America 250 In Color: The Mealy Family of Goochland, Virginia
Did you know that there were thousands of Black Revolutionary War soldiers? Personally, I had no idea, even though I’m from New England, where many of them came from. It wasn’t until I found one in my own family tree that I became aware. His name was James Mealy, and he was my 7x great-grandfather. Most of his descendants have no idea they descend from him, due to surname changes among his daughters and granddaughters. All of the Mealys, Cooks, Cookes, Britts, and many of the Jacksons connected to the Sandy Hook/Gum Spring area of Goochland and Louisa Counties descend from James Mealy.
James was born in 1763, likely in Henrico County, Virginia, to Elizabeth “Betty” Mealy, a free woman of color. Betty had a brother named Archer Mealy. They were orphaned in 1745, both recorded as mulattos. Elizabeth was unmarried when she gave birth to James, contrary to unfounded claims that she was married to an older man named James Mealy. The older James Mealy, who only appears on one record in 1746, could be another brother to Betty, or some other relation. In 1768, Betty gave birth to another son. She named him Archer, after her brother.
Archer and Elizabeth Mealy’s binding order, Henrico County, Orders 1737–1745, p. 328.
Elizabeth Mealy, her children, and her brother Archer likely moved to Chesterfield County, Virginia before 1772, when the older Archer started appearing in court records. This is also supported by statements made by James Mealy in 1832 when he was deposed for a Revolutionary Pension application. When asked to produce a record of his age, he stated that there had been one in Chesterfield County.
Archer Mealy in the Chesterfield County Court Order Books in March of 1774.
The reference to Chesterfield County in James Mealy’s Revolutionary War pension file.
The Mealys moved to Goochland County, Virginia by 1778. Betty married a free mulatto landowner named David Grantum on 2 Oct 1778. Her brother Archer started appearing in Goochland court records in 1778, but the records stop in 1779, suggesting that he died around that time. James was 18 when he was drafted in May of 1781. He served for six months, seeing action at the Battle of Green Spring and the Siege of Yorktown. He was there with many notable figures, such as the Marquis de Lafayette and General George Washington.
Mentions of the Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington in James Mealy’s pension file, pension file number S9408, click here to download the full transcription
After the war, James returned to Goochland County. He was involved in at least two relationships in the late 1700s. One with Grace, a woman enslaved by David Shelton, which produced a child named Polly ca. 1785, and another relationship that may have produced his children William, Jenny, and Elizabeth.
William Mealy was born free in 1787. James was charged with William’s tithe multiple times starting in 1804. William registered as a free person of color in 1808. William or “Billy” lived on the plantation of a widow named Maria V. Woodson for many years. He has not yet been found in any records after 1833.
1804 Tax Record for James Mealy, Link
Elizabeth Mealy, born in 1791, registered as a free person of color in Goochland County in 1812. She was taxed in 1813 living on the land of Bennett Drumwright, along with Jenny Mealy. She likely had children with Thomas Brooks Jr., who was charged with living in fornication with “Betsey Mealy” in 1811. On 26 April 1830, “Noah Mealey alias Noah Brooks” was bound out for apprenticeship in Cumberland County, Virginia.
Jenny Mealy was explicitly referred to as the daughter of James Mealy in the 1801 will of David Grantum. She was likely born around 1792 considering her appearance on the 1813 tax roll. In 1811, a white man named Bennett Drumwright was charged with “living in fornication” with Jenny. Jenny was still alive on 23 March 1826, when her daughter Martha was bound to Bennett Drumwright for apprenticeship. Martha named her first child Virginia, which may have been Jenny’s full given name. Martha’s relationship with Benjamin Parrish was solemnized after he was freed from slavery. Their children were all born free, and they began using their father’s surname after 1865.
FamilySearch, Goochland County, Personal property tax lists, 1810–1832, image 179. Link.
On 6 January 1803, James married Francis “Franky” Scott, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Scott. The following year, James Mealy’s stepfather, David Grantum, passed away. In his will, he bequeathed his land to James after the death of Betty Mealy Grantum. James had been living on the land for most of his life at that point, and likely took care of David. Betty died around 1820, after decades of serving her community as a midwife.
The original marriage bond for James Mealy and Francis Scott.
Will of David Grantum, Goochland County Deed Book, vol. 19, p. 64.
James Mealy maintained his farm until his death on 22 September 1834. Afterwards, his descendants retained ownership of the tract until 2024, making 266 years of continuous ownership within the family. The land is on the banks of the Wild Boar Creek, now called Rocketts Creek.
The first child born to Francis Scott Mealy was named Evelina Mealy. She was born circa 1803. Her household neighbored her mother’s on the 1850 census. Her children Amanda, Charlotte, and John, were all recorded with the surname Woodward. Evelina’s oldest child, Julian Mealy, named his father as Morris Woodward on his 1875 marriage license. Evelina’s youngest child, John Mealy, provided the same name for his father on his 1866 marriage license. This suggests the likelihood of Benjamin Morris Woodward being the father of all of Evelina’s children, whose reported birth years range from 1820 to 1844. Y-DNA testing confirmed autosomal evidence that Evelina and B.M. Woodward also had a son named William Mealy. They are also the likely parents of Richard Otho Alexander Mealy, who named his daughter Eveline. On the 1860 census, Evelina’s household included her daughter Emily, and was enumerated in between the households of her sisters Rebecca and Margaret. Amanda Mealy had a son named John Mealy, who was likely fathered by a white man named John Haden. He became a Mealy family patriarch known as “Pappy Jack.”
The second child born to Francis Scott Mealy was named James William Mealy. He was born circa 1805 and died on 22 December 1887. James W. was “married” to an enslaved woman named Malinda Watson. Their union was solemnized by the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1866. They had an unknown number of children who were all born enslaved due to Malinda’s status. Two have been identified: Americus Mealy, who was born on 22 February 1842 and died on 6 October 1902 in Ohio, and Elizabeth Mealy Taylor, who was born circa 1848 and died before the 1880 census.
James and Francis’s third child together was Levi Mealy, born circa 1807. In 1850, he was working as a shoemaker and living in Louisa County, Virginia, with his partner Lucy Ann, their son Alexander Mealy, and Lucy Ann’s daughter, Elizabeth Logan. He was later engaged in a relationship with another free woman of color named Sallie Jenkins. Most of their children used the surname Jenkins as they got older. Their children were Anthony M. Jenkins, Martha Frances “Fannie” Mealy Lynch, Levi Jenkins, Sallie Mealy, Mary Jenkins, and Eliza Jenkins.
Rebecca Mealy, daughter of James and Francis, was born circa 1812. She registered as a free person of color in Goochland County on 18 September 1829, along with her siblings James and Levi. On the 1850 census, Rebecca was enumerated in the household of her mother, along with her brother James. Rebecca was recorded as “insane.” She registered again as a free person of color in Goochland County on 14 Nov 1864. The register notes six scars and burns on her hands and face. She had no known partners or children and died after the 1880 census.
The youngest child of James and Francis was named Margaret Mealy Cook, born in 1815. She registered as a free person of color in Goochland County on 13 May 1831, on the same date as her mother. On the 1850 census, she was enumerated with five children, likely fathered by a white man: Julia Ann Mealy, Andrew Mealy, Martha Frances Mealy Jackson, Caroline Mealy, and Mary Susan Mealy Jackson. Direct Y-chromosome descendants of Andrew carry the European haplogroup R-S733. On 24 December 1851, Margaret married William James Cooke, a free man of color. They had three children together: George Cooke, Sarah “Sallie” Cook Jackson, and William James Cooke, Jr. Margaret’s household often included her grandchildren by Julia Ann, who were fathered by a white man named William Britt. Julia Ann’s descendants chose to use the surname Britt instead of Mealy as they got older.
Click here to download this family tree.
If you are connected to this family, please join the Mealy Family Facebook Page by clicking here. If you would like more genealogical information, please view this cited journal article: Research on James Mealy, A Forgotten Patriot: 1763–1834
