This is Thomas Meador/Meades/Mead (c. 1633–aft. Feb. 1706), son of Ambrose. Not the same as Thomas ‘the Younger/the Orphan’ Meades who married Sarah Awbrey.

As of 2025 Y DNA project, not the son of John Meador, of Peumansend Creek

Disambiguation

Do not conflate him with Thomas ‘the Younger/the Orphan’ Meades Thomas Meads Jr., orphaned by 1655/1659, husband of Sarah (perhaps) Hoskins.

Thomas, son of Ambrose, was born by 1633, while his father Ambrose was alive at least as of 1658, meaning that Thomas was not orphaned by his father's death.

This Thomas and his second wife Susanna (Reynolds) Goss remained alive in Essex County through at least Feb. 1706, when they acknowledged the sale of 300 acres inherited from Susanna's father.

Thomas survived Thomas Meades/Meador Jr. (c. 1637–bef. 13 Apr. 1662), husband of Sarah (Hoskins), by at least 44 years.

The only available explanation for Thomas Meador Jr.'s parentage is that he was the same person as Thomas Meades Jr., making him a son of Thomas Meades Sr.

Origins

Thomas Meads/Meador Sr. and Ambrose were very likely brothers, meaning that Thomas Meads/Meador Jr. and Thomas Meador/Meades/Mead (son of Ambrose and husband of Susanna Reynolds Goss) were probable first cousins. <Relationship path>

Thomas Meador (c. 1633–aft Feb. 1706), son of Ambrose, was probably born in Isle of Wight County. He was referred to in records of Lancaster and Old Rappahannock counties most often as Meador and Meather. Upon leaving the Rappahannock and then returning, he was referred to in period documents as Meador, Meades, Mead, and Meddoes. (He was referred to as Meddoes only in his stepson's will.) Thomas has been given short shrift by early genealogists. The problem is that his wife Susanna (his apparent second wife) has been attributed as wife to his nephew with the same name. Thomas Meador/Meadows/Meades the nephew, son of John and grandson of Ambrose, was married twice, first to Susannah MNU, second to Ann Sallis. The situation is confusing in that, not only were Thomas the uncle and Thomas the nephew both married twice, but both were married to women named Susanna. Thomas Meador/Meades the uncle was married first to an unknown wife, and then his second marriage was to Susanna Reynolds Goss, daughter of Cornelius Reynolds and widow of John Goss. What has gone unnoticed for too long is that, if Thomas the nephew were married to Susanna Reynolds Goss, he would have married a woman 10–35 years his senior. It thus seems much more likely that Susanna Reynolds Goss was the wife of the uncle and not the nephew. Thomas the uncle was known to have been literate during the 1650s, signing his name without giving a mark on five occasions. Thomas the nephew was illiterate, giving his mark consistently as T. There was a Thomas Meador who was appointed surveyor of highways in the upper precincts of South Farnham Parish, Essex County in 1692. Such a post would have required the individual to deal with paperwork from county officials. Because Thomas the nephew was not born before 1673, he would have become an adult in 1694 at the earliest (probably not until 1695), thus making him too young to have been appointed surveyor in 1692. What is more, Thomas the nephew lived on Peumansend Creek in Sittenbourne Parish, later divided into St. Mary's and St. Ann's parishes, formed into Caroline County in 1728. He never lived in South Farnham Parish, which remains in Essex County to present day. Susanna Reynolds Goss and her second husband Thomas Meador/ Meades/ Mead (the uncle) clearly lived in South Farnham Parish, Essex County. Thomas proved in two instruments of Essex County in 1705 that he was literate, making it very likely that he was Thomas, son of Ambrose.

~paraphrased from Meador Genealogy-- From IOW to Cumberland Co VA (revised Apr 2025)

Separating Thomas Meador from Thomas Meads who died in 1655

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Meador-933

Ambrose Meador, father of Thomas Meador, arrived in Virginia sometime between 1623 and 1632. He came with a wife and servant, but no children.[13] His son Thomas was born after they arrived, but before 1633, a range that makes him too young to have been the father of Thomas "Orphan" Meads, son of Thomas Meads.

Thomas Meads died before 6 Jun 1655, when his will was probated.[14] Thomas Meador, son of Ambrose Meador was still living in 1658 when he sold some land he had gotten from Ambrose,[15] and in 1659 when he bought the rights to a patent for 450 acres on Hoskins Creek from John Cooke.[16] Obviously, neither of these acts could have been Thomas Meads, who had been dead for years before this sale and purchase, nor the acts of his son, Thomas "Orphan" Meads who never had any connection to either of these tracts of land. See the research notes below for full Chain of Title to this land that proves the line of descent from Ambrose to Thomas to Thomas' son, John.

Separating Thomas Meador and Thomas Meads orphan of 1655

The confusion between the two men seems to have occurred mainly because of three documents

The 1670 deed between Francis Gower and Henry and Sarah Awbrey
The 1662 deeds of gift from Sarah Meader, widow of Thomas Meader, the younger, to their three children.
The 1664 Land patent to Thomas Meader, orphan, for 450 acres on Hoskins Creek

References

1. https://www.familytreedna.com/public/HollowayMeadorDNAProject?ifram...
2. https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I3174... (shows as son of John Meador and Susannah Wyatt, married 1) Susannah (Reynolds) Goss in 1698 2) Anne Sallis abt 1710. Anne m. 2) Thomas Ayres bef 21 Jan 1718 3) Jeremiah Biswell abt 1722). (This is the nephew Thomas of this Thomas d 1705)
3. https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I3172...
4. https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I3174...
5. https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Ambrose_Meador_%283%29 Ambrose did have a son named Thomas, but he was born about 1634-6 and cannot be the same person as Thomas Meads.[1] Instead, Thomas Meads is more likely a brother, or perhaps a cousin, of Ambrose. Both Thomas the known son of Ambrose and his older brother John are generally left out of reports giving Ambose an early birth date. If Ambrose's known sons are recognized, and the unsupported and unverified assumption that Thomas Meads is Ambrose's son is dropped, then there is no need to postulate an early birth date for Ambrose.
6. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Meador-933
7. https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Thomas_Meador_%2827%29