Captain Matthew Mead Biography

Matthew Mead was born ca. 1734 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut. He was the son of John Mead (1682-1759) and Elizabeth Lockwood Mead (1707-1785), both of Greenwich.

Matthew's grandfather was Constable John Mead, who was born about 1658 (died May 12, 1691), whose marriage to Ruth Hard(e)y was the first marriage that was recorded in the Town of Greenwich on October 27, 1681.

He married Mary Bush in 1759 in Greenwich. She was the daughter of Justus Bosch/Bush and Elizabeth "Ann" Belden. She was born on February 3, 1741/42 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut.

The children of Matthew Mead and Mary Bush were:

• Elizabeth "Betsey" Mead, b. December 11, 1760, Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; d. 1844, New York City, New York; m. John Brown, May 1780, Greenwich; b. March 14, 1760, Greenwich; d. April 22, 1815, New York City.
• Ruth Mead, b. 25 January 1762; d. 5 June 1841, West Neck, Huntington, Suffolk, Long Island, New York; m. Benajah Bouton, 1787, Pound Ridge, Westchester County, New York; b. 31 October 1760, Pound Ridge; d. 02 October 1838, West Neck, Huntington, Long Island, New York. They had eight children, seven of whom were listed in the Find-a-Grave site.
• Mary Mead, b. January 10, 1765, Greenwich; d. Bef. 1813, Fairfield County, Connecticut; m. Alexander Grigg, ca. 1786, Greenwich; b. ca. 1761, Greenwich; d. ca. 1798, Greenwich.
• Matthew Mead, Jr., b. May 18, 1767, Greenwich; d. June 16, 1851, Fairfield County, Connecticut; m. Nancy Hobby, March 15, 1791, Greenwich; b. January 14, 1767, Greenwich; d. May 26, 1856, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
• Justus Bush Mead, b. June 30, 1769, Greenwich; d. March 24, 1849, Greenwich; m. Polly Knapp, December 25, 1797, Fairfield County, Connecticut; b. September 06, 1780, Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut; d. April 04, 1849, Greenwich.
• Anna (Ann, Anne) Mead, b. July 04, 1771; d. before April 2, 1816, probably in Connecticut; m. Samuel Denton, ca. 1792, probably in Connecticut; b. ca. 1767.
• Rebecca Mead, b. July 10, 1773, Greenwich; d. December 03, 1855, Greenwich; m. William Gilmore, Greenwich; b. about 1769; d. after December 03, 1855. Rebecca is listed as "Rebecca Moore" in her mother's estate distribution (dated April 2, 1813). Her first husband apparently had a "Mead" (not "Moore") surname. This listing might have therefore involved a transcription error. Rebecca's gravestone lists her husband's name as William Gilmore.
• Charity Mead, b. October 20, 1775, Greenwich; d. April 01, 1849, Greenwich; m. Walter Howell, ca. 1796, Fairfield County, Connecticut; b. December 10, 1772; d. December 14, 1847, Greenwich.
• Sally Mead, b. November 28, 1777, Greenwich; d. May 01, 1857, Greenwich, Huron County, Ohio; m. Thadeus Fancher, May 27, 1798, b. August 12, 1754, possibly Ohio; d. December 26, 1854, Huron County, Ohio.
• Amos Mead, b. May 04, 1779, Greenwich; d. September 16, 1860, Greenwich, Huron County, Ohio; m. Catharine White, ca. 1802, probably Connecticut; b. November 09, 1782, Connecticut; d. January 06, 1850, Greenwich, Huron County, Ohio.
• Pamelia Bush Mead, b. January 21, 1784, Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut; d. February 08, 1857, Greenwich; m. Stephen Marshall, November 01, 1807, Greenwich; b. April 23, 1783, Greenwich; d. December 03, 1855, Greenwich.
• Bush Mead, b. August 05, 1786, Greenwich; d. January 13, 1860, Greenwich; m. Sarah Wilson, ca. 1812, Greenwich; b. ca. 1791, probably Connecticut; d. July 06, 1847, Greenwich.

Matthew Mead served in the military as an Ensign in the French-Indian War, campaign of 1762. Matthew Mead was commissioned Captain of the new company or train band of Greenwich on 13 May 1773. He was a captain in the Connecticut Militia 9th regiment that served in New York in 1776 and 1777, the regiment commanded by his older brother, Lieutenant Colonel John Mead. The names of the men in Captain Matthew Mead’s company and their service dates (13 August to 25 September 1776; 27 October 1776 to 11 January 1777) are listed in the “Connecticut Militia 1776-1783” section. His older brother John Mead (1729-1790) was commissioned a major in the Connecticut Militia on 13 May 1773, became a colonel in May 1777, and subsequently became a brigadier general in 1781. On December 19, 1778, Captain Matthew Mead was again, with six others, made a member of the Committee of Safety and Inspection. This group was to check the guns, ammunition, and food supplies for those who remained in Greenwich and to see to their safety.

During the Revolution Greenwich was a burr in the side of the British. General Tryon called the people of Greenwich "swamp rats" because after they attacked British supply ships on Long Island Sound and were pursued by warships, they disappeared into the swamps and small bays on the Connecticut shore. On more than one occasion small boats fled across the shallow sandbars where the pursuing enemy ships went aground, to the great amusement of the natives who gathered on the shore to watch.

The British General Tryon made his historical raid on Greenwich February 26, 1779. He had three objectives: the Cos Cob salt flats, the raiding of the fleet of small whaleboats, and the horse farms. The possible capture of General Putnam was an added inducement. General Putnam, however, made his famous escape down Put's Hill.

At the time of Tryon's Raid, Captain Mead's house was situated on the Post Road to the west of Mead Tavern (corner of Putnam Avenue and Lafayette Place).

Matthew died in 1812 in Greenwich. Mary died in 1813 in Greenwich. They were buried in Mary Bush Mead's family (Bush) vault, which was where the Greenwich Boys' Club is now located. The vault and its remains have been moved to the Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich.

Submitted by Sandra Johnson Witt, his fifth great granddaughter, on July 19, 2011

Putnam Cemetery Section B (The remains in this section were transferred from the Bush Family Vault in Greenwich in 1857).