This is a letter written circa 1962 by Gray Meek (1889-1974). His grave in Roberts Cemetery, near Nicholls, Ga., has the only tombstone for someone that died in the 1900s in Coffee County, where the name is spelled MEEK, instead of MEEKS. This is a letter to his granddaughter, Sandra Kay, who was about to be married. I could not make out the spelling of her fiancé's name. The copy I have is faint and I hope I have retyped it without making too many errors. My copy came from the Genealogy Department, Satilla Regional Library, Douglas, Georgia. Clyde BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MEEK FAMILY You will note that I have never used the "S" on my name. The story of how it came to be added and finally accepted by this particular segment of the family is a story within itself. A Col. Nicholls from Blackshear, Georgia came up here and made a public address about the time of the Spanish-American War and during the course of the address he dropped the thought that inasmuch as there were so many by that name locally they should be called "MEEKS" instead. He surely was not very well versed in his English since there was provision for the carrying out of his suggestion already since Meeks is correct when speaking of them in the plural, or in forming the possessive case. I could not but wonder what this "learned" man could possibly know about what the family name should be that those belonging to the family did not already know. Any way they caught on fast and soon began adding the "S", which only led to confusion, and it compounded. If we accept the "S" as a part of the name and wish to form the plural then we must, of necessity, add still another "S". Then the second "S" has as rightful a place as the first. So the question is, -"where would it finally end?" I recall distinctly many discussions as regards the merits of the lawyer's bright idea--whether we should continue using the "S", or go back to the original form of the name. Well, custom is most difficult to combat. I was old enough at the time to do some thinking for myself, and incidentally do a bit of research. Ancient head-stones in this region as well as Bible records all bore out my personal belief that the whole thing was a collosal [sic] error, so I declined to follow my relatives when they departed from the ways of their laurels. So this is the story of it. Right around here and in Missouri is the only places I know of where a sizable number of the family use the "S". The history of the family has been traced back to Adam Meek of Lincolnshire [sic] England, born 1640. Such genealogy is authentic. The name appears in English records for as far back as 1100 or 1200 A.D. You know how "fashionable" it is to claim that your ancestors came over on the Mayflower. I fail to see that this would help much. No one doing research into the history of the family ever made such a claim, but it is true that those taking passage on the Mayflower came from all around that beautiful province in "Merry Old England" where Adam Meek was born, lived his life out, and where all that is mortal of him still rests by the side of a little stone church in Lincolnshire [sic]. For this reason it is not impossible that someone by the name, or either their blood relatives might have taken passage on the Mayflower. I know of no one who claims they did, and I know of no one in the family who particularly cares. Some of the earliest settlers, by the name, who came to this Country settled around Boston, and it is known that President Kennedy's strain and the Meek strain join forces somewhere back down the line. There was a William Meek born either in Hill or Bladen County, N.C. about the year 1750. He is evidently a grandson of Adam Meek. He was among the first to join forces with the American revolutionists and fought for our independence from the Mother Country for the duration. A son was born to him by the name of Francis Meek about the year 1770. He came down into Emanuel County, Georgia about the year 1810, where he died and was buried. Francis had a son, Chas. C. Meek, born 1797. I have a record of his birth in the old family Bible which I still possess. It was published 1837. Chas C. Meek had a son (my grandfather) named Merritt. He settled two or three miles East of Nicholls. To him was born Malcom Meek (my father). This brings things down to the writer who was born Sept. 9, 1889. Then came Wilbert, born June 8, 1916. I shall let you take up from here on. Of one thing you may rest assured, and that is that while none of your ancestors on the Meek side belonged to the nobility, yet they qualified for what I like to think of as "The Brotherhood of True Nobles" which is not based upon inherited wealth. They were of the purest of Anglo-Saxon stock and were the very cream of the King's Domain. I can remember many of my elders who compared well with leaders of the Old South. They did not have much in the way of education (None was to be had at that time) but their personalities, and hereditary gifts made it possible for them to sit in the council of ministers and not be plagued by an inferiority complex. My granddaughter, I have simply taken advantage of a rainy day to write you all this which I have merely conjured up out of my "leaky" mind. Have not taken time to refer to my records. I do not have anything in the form of bound book, but am accumulating quite a bit of history pertaining to the family. If I ever have the pleasure of meeting this lucky captain I will make anything I have available to the two of you. Please be on the lookout for mistakes in this rather lengthy record. If what I have written does not read right you will know that I had in my mind to say the right thing any way. As I write I cannot distinguish all the keys I employ, but have been at this so long I just know they are there, because they were there the last time I used them. I am working on the announcement but could use a bit more data. For instance, what was the name and location of the college you have been attending? And does Capt. Tomeling(sp?) have any other status, position, designation, or anything like that other than Capt., U.S. Army? If so please communicate such to me. Let me hear from you as soon as possible. As ever, signed: Granddad ----------------------------------------------------------------------- P.S. I forgot to tell you that you are a pretty thorough mixture of Scottish, Irish, and English. Your grandmother, about five times removed, and on my mother's side was born in Dublin, Ireland. While I have not refreshed my memory on the historical facts I seem to recall that the Scots were engaged in a sort of hot war which went against them. It must have been with the English--they always paired off pretty well with them if a fight was in prospect. They came by the thousands, and lest they became lonesome for their towering mountain peaks, settled in Western, N.C. When the Seminoles were about the only remnant of the American Indians remaining in Georgia they saw an opportunity to acquire a State grant to virgin land down here, so moved on down into Emanuel County, and then on down here. This became all but a Scottish settlement. My grandfather Meek married a Mary Ann Morrison, and I have always been told that she was full blood Scottish. My oldest brother now 84 has recollections of her and he always told me that she surely looked the part.