0028. John Meader (1741 - 1808) Gender: M
Born: 1741
Died: 1808
0028. John Meader (1741 - 1808)
John Meader, son of John Meader (1713-1797) [0012] and Hannah Stewart (1736-1798), was born on Nantucket August 11, 1741 and died March 8, 1808, in his 67th year.
He followed the sea for several years. He left Nantucket in 1762, when he was 21, and settled in London, England, where he married Mary Hoeg, daughter of Martin (or Matthew) Hoeg and Elizabeth Tremaine, a lady of great wealth and cultivation. This may possibly be the Hoag family which returned to England from Hampton, NH. [See They Were Here, Too, III, 645.] Her parents, at first opposed to the marriage, were later reconciled to it.
The first part of John Meader's life in England was spent in study, but the sea life and the desire for wealth made a sea captain of him. He usually sailed out of London in his own ships.
In 1795, with his son John, he visited his father, who still lived on Nantucket. He had returned to buy a place to settle, but instead he bought a vessel in Boston and returned to England that year. While here he visited and was anxious to purchase the "Meader lands," but as they were no longer owned by the family he abandoned the idea. He wrote his uncle Moses Wyer Meader[0014] on the subject:
“Dear Uncle, Although we have never seen each other it may not be displeasing to inform you that I saw my father John Meader at Nantucket the 8th inst. He is as well as a man of his years could be expected, and when I was there he informed me that his father [Joseph, 5] died without a will, and there was some lands depending, and asked me to see after them, for which I yesterday overhauled the records and found my Grandfather Joseph had given his all to you and to my Uncle Joseph [0015], which was since sold to different people, so it's out of all dispute ever coming into the family again. Was it, I would gladly purchase it to revive again the name of John Meader, which is my, and my only son's, name.
“We are both pleased with the situation of the Meader lands, and should chance and time put it in our power to purchase this estate, it would give us pleasure.
“I left Nantucket in the year 1762, and have been easterly most of the time, settled in London, and came over this season to provide a place to settle in, but having purchased a ship in Boston, which awaits my return before she can sail, prevents my calling on you and my other friends which I would have been happy to have seen.
Portsmouth Your affectionate nephew,
17th June 1795 John Meader”
Pecuniary troubles and the fear that England might be invaded by the French induced John Meader to return to America about 1800, when he purchased a pleasant farm in Greenland, Rockingham, NH, a few miles from Portsmouth and near to the original Meader lands. He lived very handsomely, keeping up the farm with the assistance of laborers. It is supposed that during his 1798 visit in England he possessed himself of the coat of arms. It could not have been his own, for the crescent in the shield shows it to be owned by and designating the second son, and John Meader was the oldest son
On one of John Meader's whaling voyages, about 1791, at Walwich Bay [not in atlas] he fell in with a ship commanded by Captain Black of Providence, RI. One of the crew was John Meader's nephew Francis [0077], son of Francis Meader [0030], who had left Edgartown on his first voyage. He was 17. His uncle took him on board his own vessel, installed him as boat steerage officer and took him to England.
Another nephew, Reuben Cleveland, son of John Meader's sister Charity [0029], after sailing with his uncle Nicholas Meader [0035] in the West Indian trade, went to his uncle John in London, probably sailing from that port on whaling voyages.
"Aunt Mary," wife of "Rich John" Meader, lost her mind and died in 1807. At the time of their move to this country he was counted to be worth $100,000 besides several city houses in London. His real estate having depreciated in value, the family hoped to reduce expenses by coming to America. The hasty purchase of a farm in Greenland was not considered judicious. This, with other investments of a varied character, also eventually tended to pecuniary embarrassment.
A few years previous to 1808, a man named Alden, minister of the South Church in Portsmouth, conceived a plan of making salt from river water [ed: but must mean tidewater]. He secured the assistance of friends who had capital, including John Meader, formed a company and erected buildings, windmills, etc. on the Kittery side of the Piscataqua. The project was a disaster. After a short time the operations were stopped, and the property went to ruin.
John Meader died of an apoplectic fit while assisting his laborers in the fields. His brother Nicholas [0035], living in Nantucket, went immediately to Greenland, NH. After the burial it was deemed advisable to arrange all business matters right away, as John Meader's daughter Agnes Elizabeth Meader Major, was then in London and the journey for Nicholas was not easily accomplished.
Everything was sold. Nicholas purchased some of the effects and probably secured the coat of arms.
John Meader made his last visit to England in 1805. He retained strong English feelings and secured his servants and carriages from London. It was said he always lived in fear of the Indians. He was buried in the "Meader burying ground" in Greenland, NH, but the inscription on his gravestone had become defaced by 1900 owing to the softness of the material. His heirs were his two children, as shown by his will. The records of Rockingham County show the following:
Administration papers were granted on the Estate of John Meader, March 21, 1808, to Nicholas his brother, and Clement March of Greenland, NH. Property returned was
Homestead in Greenland $ 1,400.
Land opposite dwelling house 160.
Wild land in Wendell 90.
Four wharves in Portsmouth,
Salt works,
Hay scales and bldgs. 448.
Two acres of peat ground 50.
$ 2,148.
The children of John Meader and Mary Hoeg were:
1345 i. John Meader, born in London and died in New York City.
0076 ii. Agnes Elizabeth Meader, born in 1781 and died September 17, 1871.