Thank you everyone for your very helpful suggestions. Now I have several localities to study and hunt for records: Longmeadow MA, the Great Meadows near East Putney VT, the Newbury area in Orange County VT, the Meadows area of Hartford CT. Here is another twist to pinpointing the geography in question. (I didn't want to complicate my original post with a detail that might be conflicting.) The 1896 letter said that the Williams family lived in Connecticut "on the Connecticut River near Hartford, owned a large landed property in the Valley knows as Meadow Lands..... Simeon .... married Tirzah Knight, the daughter of a wealthy neighbor, also an influential family, some of whose brothers held high judicial offices in Connecticut." This would imply that they were in CT, and not VT (but I have read was the original name of Hartland VT was Hertford, where this Williams family DID live in 1780-1800 time period.) Simeon's parents, Samuel Williams and Lois Allyn Williams are buried in Hartland VT.) But when this branch of the Williams family lived in CT, they were in Stonington, Essex County, CT, not near Hartford. And, two of Simeon and Tirzah's children who lived to the 1880 census listed that their mother was born in MA. That could be an error, but the children, by then 84 and 76, were in different households, so it would be two errors. I would think a family in the 1780s would be more likely to migrate from MA to Hartland VT, not Hartford CT, but I am not as knowledgeable about New England history as I need to be. Was there ever a time when borders were redrawn and what was once MA territory became CT or VT? By the time that Simeon and Tirzah married (about 1785), the Samuel Williams/Lois Allyn family was definitely living in Vermont. So if Simeon married the daughter of a neighbor, as the 1896 letter said, I think it is more likely that they were neighbors in Vermont. Perhaps the story got jumbled over the years and the 1896 letter-writer mixed up places. Would a family from MA be likely to move to Hartford CT or on to less settled land in VT? What do you all think? Thanks! Kate - Original Message ----- From: "Steve Gilson" <sgilson130@comcast.net> To: <vtwindso@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 9:19 PM Subject: Re: [VTWINDSO] Meadow Lands area > Kate, > > In your third paragraph the letter indicates that they were in Hartford, > CT. > > > The north end of Hartford, CT is known to this day as the Meadowlands. It > now houses a Theater, Convention Center, and a few dozen car dealerships. > This is probably the area that the letter referred to. > > > > Steve > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: vtwindso-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:vtwindso-bounces@rootsweb.com] > On Behalf Of Kate Renner > Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2008 5:13 PM > To: VTWindso-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [VTWINDSO] Meadow Lands area > > > > Hello! > > > > I am wondering if you have ever heard of an area known as the Meadow Lands > either in the Connecticut River Valley area of either Vermont or > Connecticut? > > > > I am researching my 3rd ggrandparents Simeon Williams and Tirzah > (Knight?), > hoping to find a marriage record and to determine Tirzah's maiden name. > Simeon Williams was born in Stonington CT in 1763 to Samuel Williams and > Lois Allyn. This family migrated to Hartland, Windsor County VT around > 1780. Samuel's name is on the charter of Hartland and he and Lois are > buried in the Center Cemetery in Hartland. Because Simeon's oldest child > was born about 1786 in Vermont, I assume they married there but I have > found > no record of that or their children's births with the town clerk or at the > Church of Christ in Hartland, which Tirzah joined in 1787. > > > > According to an 1896 family letter, "The Williams family ancestors were > English, came early to America and located in Connecticut on the > Connecticut > River near Hartford, owned a large landed property in the Valley knows as > Meadow Lands. They soon became numerous, wealthy and influential. Simeon > (Dyer's father) was, I believe, the youngest son in his father's family. > He > married Tirzah Knight, the daughter of a wealthy neighbor, also an > influential family, some of whose brothers held high judicial offices in > Connecticut." > > > > I have not found any Knight families in that part of CT in that time > frame. > I have checked out several Knights in VT, some who held judicial office > but > cannot tie Tirzah to any of these families. I don't know if the letter > writer who was 80 in 1896 confused Hartford CT with Hertford/Hartland VT > or > if there might have been a transcription error. I have investigated a few > properties in CT with similar names like the Meadow Lands in Darien and > Meadow Woods near Essex CT but these areas do not have the right families > living there. Can you tell me if the description in the 1896 letter > sounds > like anyone or anyplace you know? > > Thanks so much > > Kate > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > VTWINDSO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > VTWINDSO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message