Samuel Meeker's cousin and business partner: More on Wm Parsons Meeker. He was indeed married!

William Parsons Meeker, also a sitter for Gilbert Stuart 

I have been in touch with a descedent of Samuel's cousin and business partner William Parsons Meeker. William handled the business side of things in England, organizing items to be shipped from London to Philadelphia ["dry goods and hardware"], to be retailed to Philly customers. My thought is that he went back and forth (probably rarely, how often did retail businessmen from America sail between London and Philadelphia, the hazardous trip could take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 months), did he carry on two lives? It seems that William met his demise, at sea as a younger man, during the War of 1812 with England.  As an American, he perhaps was no longer welcome in England. It was a tragic time for both nations, negatively impacting the economies of both countries (in particular import/export, through shipping). Here is more information on William Meeker from my "distant" cousin. More input is welcome at any time, from you Meekers out there. It was thought that he was unmarried, but that has been shown to be false.

Terry's discovery that an ancestor of hers was painted by Stuart was exciting, 

as it would be to anyone!

She, like me, delved into the STORIES of our Meeker ancestry. Terry wrote the excerpt below.

Regarding the Gilbert Stuart blog by Elizabeth Ahrens:

I read and felt your excitement in 2008 at finding the portrait of your ancestor Samuel Meeker (1763-1831) painted by non other than Gilbert Stuart in 1803. As an Australian, I needed to read about Stuart to appreciate the artist’s following in America. Seemingly, his greatness was evident and his artistic merits were in part due to the nature of many of his clientele – The ‘wealthy and/or famous’.

My own excitement arose when I read that Samuel’s cousin, William Parsons Meeker (1769-1812) was also painted by Stuart and there it was, William’s portrait right in front of my eyes. I have to admit that it wasn’t the greatness of the artist nor the attributes of many of the sitters that aroused my emotions. You see, William was my 3-x great grandfather. I had done a lot of background reading about the Meekers in America, starting with the progenitor William (Goodman) Meeker who arrived there about 1635. Samuel and William were descendants (and first cousins) of William (Goodman) Meeker. 

William’s parents were Matthias (1744-1832) and Jane Parsons (1746-1814). Matthias Meeker was famous in his own right. He, Rev. J. Arsdalen and Matthias Denman organised residents of Springfield, NJ to discuss how to help those people who were seeking refuge from Yellow fever. That particular epidemic killed 5000 Philadelphians. It was decided to offer asylum and a hospital to those who were affected.

A sentence written by Elizabeth Ahrens on her blog related to Gilbert Stuart caught my eye; ‘William Parson Meeker, he never married’.  It wasn’t the first time that I had seen this statement about William. I have written a biography of my family’s history. In it, I have shown that William did in fact marry during his time spent working as a merchant in England in the early 1800s. 

William’s portrait presents a handsome young man, yet, apparently, Stuart never beautified his sitters. It’s easy to understand then then why an English lady, named Elizabeth Vandenbrant would find Mr. William Parsons Meeker an attractive gentleman, fall in love, and marry him, and then have his child in January 1810.

One has to ask why is William presented as a childless bachelor in death (1812); and how do I know otherwise? We can assume that Willian hadn’t told anyone ‘back home’ that he had married or fathered a son. Do we know if he actually travelled ‘back home’? To date, there isn’t any evidence suggest that he did so.

Likewise, we haven’t found a specific marriage record for William. However, there is ample documentation to support our proposal that he and Elizabeth married. Parish baptismal records show William and Elizabeth Meeker as parents for a son.

When their son married in 1836, he and his wife Charlotte Callan made William Parson a grandfather for 11 children. From those 11 children then are descendants such as myself, settled throughout the globe.

William Parsons and Samuel Denman (based in America) were declared bankrupt in London in 1808. Dividends due to creditors were still being played out in court when he died in 1812. Perhaps he was returning home to sort out his financial difficulties when he died at sea in 1812?

There’s plenty more to William Parson Meeker’s story as presented by Dr. Terry Joyce PhD (Australia) and Pam Prior (England).

Correspondence:   doctor.terry60@yahoo.gov.au

An advertisement for Meeker's firm in the Philadelphia Gazette, October 23, 1797: Meeker, Denman, & Co.

click on image for a larger view

Meeker, Denman, & Co
No. 22 South Front Street

Have received by the *** from Grenock, to N.
York, Cumberland, from Hull, Clothier and Sey-
mour from Liverpool, and William Penn from
London.
A GENERAL ASSORTMENT OF
Dry Goods and Hard Ware,
Which they now offer for sale on moderate terms,
for cash or the usual credit, viz.

Fine and Coarse broad-cloths
Plain and xxx cloths
Plain and printed cashmere

...
Colour’d and black silk handkerchiefs
Silk and cotton bandanas
An elegant assortment of callicoes
Furniture

Silk, cotton

In 1797 Meeker was 34. It appears that by this time he had already been in Philadelphia, having left the Meeker family homestead in the Westfields NJ, for at least 10 years —(in 1787 he was listed as a private in the 'First Company, Second City Battalion, Colonel James Read' in Philadelphia.) Five years before (1792) Samuel’s twin sister Phebe (my direct ancestor!) had married Alexander Cochran in a prominent wedding in the “Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia”, and Meeker’s first business partner was his brother-in-law Cochran; the firm was known as Meeker Cochran & Co. Within five years the partnership was dissolved (and Phebe had divorced.) By 1797 Meeker was busily engaged in commerce with his next firm Meeker, Denman, & Co. Samuel Denman was also Samuel’s brother-in-law, through his wife. Jane [Hampton] Meeker was the sister of Anna Marie [Hampton] Denman. I have found the images of the Denmans, Samuel and Anna Marie, in miniatures at the Smithsonian, stay tuned! but today I will just show an advertisement in the Philadelphia Gazette & Universal Daily. [A friend found this, while researching one of his own ancestors!] The third partner in the firm seems to have been William Parsons Meeker, also painted by Stuart. This young fellow died a premature death in 1812. As he was their agent in England and was lost at sea, perhaps he was returning home over the seas and perished due in some way to the War of 1812. He was the first cousin of Samuel, their fathers were brothers.
Who better to trust, than family members!

William Parson Meeker by Gilbert Stuart, he was lost at sea in 1812

first cousin of Samuel Meeker and business partner