Bishop William Meade graduated at the top of his class at Princeton. He studied for the Episcopal ministry at a time when the fortunes of the Church in Virginia were at a nadir after the disestablishment caused by the Revolutionary War. He was ordained by Bishop James Madison who was also serving as President of the College of William and Mary. Along with Bishop Richard Channing Moore, he led a revival of the Church along evangelical lines. In 1841, Meade became Bishop of Virginia. He died in 1862.
He authored several titles on religion but is most noted for a two volume set called Old Churches and Families of Virginia which is a genealogical standard and has been reprinted many times. But on a personal note, he privately printed a memoir of his two wives, Mary Nelson Meade and Thomasia Nelson Meade. The first died in 1817 and the second wife died in 1836. The studies are meant to show the virtue and good character of the two women but are also meant as religious instruction. There are fifteen copies of the book in libraries.
Meade, William. Recollections of Two Beloved Wives. Privately printed, 1857. CT275 .M4655M4
