Name: Meriwether Lewis Birth Year: 1774 Birth date: August 18, 1774 Birth State: Virginia Birth City: near Ivy Birth Country: United States Gender: Male Best Known For: Meriwether Lewis teamed. Shaun proudly stood in front of his class at Candalaria Elementary School and offered a framed certificate to prove it. Lewis was introverted and moody while Clark was extroverted, even-tempered, and gregarious. During his time in Georgia, Lewis enhanced his skills as a hunter and outdoorsman. In 1792, after the death of his step-father the year before, he traveled to the Broad River community to accompany his mother and his two half-siblings, John and Mary, back to Locust Hill. Anyone closer than 14 degrees from Meriwether Lewis? Jefferson selected Captain Meriwether Lewis to lead the proposed expedition, afterward known as the Corps of Discovery. Historians still dispute whether the explorer and then-governor of Louisiana committed suicide or was murdered. Library of Congress, http://rs5.loc.gov/service/mss/mtj/mtj1/028/028_0177_0182.pdf, Letter of Instructions to Meriwether Lewis from Thomas Jefferson, June 20, 1803 Geographic names that honor him include Lewis County, Idaho, Lewis County, Tennessee; Lewisburg, Tennessee; Lewiston, Idaho; Lewis County, Washington; the U.S. Army fort Fort Lewis, Washington, the home of the US Army 1st Corps (I Corps), and especially Lewis and Clark County, Montana, the home of the capital city, Helena. FamousKin.com cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy and reliability of these sources. Explorer. The alpine plant Lewisia (family Portulacaceae), popular in rock gardens, is named after Lewis, as is Lewis's Woodpecker. He was the governor of a huge territory. He died in 1862, leaving the home to his children Charles and Mary Anderson. Lewis's record as an administrator is mixed. Later in his life, he was a captain in the military and served as Jefferson's . They settled along the Broad River in the Goosepond Community within the Broad River Valley in Wilkes County (now Oglethorpe County). He was considered fiercely loyal, disciplined, and flexible, while also prone to being moody, speculative, and melancholic. As with any good genealogical research, if you discover a link to your own family tree, consider it a starting point for further research. [2] HOHENWALD, Tenn.Meriwether Lewis conquered rivers, mountains and bears leading the Lewis and Clark Expedition across 8,000 miles of wilderness from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back. Several years after Lewis's death, Thomas Jefferson wrote: Jefferson also stated that Lewis had a "luminous and discriminating intellect.". Descendents of the family point to this legend as a reason why Meriwether men take a long time to get married. Marshall, Fielding, Merriweather, Daingerfield, Taliaferro and others. Among the families are direct descendants of William Clark and collateral descendants of Meriwether Lewis. Between 1804 and 1806, the Corps of Discovery explored thousands of miles of the Missouri and Columbia River watersheds, searching for an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. She started the Locust Hill Graveyard in 1810, probably on the hopes that she could have Meriwether's body re-interred there from Tennessee, and because her son-in-law Edmund Anderson and a neighbor died that year and needed to be buried. Yet his contributions to science, the exploration of the Western U.S., and the lore of great world explorers are considered incalculable. See details for 17912 MERIWETHER LEWIS ST, Ruther Glen, VA 22546, 4 Bedrooms, 2 Full/1 Half Bathrooms, 2902 Sq Ft., Single Family, MLS#: VACV2003024, Status: Pending . It is generally reckoned as one of the most successful and significant expeditions of its kind in modern history, and Lewis has . When Jefferson began to formulate and to plan for an expedition across the continent, he chose Lewis to lead the expedition. Lewis started out with the intention of traveling to Washington by ship from New Orleans but changed his plans while en route down the Mississippi and decided to make an overland journey via the Natchez Trace instead. Jane (M128), born abt 1705 in New Kent County, is the eighth child and fourth daughter of Nicholas Meriwether II and Elizabeth Crafford/Crawford. Have you taken a DNA test? Item(s) successfully added to the cart! Brother of Jane Meriwether Anderson; Lucinda McFarlane; Dr. Ruben Lewis and Lewis In other accounts, the dog was never there at all. Your Privacy Rights Geni requires JavaScript! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition. The Web site, www.SolvetheMystery.org , explains the Lewis family's more than decade-long quest to gain federal permission for the exhumation as well as a Christian reburial. In June 1803, Jefferson provided Lewis with basic objectives for the mission, focusing on the exploration of the Missouri river and any related streams which might provide access to the Pacific Ocean. Both President Jefferson and Meriwether showed support in adding William Clark to the group, the president offering Lewis and Clark both a permanent rank of Captain as part of his proposal. On October 7, 2009, about 2,500 people (Park Service estimate) from more than twenty-five states met at Lewis' grave on the 200th anniversary of his death. Family & Relationships; Fiction; Games; Gardening; Health & Fitness; History; See Full Categories List. At some point in the night she heard multiple gunshots, and what she believed was someone asking for help. [2] Their other children included Jane Meriwether (Lewis) Anderson (1770-1845), Reuben Lewis, and Lucinda Lewis (1772-) (who died as an infant). A cave, Lewis and Clark Caverns between Three Forks and Whitehall, Montana. Captain Meriwether LewisWilliam Clark's expedition partner on the Corps of Discovery's historic trek to the Pacific, Thomas Jefferson's confidante, governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory. Descendants of Slaveholder . 3 Beds. Lewis became intimately involved in planning the expedition and was sent by Jefferson to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for additional instruction in cartography and other skills for making scientific observations. His opportunity for the graceful exit arrived when Jefferson asked Lewis to command an expedition to find an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean, and study the land along that route. They could also potentially learn about his nutritional health, what drugs he was using and if he was suffering from syphilis. Jane had 4 siblings: Lucinda McFarlane and 3 other siblings. Lucy Meriwether was born at Cloverfields on February 4, 1752. The decision, backed by Department of the. However, the subsequent inhabitants of the home have made so many changes that the structure does not really resemble the original house. Lucy Meriwether gave birth to Jane Meriwether Anderson, Meriwether Lewis, Lucinda Lewis (who died in childhood) and Dr. Reuben Lewis while married to William Lewis and John Marks and Mary Garland Marks while married to Captain John Marks. By the age of eight, he was already showing the characteristics of courage and resourcefulness that stood him in good stead when he later commanded Jeffersons great expedition to explore the Missouri and Columbian Rivers from 1804 to 1806. Read more on Genealogy.com! People who think the Lewis and Clark expedition was a family affair research through birth, death and marriage certificates, census, probate and Bible records, wills, deeds, diaries and old letters. Their oldest, Jane Meriwether married Colonel Robert Lewis; they became Meriwether Lewis' paternal great-grandparents. Lewis, who had a better education, possessed a philosophical and speculative outlook and was at home with abstract ideas. Despite warnings that they would all be drowned, the men of the Lewis and Clark expedition paddled toward the ferocious rapids. Due to her knowledge and hard work, the expedition was a success. The US Navy Polaris nuclear submarine USS Lewis and Clark was named for him and William Clark. Lewis resided in the White House, and frequently conversed with various prominent figures in politics, the arts, and other circles. Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks was widowed a second time in 1791. Gen. Lucian King Truscott, Jr.; married a Meriwether descendant. [7], Meriwether needed someone else to help him lead the expedition. p. 108. Meriwether Lewis, (born Aug. 18, 1774, near Charlottesville, Va. [U.S.]died Oct. 11, 1809, near Nashville, Tenn., U.S.), American explorer, who with William Clark led the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the uncharted American interior to the Pacific Northwest in 1804-06. Though the Corps of Discovery had traversed thousands of miles of wilderness with few casualties, Lewis and Clark did not find the Northwest Passage to the Pacific, the missions primary goal; the system of trading posts that theyd established began to fall apart before the explorers returned home. She said that during dinner Lewis stood and paced about the room talking to himself in the way one would speak to a lawyer. When his father died in 1779, he inherited his Locust Hill estate. He died shortly after sunrise. Because of bureaucratic delays in the U.S. Army, Clark officially only held the rank of Second Lieutenant at the time, but Lewis concealed this from expedition members and shared the leadership of the expedition, always referring to Clark as "Captain".[4]. Greenwood Publishing Group. An American icon, Lewis was also a human being, and the expedition was the pinnacle of Lewiss life, Newman says. At the young age of fifteen, she married Edmund Anderson, (1763-1810) her first cousin in 1785. Ministers . Two hundred years later, debate continues over whether the famous explorer committed suicide or was murdered. Mrs. Grinder, the tavern-keeper's wife, claimed Lewis acted strangely the night before his death. He and William Clark, born August 1, 1770, accompanied each other on a dangerous expedition. A valuable member of the expedition party, his working dog attributes were essential to daily life along the route. PORTSMOUTH, Va - Puller Chronicles Volume 1, Second Edition, by Meriwether Ball, is a fascinating look at LtGen Lewis B. Puller's family and faith which made him an American and Marine Corps icon. Whether Lewis death was suicide, as was widely believed, or murder, as contended by his family, is still an open question. The murder advocates point to five conflicting testimonies as evidence that her testimony is fabricated and the suicide advocates point to her testimony as proof of suicide. Gary Stella. An error has occured while loading the map. Lewis was a poor administrator, often quarreling with local political leaders and failing to keep in touch with his superiors in Washington. [6], It was at Jefferson's suggestion that the Corps of Discovery expedition was undertaken and the plan was approved by Congress in 1803. [9] He was related to George Washington by marriage: his first cousin once removed was Fielding Lewis, Washington's brother-in-law. [8] However, his life degraded, as did his relationships. But the science of autopsies has come a long way since then, says James Starrs, a George Washington University Law School professor and forensics expert who is pressing for an exhumation. In 1801, Meriwether Lewis left the army due to an invitation to serve as Thomas Jefferson's secretary while Jefferson was in office. The US Navy Polaris nuclear submarine USS Lewis and Clark was named for him and William Clark. While examining the remains, committee members wrote that it was more probable that he died at the hands of an assassin. Unfortunately, they failed to say why. Wrong username or password. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. But rather than feeling alienated, he would have been busy enjoying a level of Buzz Aldrin-like celebrity. Miller, Robert J. He was the son of William Lewis, of Welsh ancestry, and Lucy Meriwether, of English ancestry. Historians would hold such details dear, Starrs says: Nobody even knows how tall Meriwether Lewis was. In 1795 he joined the regular army and for a brief period, he was attached to a sub-legion of General Anthony Wayne commanded by Lieutenant William Clark. Record information. His opportunity for the graceful exit arrived when Jefferson asked Lewis to command an expedition to find an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean, and study the land along that route. American explorer, best known as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. FORUM ARTICLES SEARCH. Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks was widowed a second time in 1791. On the way, he stopped at an inn called Grinder's Stand, about 70 miles (110 km) from Nashville, Tennessee on the Natchez Trace on October 10, 1809. The explorer was buried not far from where he died, honored today by a memorial along the Natchez Trace Parkway. Lewis was nominated and recommended to serve as the first Master of the proposed Lodge, which was warranted as Lodge No. John and Elizabeth Lewis were parents of Elizabeth (mother of Captain Richard Ashcraft) and Colonel Robert (father of Captain William Lewis who fathered Meriwether Lewis). Lewis suggested that the expedition would benefit from a co-commander and, with Jefferson's consent, offered the assignment to his friend and former commanding officer, William Clark. He was also related to Robert E. Lee and Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, among others. If you click the change tab you can see that this is an excellent example of collaboration! At the time of his death Lewiss depressive tendencies were compounded by other problems: he was having financial troubles and likely suffered from alcoholism and other illnesses, possibly syphilis or malaria, the latter of which was known to cause bouts of dementia. Meriwether Lewis, in addition to being a great explorer and trailblazer, was the Governor of Louisiana. Privacy Policy | ContactMe 2010-2023 FamousKin.com. His friends assumed it was suicide. It was during this time in the Army that he met William Clark (1770-1838) for the first time.
