Lucy Marks

Lucy Meriwether Marks

• BIRTH 4 Feb 1752 - Albemarle County, Virginia
• DEATH 8 Sep 1837 (aged 85) = Albemarle County, Virginia, USA
• BURIAL Locust Hill Cemetery, Ivy, Albemarle County, Virginia, USA
• MEMORIAL ID 63366265 · View Source
• Parents: Maj. Thomas Meriwether and Elizabeth Thornton
• Spouse: Lt. William Lewis - married 1768 or 1769
• Spouse: Capt. John Marks - married 1780

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Family

Lucy had a total of six children.

With her first husband, William Lewis.

1. Jane Lewis, b. 1770;
2. Lucinda Lewis, b. 1772 (died in infancy);
3. Meriwether Lewis, b. 1774;
4. Reuben Lewis, b. 1777,

With her second husband John Marks, she had

1. John Hastings Marks, b. 1785; and
2. Mary Garland Marks, b. 1788.

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From Monticello.org:

Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks (1752-1837): Her Life and Her World, by Patricia L. Zontine, April 2009 < link >

Lucy’s Family:

Lucy Thornton Meriwether was born into Albemarle County gentry on February 4, 1752. She was the daughter of Col. Thomas and Elizabeth Thornton Meriwether. Her father’s ancestors had emigrated from England, probably Kent County, in the mid-17th century and settled in the counties of Tidewater, Virginia. “Meriwethers brought a large amount of wealth to the colonies, rich in lands, in plate and slaves.” (Anderson, pp. 141-2) The family, as most of the other “gentry” families that migrated, was given high offices and large land grants that allowed them to become part of the “ruling oligarchy that ran the colony for many generations.” (Fischer, p. 212) They served as burgesses, magistrates and clerks of court in their respective counties, and commanders of militia units. Lucy’s father, Thomas, was prominent in local politics and was a member of the vestry for St. Anne’s parish in 1742.Vestry men had civil powers as well as religious duties. (Meriwether, p. 72)

Lucy’s great-grandfather, Nicholas Meriwether II, together with his son-in-law Robert Lewis, pushed north from Tidewater into Virginia’s Piedmont and, being “good judges of fertile, well-watered land,” obtained land grants of over 19,000 acres in the Southwest Mountains area of Albemarle County. (Anderson, p. 62) As was the custom among Tidewater families, “they first dispatched slaves and overseers to clear and cultivate new quarters for some years before moving themselves and their families to the Piedmont.” (Moore, p. 19)

Thomas Meriwether (b. 1714 – 1756) was considered a man of great wealth, due almost entirely to the bequest of his grandfather, Nicholas Meriwether, II. His home was at “Clover Fields” and it is probable that Lucy was born there. Thomas continued to purchase land to add to the land gifted to him by his grandfather until his total land holdings were 9,000 acres spread over several estates. At the time of his death, his holdings dwindled to only 3,000 acres, due to the gifts of land he gave to his children. (Saindon, p. 73) He married Elizabeth Thornton in 1735 and that same year, “he had eleven slaves, two horses, a plow and farm implements, eighteen head of cattle and over a hundred hogs, sows and pigs on his Totier Creek property.” (Moore, p. 29) His wife, Elizabeth Thornton (1717 – 1794) was descended from the Taliaferros, also an early settler family in the Colony. Together, they had eleven children. Following her husband’s death, Elizabeth married Robert Lewis of “Belvoir” who later became Lucy’s father-in-law as well as her step-father.

https://www.monticello.org/sites/library/exhibits/lucymarks/lucymar...

From

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63366265/lucy-marks

Mother of Gov. Meriwether Lewis

Lucy's first husband was Lt. William Lewis, buried at "Clover Fields" in Albemarle County, Virginia.They had the four children shown linked below.

Her second husband was Capt. John Marks, a friend of William Lewis. John died about 1791 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia and is presumably buried there. John and Lucy had two children, Dr. John Hastings Marks who died in Baltimore and Mary Garland (Marks) Moore, who died in Alabama. Burial places are not known for either.

Gravesite Details
TMSI [127]
Bio by: The Meriwether Society, Inc.

https://www.monticello.org/sites/library/exhibits/lucymarks/lucymar...

Lucy Meriwether (1752-1837) was the daughter of Thomas Meriwether and Elizabeth Thornton. She married William Lewis and was the mother of Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. She also married John Marks. She died in Albemarle Co., Virginia.

Known far and wide for her medicinal remedies, Lucy grew a special crop of herbs that she dispensed to her children, her slaves, and her neighbors. She also knew the medicinal properties of wild plants. She took care to teach her son Meriwether all that she earned about herbal remedies.

Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks was a remarkable woman. She bore five children, two by John Marks (John Hastings Marks, born 1785' and Mary Garland Marks, born in. 1788). She had a strong constitution; she buried two husbands and lived to be almost 86 years old. Thomas Jefferson called her a "tender" mother. She was slim, fragile in appearance, with light brown hair and hazel-blue eyes, "a refined face and a masterful eye." A family history describes her: "Her position as a head of a large family connection combined with the spartan ideas in those stirring times of discipline, developed in her a good deal of the autocrat. Yet she . . . Had much sweetness of character, was a devoted Christian and full of sympathy for all sickness and trouble.

References

1. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63366265/lucy_marks
2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7188221/william_lewis
3. https://www.monticello.org/sites/library/exhibits/lucymarks/lucymar...