Re: Joseph Meacham, Son of Dr. Thomas Meacham
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In reply to:
Re: Joseph Meacham, Son of Dr. Thomas Meacham
John Meacham 9/19/10
I am now able to document that the "Mr. Meechem" referred to in this Illinois Journal article was, indeed, Joseph Meacham, husband of Mary Anna Meacham and father of my great-great grandfather, Morrison Meacham. Morrison had two brothers, one of whom was Joshua E. Meacham. Joshua served in Co. H of the 114th Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the "War of 1861." He was wounded in the leg (which leg not specified) on December 15, 1864, during the Battle of Nashville. The leg was amputated and Joshua died in the hospital at Jeffersonville, Ind., on January 16, 1865. Mary A. Meacham, applied for a mother's pension and, in 1867, was approved for $8.00 a month. In her affadavit filed in support of her claim, Mary states that she is the widow of Joseph Meacham. In addition, neighbors Jerusia Lee and John H. Arnold state that they have known Mary A. Meacham for at least 20 years and "that her husband Joseph Meacham was killed by an accident in 1848." To tie it all together, in one of Joshua's letters home, he states that he "got the letter that Morrison sent to me." All this, I believe, supports the claim found in many Meacham family trees that Joseph Meacham, son of Dr. Thomas and Sarah Cauley Meacham, died in Sangamon County, Ill., in 1848.