"[12] This claim and another by a Joseph DeSmet descendant, Martin Charger, are explored in some detail on the Joseph DeSmet Lewis documents WikiTree page. Generally sharing leadership responsibilities with William Clark, although technically the leader, Lewis led the expedition safely across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific and back, with the loss of just one man, Charles Floyd, who died of apparent appendicitis. Lewis was nominated and recommended to serve as the first Master of the proposed Lodge, which was warranted as Lodge No. When explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark blazed a trail through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific . The Natchez Trace was the old pioneer road between Natchez, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee. Death of Capt. In April 1801, he was appointed personal secretary to President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). He died shortly after sunrise. Both Reuben and John (II) grew up to become doctors, taking after their mother's medicinal abilities. Lewis also brought along a Newfoundland dog named Seaman. Other murder theories range from the scandalous (the innkeeper discovered Lewis in flagrante with Mrs. Grinder) to the conspiratorial (a corrupt Army general named James Wilkinson hatched an assassination plot.). Meriwether Lewis, in addition to being a great explorer and trailblazer, was the Governor of Louisiana. The Charlottesville City Council convened on Wednesday to continue discussing plans for relocating the Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea statue.. In 1801, Meriwether Lewis left the army due to an invitation to serve as Thomas Jefferson's secretary while Jefferson was in office. Following his return from the West, he visited President Jefferson at the White House where he became ill probably in late 1807. Garrett Lewis Minor: 14 MAR 1744 -- 8 MAY 1799: Mary Overton . On the mission it was how do we stay alive and collect information? Then suddenly youre heroes. Please try again. Meriwether Lewis was born August 18, 1774, on Locust Hill Plantation in Albemarle County, Colony of Virginia, in the present-day community of Ivy. In the predawn hours of October 11, the innkeeper heard gunshots. (2006). He died in 1862, leaving the home to his children Charles and Mary Anderson. 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. After Jane's death in 1845, her son, Dr. Meriwether Lewis Anderson, inherited Locust Hill. The year after his wife's death in 1820, Clark married Harriet Kennerly Radford, a widow with three children, and . Lewis resided in the White House, and frequently conversed with various prominent figures in politics, the arts, and other circles. 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. The relationship between Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea and her family was an example of respect between the two groups. Her daughter and son-in-law put the house for sale on the market at $255,000 in 1982. Lewis departed Pittsburgh for St. Louisthe capital of the new Louisiana Territoryvia the Ohio River in the summer of 1803, gathering supplies, equipment, and personnel along the way. The Cherokee lived in antagonistic proximity to the white settlers, but Lewis seems to have been a champion for them amongst his own people. The group he was with was called the Corps of Discovery. Why is this image showing up as a background image ? James Waddell, a blind parson, and Parson Matthew Maury. In 1807, Jefferson appointed him governor of the Louisiana Territory; he settled in St. Louis. Everyone who knows anything about Meriwether Lewis beyond that he was one half of the famous exploring duo knows that he died a violent death at the age of 35, just three years after the completion of the most successful exploration mission in American history. We could do the DNA to find out the color of his hair.. Ft. 11 Betsy Ross Cv, Ruther Glen, VA 22546. 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. People want ownership of the story, and then they feel a part of it.. [2] Their other children included Jane Meriwether (Lewis) Anderson (1770-1845), Reuben Lewis, and Lucinda Lewis (1772-) (who died as an infant). Jefferson commissioned a two year expedition to explore these lands and chose Meriwether Lewis as the leader. Servants found Lewis badly injured from multiple gunshot wounds. Due to her knowledge and hard work, the expedition was a success. . The Web site is SolvetheMystery. The alpine plant Lewisia (family Portulacaceae), popular in rock gardens, is named after Lewis, as is Lewis's Woodpecker. Whether Lewis death was suicide, as was widely believed, or murder, as contended by his family, is still an open question. He died, apparently of bullet wounds to the head and abdomen, shortly before sunrise the next day. Although he died without legitimate heirs, he does have the putative DNA model haplotype for his paternal ancestors' lineage, which was that of the Warner Hall. On April 1, 1801, he was appointed as an aide by President Thomas Jefferson, whom he knew personally through Virginia society in Albemarle County. 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. In 1803 Congress appropriated funds for the Expedition, and Lewis was commissioned as its leader. The next morning, she sent for Lewis's servants, who found him weltering in his blood but alive for several hours. The buffalo robe that he lay on was soaked with blood and Lewis was barely hanging on to life. Besides being the mother of the famed explorer, she had medical skills and often rode throughout the county to treat the sick. Nearby Recently Sold Homes. They settled along the Broad River in the Goosepond Community within the Broad River Valley in Wilkes County (now Oglethorpe County). Clark and Lewis were both relatively young and adventurous and had shared experience as woodsmen-frontiersmen and Army officers. 1. Historians would hold such details dear, Starrs says: Nobody even knows how tall Meriwether Lewis was. Why Did Meriwether Lewis Die. Lewis and Clark descendants and family members, along with representatives of St. Louis Lodge . 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. However, the subsequent inhabitants of the home have made so many changes that the structure does not really resemble the original house. 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. When Jefferson began to formulate and to plan for an expedition across the continent, he chose Lewis to lead the expedition. A deer however had been cornered onto the grounds of Locust Hill by the party hounds, and Mrs. Lewis-Marks shot it and turned it into a succulent dinner before the party even returned. She could not afford many books, but collected a small library throughout her life. Lucy Meriwether. Lewis had known president Jefferson since he was a boy, "he had grown up on a plantation in virginia a few miles from Monticello, and they had went on to make a relationship working together in the White House." Geographic names that honor him include 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. Maybe there is an answer beneath the monument to help us understand, says James Holmberg, curator of Special Collections at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Ky., who has published work on Lewiss life and death. After his father died of pneumonia, he moved with his mother and stepfather Captain John Marks to Georgia in May 1780. After returning from the expedition, Lewis received a reward of 1,600 acres of land. Single Family Residence - Monroe, NC 3004 Meriwether Lewis Trail, Monroe, NC 28110 This lovely single-story home features 3 spacious bedrooms and 2 modern bathrooms. They would get to the Pacific Ocea. The mission lasted two years, starting in 1804 and ending in 1806. Letter Dated April 20 1803, Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson, Locust Hill, Ivy, Albemarle County, Colony of Virginia, Grinder's Stand, Lewis, Tennessee, United States, Meriwether Lewis in Indian Dress (Shoshone), Jane Meriwether (Lewis) Anderson (1770-1845), Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Meriwether-Lewis, http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/lewisandclark/biddle/biographies_html/lewis.html, Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, Meriwether Lewis and His Son: The Claim of Joseph DeSomet Lewis and the Problem of History. In some versions, Seaman, Lewiss loyal Newfoundland who guarded his master against bears on the long journey West, remained by his grave, refusing to eat or drink. Who was he? Sitemap; Home Dashboard; Records . But, in early October 1809, Meriwether Lewis was found shot in the head in a room of an inn on the old Natchez Trace near present-day Hohenwald, Tennessee. His position was to protect the western lands from encroachers which was not favorable to the rush of settlers looking to open new lands for settlements. 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. Geni requires JavaScript! Lewis resided in the presidential mansion, and frequently conversed with various prominent figures in politics, the arts and other circles. In 1795, he joined the regular U.S. Army, as a Lieutenant, where he served until 1801, at one point in the detachment of William Clark, who would later become his companion in the Corps of Discovery. Nothing is known of her childhood. (There is a question about whether Meriwether did move to Georgia with his family. He was also related to Robert E Lee and Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, among others. On August 11, 1806, near the end of the expedition, Lewis was shot in the left thigh by Pierre Cruzatte, a near-blind man under his command, while both were hunting for elk. Meriwether Lewis, John Ordway, George Shannon, John Shields, Peter Weiser, Peter Willard, and Joseph Whitehouse. The alpine plant Lewisia (family Portulacaceae), popular in rock gardens, is named after Lewis, as is Lewis's Woodpecker. Sucked into the tempest, their canoes pitched and rolled in the thrashing water and thumped over jagged rocks, but the men kept paddling. Her family is said to be descendents of Sir Roland Crawford, the grandfather of Sir William Wallace (the subject of Mel Gibson's 1994 epic movie Braveheart.) Of courage undaunted, possessing a firmness and perseverance of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from its direction, honest, disinterested, liberal, of sound understanding and a fidelity to truth so scrupulous that whatever he should report would be as certain as if seen by ourselves, with all these qualifications as if selected and implanted by nature in one body for this express purpose, I could have no hesitation in confiding the enterprise to him. With regards to her cooking, Thomas Jefferson reportedly remarked "Merriwether Lewis' mother made very nice hams-better than even Monticello could produce." - If the inscription on the. (Henley, 2002) She lived there until her death in 1837 with her widowed daughter Jane Meriwether Anderson. On October 10, 1809 he stopped at an inn on the Natchez Trace called Grinder's Stand, about 70 miles (110 km) from Nashville, Tennessee. His father served in the Continental Army as a lieutenant and died of pneumonia in November 1779 while his mother was a famous herb doctor. At the end of his life he was a horrible drunk, terribly depressed, who could never even finish his [expedition] journals, says Paul Douglas Newman, a professor of history who teaches Lewis and Clark and The Early American Republic at the University of Pittsburgh. According to K. Edward Lay, a professor in the Architecture School at the University of Virginia, the present-day structure was probably built around 1900, perhaps incorporating a stone chimney from 1825. By some accounts, Lewis arrived at the inn with servants; by others, he arrived alone. However Lewis died, his death had a considerable effect on the young country. Among the families are direct descendants of William Clark and collateral descendants of Meriwether Lewis. William Clark is known for his expedition to explore and discover the land west of the Mississippi River, the land that the United States brought from the French in 1803. She even scared away a crowd of rowdy British soldiers during the time that she lived at Locust Hill, her husband's family's home, with a rifle. Whether Lewis committed suicide or was murdered remains a mystery to this day. In 1795 he joined the U.S. Army, as a Lieutenant, where he served until 1801, at one point in the detachment of William Clark, who would later become his companion in the Corps of Discovery. Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 October 11, 1809). [9] He was related to George Washington by marriage: his first cousin once removed was Fielding Lewis, Washington's brother-in-law. [3], Meriwether's father, who served in the Continental Army, died from pneumonia after his horse fell into an icy stream in 1779. Surprisingly, he may also have felt like something of a failure. Lewis never married. Captain Meriwether LewisWilliam Clarks expedition partner on the Corps of Discoverys historic trek to the Pacific, Thomas Jeffersons confidante, governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory and all-around American herowas only 35 when he died of gunshot wounds sustained along a perilous Tennessee trail called Natchez Trace. Everyone in the Lewis DNA project told you this before started spamming the group with advertisements for your books and became so abusive that you were banned from the Lewis DNA project, I know you create the false find a grave memorials to give credence to the narrative in the books you try to sell on Facebook. 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. At some point in the night she heard multiple gunshots, and what she believed was someone asking for help. Meriwether Lewis was born in Albemarle County, Va., on Aug. 18, 1774. This project came to be known as the Lewis and Clark Descendants Project. The Lewises also won a gallant record in the War of 1812, the Mexican War and in the Confederate States Army. Terms of Use Meriwether Lewis never married. Yet his contributions to science, the exploration of the Western U.S., and the lore of great world explorers are considered incalculable. He was related to George Washington by marriage: his first cousin once removed was Fielding Lewis, Washington's brother-in-law. A reenactment of Lewis' entry into Grinder's Stand was an official concluding event of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Black powder pistols have been test-fired, forgeries claimed and mitochondrial DNA extracted from living relatives. She said that during dinner Lewis stood and paced about the room talking to himself in the way one would speak to a lawyer. Robert Lewis and 5 . Lewis was born in Albermale County, Virginia on August 18, 1774, to Lt. William Lewis and Lucy Meriwether. Descendants and relatives lived in Virginia and elsewhere. Four years after Lewis' death, Thomas Jefferson wrote: The alpine plant Lewisia (family Portulacaceae), popular in rock gardens, is named after Lewis, as is Lewis's Woodpecker. [2] President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Governor of Upper Louisiana in 1806. Abigail Tucker Yet even now, precious little is known about the events of October 10, 1809, after Lewis armed with several pistols, a rifle and a tomahawk stopped at a log cabin lodging house known as Grinders Stand. Lewis' descendants have asked the National Park Service to exhume the body for clues. He attempted marriage but never followed through, and started drinking excessively, which negatively affected his relationship with Jefferson. Meriwether is 15 degrees from Jennifer Aniston, 16 degrees from Drew Barrymore, 17 degrees from Candice Bergen, 18 degrees from Alexandre Dumas, 13 degrees from Carrie Fisher, 27 degrees from Whitney Houston, 18 degrees from Hayley Mills, 15 degrees from Liza Minnelli, 13 degrees from Lisa Presley, 19 degrees from Kiefer Sutherland, 14 degrees from Bill Veeck and 21 degrees from Brian Nash on our single family tree. During his time in Georgia, Lewis enhanced his skills as a hunter and outdoorsman. Wrong username or password. But rather than feeling alienated, he would have been busy enjoying a level of Buzz Aldrin-like celebrity. Meriwether Lewis at Natchez Trace Par Hohenwald, Lewis County, Tennessee, United States, American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, co-leader of Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark, whose mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase., explorer, BIRTH 18 Aug 1774, Ivy, Albemarle County, Virginia, USA, DEATH 11 Oct 1809 (aged 35), Hohenwald, Lewis County, Tennessee, USA, BURIAL Pioneer Cemetery, Hohenwald, Lewis County, Tennessee, USA Show Map. It is connected by marriage with many of the best-known names, such as Washington. The Cherokee lived in antagonistic proximity to the white settlers, but Lewis seems to have been a champion for them amongst his own people. It was also in the Broad River Valley that Lewis first dealt with a native Indian group. It was in Georgia that he met Eric Parker, who was the first to introduce him to the idea of traveling. In 1793, Lewis graduated from Liberty Hall (now Washington and Lee University), joined the Virginia militia, and in 1794 he was sent as part of a detachment involved in putting down the Whiskey Rebellion. [2] Originally, he was to provide information on the politics of the United States Army, which had seen an influx of Federalist officers as a result of John Adams's "midnight appointments." His father became a Revolutionary War officer and died when Meriwether was 5. Privacy Statement In reply to: Re: Meriwether Lewis/Woodson Connection. The U.S. Army was also present through the 101st Airborne Infantry Band and its Army chaplain. Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks was widowed a second time in 1791. On balance, his characteristics and developed sense of observation coupled with his detailed written accounts of what he observed, would prove to be ideal as a leader of the important Corps of Discovery expedition. She observed his face to flush as if it had come on him in a fit. Yet his contributions to science, the exploration of the Western U.S., and the lore of great world explorers, are considered incalculable.[3]. Most historians agree that he committed suicide; others are convinced he was murdered. It is always preferable to locate primary records where possible. He was also related to Robert E. Lee and Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, among others. Lewis was a poor administrator, often quarreling with local political leaders and failing to keep in touch with his superiors in Washington. 44 in Albemarle, Virginia, between 1796 and 1797. After he retired for the evening, Mrs. Grinder continued to hear him talking to himself. Lewis, Meriwether, 1774-1809 Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) Clark, William, 1770-1838 Despite warnings that they would all be drowned, the men of the Lewis and Clark expedition paddled toward the ferocious rapids. Mrs. Grinder, the tavern-keeper's wife, claimed Lewis acted strangely the night before his death. Their mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, establish trade and sovereignty over the natives near the Missouri River, and claim the Pacific Northwest and Oregon Country for the United States before European nations. Meriwether Lewis died on his way to Washington, DC in October, 1809. This wasnt just anybody who kicked the bucket. Besides, how could an expert marksman botch his own suicide and be forced to shoot himself twice? Now in his new role, Governor Lewis was soon embroiled in quarrels with his territorial secretary Frederick Bates (1777-1825). 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. Even into old-age, she thought nothing of riding several miles to go treat an ill acquaintance. To resolve these issues, Lewis began a trip to Washington City to plead his case to the administration in person. After returning from the expedition, Lewis received a reward of 1,600 acres of land. Between 1804 and 1806, the Corp of Discovery explored thousands of miles of the Missouri and Columbia River watersheds, searching for an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. [3] She advocated an assassination theory in Meriwether Lewis: A Historic Crime Scene Investigation (co-authored with James E. Starrs), . 10664People12Records12Sources Meriwether Lewisfound in 40 treesView all Meriwether Lewisfrom tree Railey and Allied Families Record information. Lewis was nominated and recommended to serve as the first Master of the proposed Lodge, which was warranted as Lodge No. She married William Lewis of Locust Hill; he died in 1779 and she married Captain John Marks six months later. Upon the Corps successful return, Jefferson appointed Lewis governor of the Louisiana Territory and granted him a reward of 1500 acres. For many years, Lewis' legacy was overlooked, inaccurately assessed, and even tarnished by his alleged suicide. [5] On August 2, 1808, Lewis and several of his acquaintances submitted a petition to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in which they requested a dispensation to establish a lodge in St. Louis. (Davis, 1951) Viva tuos (I died young: but thou, O Good Republic, live out my years for me with better fortune.) [8] However, his life degraded, as did his relationships. Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 - October 11, 1809). They settled along the Broad River in the Goosepond Community within the Broad River Valley in Wilkes County (now Oglethorpe County). ExplorerBorn in 1774 - Died in 1809. At the young age of fifteen, she married Edmund Anderson, (1763-1810) her first cousin in 1785. He was the second child and first son of William Lewis (abt.1738-1779) and Lucy Meriwether (1752-1837). Purchased for $20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Seaman accompanied Lewis during the expedition and afterward. Jane married Edmund Anderson in 1785, at age 14 at marriage place, Virginia. 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. Record information. When Meriwether Lewis was born on 18 August 1774, in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Virginia, British Colonial America, his father, William Lewis, was 39 and his mother, Lucy Thornton Meriwether, was 22. Her daughter and son-in-law put the house for sale on the market at $255,000 in 1982. Many people in Oregon say they inherited the adventurous spirit of the Lewis and Clark expedition, but third-grader Shaun Stice is a direct descendant. )," and his mother's name as "Winona. Meriwether Lewis was a famous explorer who became famous as the co-leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-06, which explored the territory of the Louisiana Purchase after the United States acquired it from France in 1803, as well as the Pacific Northwest.. HOHENWALD, Tenn.Collateral descendants of Meriwether Lewis have unveiled a Web site as part of their campaign to exhume and examine the American explorer's remains in hopes of determining conclusively how he died. He moved with his family to Georgia when he was ten. ISBN 978-0275990114. Activists take issue with Sacagawea's posture: she crouches behind Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, a positioning some say is demeaning for depicting the appearance of subservience. One of these was Parson Matthew Maury, an uncle of Matthew Fontaine Maury. William Lewis and 3. His wound hampered him for the rest of the journey. Lucy Meriwether. But I dont know if it would change anybodys mind one way or the other.. Parson Maury was a son of Charles Goodyear Maury who was Thomas Jefferson's teacher for two years. Username and password are case sensitive. Jefferson had mentored Meriwether in his youth and was a friend, as well as appreciative of Meriwether's unique skills. When his father died in 1779, he inherited his Locust Hill estate. These combined skills would later be useful in his expeditions. (Bakeless, 1947) A male acquaintance once described her as having a perfect person and complimented her on having "activity beyond her sex." 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. After returning from the expedition, Lewis's life had the potential to become that of a politician and stateman, and in 1807 President Jefferson appointed him as Governor of the Louisiana Territory. 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. In the predawn hours of October 11, the innkeeper heard gunshots. Meriwether Lewis After the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was made, Jefferson initiated an exploration of the newly purchased land and the territory beyond the "great rock mountains" in the West. 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. As Thomas Jefferson's letter to Meriwether Lewis said, "It may better those who may endeavour to civilise and instruct them." . A monument erected in 1848 now stands in his honor near the place the tavern occupied, and is under the care of the National Parks Service.[11]. That rifle came in handy as well when a hunting party from Locust Hill failed to kill a deer. There were songs and poems written about him. The Lewis and Clark families, along with representatives of St. Louis Lodge #1, past presidents of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and the Daughters of the American Revolution carried wreaths and led a formal procession to Lewis' grave. 111 on September 16, 1808. She never explained why, at the time, she didn't investigate further concerning Lewis's condition or the source of the gunshots.