1. Vincent¹ Meigs; born circa 1580 Devon, ENG; married Emma Strong, daughter of William Strong and Margaret (--?--), before 1608 Devon, ENG; died 1 Dec 1658 Hammonasett Pt., New Haven, CT.

Records in Chardstock, Devon, England refer to him as Vincent Meggs alias Love, or as Vincent Love, alias Meggs which probably means that he was illegitimate. Before coming to America he was the landlord of the Angel Inn in Axminster, Devon, England. His wife Emma Strong was named in the will of her mother Margaret Strong.

Will of Margaret Stronge of Chardstock, widow, dated 4 March 1620/21, proved 7 June 1622. To her daughter Agnes wife of Thomas Dabinot a table bord and, after her death, to her daughter Jone. To her daughter Emm wife of Vincent Magges a cupboard and the frame which hee standeth uppon. To John Turner the elder son of Nicholas Turner the elder one 'broch,' one dripping pan, two silver spoons, and one bucket. To Thomas Turner, son of the said Nicholas one cauldron, one skimmer, one silting trough, one bolt and a peck. To George Demond son of William Demond one bed, one bedstead, one pair of blankets, one coverlet, one bolster, my halfsheets, one great coffer, one trendle, one frame stool, one candlestick, one purer, one gridiron and one cauldron. To Joane Johnson, daughter of Ralph Johnson one pair of sheets. To Honor Denman, wife of William Denman one coffer and 12d. To all the rest of my daughters 12d each. To my three daughters Honor, Emm and Joane all my wearing apparel to be divided among them. Appoints Joane Turner, wife of Nicholas Turner executrix. Witnesses Thomas Dabinot, John Spiller senior. Iventory, total 54s 8d, dated 25 March 1622, exhibited 17 June 1622. The Chardstock registers record the burial of Margaret Stronge, widow, on 23 March 1621/2.⁽¹⁾

William Strong, father of Emm, died in 1621 and also left a will. In it he named his wife Margaret, daughter Jone and son William. His other children were not mentioned. The Chardstock Bishop's transcripts recorded the baptism of Ema, daughter of William Strong, on 8 January 1580/1.⁽²⁾ William Strong was the son of George Strong who died in 1635 in Chardstock, Devon.

Vincent Meigs is first recorded in the country in 1641 at Weymouth, MA. From there Vincent and his sons made plans to go with Rev. Samuel Newman's company in 1643 to Rehoboth, MA. At a meeting in Weymouth of those who wished to settle there, each person was required individually to give the value of his estates, in order that the allotments of land might be made accordingly. John Meigs listed his estate at £120. It's not known if Vincent and his sons moved to Rehoboth, for at the organizational meeting, held in the latter part of 1643, certain rules were agreed to by all those present. One of which was that they must move their families to the new community and fence their land. If they failed to do so, they would forfeit to the town their allotted land. John Meigs is one of 18 names that appear on this forfeiture list. John does appear in the town records again on June 9, 1645, as having been assigned a lot "in the new meadow." But, as noted later, Vincent and the family appear to have moved in about 1644 to New Haven, CT. Vincent is recorded at New Haven on June 14, 1646, October 6, 1646 and June 1, 1647.

Vincent Meigs moved to Hammonassett with son John Meigs in 1653/4. Vincent died there in 1658, and his was the first burial recorded at the Hammonassett Cemetery on land later donated for a Cemetery by John Meigs.⁽³⁾

A writing prsented as the will & inuentory of Vincent Meggs as hauing beene prsented & witnessed (in court at Guilford, Decemb.2d, 1658,) by John Meggs as ye last will & testamt of his father Vincent Meggs vpon his death bed at his house at Hamonossocke. The court not finding other proofe, accepted wt was to be had & granted administracon of the whole estate to ye sd John Meggs, with ye will annexed, and requireing him to doe and pforme accordingly vnlesse bettwe euidence to ye contrary shall apeare. Dated Septemb: 2d, 1758, amounting to ye sume of sixty two pound, secretary fees to be deducted.⁽⁴⁾

Children of Vincent¹ Meigs and Emma Strong were as follows:

2 i. Vincent² Meigs; christened 14 Dec 1609; died 3 Nov 1700 at age 90.

3 ii. Mary Ann Meigs; christened 16 Apr 1610 Chardstock, Devon, ENG.

+ 4 iii. John Meigs, born 1612 Chardstock, Devon, ENG; married Tamazine Fry.

5 iv. Mark Meigs; christened 25 Aug 1616 Chardstock, Devon; married Avis (--?--) before 1672; died 1673.

Footnotes

1. ____________, "Meigs, Vincent," Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John 1630, Vol 25, Part 1, p. 48. Will transcribed by Robin Bush.

2. ____________, "Strong, John," Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John 1630, Vol 17, Part 1, , p. 64.

3. The earliest stones in the cemetery are for twins Silence and Submit, daughters of Janna Meigs, who died shortly after birth in 1711.

4. New Haven Colonial Records, 1653-1665, pp. 449-50.

5. Edward E. Atwater, History of the Colony of New Haven To Its Absorption Into Connecticut,

6. Bernard Christian Steiner, A History of the Plantation of Menunkatuck and of the Original Town of Guilford Connecticut. . . (Baltimore: by the author, 1897), p. 88.

7. Steiner, p. 90.

8. J. Hammond Trumbull, ed., The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, (Hartford: Brown & Parsons Publishers, 1850, v1, p. 405.

9. Steiner, p. 121.

10. J. Hammond Trumbull, ed., The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut (Hartford: Brown & Parsons Publishers, 1850), p. 4.

11. Trumbull, p. 246.

12. Aunt Irene Callaway thought it was Return Jonathan's father who was the suitor, and quoted it as "Return, Robert, and I will marry thee." However the father of the first Return was not named Robert.