As In Old Colonial Days: Costumes, Furniture and All Friends and Neighbors Meet at Old Mead Homestead on Mrs. Meads 83rd Birthday. (1911)

Source: Greenwich Graphic. Saturday, April 8, 1911. Page 1
(House picture included. Caption: Built in 1793).

The old colonial house at Quaker Ridge, built during Revolutionary days, called back old times Tuesday night.

For around the old fashioned fire place filled with logs, there gathered a company of people who if not connected by personal contact with the early days of Greenwich, were in every other way linked with 100 years of the past in the aged building.

It was the birthday of Mrs. Mary E. Mead, widow of the late Solomon S. Mead. For 83 years she lived in that locality.

And so her many friends sought to give her a surprise party to congratulate her on attaining that age, and to wish her every good, and that is why the old house and its fire places were besieged by neighbors and friends on that night.

And it was a scene that would have delighted the heart of an antiquarian, for the setting was perfect, everything was real, it belonged to the house and the friends who came.

The ladies wore costumes of a hundred years ago, the real thing, taken from old chests, high boys and closets, perfumed with herbs, having been worn by the mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers of those who were gowned in them.

Silks and satins, gingham and linen, homespun some of them, all as they appeared years ago. The hair of the ladies matched their gowns, done in the old style, parted in the middle and over their ears. Big beads or something of that kind were at the side of the head. 

The furniture in the old house was rare, consisting of mahogany tables, chairs and beds, and matched it all.

And to complete the picture the table where the dainty and bountiful collation was served was decorated with cut glass bowls, and candlesticks and silver in antique designs, that came, some from Holland and others from England, all old, very old, and genuine.

A profusion of flowers gave grace, fragrance to it all. It was indeed an unusual affair, rare indeed in this day of the automobile.

And it was a joy to be there. 

Mrs. Mead is a daughter of the late John Sands, who was a wealthy and influential Quaker of North King Street.

Mr. Sands’ lime kilns which were located near there, were widely known, the lime being carried for miles around in wagons drawn by four horses.

Mrs. Mead leaves the old house and Quaker Ridge in the Spring and goes to Sharon to live, and so this is a welcome and a parting as well, the old homestead having come into the possession of Babbitt Hyde, a relative of Solomon S. Mead, who intends to keep the old home as it is, and in the family.

A Partition Suit William Mead Homestead (1911)

Source: Greenwich Graphic. Saturday, January 7, 1911. Page 1

A partition suit has been brought in the Superior Court for the sale of the 28 acre plot of land and homestead known as the William Mead homestead on Old Church Road. 

Sarah Mead, his widow, had a life estate in the property, and she recently died. 

The property was then divided into twelve shares, that being the number of heirs of William Henry Mead. 

Those who will inherit under the will are Miss Cornelia A. Mead, Miss Lucien Mead of Geneva, N.Y., Miss Emma W. Mead, Miss Mary E. Mead, Miss Adelaide Mead, Miss Louisa Mead, Miss Belle Mead, George E. Mead of New York, Mrs. Elizabeth H. Sutton of Chappaqua, N.Y.; Mrs. Gheirstein Forshay of Port Chester, John J. Mead of Brooklyn, James. J. Mead, Mrs. Mary Speer, Miss Beulah Mead, Miss Belle Mead of Pittsburg, Pa.; Miss Nellie Shaw of New York, Mrs. Sarah H. Knapp, Miss Ella Judd of Greenwich, Mrs. Cordelia Scofield of Stamford, William M. White of Stamford, John E. White of Greenwich, Miss Fanny E. Mead, John A. Mead, Charles H. Mead, Augusta, Ill.; Mrs. Fred A. Waldrick of Los Angeles, Mrs. William E. Pettit, Ralph E. Mead of Akron, Ohio; Marry Mead, John A. Mead, Charles H. Mead, Mrs. J.L. Mead of Augusta, Ill.; Miss Maria E. Mead, Mrs. Maria E. Thompkins, Mrs. Andrew J. Dickson of St. Louis, Miss Olive Green of Cos Cob, Clarence R. Green of Dobbs Ferry, Miss Florence Forshay of Port Chester, Miss Mabel S. Tompkins of White Plains. 

Laurence Timmons, real estate broker, and Mr. Measury, who lived at Rock Ridge during last summer, purchased a considerable number of these interests, with the intention of buying them all, but being unable to secure them, they have now brought the partition suit above mentioned, returnable to the general term of the Superior Court. 

Partition Sale Sarah Mead Homestead
Source: Greenwich Graphic. Friday, June 23, 1911. Page 1

The Sarah Mead homestead, on Old Church Road, as will be seen by advertisement elsewhere in the Graphic, is to be sold at public auction, by order of the Superior Court, under partition sale. 

The property consists of the dwelling house and 28 acres of land splendidly situated for residential purposes. It was the home of the late William Mead, one of the prominent men of the the town a number of years ago.

At his death a life estate in the property was left to his wife. She continued to live there for many years, but shortly before her death she went to make her home with Mrs. Forshay, in Port Chester. After her decease, the heirs of William Mead, her husband, began to negotiate for the sale of the property. There are twelve undivided interests, among those in this immediate vicinity who were beneficiaries were John White, William White, Mrs. Sarah Louise Knapp, Mrs. William Scofield, Mrs. E.N. Judd, and Mrs. Benjamin Forshay of Port Chester. 

Messrs. Laurence Timmons and J. W. Masury succeeded in purchasing and number of interests on the basis of a $40,000 valuation for the whole tract. Some of the heirs refused to sell out their interests at that figure, and therefore a partition suit was brought for the sale of the property, which the court has now ordered done.

Wm Mead Homestead Sells For $47,000
Source: Greenwich Graphic. Friday, July 14, 1911. Page 1.

What is known as the William Mead homestead, on Old Church Road, was sold at auction last Saturday, under order of court for a partition sale, by Auctioneer N. A. Knapp.

The homestead consists of the residence and some twenty-eight acres of land, 24 on one side of the street and 4 directly opposite. There are twelve undivided interests in the estate, about two-thirds of which were purchased some time ago by John W. Masury and Laurence Timmons, on the basis of $40,000.

Several interests they were unable to purchase, and these were joined with George L. Slawson to make up a syndicate to purchase, Mr. Slawson bidding the property in at $47,000. What the syndicate will do with the property is not disclosed, but presumably it will be disposed of either as a whole or in parcels.

Preservation Update: Mead Burying Ground at North Greenwich

The Association announces that Mr. Bobby Keeler is no longer maintaining or providing care for the three family farm plots in Greenwich, Connecticut. 

As a result of an on-site inspection dated July 4, 2015 of the family plot located on the Solomon Mead Farm at the corner of Cliffdale and Riversville Road in North Greenwich lawn and brush clearing was initiated on July 8.

At the request of the Association professional photographer Christopher Semmes  recorded the conditions. 

The following are "before-work" images of the poor condition of the cemetery was taken during the July 4 on-site inspection. Association President Jeffrey Bingham Mead was present:

On July 6, 2015 and after these images were captured the cutting and removal of high grass and vines was initiated. These images illustrate initial results:

The bayberry bushes that surround the perimeter of the cemetery have also been trimmed and invasive vines removed.

"The Association looks forward to bringing this site back to a high standard, one that was established many years ago," reported Association Jeffrey Bingham Mead. 

Preservation Update: Mead Burying Ground at Cos Cob Mill Pond

The Association announces that Mr. Bobby Keeler is no longer maintaining or providing care for the three family farm plots in Greenwich, Connecticut. 

As a result of an on-site inspection dated July 2, 2015 of the family plot located adjacent to the Cos Cob Mill Pond major tree work and pruning of bushes was initiated. Work started on July 7. 

The following are "before-work" images of the poor condition of the cemetery taken during the July 2 on-site inspection:

Since the first week of July, 2015 the lawn has been cut and trimmed. Selected trees have been removed entirely with more as of today's date -July 30- slated for cutting. 

Likewise, tree limbs have been pruned, especially along the land that connects the cemetery to Relay Place, a dead-end public residential street in Cos Cob.

At the request of neighbors trees and bushes have been removed to allow for improved view of the Cos Cob Mill Pond. 

In less than five days after major cleanup and tree pruning was initiated there are signs of improvement. 

The embankment along the Cos Cob Mill Pond has also been substantially cleaned up. Some rocks from the wall fell into the Mill Pond, probably due to storm conditioned ushered in by Hurricane Sandy several years ago. Efforts to restore and improve the wall along the shore are in process. 

We expect to have additional trees and and around the cemetery site removed, topped and pruned into the month of August. Two cedar trees have died and will need to be removed. An apple tree near the embankment has been pruned back. Various sumac trees and poison ivy vines have been removed, too.

           

Our neighbors at the end of Relay Place have removed the chain link fence and replaced it with a much more attractive wood-treated one. Remnants of the old fence are near the entrance to the cemetery property. We expect that the old chain link fence will be removed shortly. 

Buried Gravestones of Dr. Shadrach Mead and his Wife Tammy Mead Uncovered

As stated in the previous blog post, the gravestone of Zetta Mead, wife of Colonel Ebenezer Mead, was returned at long last to the cemetery next to the Second Congregational Church known as New Burial Grounds. 

In the process of repatriating the Zetta Mead gravestone we uncovered two gravestones lying flat under several inches of sod. 

Yes, we were surprised.

The first to be uncovered was the marble marker for Dr. Shadrach Mead, who died September 16, 1844 aged 87 years. 

The listing pictured above in Spencer P. Mead's survey of burials incorrectly states that he died in his 66th year. 

Next to Dr. Mead's gravestone we found the burial marker of his wife, Tammy Mead, who died April 21, 1814 aged 50 years.

Both are adjacent to each other. We suspect that these stones were also damaged a century ago when scaffolding collapsed into the cemetery during a windstorm. 

Are there other hidden gravestones here? We would not be surprised. Be assured that when or if they are found we'll report the news here. 

In the foreground are the rediscovered gravestones of Dr. Shadrach Mead and his wife Tammy Mead. Just beyond the five upright gravestones is the one for Zetta Mead, who died in 1807. 

Zetta Mead (died 1807) Returned to New Burial Grounds Cemetery, Greenwich, Connecticut

Zetta Mead's gravestone (left, laying flat) has been returned to New Burial Grounds Association Cemetery next to the Second Congregational Church in Greenwich. 

In the mid-1980s we accidentally discovered the marble gravestone of Zetta Mead -who died in 1807- in the rear of the house where Caroline Mills Smith Mead died in 1910. It was used as a path stone behind that house on Relay Place, Cos Cob. 

How did it get there? We suspect that her marker was a casualty of the collapse of scaffolding around the then-dismantled Second Congregational Church steeple circa 1915. The steeple had been dissembled for the first time. A church committee found it to be in hazardous condition, hence the removal and eventual reassembly of the steeple. 

The scaffolding, however, was in a free-standing state. So, when a windstorm came Easter weekend the scaffolds collapsed into the adjacent cemetery. When he was among the living then-Town Historian William E. Finch, Jr., said that some local residents ran off with some of the broken gravestones. 

See the bottom of this page from Spencer P. Mead's survey of burials in the New Burial Grounds Cemetery. Zetta Mead, wife of Colonel Ebenezer Mead, born January 17, 1777 and died May 7, 1807, is listed here. 

On Monday, July 27, 2015 the Zetta Mead gravestone was removed from the plot in Cos Cob. It has been transferred to a family plot in the New Burial Grounds Cemetery. It has not been ascertained that its new location is precisely where Zetta Mead was buried. 

In the process of relocating Zetta Mead's stone we made another surprising discovery. For more on that go to this link. 

Happy 375th Founders' Day, Greenwich, Connecticut!