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Facts and Events
Conflicting Information
Readily available information about the wife of Thomas Huntley contains several conflicts, particularly regarding her name(s) and her parents.
Given Name
Many on-line family trees and other poorly documented sources give ”Zilphia” or “Zilphia Sarah” as the given name for Thomas Huntley's wife. None have citations to original sources. Attempting to trace derivative source information back to it’s origins suggests that “Zilphia” as the name of Thomas Huntley’s wife is at best speculative, and may be in error.
One of the earliest known sources for “Zilphia”’s name appears to be a tenuous and speculative “memory” four generations later from a person not even related to the family.[8]
Another early source for “Zilphia”’s name is from membership applications to the Daughters of the American Revolution.[3] It was picked up by Major Perkins Nunnally,[6] and from Nunnally by Victor Meador.[1] Both Nunnally and Meador are usually considered reliable sources but neither, in this instance, appears to have based their statements on research in original records.
One such original record, Thomas Huntley’s will,[9] names his wife Sarah, not Zilphia (although he had a daughter named Zilpha). There are three possible explanations for the difference:
- The original DAR applications are wrong. That this is a very real possibility is suggested by other errors noted in the early applications by the DAR. If the early DAR membership applications can be shown to depend on the early speculative “memory”, then the argument against “Zilphia” is even more compelling.
- That Thomas Huntley’s wife was actually Zilphia Sarah. This is extremely unlikely, since most people at this time period did not have two given names, and a report of someone with two given names is almost always a flag that someone has confused two different people in early research. In this instance, one suspects that the compound given name was someone’s attempt to reconcile two different sets of information without reference to original records.
- That Thomas had two wives. There is currently little to indicate that Thomas had two wives. If the early speculative “memory” and the early DAR membership applications can be seen to be independent, however, then the possibility of Thomas having two wives becomes more credible.[11] In either event, the conflict over his wife’s name creates the need to either prove or disprove such a possibility.
Parents
Many on-line family trees lacking citations to original sources also list Jason Meador as the father of Thomas Huntley’s wife. Where that originated is not clear. Early and late DAR membership applications do not name “Zilphia”’s father. The early speculative “memory” of “Zilphia” names Obediah Meadows as her brother, but Obediah Meador was the grandson of Jason Meador making the “Zilphia” of memory more likely Thomas Huntley’s daughter, not his wife.
Neither a “Zilphia” nor a Sarah is named in Jason Meador’s will,[7] making it highly unlikely that he was the father. Nunnally, based on a DAR membership application that stated “Zilphia” was born in Bladen County, North Carolina (mother county of Anson County), speculated that she was the daughter of Job. Meador, again, followed Nunnally.[1]
Family Name
The final question is whether or not Thomas Huntley’s wife was even a Meador.
Assuming that Huntley’s dates of birth for Thomas Huntley’s children are correct, then Thomas most likely married before he came to Anson County, and before Job Meador came to Anson County. Huntley gives Thomas' oldest son, Thomas, a birth date of 1756 or earlier. Susannah's birth date is given as in the early 1750s. This implies a marriage date of about 1755 or perhaps a bit earlier for Thomas. Thomas did not arrived in Anson County, North Carolina until sometime between 1763 and 1769. (In 1763 he is presumed to be in Sampson/Duplin County, North Carolina. In 1769 he received a grant of land in Anson County.[8]
According to Nunnally, Job Meador was in Lunenburg County, Virginia in 1752, but moved to Anson County sometime before September 1761. Jason Meador and his family left what had become Bedford County, Virginia late in 1761, joining Job in Anson County.[6] In other words, Thomas Huntley was most likely married before he met anyone from the Meador families. Unless Thomas Huntley can be shown to be in reasonable proximity to a Meador family at the time of his marriage, his wife (first wife?) was not a Meador. If Thomas had a second wife, she and her parentage need to be documented, not guessed.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Meador, Victor P. (Victor Paul), and Bernal M. Meador. Our Meador families in colonial America: as found in the records of Isle of Wight, Lancaster, (old) Rappahannock, Richmond, Essex and Caroline Counties, Virginia. (Independence, Missouri: V.P. Meador, 1983).
Zilphia Meador b. ca. 1744-7, VA; m. Thomas Huntley (b. 1745, VA)
Zilphia's husband Thomas Huntley died 1802, NC; d. 1812, NC
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Zilphia Sarah Meadows Huntley, in Find A Grave
accessed 17 Aug 2014.
Zilphia Sarah Meadows Huntley
Birth: 1747
Death: 1812, Anson County, North Carolina, USA
Burial: Huntley Cemetery, White Store Township, Anson County, North Carolina, USA
[NOTE: photograph of memorial stone for double burial where Zilpha and Thomas are presumed to be buried]
Mother to nine children.
Spouse: Thomas Huntley (1730 - 1802)
Children: Robert Huntley (1761 - 1854)
- ↑ DAR Ancestor A060808, in Daughters of the American Revolution. Genealogical Research System.
HUNTLEY, THOMAS
Residence: 1) County: Anson County, North Carolina
Spouse: 1) ZILPHIA SARAH MEADOWS - challenged
Notice: PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED WITH AT LEAST ONE PREVIOUSLY VERIFIED PAPER
3) SPOUSE NAMED AS "SARAH" IN WILL; NO PROOF OF A 2ND MARR. 7/2012
- CREEKMORE-L Archives DeeDee Shackelford, 9 Jan 2001, Will of Jason Meadows, in RootsWeb Archiver
accessed 17 Aug 2014.
Will Book, pg 16, Anson County, N.C.
Will of Jason Meador:
. . . .
I give & bequeath in premise I give unto my beloved wife Elizabeth the plantation as I now possess and all other my substance During her natural life & at her Decease it is my will that the said plantation & Tract of land Decend unto my children. . . .
I give unto my Eldest son Lewis five shillings sterling & also Duama Marion [sic - as transcribed; possibly Mariah?] and Thomas one Shilling Sterling each.
Item it is my Will that at the decease of my wife Elizabeth that my plantation and Land and other substance be equally Divided amongst several Children herein named
Lewis Jason Job and Mariah to them & their heirs and assigns forever
Lastly I do constitute and appoint my Beloved wife Elizabeth my son Lewis &
Jobe sole Executors of this my last Will & Testament. . . .
Witness my hand & seal this Twenty Third Day of March Anno Domini one Thousnad Seven hundred & Seventy four
Witnesses: Willim Evess, Job Meador, Charles Bath [ could be Ball], Jason Meadors
- Thomas Huntley, Sr, in Find A Grave
accessed 17 Aug 2014.
Thomas Huntley Sr. Will, image to Find A Grave record
Thomas Huntley Senior of Anson County, North Carolina . . . .
To my dear wife Sarah one third of all my possessions . . . .
To my four daughters, 5£ each: Clowe Rushing, Zilpha Gulidge, Lavina Watts, Sabra Lyttle. . . .
To my son Isaac, 400 acres of land only m wife to hold her thirds her lifetime. . . .
To my daughter Susana Garnard, 5 shillings sterling. . . .
The rest f my property to be equally divided amongst my children except Susan Garnad. . . .
Signed 11 Jan 1800, Thomas T his mark Huntley
Test: Thomas Lewis, Elijah Huntley
Proved in Court April 1802
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nunnally, Perkins. The descendants of Jonas and Frances Meador of Essex, Caroline and Cumberland Counties, Virginia. (Pine Bluff, Arkansas: P. Nunnally, 1968)
p. 4.
"From Bedford Deed Book Records (Bedford County, VA Deed Book 1, p. 539) we know that prior to 8 September 1761 Job was then a resident of Anson County, N. C. Zilpha Meadows of this county who in 1761 married Thomas Huntley (RWS Continental Line) may have been the daughter of Job Meador/Meadow, as he was apparently the earliest Meador arrival in this area."
- Zilpha Meadows Did Not Exist, pkt6177, 18 Sep 2014, in RootsWeb Archiver, MEADOWS > 2014-09 > 1411001079.
Most Meador/Meadows internet pages cite Zilpha Meadows as a daughter of Jason and Elizabeth (Stone) Meador/Meadows of Anson County, North Carolina. However, Zilpha Meadows did not exist. A Zilpha was not mentioned in the will of Jason Meador/Meadows. So, here are the facts about the alleged Zilpha Meadows.
Huntley family researchers in the early 20th century, reported Zilpha Meadows as the wife of Thomas Huntley, Sr., of Anson County, North Carolina. Thomas Huntley's actual wife was Sarah ?, and she had no known connection to the Meador/Meadows family.
In 1988, when Virgil Huntley published the genealogy,"Thomas Huntley, Sr. of Anson County, North Carolina", he discussed the source (on pages 5 and 8) of the Meador/Meadows maiden name attributed to Thomas Huntley's wife. Several years ago I contacted Virgil, and asked him for a copy of the specific historical reference, which identified the Meador/Meadows surname. The source was Ledger #2 by John Wilson Huntley, which is in the South Carolina archives. For your consideration, here is the specific ledger citation (on pages 42-43):
'The Wadesboro Ansonian
March 18th 1914
Since writing my last, I have been asked whom the first old setler Thomas Huntley married I could not then answer the question but think I can now, with some degree of certainty. Having ascertained that a considerable part of the land around about where Thomas Huntley lived was once owned by the Meadows family, I use this as a key to unlock the mistery, having in my rambles, called on Rev. Joe Ratcliff (col) [colored] I asked him if he knew where Thomas Huntley settled, the answer was he did then I asked him whom Thomas Huntley married, whereupon he assumed a meditative mood, saying that he knew if he could think, so I called over several prominant families, asking him if he [Thomas Huntley] married any of those, and he answered me in the negative; I then called the name Meadows and he slaped his hands and said yes, yes, yes-I asked him what her given name was, He said he [she?] was a sister of Obediah Meadows
I have written it, just as I received it."
Based on this quote, Rev. Joe RatCliff was not a reliable source. This information does not meet modern standards of proof. If you are interested, I will mail you a copy of the Ledger pages.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Huntley, Virgil W. Thomas Huntley Sr. of Anson County, North Carolina: his descendants in the Carolinas and elsewhere. (Mystic, Connecticut: V.W. Huntley, c1988 (Dallas, Tex. : Taylor Publishing Company))
pp. 5-8.
Quote from Gertrude Roper's "History of the Huntley Family of the South":
Cousin John Huntley of Rock Hill, S.C. was interested in the family history . . . . After he was old and retired he went around that part of the country and talked with the old settlers who remembered the family . . . . He even got some accurate information from an old colored preacher . . . [who] was able to tell him Zilpha Meadows, the name of Thomas Huntley's wife. The old man had to think quite a while before he could remember the name, Zilpha.
- ↑ Anson County Wills, 1802-1812, in North Carolina, United States. Probate Records, 1735-1970: Images. (FamilySearch: County courthouses, North Carolina, 14 June 2016)
Vol 2, p. 69.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The use of a middle name at this time and place (in this generation) suggests that there is a confusion of more than one individual, in this instance of a woman named Zilphia, and of a woman named Sarah. Drucilla is already documented as a separate individual from Zilphia.
- ↑ The one hint that Thomas may have two wives is from the earliest DAR membership applications, which give Thomas' wife's name as Mrs. Zilphia Huntley, not Zilphia Meadows.
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