>>Family

Family

Meriwether Lewis was born at Locust Hill in Albemarle County, Virginia on August 18, 1774. His parents were William Lewis and Lucy Meriwether Lewis, descendents of Nicolas Meriwether who received a royal land grant in Virginia from King George II and from which Locust Hill plantation was carved. Meriwether was the second child of William and Lucy, his elder sister Jane Meriwether was born in 1770 and his younger brother Reuben would follow in 1777 (Lewis p. 14). The Lewis branch of the family was of Welsh origin while the Meriwether half were from both Welsh and English descent. Their family was a kind of extended clan with dozens of cousins living close to one another. The Lewis family mingled with the Piedmont elite, the Jeffersons, Randolphs, and Madisons. William Lewis was a Revolutionary War hero and the third signer of the Virginia Declaration of Independence in 1779. Unfortunately, William Lewis died in that same year from pneumonia while on leave visiting his family when his eldest son Meriwether was five years old.