Did Meriwether Lewis Live in Georgia or Just Visit?

The early life of Meriwether Lewis is lightly documented when compared to the period of western exploration, his 1807-1809 Governorship of the Upper Louisiana Territory, and notes relating to Lewis in William Clark’s 1809 Journal. However, from a few primary sources that include Lewis family letters and customs of the Colonial Period, we can build a very creditable picture of early life for Meriwether Lewis.

Like most youth on the American frontier, young Lewis was involved in the daily routine of the family and plantation. However, his father’s death, when Meriwether was five years old, created an even greater demand on his accepting responsibility for the family and plantation he would inherit. The expression “he grew up fast” is certainly true for Meriwether Lewis.

In addition to his family and plantation responsibilities, the American Revolution left an indelible animosity for the British government, military and the British people in general. The dislike of the British was reflected in his interaction with the British Hudson Bay Company and Northwest Company traders at Fort Mandan in 1805.

The Lewis Family

Lt. William Lewis of Locust Hill, Meriwether Lewis’ father, served in the Virginia Militia, without pay, during the American Revolution, for a period of seven years and seven months. Lt. Lewis’s death in 1779 is attributed to pneumonia. Oral tradition states that Lt. Lewis got wet and chilled while crossing a rain-swollen stream in November, as he returned to his Revolutionary War unit after a leave with his family.

William’s legacy of service was carried on by his children: Jane Meriwether Lewis (1770-1845), Lucinda Lewis (1772-1773, died as infant), Meriwether Lewis (18 August 1774-11 October 1809), and Reubin Lewis (14 February 1777-17 February 1844).

Lucy Meriwether Lewis was a 27-year-old widow with three living young children. Necessity and custom in the 1700s called for the young widow to remarry. Six months after her first husband’s death, Lucy married Revolutionary War Captain John Marks on 13 May 1780.

The Move to Georgia

The Marks move to Georgia was influenced by the 200,000 acres General George Matthews had secured in the Goose Pond District along the Broad River in Georgia. The distance traveled from Virginia to Georgia was 462 miles. The route followed the lower Shenandoah Valley through the towns of Fincastle, Big Lick (Roanoke, VA) to Salem and Charlotte, NC before turning to the southwest across South Carolina and the Savannah River.

The Family Letters

A series of extant letters preserved in the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, give us a view of the life of the Lewis and Marks family starting in 1789-1792. These letters show that Meriwether Lewis traveled to Georgia but only to visit with his family. The letters definitively show young Meriwether was living in Virginia after 1789 through early 1792.

A letter dated 7 March 1789, from Meriwether Lewis to Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks, explains that he cannot visit with her until the Spring of 1790 because he is in school with “Mr. Maury.” On the same date, a letter to Reuben Lewis in Georgia gives a further clue that Meriwether may not have gone to Georgia in the emigration of the Marks Family.

“Dear Brother, I’m sorry it is out of my Power to comply with your Request of coming to see you this fall and therefore must refer it till some time, by Reason of my being at School. I set in with Parson Maury, soon after you left me, with whom I continued till Christmas…”

On 12 May 1789, fifteen-year-old Meriwether wrote his mother begging for a letter:

“Moste Loving Mother, I flattered myself with the Hopes of receiving a letter from you by Mr Creg… What language can express the Anxiety I feel to be with you when I sit down to Write…”

In a 6 August 1791 letter, Meriwether Lewis acknowledged that he had learned of the death of Captain John Marks. In the same letter, Meriwether advised his mother that he is attending school with Mr. James Waddell.

The letter dated 19 April 1792 opens with assurance to his mother that the family is well and he has learned that Lucy wishes to return to Virginia during the current Spring. With this news, Meriwether declares the letters have:

“induced me to quit school and prepare for setting out immediately. The man who is employed about the Carriage promises pointedly to have it done by the first of May.”

Conclusion

From these letters it appears that Meriwether Lewis only visited the Broad River community in Georgia and it was never his domicile. Nevertheless, the period of time between 1779 and May 1792 had a significant impact on his life. Clearly, Meriwether Lewis’ concern and love for his mother Lucy and the family is expressed even before he left Locust Hill at age 20 as a member of the Militia during the Whiskey Rebellion.

In addition to these letters expressing a constant theme of love and respect for his family, they convey Meriwether Lewis’ desire for an education. While other people had an influence on his life and determination to learn, his mother Lucy can be credited with inspiring his passion to learn and improve his mind. Lewis’ training and experiences as a youth set a pattern for living with a view of independent thinking for the rest of his life.

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Lewis the Governor and Clark the Brigadier General

Planning, exploration and most of the reporting phase of the Lewis and Clark expedition was over. The realities of governing the complex Upper Louisiana Territory settled in on the newly appointed Governor Lewis and Brigadier General Clark. Editing and printing of the Lewis and Clark Journals by Lewis, and returning Sheheke and his family to their home at the Mandan Villages by Clark, were the primary responsibilities outlined by President Jefferson and Secretary of War Dearborn.

The time between March 1807 and October 1809 has been examined by noted Lewis and Clark writers and scholars. In August 1807, Lewis returned to his mother’s home in Virginia, following his report to Jefferson and the initial work in Philadelphia to publish the Journals. Lewis then traveled to Richmond in September to observe the Burr Treason Trial.

A document of more than 10,500 words describing Lewis’ Observations and Reflections relating to the American Indian People and the fur trade in the Upper Louisiana Territory is attributed in part to this period. This document shows that Lewis was developing a framework for governing the territory and establishing a solid economic foundation.

The Journey to St. Louis

Late 1807 or early 1808, Lewis departed Ivy, Virginia for St. Louis via the Great Valley Road, the Boone Trace and Wilderness Road. His traveling companions were John Pernier, his free mulatto servant, and Reuben Lewis, his younger brother. Lewis was honored at a public dinner in Lexington, Kentucky. Lewis arrived in St. Louis on 8 March 1808.

Governing in a Multi-Faceted Culture

In 1808, cultural changes were sweeping the country. The Spanish style of governing was still strong in the minds of the former French and Spanish citizens. General Wilkinson’s self-serving influence and Aaron Burr’s seditious followers had their own agenda. United States policy and the cultural differences with the American Indian Nations added a destabilizing factor, made even more difficult by the British efforts to influence the Tribal People.

During the expedition Lewis and Clark were truly military commanders without bureaucrats second-guessing every decision. Now people 1,000 miles to the East required written communications which slowed territorial governance. At the very best, it required a month of travel time to send documents or letters to Washington.

Accomplishments 1807-1809

Even with the challenges, a great deal was accomplished:

• Improved strength of Fort Bellevue (later Fort Madison) near the Iowa-Missouri border
• Packaged and shipped the 1807 Big Bone Lick bones to Thomas Jefferson
• Assisted in establishing the Missouri Gazette by editor Joseph Charless
• Clark crossed Missouri, guided by Nathan Boone, to build Fort Osage east of present-day Kansas City
• Negotiated a Treaty with the Osage Indians
• Lewis wrote and published the Territorial Laws
• Completed work on the Observations and Reflections for Secretary Dearborn
• Organized the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company
• Successfully returned Sheheke and his family to their home on the upper Missouri River
• Appointed Daniel Boone to serve as Justice of the Peace

Lewis’s Death, 1809

Governor Lewis’s tragic death on October 11, 1809, along the Natchez Trace near present-day Hohenwald, Tennessee, remains one of the enduring mysteries of American history. Clark would go on to ensure that the expedition journals were eventually published and continued his distinguished career as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis until his death in 1838.

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