Let's Rally Together to Preserve Our Past: Annual Appeal

Dear Mead Family Descendants:

Today the Association is making its annual appeal for your support for the preservation of our ancestral cemeteries in Greenwich, Connecticut. 

Can you help? I hope you can.

The Historic Mead Family Burying Grounds Association, Inc., was initially founded in 1989 to maintain, preserve and protect three small ancestral farm cemetery sites in Greenwich. At one time all three of these sites were overgrown and neglected. 

That has not been the case for many years! In fact, the Association has served as a model for others to take on the task of preserving similar historic cemetery sites.

We need to raise funds to continue the perpetual care of the Cliffdale Road, North Greenwich and Relay Place, Cos Cob Mill Pond sites. This mainly entails lawn care and trimming around gravestones. 

Our goal is to raise $1000-$1500 to cover those costs for this year. Given the number of family descendants around the country and beyond I believe that any small donations will add up to attaining and perhaps exceeding our goal.

Presently I am pleased to report that we have attained 20% of our goal! Can you help us reach to the top?

Please make your checks out to History Mead Family Burying Grounds. Gail is my eldest sister who will be depositing checks received in our Greenwich bank account. 

Post your donation checks to Mrs. Gail Mead Fletcher, 43 Washington Mews, Port Chester NY 10507.

I will send each donor a personal acknowledgment and thank-you letter. 

Please contact the Association anytime at meadburyinggrounds@gmail.com. I appreciate your kind donations and attention. 

Greenwich, Connecticut Turns 375 This Year!

Our ancestral home town, Greenwich, Connecticut, turns 375 years old on July 18, 2015. Mead descendants are invited and encouraged to renew our shared history by participating in planned events throughout the year.

Click this link for the official 375th Anniversary web site for more information. 

"Beautiful Quaker Ridge" Saturday, August 1, 1903

From the Greenwich News-Graphic
Saturday, August 1, 1903

Barely Four Miles Long it is Noteworthy for theMagnificent View That it Affords. The Old Solomon Stoddard Mead Homestead on its Breeze Swept Crest.

It has often been said _____ truth that the principal charm of this section of Connecticut lies in the irregularity of its soil formation, and in the ____ing country where hills and dales are unexpectedly formed and again lost ___anging the scenery at every time. ___ instance of this erratic though ____ pleasing typography is found in Quaker Ridge, which can only be adequately described as a long hill on the crest by which runs the highway from Glenville to North Castle. The ridge begins at about a mile before reaching the well-known Solomon S. Mead homestead and ends at North Castle, a short distance, four miles replete with interesting views and lined with a number of historic homes and buildings. From the Mead place the view is superb, and to the south the sloping land to the Sound and Island, on the horizon to the east one sees beyond Clapboard Ridge the fine country with the white spire of the New Canaan Church in evidence; northward Round Hill and its picturesque buildings nestling among the elms and maples presents a rural picture of indescribable charms and the the west the King street ridge stands boldly against the sky.

Quaker Ridge as the name implies was originally settled by the members of the Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, who have long ago abandoned this particular locality. Many are still to be found on King street on the west ridge to the west and at Purchase where there are two meeting houses for members of this worthy and peaceful sect. At North Castle and old meeting house, the very one which was the place of worship for the Friends ______ presence gave the name Quaker Ridge is slowly falling to pieces and being used for a stable. It is remarkable that some wealthy members of this Society do not take steps to preserve this meeting house so deeply imbued with their traditions and love.

Close by this old meeting house of the Friends is the old trad___ barn where Major Andre was confined ___ the Revolutionary days when he was arrested as a spay by Paulding, W____ and Van Wert. From there he was taken over the Hudson River and executed by orders of General Washington. That barn, like the meeting house is also to be destroyed by the City of New York as a nuisance on the banks of the river, together with the old grist mill and many tenements which surround it. 

The time limited for the destruction of all the condemned buildings along the banks of the river is August 10. We will see what will be done.

The Mead place which curiously enough is just six miles distant from Greenwich, Port Chester and Stanwich, and also six miles direst east from White Plains and ten miles south of old Bedford Village proper, attracts more than unusual attention on account of its historic associations and the beautiful building and grounds. The records of the township show that a number of parcels of land were set out to Benjamin Mead, senior and Benjamin Mead junior, on Quaker Ridge. Mead senior was one of the original "27 proprietors of 1672," who owned the land which is now Greenwich township. Mead junior, left the old homestead which he had built to his grandson, Obadiah Mead father of the present Solomon S. Mead. Since that date the old homestead has been reconstructed without destroying architectural style and harmony. The original nails have been resharpened at a cost of 7 cents per pound and used again, although new ones could have been purchased at 3 cents per pound. The old fireplace is restored and on two of the stones may be seen the names Ralph Mead and Benjamin Mead carved in the stone with the date May 10, 1808. The interior of the house has been refurnished and one can see therein the dainty ______ of a woman's hand. Mr. Solomon S. Mead has in his possession several interesting relics, including a jacket _____ by Obadiah Mead, Sr., a Revolutionary soldier, who was shot on the farm, _____ bullet holes are still to be seen although the jacket is falling to pieces with ____ also a powder horn with the date 175_ and a pair of curtains over two hundred years old. 

Mr. Mead for a number of years gave his special attention to the breeding of horses, colts, and stock _____ all kinds all year around. He _____ a very successful business and _____ his patrons were many prominent _____. Recently his business has become the property of his daughters Sarah Carpenter and Agnes Varker who are keeping up the standard of excellence established by Mr. Mead, with such changes and ___rations as are required by modern methods of care of blooded horses and _____ winners.

Mr. Mead is a hale ____hearty man of 77, who belies his age ___. He is cordial and hospitable and a ____ of weight in the community. For many years he was identified with the Congregational Church at Quaker Ridge of which he is the oldest member at present. A prim republican of Whig antecedents he has never craved political ______. His entire life has been committed to useful pursuits and to the development of Quaker Ridge farm, which is at the summit of the Ridge, stands as a reminder to him and to his people of a faithful, laborious and worthy life. 

Obituaries: Edgar T. Mead: Businessman, Author, Historian and Railroad Advocate (2001)

Region Loses Its Foremost Railroad Advocate

Valley News: Sunday, February 25, 2001.

by Rich Barrow, Valley News Staff Writer

HANOVER- He'd made a career in the pinstriped world of Wall Street. He was a prolific letter writer, a dying breed these days, who seemed to pop up in this newspaper almost as often as the weather report, opining on politics, local government and a host of other issues. He served in numerous local boards and co-founded a political think tank in Concord.

But Edgar T. Mead Jr., who died Thursday at 78, was first and foremost a railroad man, a passionate authority on the rails and transportation issues, including in northern New England.

"He had worked as a teenager on the road in Maine, and he'd gone to camp in New Hampshire," says his son, E. Thorn Mead III. "He had some ties (here). He knew the north country."

Indeed, the man who produced 14 books and more than 100 articles on railroads, transportation and economics devoted his first book, Over the Hills to Woodstock to the old White River Junction – Woodstock line.

"He was quite, quite well known among (rail) fans, kind of in a senior position" among buffs, said Stanley Barriger, who owns Ascuntney Travel, which specializes in railroad travel.

He was, for more than half his life, a man of the city. Born in New York, reared in the tony Gotham suburb of Greenwich, Conn. (a town his family founded in the 1600s), Mead came back from service in US Army intelligence during World War II to work on Wall Street as an investment analyst. But when he retired from that life in 1968, he moved to Hanover.

Explaining the genesis of his passion in a 1998 interview, Mead recalled, "I was the child of much older parents. To keep this little kid busy, the train is the thing to look at. So we went for a week or two down to Atlantic City. My father found a grade-crossing guy who'd lost a leg and had this kind of sinecure job. He just loved kids, so I and he would sit there and talk, and all the trains were coming out of Atlantic City every 10 minutes. And these (different trains) became all very clear to me. (I also) think my father was kind of a closet rail fan. He'd take me to see trains go by. Then we had a cousin in Denver who was chairman of the Denver – Rio Grande River Railroad. And he and I were great pals."

While on Wall Street, Mead specialized transportation stocks. The colorful, robber-baron history of railroads also appealed to his romantic streak. He'd eagerly recommend a book by Winston Churchill (the American, not the British prime minister) on the construction of the Concord-Claremont Railroad, the charter of which was rammed through the state legislature when a storm prevented many appointments from reaching Concord.

He is survived by his wife, Emily; three children, E. Thorn Mead III of Marblehead, Mass., Mary Mead of Warner, N. M.H., and Malcolm W. Mead of Harding, N.H.; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover. A reception will follow at the Center on the Dartmouth College campus. Memorial donations in his memory may be made to the main Narrow Gauge Railroad, 53 4th St., Portland, Mane; or to St. Thomas Episcopal Church.

*************************************

Edgar Mead Jr., 78, retired Wall Street exec

Sunday, February 25, 2001

Edgar T. Mead, Jr., 78, of Hanover, N. H., a retired Wall Street executive and railroad preservationist, died Thursday, February 22, at Health South Rehabilitation Center in Concord, N. H.

The cause of death is still to be determined, his family said.

He was born Dec. 12, 1922, in New York, son of the late Edgar and Gertrude Hayward Mead. He grew up in Greenwich, which counts is forebears among its founders. He attended Greenwich Country Day School and Choate School.

After graduating from Williams College and serving with U.S. Army Intelligence in Europe during World War II, he worked for several Wall Street firms, including Moody's Investor Service, and attended and taught at New York University Graduate School of Business Administration. He subsequently joined the investment firm of G. C. Haas & Co., from which he retired as a partner in 1968.

Moving to Hanover, N. H., he took over as director of the Steamtown Foundation in Bellows Falls, Vt, one of the nation's premier preservation sites for steam-era railroad equipment.

He was later appointed director at the New Hampshire Transportation Authority, serving from 1974-76.

Railroads, particularly steam trains, were the theme that unified Mr. Mead's personal and professional life. He traveled the world in search of disappearing steam railroads in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s.

He was particularly interested in narrow-gauge steam, passion which was captured in a number of books he authored, including 'Busted and Still Running' and 'The Bridgton Narrow Gauge.' He stepped in on numerous occasions to purchase steam locomotives from the scrapper's torch.

Mr. Mead served as a delegate to the 1974 New Hampshire Constitutional Convention and the 1980 Republican National Convention. He served on the planning board, library and Board of Selectmen in Hanover. With his wife, he was cofounder of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a nonpartisan state policy think tank in Concord, N. H.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Emily Mead, of Hanover; three children, E. Thorn Mead III, of Marblehead, Mass., Mary Mead, of Warner N. H., and Malcolm Mead, of Harding, N. J.,  and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Saturday at 2 p.m.  at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover. A reception will follow at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College.

The family requests that donations be made in Mr. Mead's name to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad in Portland, Maine, or to St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover.

Obituaries: Edgar T. Mead Died at Home Here Yesterday (1932)

Funeral Services Are Being Held at Christ Church This Afternoon

Edgar Thorn Mead, of North Street, an old and respected citizen of Greenwich and one of the generation of Meads who played an important role in the history of Greenwich, died at his home early yesterday morning, in the house were he and several of his progenitors were born.

A vestryman of Christ Church here for many years, and president of the North Street Association, Mr. Mead had always been active in town affairs. He was ill for three months before his death. The funeral service is to be held at 3 o'clock this afternoon at Christ Church, burial be made in Christ Church Cemetery.

Mr. Mead's ancestors came to this country from England in 1742. In a little old farmhouse built between 1725 and 1730 that stood back of Mr. Mead's late home was born Caleb Mead. Caleb's son, born in the old farmhouse, was Lieut. Caleb Mead, who fought in the Colonial or French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War. The Mead family today has the original commission which Lieut. Caleb received from King George II of England.

Jonah, son of Lieut. Caleb, was born in the old farmhouse, and his son, Col. Drake Mead, was born in the late home of Edgar T. Mead, which was constructed in 1796. The old farmhouse, torn down in 1875, had housed the Mead family since it was first occupied by them in 1742.

Col. Drake Mead headed a regiment of the state militia, and his commission, received from Governor Oliver Wolcott of Connecticut, is still preserved by the family. Col. Mead's regiment was well known in this locality after the War of 1812.

Col. Drake Mead was the father of Cornelius Mead, born in the same house, who was a farmer and sat in the Connecticut Legislature for about 14 years. Cornelius was the father of Edgar T. Mead, also a son, Walter C. Mead, of Denver Colo., and a daughter, Mrs. William R. Talbot, of 123 Maple Avenue, who survive their brother.

Born in the old Mead homestead February 4, 1868, Mr. Edgar Mead received his schooling in Greenwich and lived here all his life. His brother Walter has been a resident of Denver for the past 50 years, making several trips east to his birthplace Greenwich, each year.

During a trip west 28 years ago, Mr. Edgar Mead met Gertrude Hayward, while visiting his brother, and married her. They leave a young son, Edgar T. Mead, Jr. Hearing of his brothers illness Mr. Walter Mead came west and was with his brother a week before he died.

Honorary pall bearers at the funeral will be wardens and vestrymen of Christ Church and the following: Joseph F. Abbott, John P. Adams, Roger S. Baldwin, Max B. Berking, H. Ernest Buermeyer, T. B. Conklin, Julian W. Curtiss, Edward C. Dean, William F Decker.

Caleb Mead House, North Street and Taconic Road

Everett Mead: The First Car in Greenwich, Connecticut

Pictured here is Everett Mead, circa 1901, driving the first automobile in the history of the Town of Greenwich. Enjoy!