Introduction | Thomas

We don’t know a great deal about Thomas William Meadows. His great grandson, Edwin Lewis, produced the ‘fancy’ sketch below right. His notes reveal that Thomas William was a Market Gardener and lived in Chelsea near the river. He may later have been the proprietor of the St James’ Coffee house next to St James’ Palace and later still he may have kept an Inn in Rottingdean nr. Brighton. Edwin Lewis implies that there may have been some links with Prince George in both locations.

Thomas William Meadows

We know that Thomas William had two sons. The eldest, Thomas, was born in 1748 and apparently fell out with his father and was banished. It seems that he sailed with Cook on HMS Resolution in 1776. Entry 115 on the muster roll reveals that he joined on 17 April and ‘ran’ on 19 June.

Thomas William’s younger son, William James, was born in 1753. His distinguished career as an actor is very well documented on meadowsfamilytree.net. William married Margaret Syddle from Cheshire whose father was an Armorer at the Tower of London. Apparently whilst demonstrating a firearm he accidently shot his wife!

According to Edwin Lewis, Thomas also had “at least one daughter but of her I know nothing.” Edwin Lewis also repeats, but gives no endorsement to, a story involving the comportment of the Prince George at the conclusion of which “a pretty Miss Meadows ran down the back stairs”.

The Descendants of Thomas William Meadows