Sketch of the Meek Family, St. Charles County, Missouri >From "A History of the Pioneer Families of Missouri, with numerous sketches, anecdotes, adventures, etc., relating to Early Days in Missouri" by William S. Bryan and Robert Rose, Published by Bryan, Brand & Co., St. Louis Missouri, 1876. ********************************************************************** William Meek and his wife, of Greenbriar County, VA., settled in Wood- ford County, KY., in 1804, and in 1806 they removed to Missouri, in company with David Kincaid and family. They left Kentucky on a flat- boat of their own constructiion, on which they had their families, their horses, sheep, cows, hogs and household goods. The boat sank before they reached the mouth of the Ohio River, and they then trans- ferred their families and household goods to keel-boats, and drove the stock through by land. While Mr. Meek lived in Virginia, his mother, wife and two children: James and Rebecca, were captured by the Indians, but were rescued three days afterward by a party of white men who had gone in pursuit. The Indians placed Mr. Meek's mother on a wild young colt, thinking it would run away and kill her, but the colt, seeming to appreciate the value of his burden, acted like an old, gentle horse, and she was not hurt. Mr. Meek and his wife had fourteen children, five of whom died young. Those who lived were: John, Rebecca, James, Samuel, Sally, Polly, Benjamin, Joseph and Isaac. John was drowned in Kentucky. Rebecca, James, Samuel, Sally, Benjamin, Joseph and Isaac all returned to Kentucky, where they lived and died. Polly was marr- ied in 1807 to John Ramsey, son of Capt. William Ramsey. They walked fifteen miles to the house of the Justice of the Peace to be married, who performed the ceremony free of charge. Polly Bryan, wife of David Bryan, who was an old lady and wore a cap, acted as bridesmaid, while Henry Bryan, her brother-in-law, officiated as groomsman. Mr. Ramsey was an invalid, and died in 1815. He was compelled to make frequent visits to Kentucky to consult his physician, as there were no physi- cians in Missouri at that time, and his wife always accompanied him. These trips were made on horseback, and they often had to swim the rivers that lay in their course. On one occasion they were accompan- ied by David McKinney, Aleck McPheeters, and a Mr. Crawford, and on reaching White River they camped for the night. Next morning they all prepared to swim the river on their horses, and McPheeters went first, carrying their bag of provisions, and his saddle bags containing his clothing, etc. The current was very strong, and it carried away his saddle bags and the bag of provisions, and they had to go without any- thing to eat for two days, as there were no settlements where they could obtain supplies. After the death of Mr. Ramsey, his widow marr- ied Col. Francis Howell, in December, 1816, who died a few years ago, and left her a widow again. She is living at Mechanicsville, St. Char- les County, Missouri in her 88th year. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Penny Harrell ====================================================================