An American Family History

Thomasin Fry Meigs was born on February 29, 1611/12 in England.

She married John Meigs (Meggs). John was born on January 29, 1611/12 in England. He was the son of Vincent Meigs. He was a tanner and shoemaker.

Their children were John Meigs (1641), Mary Meigs Stevens, Tryal Meigs Ward, Concurrence Meigs Crane, and Elizabeth Meigs Hubbel.

When Thomasin's brother, William Fry died in 1642, he left Thomasin’s son, John “Meggs” a kid.

In 1664 John was admitted a freeman in New Haven. Ten years later he settled in Guilford. According to Stile’s History of the Regicides, it was John Meigs who rode to New Haven to warn the regicides. 

They moved to Killingsworth a few years before John died. John died on January 4, 1672 in Killingsworth, Middlesex County, Connecticut.

John Meigs, the son of Vincent, moved from New Haven to the East End of Guilford, and later to Killingworth, upon its settlement, and died there January 4th, 1671-2, leaving a comfortable estate. His trade was that of a tanner and currier, but he was originally also a dealer in shoes and doubtless a shoemaker. In his latter years, he was probably only engaged in farming, and it seems that he must have been a man of education, for his will bequeaths manuscripts and several books, among others, a Greek and a Latin dictionary.

A record of that ancient day tells us that he was on one occasion of eminent service to the unfortunate hunted regicides, Whalley and Goffe, and probably the means of saving their lives. Very early one Monday morning in March, 1661, he mounted his horse at Guilford and rode with speed to New Haven as a messenger to warn these fugitives that their pursuers were at Guilford, and were on the point of hurrying to New Haven to seize them and carry them off to certain death. Meigs arrived ahead of the pursuers, and the regicides, warned in time, hastened away to another of their mysterious hiding places.

John Meigs had four daughters, but only one son, John, who returned about the time of the death of his father to the East End of Guilford, and died there in 1713. This second John had several children, the second of his sons being Janna. Janna lived and died in the East End of Guilford, was a captain in the Guilford train-band, and represented that town in the General Assembly of Connecticut several times: both he and his father, John, were coopers and farmers. He died in 1739, leaving a large estate and a large family. One of his sons, Timothy, graduated at Yale in 1732. Return, the father of the subject of this sketch, was Janna's fifth child and fourth son.

It does not seem that the immigrant members of the family were so saturated with the puritanical spirit, as was possibly advisable in a settler in the colony of New Haven. Though this is not known of the eldest immigrant, Vincent, yet it may be safely said of his son John, for he was frequently in hot water with the authorities of that most blackly puritanical colony, and took an active part against her in the contest with Connecticut.

On one occasion at Guilford, he was complained of to the authorities for noisily driving his cart along the road late in the night on the Lord's Day; he appeared and explained (the Court Records tell us)

"that he was mistaken in the time of the day, thinking that he had time enough for the journey, but being somewhat more laden than he expected the cattle came more slowly than usual and so cast him behind, it proving to be more late of the day than he had thought. But he professeth to be sorry for his mistake and the offence justly given thereby, promising to be more careful for time to come. The Court considering the premises did see cause (seeing that the matter seemed to be done upon a surprisal and not witting or willingly) to pass it over with a reproof for this first time, enjoining a public acknowledgment of his evil in so neglecting to remember the Sabbath, on the next lecture or fast day, with all the aggravating circumstances in it."

Decidedly, this first John did not get along well with the authorities of his adopted home, but the case was different with the second John and with Janna. They appear to have been of some importance in the affairs of the colony, and held positions both of a religious and political nature.