Meshach Lewellyn (b 1760/5) son of Shadrach, Randolph Co IN
Billie Harris - Aug 2, 2011
The following information was taken from "Randolph County, Indiana 1818-1990" compiled by the Randolph County Historical Society.
Page 562, 563:
LEWELLYN, Meshach Lewellyn (1) was b. probably in Loudon Co. VA sometime between 1760 and 1765. He was the son of Shadrach and Deborah (Burson) Lewellyn. He m. Hanna (Brooks?) ca 1790, probably in Washington Co. OH. During his moves west he lived in Washington Co. PA, Hamlin Co KY and Preble Co. OH before coming to Randolph Co. in 1816.
Tucker's 1882 History of Randolph County says that he built a mill, in what is now Ridgeville, about 1819. His neighbors considered him an old man. He would have been between 54 and 59 at that time - old to be claiming a new home from raw wilderness but he couldn't qualify for a senior citizen discount today. He did have a large family. We have records of nine children and believe there were more. Seven of these children were b. before he arrived in Randolph Co. and two of them were already m. Birth places and birth dates of the children are Nancy (1791) and Shadrach (1794) in Pennsylvania. Deborah (1796), Benjamin (1796) and Isaac (1802) in Kentucky; Rachel (1805) and Mary "Polly" (1808) in Ohio and Elizabeth (1825) in Randolph Co., IN.
Until after he arrived in Ohio and possibly after he came to Randolph Co., Meshack was a Quaker. He seems to have switched to the Methodist Episcopal Church late in life. His wife, Hanna, remained a Quaker.
Meshack d. about 1832. His wife d. in 1842, her will was filed Nov. 16, 1842. She was somewhere between 67 and 72 of age at the time of her death.
As you would expect from their large family, Meshack and Hanna have many descendants. Marriages that we have records of are listed below.
Nancy m. James Addington on June 11, 1809, in Preble Co, OH. Their history is given separately.
Shadrach m. Elizabeth Miller on Oct. 6, 1817 in Wayne Co., IN.
Deborah m. Stephen Jones on Oct. 28, 1813, in Wayne Co., IN.
Benjamin m. (1) Nancy Jane Sutton and (2) Patience Blanden. Their son, Abednego, moved to Anderson Co. KS in 1854 during the height of the border warfare between free state and slave state supporters. We have no record that he participated in the fighting, but his cousin, a member of the same immigrant party, was a captain of a company of free state militia.
Isaac m. Sarah Miller on May 13, 1824 in Randolph Co. IN
Rachel m. Abraham Renberger on Nov. 28, 1824 in Randolph Co. IN
Mary m. David Hammer on Jan. 12, 1826 in Randolph Co IN. They moved to Lee Co. IA. It is Mary and David's wedding that is described on page 406 of Tucker's 1882 History of Randolph County. After David's death in Lee Co., she married Henry Pritchard.
Elizabeth m. Isaac Renbarger.
There are at least 52 ways to spell Lewellyn. Clerks used five of them in one document. Three of the variations used by Meshack during his life are Lewellyn, Lewallen, and Lawellen.
Page 446
JAMES ADDINGTON, son of John and Elizabeth (Heaton) Addington, was b. Feb. 6,1789 in either Union or Newberry Co., SC. His father and grandfather migrated from England in 1745. The family were Quakers but John's brothers, William and James, fought in the Revolution. John is listed in Margaret Waters' book "Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Indiana" as having fought but we have not determined whether or not a service record exists. After the Revolution the family moved west first to Tennessee, then to Kentucky and Ohio. In 1806 James settled in what is now Wayne Co. IN. On June 15, 1809 in Preble Co, OH, James m. Nancy, daughter of Meshack Lewellyn. They had 13 children, seven of whom lived to maturith.
James and Nancy lived first in Wayne Co. IN where in 1810 James was one of the three men appointed to select a site for the county seat. There was some dissention over their choice and the dispute lasted until 1816. James was on the losing side.
In 1828 James moved to Ridgeville area in Randolph County where his father-in-law, Meshack Lewellyn, had been settled for several years and entered on the west 80 of S.E. 21, 13 which is two miles west of the present town of Ridgeville. Over the next several years he entered on several additional parcels of land. At his new home he followed the occupations of farmer, carpenter and miller. He was associated with his brother William (and possibly before that with Meshack Lewellyn) in the operation of Lewallen's mill. He d. in Anderson Co, KS in 1860. Some of his children are listed below.
John Lewallen Addington was b. in Wayne Co ca 1810. He was for a time a justice of peace in Randolph Co. He m. first Sarah Stephens and second Nancy Fashner.
William Lewallen Addington was b. in Wayne Co. ca 1818. He m. Mary Hughes on Sept. 22, 1840. He was killed by lightening in 1852.
Rachel Addington was b ca 1890 in Wayne Co. On Dec. 27, 1838 she m. David S. Wilson. Their history is given separately.
Benjamin Lewallen Addington was b. ca 1825 in Wayne Co. On Jan. 22, 1846 he m. Margaret Hughes. in 1857 he moved with a party of other Ridgeville people to Anderson Co. KS. This was the height of the border warfare in Kansas between freestate and slavery supporters. Benjamin was a justice of peace and led a company of freestate militia. His home was a polling place for free state supporters in several elections.
Thomas Lewallen Addington was b. Jan. 26, 1829. There is a short biography in "History of Randolph Co." 1882 by E. Tucker.
Isaac Lewallen Addington was b. ca 1832 in Randolph Co. He m. first Piety Horn and second Eliza. Submitted by Don Wilson.
Page 452:
Excerpt re Galel Bailey
"...The tract on which the Bailey home stood was a part of slightly over 279 acres deeded to Meshach Lewellen on July 19, 1817, and later was part of Arthur McKew addition to Ridgeville. Mrs. Bailey deeded the property to her son, Gale, on Feb. 3, 1924. Lewellen made the first settlement of the Ridggeville Community..."
Also of interest on page 446 is a section on Joseph Leander Addington and the reason it's of interest genealogically is because he married Elizabeth Burson. Here's a short excerpt:
"JOSEPH LEANDER ADDINGTON, a majority of the Addingtons in Randolph Co. are descendants of a John Addington b 1751 and d. 1819 near Chester IN. John was the son of Henry Addington who was b in England in 1727 and m. Elizabeth Burson. On arrival in America, Henry first settled near Philadelphia but about 1755 moved his family to the 96 District in South Carolina. His son, John Addington, fought in the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. The Addington Families that migrated to Randolph County in the 1830s were originally from North Carolina and had migrated to Wayne Co. IN about 1808-1810. Three of John's sons, Joseh )b 1776), Thomas (b 1778) and James (b 1789) migrated with their families to Randolph Co. about 1834-5..."
I'm not sure if this is from the same book or another but page 54 shows the Randolph County Townships and Rivers. The Mississinewa River runs by Ridgeville which is where Meshack lived.
This is part of page 54:
"From the 1837-1891 Illustrated Trade Edition of the Ridgeville News Dec. 18, 1891. Our City:
"A summary of past local events that prove our stability.
"During this day of advanced thought and proclivities, the human mind turns forward rather than backward and the history of the dead past is lost amid the busy activities of the present.
"Ridgeville is situated on the north bank of the historic Mississinewa river at the head of the flat boat navigation. The first white man to settle upon the present site was MESHACK LEWALLYN, in 1817. In 1819 this gentleman built a mill at the banks of the river and Lewallyn's mill became widely known. The same year Joab Ward came here and built flat boats.
"Ridgeville was laid out twice. The original site consisted of 16 lots laid out by Wm and John Addington, who succeeded Mr. LEWALLYN as proprietors of the mill, but for sixteen years no business so it went to their original farm state. Arthur McKew and Joab Ward laid out one hundred and twenty-eight lots and their work was recorded January 5th 1853. It was first named Newtown...."
There's a photo of Joab Ward's cabin at Ridgeville on the page. It reads "Joab Ward, one of the first settlers of Franklin Township, built this cabin in 1819 along the south bank of the Mississinewa River near where the G.R.& I. Railroad bridge used to span in later years. The transportation of produce in Joab's day was mainly by flatboats carried by the flow of the river during high water and the Ridgeville area was at the head of the navigable portion of the river. In about 1835 the enterpising Ward began building the boats to sell to farmers for this purpose. This successful business continued for only about 15 years when other means and sources of supplies developed in the produce markets. The sturdy two-story log cabin survived, empty and vunerable to the elements, for well ove 100 years but efforts in the 1930s to preserve the historic relic fell on deaf ears."
I have a map from the book which shows Ridgeville where Meshach Lewellyn lived to be in the uppermost part of Randolph county bordering Jay County. Randolph is right on the Ohio border near Preble and near Mercer counties.