Basil Meek
1. Basil Meek was born on 7 Mar 1763 in Hagerstown, MD (Unproven fact). He died on 12 Jan 1844 in Woodford Co., IL.
He first appears in the records of Clark Co., Ky as a bondsman for Thomas Hulse on 7 Feb 1795. Thomas Hulse was the son of Paul Hulse and Nancy Meek who came from Berkeley Co., WV. He is listed in the 1795 and 1796 tax rolls of Clark Co., KY. In 1795 he had 2 horses. By 1796 he had 2 horses and 10 head of cattle.
He filed for a warrent for land to the Commission for Settlement South of Green River on 7 Aug 1798. This claims was located in Lincoln Co., Ky. on Kings Creek. The area was later Pulaski County. He resided in Pulaski Co., KY between 1798 to 1816 where he was appointed justice of the peace on 25 Jun 1799 and sheriff in 1804. He was closely associated with Nathaniel Meek from this point forward.
He moved to Jennings Co., IN in 1817, where he was sheriff. He was reported in the 1840 census of Tazewell Co., IL, age 70-80 with one female age 60-70. Living on either side are sons Joseph and Henry.
He married Eleanor Roberts on 18 Aug 1796 in Clark Co., KY.
She was the daughter of William Roberts. The bondsman was Jacob Marsh.
She was born on 28 Sep 1777 in SC. She died on 10 Nov 1847.
Basil Meek and Eleanor Roberts had the following children:
Questions Concerning the Family of Bazel Meek (1763-1844)
The importance of a late 19th century, Woodford County, Illinois, newspaper article, transcribed below, reflects the fact that there are unanswered questions concerning the family of Bazel Meek (1763-1844). The first question concerns the identity of Bazel’s father and whether or not this individual was the founder of this branch of the Meek family in America as suggested by my first cousin twice removed, the amateur genealogist, Henry B. Meek, the author of the booklet, A Meek Genealogy, privately published in 1902. The second question concerns the identity of Bazel’s brothers, especially the identity of his full brothers. The article below suggests the full brothers of Bazel to be Lewis and Nathan. Henry B. Meek suggests the full brothers of Bazel to be Lewis and Jacob. DNA evidence, to date, and the research efforts of Chris Meek and others suggests that Jacob Meek (1755-1840) was probably not a brother of Bazel. DNA evidence, to date, and the article below suggests that Nathan Meek (?-1827) may have been a brother of Bazel. The biography of Bazel DuValle Meek (1828-1909) states that his grandfather, Bazel Meek (1763-1844), fought in the Home Guards during the American Revolutionary War; although there is no record of this service. The Revolutionary War service record of Bazel Meek (1740-1840) has been mistakenly attributed to Bazel Meek (1763-1844).
Bazel Meek (1763-1844) was a son of Jacob Meek, who was a son of Adam Meek, of Lincolnshire, England. Jacob came to this country when quite a young man, first settling on the James River in Virginia. Later he moved to North Carolina, and by the wife that he married there, thirteen children were born. On the death of his first wife, he married the second time and moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he died. By this second marriage, three children were born: Lewis, Bazel, and Nathan. Bazel was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1763.
Bazel Meek removed from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Kentucky in 1785; and in 1796 he married Elinor Roberts who with her parents had moved to Kentucky with Daniel Boone. He was known to have always been very active in politics and for eight years he was sheriff of Pulaski County, Kentucky.
Very tall of stature, he was a man of fine physique and commanding presence. From Kentucky he moved to Jennings County, Indiana, and again was elected and served as sheriff of that county for a period of eight years.
In 1833 he came to Woodford County. He purchased land in Green Township, this county; but he sold it and later purchased land three miles southwest of Eureka. He did not engage in active work and died at the home of his son Henry B. He was first buried in the family graveyard, and later his remains were removed to the cemetery in Eureka.
Direct evidence indicates that Bazel Meek married Eleanor Roberts in Clark County, Kentucky, in 1796, had a son, Henry B., was a sheriff in Kentucky and Indiana, and died and was buried in Woodford County, Illinois, in 1844. Circumstantial evidence suggests that Bazel probably was a large tall man, was interested in politics, had several half brothers and a couple of full brothers, and may have been the youngest child of a man named Jacob Meek, of English descent, who died in Hagerstown, Maryland. However, no direct or circumstantial evidence has been discovered, to date, to suggest that Bazel’s father himself was the immigrant founder of this branch of the Meek family in America. No direct or circumstantial evidence has been discovered, to date, to suggest with any certainty, the names of his wives, how many children he may have had, where he lived, or where he died. Hopefully additional research will reveal more information concerning the immigrant founder of this branch of the Meek family in America and his descendants.
Louis F. Meek III - 2004
The newspaper article transcribed above is to be found at the end of the 1915 D.A.R. application, national number 115329, of Mrs. Cora S. Reynolds Downs, in which the Revolutionary War record of Bazel Meek (1740-1840), under Captain Hugh Stinson or Stephenson, is mistakenly attributed to Bazel Meek (1763-1844).