Esther Peck Mead Biography
Esther Peck was born on July 12, 1756 in Greenwich, the daughter of Captain Nathaniel Peck, Jr. (b. June 2, 1725; d. 1775, both in Greenwich) and Jerusha Curtis (b. 1727 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut).
She married Jeremiah Mead, Jr. ca 1775 in Greenwich.
He was born in 1755 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut, the son of Jeremiah Mead, Sr. (born on February 13, 1726/27; died on February 5, 1815 in Greenwich) and Amy Lockwood Mead (born on March 11, 1733/34; died in 1814 in Greenwich).
Greenwich was the scene of much action during the Revolution. From the fall of New York to the British in September 1776, when Private Jeremiah Mead's battalion stationed there under General Putnam narrowly escaped capture, until the British evacuated New York in 1783 at the end of the war, Greenwich was the borderline between the British and the colonies, and was the object of raids by land and sea. General Tryon raided Greenwich on February 26, 1779, destroying continental stores and setting fire to everything, sparing only houses known to belong to Tories.
Jeremiah served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Captain Matthew Mead's company. He participated in an expedition to Long Island under Colonel David Waterbury. He had a loss in a British raid and was reimbursed through an Ohio land grant in Huron County, Ohio.
He was appointed by the Connecticut Assembly as a surveyor of lands in and for the county of Fairfield in January 1799.
The children of Jeremiah Mead and Esther Peck were:
• Walter P. Mead, b. ca 1785 in Greenwich; d. after 1835 in Butler County, Ohio.
• Harriet Mead, b. December 21, 1786 in Greenwich; d. Feb 20, 1864 in Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana. She married Captain Isaac Peck in 1814 in Connecticut; b. July 09, 1787, probably in Greenwich; d. April 30, 1862, Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana.
• Hugh Mead, b. ca. 1788, Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; d. Feb 13, 1856, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania; m. Amelia Russell, October 10, 1819, in New York; b. 1789, New Rochelle, Westchester Co., New York; d. Jun 23, 1841, Harford, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
• Luke Mead, b. ca. 1790 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; Luke’s date of death is unknown; he possibly died in Parke County, Indiana. He married (1) Unknown ca. 1814, probably in Harrisontown, Niagara County, New York; b. ca. 1790; d. before June 1821 in Parke County, Indiana. He married (2) Mary Timberman June 7, 1821, in Franklin County, Indiana; she was born ca. 1805; died after 1837, probably in Indiana.
• Mariah C. Mead, b. 1791, Greenwich; d. ca. 1827, probably Butler County, Ohio. She married Joseph Hamilton McMaken July 25, 1824 in Butler County, Ohio; b. April 21, 1789, Monmouth, Boone County, Kentucky; d. September 21, 1857, Middleton, Des Moines County, Iowa.
• Elizabeth “Eliza” Peck Mead, b. June 10, 1793 in Greenwich; d. Feb 10, 1874 in West Liberty, Logan County, Ohio. She married Dr. Jonathan Drake on June 3, 1819 in Butler County, Ohio; he was born on January 13, 1783; d. August 21, 1830 in Ohio. After Jonathan’s death, Eliza lived with her son Lewis Drake in Liberty, Ohio for the rest of her life.
• Frances Mead, b. March 30, 1797 in Greenwich; d. April 15, 1868 in Springfield, Hamilton County, Ohio. She married Dr. Erastus S. Close on May 10, 1823 in Ohio; he was born June 06, 1797 in New Jersey; d. March 25, 1866 in Springfield, Hamilton County, Ohio.
• Charlotte Mead, b. ca. 1803 in Greenwich; d. before 1870 in Ohio. She married David Gaston ca 1829 in Ohio; b. ca. 1803 in Ohio; d. June 7, 1877 in Logan County, Ohio.
• Benjamin Church “B.C.” Mead, b. November 04, 1804 in Greenwich; d. on August 12, 1850 in Springdale, Hamilton County, Ohio. He married (1) Ann Cunningham ca. 1830; she was born in 1811 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio; d. 1834 in Butler or Hamilton County, Ohio. He married (2) Mary Livingston Brown on April 21, 1840 in Hamilton County, Ohio; she was born on December 31, 1810 in New York City. On May 11, 1853, Mary Livingston Brown Mead – at the time a 41-year-old widow with two daughters, Eliza, 13 and Emma, 11 – married William Durland Hilts (b. February 9, 1806 in Morris County, New Jersey), a widower with five sons and four daughters, who had been the appraiser of her husband's estate. There were no children from this marriage. William Hilts died on September 26, 1874 in Illinois. Mary died June 3, 1897 in Walnut Hills, Stark County, Ohio.
Jeremiah, Esther and their entire family relocated from Greenwich to Union Township, Butler County, Ohio in 1817.
Her second great granddaughter Mary Beeler Sawers (1903-2001) described their trip in her family history manuscript, Lineage of Jeremiah Mead of Greenwich, Connecticut, Soldier of the American Revolution, p. 36: The family of Jeremiah and Esther Mead and their nine children made a sizable caravan. Luke and Hugh, then in their middle or late twenties, may have had wives and perhaps children along. Harriet may have been married by then too, in which case her husband, Isaac Peck, no doubt traveled with them. Eliza's marriage is recorded later in Ohio. Walter, Benjamin, who was 13, and three younger sisters, Frances, Charlotte, and Maria, made up the family. Jeremiah's brother Levi and members of his family may have also been in the party.
Union Township, in the southeastern corner of Butler County, includes the town of West Chester. Emma Walker Mead Beeler (1842-1928) - their granddaughter - wrote the following about the arrival of Jeremiah and Esther Mead in Ohio: "Unfortunately, they settled on swampy ground near the big pond not far from West Chester. Here the family contracted malaria, which legacy has descended on nearly all of their hapless posterity." Whatever the cause, Esther Peck Mead died sometime during the year 1819. She was 63 years old. Her husband outlived her by 12 years and died on October 20, 1831, age 76.
The graves of Esther and Jeremiah Mead in Butler County, Ohio, have not been located although a receipt for gravestones was found among Jeremiah's papers:
"Estate of Jeremiah Mead to D. Bolles Dr
To 2 Sets of Grave Stones for Jeremiah and Esther Mead $24.00
Rec'd payment of Walter P. Mead, Admr of Sd Estate
David Bolles"
Hopefully, their graves will be located in the not-too-distant future.
Submitted on January 8, 2013 by Sandra Johnson Witt, her third great granddaughter
Esther Peck was born on July 12, 1756 in Greenwich, the daughter of Captain Nathaniel Peck, Jr. (b. June 2, 1725; d. 1775, both in Greenwich) and Jerusha Curtis (b. 1727 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut).
She married Jeremiah Mead, Jr. ca 1775 in Greenwich.
He was born in 1755 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut, the son of Jeremiah Mead, Sr. (born on February 13, 1726/27; died on February 5, 1815 in Greenwich) and Amy Lockwood Mead (born on March 11, 1733/34; died in 1814 in Greenwich).
Greenwich was the scene of much action during the Revolution. From the fall of New York to the British in September 1776, when Private Jeremiah Mead's battalion stationed there under General Putnam narrowly escaped capture, until the British evacuated New York in 1783 at the end of the war, Greenwich was the borderline between the British and the colonies, and was the object of raids by land and sea. General Tryon raided Greenwich on February 26, 1779, destroying continental stores and setting fire to everything, sparing only houses known to belong to Tories.
Jeremiah served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Captain Matthew Mead's company. He participated in an expedition to Long Island under Colonel David Waterbury. He had a loss in a British raid and was reimbursed through an Ohio land grant in Huron County, Ohio.
He was appointed by the Connecticut Assembly as a surveyor of lands in and for the county of Fairfield in January 1799.
The children of Jeremiah Mead and Esther Peck were:
• Walter P. Mead, b. ca 1785 in Greenwich; d. after 1835 in Butler County, Ohio.
• Harriet Mead, b. December 21, 1786 in Greenwich; d. Feb 20, 1864 in Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana. She married Captain Isaac Peck in 1814 in Connecticut; b. July 09, 1787, probably in Greenwich; d. April 30, 1862, Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana.
• Hugh Mead, b. ca. 1788, Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; d. Feb 13, 1856, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania; m. Amelia Russell, October 10, 1819, in New York; b. 1789, New Rochelle, Westchester Co., New York; d. Jun 23, 1841, Harford, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
• Luke Mead, b. ca. 1790 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; Luke’s date of death is unknown; he possibly died in Parke County, Indiana. He married (1) Unknown ca. 1814, probably in Harrisontown, Niagara County, New York; b. ca. 1790; d. before June 1821 in Parke County, Indiana. He married (2) Mary Timberman June 7, 1821, in Franklin County, Indiana; she was born ca. 1805; died after 1837, probably in Indiana.
• Mariah C. Mead, b. 1791, Greenwich; d. ca. 1827, probably Butler County, Ohio. She married Joseph Hamilton McMaken July 25, 1824 in Butler County, Ohio; b. April 21, 1789, Monmouth, Boone County, Kentucky; d. September 21, 1857, Middleton, Des Moines County, Iowa.
• Elizabeth “Eliza” Peck Mead, b. June 10, 1793 in Greenwich; d. Feb 10, 1874 in West Liberty, Logan County, Ohio. She married Dr. Jonathan Drake on June 3, 1819 in Butler County, Ohio; he was born on January 13, 1783; d. August 21, 1830 in Ohio. After Jonathan’s death, Eliza lived with her son Lewis Drake in Liberty, Ohio for the rest of her life.
• Frances Mead, b. March 30, 1797 in Greenwich; d. April 15, 1868 in Springfield, Hamilton County, Ohio. She married Dr. Erastus S. Close on May 10, 1823 in Ohio; he was born June 06, 1797 in New Jersey; d. March 25, 1866 in Springfield, Hamilton County, Ohio.
• Charlotte Mead, b. ca. 1803 in Greenwich; d. before 1870 in Ohio. She married David Gaston ca 1829 in Ohio; b. ca. 1803 in Ohio; d. June 7, 1877 in Logan County, Ohio.
• Benjamin Church “B.C.” Mead, b. November 04, 1804 in Greenwich; d. on August 12, 1850 in Springdale, Hamilton County, Ohio. He married (1) Ann Cunningham ca. 1830; she was born in 1811 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio; d. 1834 in Butler or Hamilton County, Ohio. He married (2) Mary Livingston Brown on April 21, 1840 in Hamilton County, Ohio; she was born on December 31, 1810 in New York City. On May 11, 1853, Mary Livingston Brown Mead – at the time a 41-year-old widow with two daughters, Eliza, 13 and Emma, 11 – married William Durland Hilts (b. February 9, 1806 in Morris County, New Jersey), a widower with five sons and four daughters, who had been the appraiser of her husband's estate. There were no children from this marriage. William Hilts died on September 26, 1874 in Illinois. Mary died June 3, 1897 in Walnut Hills, Stark County, Ohio.
Jeremiah, Esther and their entire family relocated from Greenwich to Union Township, Butler County, Ohio in 1817.
Her second great granddaughter Mary Beeler Sawers (1903-2001) described their trip in her family history manuscript, Lineage of Jeremiah Mead of Greenwich, Connecticut, Soldier of the American Revolution, p. 36: The family of Jeremiah and Esther Mead and their nine children made a sizable caravan. Luke and Hugh, then in their middle or late twenties, may have had wives and perhaps children along. Harriet may have been married by then too, in which case her husband, Isaac Peck, no doubt traveled with them. Eliza's marriage is recorded later in Ohio. Walter, Benjamin, who was 13, and three younger sisters, Frances, Charlotte, and Maria, made up the family. Jeremiah's brother Levi and members of his family may have also been in the party.
Union Township, in the southeastern corner of Butler County, includes the town of West Chester. Emma Walker Mead Beeler (1842-1928) - their granddaughter - wrote the following about the arrival of Jeremiah and Esther Mead in Ohio: "Unfortunately, they settled on swampy ground near the big pond not far from West Chester. Here the family contracted malaria, which legacy has descended on nearly all of their hapless posterity." Whatever the cause, Esther Peck Mead died sometime during the year 1819. She was 63 years old. Her husband outlived her by 12 years and died on October 20, 1831, age 76.
The graves of Esther and Jeremiah Mead in Butler County, Ohio, have not been located although a receipt for gravestones was found among Jeremiah's papers:
"Estate of Jeremiah Mead to D. Bolles Dr
To 2 Sets of Grave Stones for Jeremiah and Esther Mead $24.00
Rec'd payment of Walter P. Mead, Admr of Sd Estate
David Bolles"
Hopefully, their graves will be located in the not-too-distant future.
Submitted on January 8, 2013 by Sandra Johnson Witt, her third great granddaughter
Esther Peck Mead Biography
Esther Peck was born on July 12, 1756 in Greenwich, the daughter of Captain Nathaniel Peck, Jr. (b. June 2, 1725; d. 1775, both in Greenwich) and Jerusha Curtis (b. 1727 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut).
She married Jeremiah Mead, Jr. ca 1775 in Greenwich.
He was born in 1755 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut, the son of Jeremiah Mead, Sr. (born on February 13, 1726/27; died on February 5, 1815 in Greenwich) and Amy Lockwood Mead (born on March 11, 1733/34; died in 1814 in Greenwich).
Greenwich was the scene of much action during the Revolution. From the fall of New York to the British in September 1776, when Private Jeremiah Mead's battalion stationed there under General Putnam narrowly escaped capture, until the British evacuated New York in 1783 at the end of the war, Greenwich was the borderline between the British and the colonies, and was the object of raids by land and sea. General Tryon raided Greenwich on February 26, 1779, destroying continental stores and setting fire to everything, sparing only houses known to belong to Tories.
Jeremiah served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Captain Matthew Mead's company. He participated in an expedition to Long Island under Colonel David Waterbury. He had a loss in a British raid and was reimbursed through an Ohio land grant in Huron County, Ohio.
He was appointed by the Connecticut Assembly as a surveyor of lands in and for the county of Fairfield in January 1799.
The children of Jeremiah Mead and Esther Peck were:
• Walter P. Mead, b. ca 1785 in Greenwich; d. after 1835 in Butler County, Ohio.
• Harriet Mead, b. December 21, 1786 in Greenwich; d. Feb 20, 1864 in Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana. She married Captain Isaac Peck in 1814 in Connecticut; b. July 09, 1787, probably in Greenwich; d. April 30, 1862, Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana.
• Hugh Mead, b. ca. 1788, Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; d. Feb 13, 1856, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania; m. Amelia Russell, October 10, 1819, in New York; b. 1789, New Rochelle, Westchester Co., New York; d. Jun 23, 1841, Harford, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
• Luke Mead, b. ca. 1790 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; Luke’s date of death is unknown; he possibly died in Parke County, Indiana. He married (1) Unknown ca. 1814, probably in Harrisontown, Niagara County, New York; b. ca. 1790; d. before June 1821 in Parke County, Indiana. He married (2) Mary Timberman June 7, 1821, in Franklin County, Indiana; she was born ca. 1805; died after 1837, probably in Indiana.
• Mariah C. Mead, b. 1791, Greenwich; d. ca. 1827, probably Butler County, Ohio. She married Joseph Hamilton McMaken July 25, 1824 in Butler County, Ohio; b. April 21, 1789, Monmouth, Boone County, Kentucky; d. September 21, 1857, Middleton, Des Moines County, Iowa.
• Elizabeth “Eliza” Peck Mead, b. June 10, 1793 in Greenwich; d. Feb 10, 1874 in West Liberty, Logan County, Ohio. She married Dr. Jonathan Drake on June 3, 1819 in Butler County, Ohio; he was born on January 13, 1783; d. August 21, 1830 in Ohio. After Jonathan’s death, Eliza lived with her son Lewis Drake in Liberty, Ohio for the rest of her life.
• Frances Mead, b. March 30, 1797 in Greenwich; d. April 15, 1868 in Springfield, Hamilton County, Ohio. She married Dr. Erastus S. Close on May 10, 1823 in Ohio; he was born June 06, 1797 in New Jersey; d. March 25, 1866 in Springfield, Hamilton County, Ohio.
• Charlotte Mead, b. ca. 1803 in Greenwich; d. before 1870 in Ohio. She married David Gaston ca 1829 in Ohio; b. ca. 1803 in Ohio; d. June 7, 1877 in Logan County, Ohio.
• Benjamin Church “B.C.” Mead, b. November 04, 1804 in Greenwich; d. on August 12, 1850 in Springdale, Hamilton County, Ohio. He married (1) Ann Cunningham ca. 1830; she was born in 1811 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio; d. 1834 in Butler or Hamilton County, Ohio. He married (2) Mary Livingston Brown on April 21, 1840 in Hamilton County, Ohio; she was born on December 31, 1810 in New York City. On May 11, 1853, Mary Livingston Brown Mead – at the time a 41-year-old widow with two daughters, Eliza, 13 and Emma, 11 – married William Durland Hilts (b. February 9, 1806 in Morris County, New Jersey), a widower with five sons and four daughters, who had been the appraiser of her husband's estate. There were no children from this marriage. William Hilts died on September 26, 1874 in Illinois. Mary died June 3, 1897 in Walnut Hills, Stark County, Ohio.
Jeremiah, Esther and their entire family relocated from Greenwich to Union Township, Butler County, Ohio in 1817.
Her second great granddaughter Mary Beeler Sawers (1903-2001) described their trip in her family history manuscript, Lineage of Jeremiah Mead of Greenwich, Connecticut, Soldier of the American Revolution, p. 36: The family of Jeremiah and Esther Mead and their nine children made a sizable caravan. Luke and Hugh, then in their middle or late twenties, may have had wives and perhaps children along. Harriet may have been married by then too, in which case her husband, Isaac Peck, no doubt traveled with them. Eliza's marriage is recorded later in Ohio. Walter, Benjamin, who was 13, and three younger sisters, Frances, Charlotte, and Maria, made up the family. Jeremiah's brother Levi and members of his family may have also been in the party.
Union Township, in the southeastern corner of Butler County, includes the town of West Chester. Emma Walker Mead Beeler (1842-1928) - their granddaughter - wrote the following about the arrival of Jeremiah and Esther Mead in Ohio: "Unfortunately, they settled on swampy ground near the big pond not far from West Chester. Here the family contracted malaria, which legacy has descended on nearly all of their hapless posterity." Whatever the cause, Esther Peck Mead died sometime during the year 1819. She was 63 years old. Her husband outlived her by 12 years and died on October 20, 1831, age 76.
The graves of Esther and Jeremiah Mead in Butler County, Ohio, have not been located although a receipt for gravestones was found among Jeremiah's papers:
"Estate of Jeremiah Mead to D. Bolles Dr
To 2 Sets of Grave Stones for Jeremiah and Esther Mead $24.00
Rec'd payment of Walter P. Mead, Admr of Sd Estate
David Bolles"
Hopefully, their graves will be located in the not-too-distant future.
Submitted on January 8, 2013 by Sandra Johnson Witt, her third great granddaughter
Esther Peck was born on July 12, 1756 in Greenwich, the daughter of Captain Nathaniel Peck, Jr. (b. June 2, 1725; d. 1775, both in Greenwich) and Jerusha Curtis (b. 1727 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut).
She married Jeremiah Mead, Jr. ca 1775 in Greenwich.
He was born in 1755 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut, the son of Jeremiah Mead, Sr. (born on February 13, 1726/27; died on February 5, 1815 in Greenwich) and Amy Lockwood Mead (born on March 11, 1733/34; died in 1814 in Greenwich).
Greenwich was the scene of much action during the Revolution. From the fall of New York to the British in September 1776, when Private Jeremiah Mead's battalion stationed there under General Putnam narrowly escaped capture, until the British evacuated New York in 1783 at the end of the war, Greenwich was the borderline between the British and the colonies, and was the object of raids by land and sea. General Tryon raided Greenwich on February 26, 1779, destroying continental stores and setting fire to everything, sparing only houses known to belong to Tories.
Jeremiah served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Captain Matthew Mead's company. He participated in an expedition to Long Island under Colonel David Waterbury. He had a loss in a British raid and was reimbursed through an Ohio land grant in Huron County, Ohio.
He was appointed by the Connecticut Assembly as a surveyor of lands in and for the county of Fairfield in January 1799.
The children of Jeremiah Mead and Esther Peck were:
• Walter P. Mead, b. ca 1785 in Greenwich; d. after 1835 in Butler County, Ohio.
• Harriet Mead, b. December 21, 1786 in Greenwich; d. Feb 20, 1864 in Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana. She married Captain Isaac Peck in 1814 in Connecticut; b. July 09, 1787, probably in Greenwich; d. April 30, 1862, Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana.
• Hugh Mead, b. ca. 1788, Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; d. Feb 13, 1856, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania; m. Amelia Russell, October 10, 1819, in New York; b. 1789, New Rochelle, Westchester Co., New York; d. Jun 23, 1841, Harford, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
• Luke Mead, b. ca. 1790 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; Luke’s date of death is unknown; he possibly died in Parke County, Indiana. He married (1) Unknown ca. 1814, probably in Harrisontown, Niagara County, New York; b. ca. 1790; d. before June 1821 in Parke County, Indiana. He married (2) Mary Timberman June 7, 1821, in Franklin County, Indiana; she was born ca. 1805; died after 1837, probably in Indiana.
• Mariah C. Mead, b. 1791, Greenwich; d. ca. 1827, probably Butler County, Ohio. She married Joseph Hamilton McMaken July 25, 1824 in Butler County, Ohio; b. April 21, 1789, Monmouth, Boone County, Kentucky; d. September 21, 1857, Middleton, Des Moines County, Iowa.
• Elizabeth “Eliza” Peck Mead, b. June 10, 1793 in Greenwich; d. Feb 10, 1874 in West Liberty, Logan County, Ohio. She married Dr. Jonathan Drake on June 3, 1819 in Butler County, Ohio; he was born on January 13, 1783; d. August 21, 1830 in Ohio. After Jonathan’s death, Eliza lived with her son Lewis Drake in Liberty, Ohio for the rest of her life.
• Frances Mead, b. March 30, 1797 in Greenwich; d. April 15, 1868 in Springfield, Hamilton County, Ohio. She married Dr. Erastus S. Close on May 10, 1823 in Ohio; he was born June 06, 1797 in New Jersey; d. March 25, 1866 in Springfield, Hamilton County, Ohio.
• Charlotte Mead, b. ca. 1803 in Greenwich; d. before 1870 in Ohio. She married David Gaston ca 1829 in Ohio; b. ca. 1803 in Ohio; d. June 7, 1877 in Logan County, Ohio.
• Benjamin Church “B.C.” Mead, b. November 04, 1804 in Greenwich; d. on August 12, 1850 in Springdale, Hamilton County, Ohio. He married (1) Ann Cunningham ca. 1830; she was born in 1811 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio; d. 1834 in Butler or Hamilton County, Ohio. He married (2) Mary Livingston Brown on April 21, 1840 in Hamilton County, Ohio; she was born on December 31, 1810 in New York City. On May 11, 1853, Mary Livingston Brown Mead – at the time a 41-year-old widow with two daughters, Eliza, 13 and Emma, 11 – married William Durland Hilts (b. February 9, 1806 in Morris County, New Jersey), a widower with five sons and four daughters, who had been the appraiser of her husband's estate. There were no children from this marriage. William Hilts died on September 26, 1874 in Illinois. Mary died June 3, 1897 in Walnut Hills, Stark County, Ohio.
Jeremiah, Esther and their entire family relocated from Greenwich to Union Township, Butler County, Ohio in 1817.
Her second great granddaughter Mary Beeler Sawers (1903-2001) described their trip in her family history manuscript, Lineage of Jeremiah Mead of Greenwich, Connecticut, Soldier of the American Revolution, p. 36: The family of Jeremiah and Esther Mead and their nine children made a sizable caravan. Luke and Hugh, then in their middle or late twenties, may have had wives and perhaps children along. Harriet may have been married by then too, in which case her husband, Isaac Peck, no doubt traveled with them. Eliza's marriage is recorded later in Ohio. Walter, Benjamin, who was 13, and three younger sisters, Frances, Charlotte, and Maria, made up the family. Jeremiah's brother Levi and members of his family may have also been in the party.
Union Township, in the southeastern corner of Butler County, includes the town of West Chester. Emma Walker Mead Beeler (1842-1928) - their granddaughter - wrote the following about the arrival of Jeremiah and Esther Mead in Ohio: "Unfortunately, they settled on swampy ground near the big pond not far from West Chester. Here the family contracted malaria, which legacy has descended on nearly all of their hapless posterity." Whatever the cause, Esther Peck Mead died sometime during the year 1819. She was 63 years old. Her husband outlived her by 12 years and died on October 20, 1831, age 76.
The graves of Esther and Jeremiah Mead in Butler County, Ohio, have not been located although a receipt for gravestones was found among Jeremiah's papers:
"Estate of Jeremiah Mead to D. Bolles Dr
To 2 Sets of Grave Stones for Jeremiah and Esther Mead $24.00
Rec'd payment of Walter P. Mead, Admr of Sd Estate
David Bolles"
Hopefully, their graves will be located in the not-too-distant future.
Submitted on January 8, 2013 by Sandra Johnson Witt, her third great granddaughter
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