Shawhan Family History
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Sarah Meeks

? – 1736

Wife of Darby Shawhan

Life events

  1. 20 Nov 1707Married Darby Shawhan, St. Paul's Parish, Kent Co., MD
  2. 20 Oct 1735Will written, "in perfect sence but weak in body," same week as Darby's own will — see 1735 Will of Sarah Meeks
  3. 3 Apr 1736Darby's will proved; she becomes a widow
  4. 10 Apr 1736 (circa)Died, Kent Co., MD; her own will proved this date (Prerogative Court Wills #21, p. 583) — per family narrative, about seven days after Darby

Records

Sources

  • History and Genealogy of the Shawhan and Related Families — pp. 3-6
  • Kent County Liber Wills No2 1735-46 — primary probate register image; highest reliability, direct image of Sarah's original will (p.51), confirms guardianship clause naming
  • Walter Meekes Will 1688 — Cecil County, MD will naming a wife "Sarah Meekes" and a daughter "Sarah (Meekes) Randall"; possible name match, unconfirmed
  • 1707 Marriage Record — Maryland Marriages, 1634-1777, p. 162: "Shawhawn, Darby, 20 Nov. 1707, Sarah Meeks — 3 KE-324" (Kent County record code)
  • DAR Magazine Query 1941 - Shawhan-Meeks — National Historical Magazine (DAR), Vol. 75, No. 2, Feb. 1941, p. 58; independently corroborates marriage date, death year, and all eight children; does not supply parentage
  • Cotton, Jane Baldwin, ed. The Maryland Calendar of Wills, Vol. 2: 1685-1702 (Baltimore, 1906), p. 30 — full abstract of Walter Meeks's will; used here to test (and rule out) the "Sarah Randall" hypothesis below
  • The Shawhans by Ron T Shawhan 1983 — earlier (1983) precursor to the 1998 register, same author (Ron T. Shawhan); opening narrative covers the 1707 marriage
  • Eric Shawn Darby Shawhan and Sarah Meeks Historical Considerations — extensive: marriage, death, will; also names James Meeks (son of Walter Meeks) as her likely father, as inference not sourced fact, consistent with the caution already recorded above