 acres

Plat 2752A Meriweather
7 Feb 1785 300 Acres Savannah River; Little River

“Note: Attention should be called to the fact that the second marriage of Thomas Meriwether (b. 1718) is debatable. In all records given by Louisa H. A. Minor he 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 Jane (Lewis) Meriwether, the widow of Thomas, had seven children. I have listed the second marriage of Thomas Meriwether because records in South Carolina existed, or must be presumed to exist, inasmuch as these early records were copied by William A. Meriwether, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, and given by him to members of his family." NHM p. 438 304

!MARR2 Halifax Co. DB-12-229. (Prentice Price Papers)

^MARR2 Could have been Ann Yancy, dau. of Charles Yancy (MEM); PPP shows marriage record for Durret.

NHM 305

Now for our third Thomas Meriwether. The listing of his birth, 1708, as the third child of William and Elizabeth Bushrod Meriwether seems to be in error, unless all data presented for these early families are discarded. I believe enough evidence and factual material has been shown for the first two Nicholases, in the early chapters of this volume, to establish some definite dates for their careers. The background of the Crawford data point also to the marriage of Nicholas Meriwether II to Elizabeth Crawford in 1688. Their first child, David, was born 1690, and named for his grandfather David Crawford. Their third son, William, was born 1692, married Elizabeth Bushrod. It is the third son of William and Elizabeth Bushrod Meriwether with whom we are concerned in this record: Thomas Meriwether, and the date of his birth. In her notes, Louisa H. A. Minor (1892) noted the marriage of William Meriwether and Elizabeth Bushrod as 1712-13, and that their first three children—sons—were: Nicholas, b. 1713-14, John, b. 1716, and Thomas, of the current record, as being born 1718. The published date showing Thomas as being born 1708 is evidently an error. It seems the more so, as William was only 20 in 1712 when he married Elizabeth Bushrod. Accepting the 1718 date for the birth of Thomas makes him 32 years old when he married Jane Lewis in 1750, instead of 42. I am inclined to believe that Thomas was born 1718, from the evidence cited.

Thomas Meriwether 306

(3) Thomas Meriwether, b. circa 1718, m. his first cousin Jane Lewis (daughter of Col. Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether) 1750.

(Some accounts say that Thomas Meriwether married Jane Walker, but records exist which tend to prove that he married Jane Lewis. The following excerpts from deeds is proof of Jane Lewis’ marriage to Thomas Meriwether):

“Albermarle Deed Book 4, p. 356, dated 22 October, 1767— Thomas Meriwether and Jane his wife—to Charles Lewis… for 225 lbs. (money) 1,000 acres—part of a tract patented by Robert Lewis and devised to his daughter Jane, the wife of sd. Thomas Meriwether… by his last will and test… land bounded on the land of Sarah Lewis, running to Mary Cobb’s corner… thence… etc… to William Lewis’s corner… up to Mechums River… deed signed by Thomas Meriwether and by Jane Meriwether… witnessed by Mary Cobbs, Nicholas Lewis, Alex. (X) Glasby, and Charles Lewis.

“Other deeds in Book 4 show Thomas & Jane selling lands there that were inherited by Thomas Meriwether—particularly a piece from the LATE Richard Meriwether… (a son of William).”

“Albermarle Deed Book 4, p. 397—Oct. 27, 1766—Thomas Meriwether & Jane his wife to Thomas Walker… 2,331 acres in Albemarle… north side of the lands of Richard Beale, James Meriwether and John Sutton… south side of lands of John Walker purchased of John Lewis… said lands were granted Nicholas Meriwether by patent… and by him devised to the sd, Thomas Meriwether, etc.”

Note: Published records have stated that Thomas Meriwether was b. 1708. I believe the confusion has arisen over another Thomas Meriwether. There are complications in the early records of three men named Thomas Meriwether. For what I hope shall be clarification, each Thomas will be discussed in a separate paragraph:

The first Thomas, b. 1669(f), d. 1707 (a brother of Nicholas Meriwether II), married Susannah Armistead and had one daughter: Susannah Meriwether who married John Armistead. Thomas Meriwether died near Tappahannock, Essex Co., Va., 1707. His will was probated January 7, 1708. This date of probate was published by Louisa H. A. Minor in her genealogy of the Meriwether family in 1892. There is other evidence that this is so, inasmuch as his will is listed among those available in early Virginia records. This Thomas Meriwether was the uncle of our second and next- discussed Thomas. It is important to keep in mind that the Will of Thomas Meriwether (1669?-1707) was probated in 1708.

The candidate for our second Thomas is the second son of Nicholas Meriwether II and Elizabeth Crawford. He was born 1691 and was a brother of William (1692-1756). The only notation in Louisa H. A. Minor’s genealogy of 1892 is that he married and had one son: Nicholas, and then says “nothing further is known of him.”

Now for our third Thomas Meriwether. The listing of his birth, 1708, as the third child of William and Elizabeth Bushrod Meriwether seems to be in error, unless all data presented for these early families are discarded. I believe enough evidence and factual material has been shown for the first two Nicholases, in the early chapters of this volume, to establish some definite dates for their careers. The background of the Crawford data point also to the marriage of Nicholas Meriwether II to Elizabeth Crawford in 1688. Their first child, David, was born 1690, and named for his grandfather David Crawford. Their third son, William, was born 1692, married Elizabeth Bushrod. It is the third son of William and Elizabeth Bushrod Meriwether with whom we are concerned in this record: Thomas Meriwether, and the date of his birth. In her notes, Louisa H. A. Minor (1892) noted the marriage of William Meriwether and Elizabeth Bushrod as 1712-13, and that their first three children—sons—were: Nicholas, b. 1713-14, John, b. 1716, and Thomas, of the current record, as being born 1718. The published date showing Thomas as being born 1708 is evidently an error. It seems the more so, as William was only 20 in 1712 when he married Elizabeth Bushrod. Accepting the 1718 date for the birth of Thomas makes him 32 years old when he married Jane Lewis in 1750, instead of 42. I am inclined to believe that Thomas was born 1718, from the evidence cited.

It is not my province to settle or saddle a Thomas onto a family! Their records have been kept meticulously and they show Thomas, their ancestor, as marrying Jane Lewis in 1750. I do not think it amiss, though, to assign a later date for his birth. So, the record starting with Thomas Meriwether (third son of William Meriwether and Elizabeth Bushrod), b. 1718, m. Jane Lewis, his cousin, in 1750, seems correct. They had eight children…

Land Deeds

Halifax Co., Va. Deed Book 12, page 3 - dated 23 Jan 1782 & recorded 19 Sep 1782. Whereas a marriage is shortly intended between Thomas Merriweather & Ann Durrett, each agrees to give up any claim to the others estate, now or later.

Wit: John Lewis, Charles Taylor, William Taylor

Second Marriage 309

Note: Attention should be called to the fact that the second marriage of Thomas Meriwether (b. 1718) is debatable. In all records given by Louisa H. A. Minor he is presumed t( 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, I have listed the second marriage of Thomas Meriwether because records in South Carolina existed, or must be presumed to exist, inasmuch as these early records were copied by William A. Meriwether, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, and given by him to members of his family.

Only one other "out" exists, or so it seems to me: If the early settlers of the Meriwether family in South Carolina can come up with a Thomas Meriwether who m. Jane Lewis of the Waller and Zachary Lewis tribe, then we would have two Thomases who married two Jane Lewises!