Matthew J. Meade
From obituary in The Mining Times (May 7, 1896)
Clerk of Brown County, Wisconsin
In office
January 1, 1871 – January 1, 1881
Preceded byJohn B. Eugene
Succeeded byPatrick Ryan
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
January 1, 1866 – January 6, 1868
Preceded byFrederick S. Ellis
Succeeded byWilliam J. Abrams
Personal details
Born(1823-12-07)December 7, 1823
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedApril 21, 1896(1896-04-21) (aged 72)
Kaukauna, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery, Allouez, Wisconsin
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Harriet Pelton
​
(m. 1858⁠–⁠1896)​
Children
  • John Francis Meade
  • (b. 1861; died 1891)
RelativesJohn F. Meade (brother)
OccupationFarmer
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers (Union Army)
Years of service1862–1864
RankCaptain, USV
Unit32nd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Matthew James Meade (December 7, 1823 – April 21, 1896) was an American farmer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Brown County during the 1866 and 1867 sessions. His former home in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Capt. Matthew J. Meade House. His name was often abbreviated as M. J. Meade.

Early life

Matthew J. Meade was born December 7, 1823, at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. His mother died when he was a child, after which his sisters were sent to a seminary in Ohio. In 1834, his eldest sister, Catherine, went west to the frontier village of Green Bay, accompanying the Catholic bishop Frederick Rese, to serve as a teacher at a newly established Catholic school. Shortly after arriving, she married George W. Lawe, the son of the prominent and wealthy fur trader John Lawe. She then sent to her father and siblings and invited them to join her in the new territory.[1] Matthew J. Meade arrived in Green Bay shortly before his 12th birthday, in 1835.[2]

Meade was first elected to county office in 1858, when he was elected register of deeds of Brown County, running on the Democratic Party ticket.[3] He was subsequently re-elected in 1860.[4]

Civil War service

Shortly after his second election, the American Civil War began. He served out the remainder of his term and in the Summer of 1862 began raising a company of volunteers for the Union Army. His company was enrolled as Company F in the 32nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, and Meade was commissioned their captain.[5] The 32nd Wisconsin Infantry mustered into federal service on September 25, 1862, and left the state in October for service in the western theater of the war. They were assigned to William T. Sherman's corps and marched to join the Vicksburg campaign. During their march, however, they received word of the Holly Springs Raid and were ordered to return to Tennessee for provost duty. They remained in Tennessee until January 1864, when they were sent to Vicksburg to join the Meridian campaign through central Mississippi, then joined the Atlanta campaign into Georgia. They participated in the capture of Atlanta in the fall of 1864.[6] Meade suffered injuries at Atlanta and resigned in November 1864.[5][7]

Postbellum career

In 1865, Meade ran for office again, as the Democratic Party nominee for Wisconsin Senate in the 2nd Senate district. At the time, the district comprised Brown and Kewaunee counties. He won the election and went on to serve in the 1866 and 1867 legislative sessions.[8] He did not run for re-election in 1867.

He subsequently ran for county clerk in 1868, but lost the election to Republican John B. Eugene.[9][4] He returned to run again in 1870, and this time won the office.[4] He went on to serve five terms as clerk, leaving office in January 1881.

During the 1870s and 1880s, Meade became active in dealing real estate in the neighboring Outagamie County, and in 1885 he built an elaborate new mansion in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, where he resided for the rest of his life. He was active through his later years with the local posts of the Grand Army of the Republic.[7]

Matthew J. Meade suffered a stroke in April 1896 and never recovered. He died at his home in Kaukauna on April 21, 1896.[10][7]

Personal life and family

Matthew J. Meade was the last of four children born to David P. Meade and his wife Lydia (née Wilde). Both parents were Irish American immigrants. David Meade enlisted in the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812 and served as purser aboard the Susquehanna, under the command of his brother, Edward Meade.[1] After Matthew's mother died, all the remaining Meade family ultimately moved to Brown County, Wisconsin. Matthew's eldest brother, John F. Meade, served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and died under suspicious circumstances in 1850.[4]

Both of Meade's sisters married prominent and wealthy fur traders in northern Wisconsin. His sister Catherine married the previously mentioned George Lawe. His sister Mary Elizabeth married Charles A. Grignon, who built her a mansion as a wedding present—that building is today known as the Charles A. Grignon House in the National Register of Historic Places.

Matthew Meade married Harriet Pelton at Green Bay, Wisconsin, on December 21, 1858.[11] They had one son, John Francis Meade, but he died of tuberculosis at age 31.[12]

Matthew Meade's former residence in Kaukauna is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Capt. Matthew J. Meade House.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 Tanner, H. B. (April 1994). "Catherine Ann Meade Lawe, a Biography" (PDF). Barquilla de la Santa Maria. 19 (4): 19–24. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  2. ↑ History of Northern Wisconsin. Western Historical Company. 1881. p. 105. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Brown Co. Democratic Nominations". Wisconsin State Journal. October 16, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Swisher, Bella French (1874). "History of Brown County". The American Sketch Book. Vol. 3. Sketch Book Company. pp. 141–142, 158. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Thirty-Second Regiment Infantry". Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865 (Report). Vol. 2. Office of the Adjutant General of Wisconsin. 1886. p. 487. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  6. ↑ Quiner, Edwin B. (1866). "Regimental History–Thirty-Second Infantry". The Military History of Wisconsin. Clarke & Co. pp. 800–805. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Capt. M. J. Meade". The Watertown News. April 29, 1896. p. 6. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature". The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1882 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 212, 214. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  9. ↑ "The Democrats of Brown County". Wisconsin State Journal. October 17, 1868. p. 1. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Capt. M. J. Meade". Green Bay Press-Gazette. April 26, 1896. p. 5. Retrieved June 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Meade–Pelton". Wisconsin State Journal. January 11, 1859. p. 3. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Death of John F. Meade". Green Bay Press-Gazette. August 28, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved June 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "National or State Registers Record - 309 Division St". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
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