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'''George Meade''' (February 27, 1741 – November 9, 1808) was an American merchant from Philadelphia, known for being the grandfather of Civil War general [[George Gordon Meade]]. In partnership with [[Thomas Fitzsimons]], his firm was among the largest provision merchants during the [[American Revolutionary War]], and helped finance the [[Bank of Pennsylvania]] and [[Bank of North America]] during the conflict—while it profited from British goods as well. Meade's business went bankrupt by 1801 due to investments in the [[Yazoo land scandal]], and was continued by his son [[Richard Worsam Meade I|Richard W. Meade]].
Meade held minor city offices and was active in religious and civic life, among others serving as a trustee at [[St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Philadelphia)|St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church]] and founding the [[Friendly Sons of St. Patrick]]. Descendants amplified these accomplishments into a legendary patriotism, though his influence has been assessed more modestly by recent biographers.
==Early life==
George Meade was born in Philadelphia, the youngest child of Mary Stretch (or Stritch) and Robert Meade. Mary was from a Barbadian and Philadelphian merchant family; Robert was an Irish immigrant from [[County Limerick]] who moved to Philadelphia around 1732. He had lived in either the Bahamas or Barbados, and was a provision merchant who traded with the [[British Caribbean]] (occasionally importing slaves). He also donated to the establishment of [[Old St. Joseph's Church|St. Joseph]]'s, the first Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. After becoming sick on [[St. Croix]] in July 1754, Robert died between August 13 and 26 at Philadelphia, leaving an estate of £79 11s d. George and his siblings Garrett and Catherine were educated on Barbados by their uncle George Stretch, before returning to their native city.<ref>Stowe, ''A Philadelphia Gentleman'', pp. 26–28; Klepp writes Robert died at St. Croix.</ref>
==Philadelphia merchant==
Garrett and George Meade went into business together importing rum, sugar and slaves.<ref name="klepp">Klepp, "Meade, George".</ref> They joined the [[nonimportation agreement]] against the [[Stamp Act of 1765]]—a symbolic move because it did not significantly affect their business, unlike the opposition to the [[Townshend Acts]] which they abstained from. Catherine married [[Thomas Fitzsimons]]; he and George were founders of the [[Friendly Sons of St. Patrick]], and Fitzsimons joined the firm after Garrett left. Meade & Company invested in western [[Pennsylvania]] land as well as the British Caribbean.<ref name="klepp"/> In April 1775 George joined the Third Battalion of Associators, and in the prelude to [[United States Declaration of Independence|independence]] he served on the [[Continental Association]] as well as the [[Committees of safety (American Revolution)|Committee on Inspection and Observation]].<ref>Stowe, ''A Philadelphia Gentleman'', pp. 31–32.</ref>
During the [[American Revolution]]—after the Meade family briefly fled to [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]] during the [[British occupation of Philadelphia]]—Meade & Company invested £2,000 in the [[Bank of Pennsylvania]] to help fund the [[Continental Army]] in 1780, and likewise invested in the [[Bank of North America]]. However, the firm also speculated on British stocks and imported British goods via [[Martinique]], thus profiting from both sides of the war. Meade did not serve in any battles.<ref name="klepp"/><ref>Stowe, ''A Philadelphia Gentleman'', p. 33.</ref>
After the war the firm suffered from the recession of 1783–1784, and particularly from failed European investments and western land speculation. Fitzsimons left the partnership, which had accumulated a debt of £30,000. Meade saved his business and reputation with a £10,000 loan from Londoner John Barclay, which helped him settle all his debts.<ref name="klepp"/><ref>Stowe, ''A Philadelphia Gentleman'', pp. 34–45; though Campbell, ''History'', p. 120, gives Barclay.</ref> In Philadelphia newspapers from 1784 to 1788 he advertised Spanish wines and Caribbean spirits as well as coffee, tea, sugar, molasses, sheet copper and German textiles.<ref name="chandler">Chandler, "Catholic Merchants", p. 100.</ref>
A [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] like the influential Fitzsimons, he marched in the [[Grand Federal Procession]] and served in minor political offices: on the Philadelphia [[Philadelphia City Council|Common Council]] 1789 to 1792 and as chairman of the Board of Management for the Inspectors of the Prisons in 1792.<ref>Stowe, ''A Philadelphia Gentleman'', pp. 35–38.</ref> Meade's temperament, described by descendants as "eccentric", as well as "testy" and prone to profanity, may have limited his opportunities.<ref>Klepp, "Meade, George".</ref>
In religious and civic associations he was more active, serving as a trustee for [[St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Philadelphia)|St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church]] and donating $50 to the construction of [[St. Augustine Church (Philadelphia)|St. Augustine]]'s,<ref name="chandler"/> what would become [[Georgetown University]] and (having freed his slaves) he also donated outside his faith to the [[African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas|African Church]]. In 1763 he had helped found the [[Fishing Company of Fort St. David]]. He was a manager of the [[Dancing Assemblies of Philadelphia|Philadelphia Dancing Assembly]] and the [[Philadelphia Dispensary]], in 1790 a founder of the [[Hibernian Society for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland]] and in 1792 vice-president of the Sunday Schools.<ref name="klepp"/> During the [[Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793]], he remained in Philadelphia to aid the sick, occasionally supporting physician [[Benjamin Rush]].<ref>Stowe, ''A Philadelphia Gentleman'', pp. 38–39.</ref>
His business definitively failed during the [[Panic of 1796–1797]] due to investments in the [[Yazoo land scandal]]; he had purchased over 230,000 acres of Georgia land between 1794 and 1796. By 1801 he was bankrupt, with his son [[Richard Worsam Meade I|Richard W. Meade]] managing his estate, and in 1804 he quit business life altogether.<ref>Stowe, ''A Philadelphia Gentleman'', pp. 40–41; Klepp however writes "he recovered before his retirement in 1806".</ref><ref>Campbell, ''History'', p. 120.</ref>
==Personal life and death==
George Meade married Henrietta Constantia Worsam, the daughter of Barbados planter Richard Worsam, on May 5, 1768. She was [[Anglican]] although George was Catholic, a pattern repeated in several generations of the Meade family.<ref>Meade, "George Meade," p. 208</ref> They had five sons and five daughters, who were baptized Catholic, though all but two predeceased their father—and many were buried in Protestant churchyards.<ref>"One Mixed Marriage".</ref> He died in Philadelphia on November 9, 1808, at age 67, and was buried at St. Mary's. His daughter Elizabeth then followed Henrietta to England, while his son Richard continued the family business.<ref name="klepp"/>
==Legacy==
Meade was not particularly well-known in his day, and no collection of his papers survives, but he achieved fame as the grandfather of [[American Civil War|Civil War]] general [[George Gordon Meade]]. For his role in the American Revolution his profile was sculpted on the [[Catholic Total Abstinence Union Fountain]] at the [[Centennial Exposition]].<ref>Atzbach, ''Portraits in Conversation'', at 41m45s.</ref> [[Richard Worsam Meade III|Richard W. Meade III]] wrote the article "George Meade, a Patriot of the Revolutionary Era" in 1891, which was used uncritically by late 19th and early 20th-century sources.<ref>Compare Frederick with Klepp.</ref>
According to his entry in ''[[American National Biography]]'', "Meade has been included among several founders of elite Philadelphia families who supposedly formed a cohesive, long-lasting national upper class, but little actual evidence supports this claim of inherited greatness. ... [L]ater biographers considered [his] quiet virtues insufficiently heroic for the grandfather of a famous general."<ref name="klepp"/>
==See also==
* [[John Leamy (merchant)|John Leamy]] – contemporary Philadelphia merchant
==Notes==
==Bibliography==
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[[Category:1741 births]]
[[Category:1808 deaths]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:People of the American Revolution]]
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