The Gore, Deming, Tracy and Mackiewicz Allied Families:Information about Domingo Medeiras
Domingo Medeiras (b. Abt. 1620, d. date unknown)
Notes for Domingo Medeiras:The
Madaris, Medearis, Medaris, McDaris, McDearis, Medaries
Family History
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This information has been donated by the listed contributors and compiled by
Brian Kelly Madaris
for the
Madaris, Medearis, Medaris, McDaris, McDearis, Medaries
Family Tree Home Page
http://www.mindspring.com/~kellcin/index.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information provided here is for everyone to benefit from and to Honor our Ancestry.
For a complete list of Contributors click here.
The Information in this document will change as information is obtained and records are updated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is believed that our original ancestor in this country was a man named Domingo Medeiros or Madeiras. We suspect he was born about 1620-30 in either Portugal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira or in the new colonies of America. The circumstances of his origin in the new colonies of America are not yet known for sure.
Did Domingo come to America as a rancher? Was he a child of a Jamestown settler? Was he the son of a Portuguese tobacco trader? Was his family here before the establishment of Jamestown? Although I doubt that we will ever know the answer to these questions; these are the questions we hope to solve.
Lets take alook at the possibilities that brought Domingo to the US.
There are several possibilities that could have brought Domingo to North America. Domingo could have come here on a Dutch ship in the 1640's to be a rancher. The Dutch, having the foresight to realize they would need to grow and produce their own food, brought farmers and ranchers from areas all over the world. Among their group, cattle ranchers from Portugal. This foresight allowed these settlers to prosper and succeed much easier than the earlier English colonist. We do know that Domingo was a prosperous cattle rancher in Virginia.
It is also possible that Domingo was born in this country in the area of recently settled Jamestown. With a treaty in place between Portugal and England, the Portuguese were traders with the new colonists. They traded furs and tobacco. In fact the production and trade of tobacco from the Portuguese settled Island of Barbados in the Indies, is what created the financial success of the new colonies. The colonies nearly failed before the importation of this "fine" tobacco, replacing the Indian (domestic) tobacco which most Englanders found to have a "bite".
The third option and most intriguing one to me is that Domingo's family could have been here in the soon to be New England well before the establishment of Jamestown in 1600. We all learned that Columbus sailed the ocean blue and about the Mayflower but things were already happening around the New England coast well before the pilgrimage to Plymouth Rock in 1620, or the settlement of Jamestown in 1600.
In 1500 - 1501, Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte Real and his brother Miguel, sailed along the (soon to be) New England coast. The two ships became seperated and Gaspar's ship was never heard from again. In 1502, Miguel returned to look for his brother but he too never returned. Many years later a stone was discovered near Dighton, Massachusetts, that became known as the Dighton Rock.This stone contained engravings of Christian Crosses and the Portuguese Coat of Arms along with the inscription "Miguel Cortereal, by the will of God here chief of the Indians."Portuguese explorers commonly placed monoliths at newly claimed land. The story has been the subject of much debate.
There is an old stone tower in Newport, Rhode Island which was not made by Indians and the design suggests a Portuguese origin. This stone tower is located near the Dighton Rock. Is it possible that Miguel Corte Real and his Portuguese crew members established a settlement and relationship with the Indians in the area of Massachussetts in 1511? Evidence says it is entirely possible.
The Wampanoag Indian tribe was identified in 1643 as having light-skinned members. They also used words such as "cabbo" for cape, "pico" for peak, and "sementels" for grain. These are all Portuguese words.
In 1566 the Spaniards built a fort and city on the site of the previous French settlement of Charlesfort. This new settlement was called Sante Elena and it's inhabitants were Spaniards and Portuguese. Sante Elena was the capital of Spanish Florida, for 21 years until it was abandoned because of a conflict with the Indians. The inhabitants escaped to Florida but some of them may have traveled northward and established more settlements. The settlements of Sante Elena and Charlesfort were located on the site of present day Charleston, South Carolina.
In 1634 many Shephardic Jews fled persecution in Portugal and came to the new colonies of New England. In 1654, 23 Shephardic Jews fled persecution in Brazil and also came to the new colonies. They formed what they called a new Portuguese nation in New Amsterdam with other Portuguese settlers in the area. (credits 128, 129)
When the English settlers came to the new colonies from England, they were told by the Indians of a people who lived nearby who were light skinned and simular to the new settlers. They said they called themselves "Portygees".Were they the children of the Corte Real brothers? Or possibly the displaced Sante Elena residents?
So we can see that the Portuguese influence in the US started very early and shortly after the voyages of Columbus. The fact that no immigration records have ever been found for our ancestors into this country lends much credence to the theory that our ancestrial presence was very early in US colonial history.
So what about our Surname and it's various spellings?
How is it we have so many varous spellings but are all related?
What know that our surname, although with all of it's various spellings, is quite unique. We believe that Domingo is the one common ancestor of everyone with a surname spelled Madaris, Medearis, Medaris, McDaris, McDearis or Medaries.
The spelling of the Surname has taken several distinct branches in the last 300 years. Early in the 1600's - 1800's, correct spelling seemed to be what ever created the phonetics desired. Websters dictionary had not been written yet and phonetics was the most common way of recording documents, especially since many of our ancestors were illiterate. This was particularly true for those who ventured out into the unexplored new territories. When the census takers or clerks were filling out documents they would have to spell the names phonetically, as best they could, based on the pronunciation of the individual providing the information. Foreign accents, draws and other speech patterns of the time can be analyzed by reading these phonetic spellings. This is why so many of our early documents spell our ancestors names so differently from one document to another. These six common spellings of today may have been settled on by the children of the late 1800's and early 1900's who became the first of several generations to attend school. They may have settled on these spellings themselves or on the recommendation of their teachers based on the speech pattern of a child. They may have relied on spellings from family records such as Bibles or marriage bonds. Almost every branch of our family has varied in the spelling of their surname at some time.
Many families have stories as to why the spelling changes took place. The stories I have heard say the spelling was changed to distance ourselves from various family blacksheep from horse thieves to murderers. But records have all but disproved those stories.
Bruce Medaris, son of General John Bruce Medaris , told me their spelling "Medaris" was taken from an old marriage record. I believe the "Mc" used in McDaris or McDearis developed from the Irish accents of the wives and mothers such as Rachel McPheeters, wife of Rice. If we look at all of the evidence it becomes evident how this change took place. All the documents based on Rachel's phonetics produce the McDaris spelling, yet none of the records produced by Rice use the "Mc" spelling. Not all of Rice's descendants use the "Mc" spelling and in fact this particular line has more varied spellings than any other. It is believed that the descendants of Rice took so many diverse spellings because of a land dispute after Rice's death. The use of "Mc" did not become common until after 1830.
I believe simple changes such as the "Ma" from "Me" developed after the Civil War where brothers and cousins fought on opposing sides causing riffs in the family. This change is noted especially in the Tennessee, Georgia and Arkansas branches where members of the same family fought on opposing sides. Thomas P. and Jackson Madaris, who enlisted as Confederate Soldiers, were captured and swore allegiance to the US and may have fought against their homeland. It appears that after the war they may have been shunned by their southern families, and moved west where they adopted the spelling "Medaries".
So how do we know that Domingo was Portuguese?
Domingo's parents are unknown but we do believe that they either lived or immigrated from one of the areas in Portugal, possibly from the Madeira Islands. One piece of evidence that is strong is Domingo's name. During the Inquisition, when Christianity took over the Jewish Portuguese, they were forced to convert. In order to prove the dedication to their new Christian religion, the former Jews would name their first born son after the Sabbath. Domingo is Portuguese for "Sunday". It is believed that many of these persecuted Jews fled to the new colonies.
Sometimes the correct spelling of a Surname can be determined by locating the place of origin for your original ancestor into this country. I believe the original spelling of the surname is Medeiros, Madeiras or Medearis. These spellings are all Portuguese meaning "One who came from Medeiros".
It was common for Portuguese immigrants to drop the "i" from their surnames as they came to the English country. This would produce the spelling Mederas or Maderas. We see these spelling in our very early records. (credits 25).
So we can see that the spellings Maderas, Madeiras, Medeiros and Medearis are interchangeable. The basic meaning of all three spellings mean Wood or Timber. The Madeira Islands were named so because it was heavily timbered.
The spellings Maderas and Mederis are found quite frequently in pre-1800 census records. John Medearis (5) who was born in 1744, was not only an officer in the American Revolution but he was also a teacher. Several branches of his family maintained the ability to read and write throughout their generations unlike most of our branches. The family was not very mobile and except for the move to Tennessee in the very early 1800's from North Carolina, they were always close to each other. The spelling of the name Medearis is consistent in all branches of John's descendancy. I feel this is a great indicator and track for us to determine the original spelling of our Surname. It is possible that the spelling did change from Medeiros to Medearis in the time between Domingo and John, but since all spellings are interchangeable they share the same origin.
Brian Kelly Madaris, 1996
(updated in 1999)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Descendancy of
Domingo Medeiras (1)
I will use a numbering system to denote individuals and their lineage. Their name will be followed by their number representing their generation. Then they will be listed with their ancestsry in order.
For example: Charles Medaris (5) (John Thomas 4, Charles 3, Charles 2, Domingo 1)
When we look at this example we know that Charles is the 5th known generation in this country (or from Domingo) and his father was John Thomas son of Charles who was the son of Charles who was the son of Domingo.
I have adopted this method from Charles Carrow Cabiac editor of "The Med(e)aris/McDaris Miner" 1987-88.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Domingo Medeiras lived in Essex, New Kent and Kings & Queens County, Virginia in the mid 1600's. Domingo's wifes name is unknown.
Domingo shows in the following Virginia Records.
ESSEX COUNTY, VIRGINIA RECORDS
deed book 4, page 292 date 1660
Domingo Medaris --- cattle mark (registration) two cropps and two holes in the right ear.
(credits" 11 & 13 ) .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIRGINIA COLONIAL ABSTRACTS
Vol. 1, pg. 186 - 9 Feb. 1658 /9 Lancaster County Records Book.
Domingo Madoras was a witness to a deed of Nicholas Cocke and Rodger Radford.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 1668, there is a document relating to Sarah, a daughter of Domingo, being left orphaned. Although some researchers have seen this document I have neither seen it or a true transcript of it. From this document it is apparent that Domingo died in 1667 or 1668.
CAVALIERS AND PIONEERS PATENT BOOK NO. 6
Domingo Mederis & James Johnson, 1000 acs New Kent Co., bet. Dragon Sw. & Axells Br., 8 Apr. 1668, p. 160. 500 acs. part granted to Tho. Cleborne in 1662, who was assingned to the abovenamed, 500 acs. for trans of 10 pers: Roger Tomson, Rich Arton, Peter Grange, Ann Denew (?), Robet. Fuller, Mary Ingersten, Rice Jervis, Absolon Stringer, Morris Avery, Jno. Carter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zachery Lewis. 20 April 1694
500 acres in King and Queen County. Adjoins Dragon Swamp. A patent granted to Thomas Clayborne now belonging to Mr. Christopher Lewis. This 500 acres formerly granted to Domingo Maderas and James Johnson 8 April 1668 and deserted. Due for importing 10 persons. Headrights include Dorcas Lewis and Sarah Lewis.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Domingo received property by "Headrights". He was a cattle rancher and owned a vast amount of property in Virginia. It appears he was also a tobacco farmer. He apparently imported ranch help through indentureship.
In the 1600's, indentured servants outnumbered slave labor in this country. Primarily from England and Germany, these servants would bind themselves by indenture, or contract, to a specified period, usually 4 to 7 years, of service in return for payment of their passage. At the end of their period of indenture, former servants were given clothing, a gun, and land. The financier would receive land as "headrights" for financing the trip of the individuals; 50 acres for each person transported. (credits 16) . Other than the land mentioned above, Domingo owned another 1500 acres in Virginia that was received through Headrights.
Mary Medearis Metz, (credits 13) spoke of Domingo in an article she submitted to the "Med(e)aris, McDaris Miner", VII, #II, April 1988 published by Charles Carrow Cabiac (credits 18) . In this article she says:
".......It is the Massey C. genealogy, beginning with Domingo Madera . This is the correct spelling. I have known about him since I was in my teens. My grandmother Medearis knew about him from her husband Francis Massey (7)(John Wesley 6, Massey C. 5, John Thomas 4, Charles 3, Charles 2, Domingo 1). Francis Massey Med. traveled for a tobacco co. as then representative in SC, NC and Va, both before and after the Civil War. He was stationed in Smythe Co., Va., in the Quarter Master Corps under Col. Morgan, who headed a Cavalry Unit...........At sometime either as the tobacco representative or during Civil War or both, he ran into people who knew about Domingo - 1600's."
There is a court dispute in 1668 over Domingo's land, and documents relating to his daughter Sarah being left orphaned. Some speculate this sudden departure of Domingo is likely evidence that he may have been killed in an Indian attack. Of course there is no proof of such an incident. Although there is no will or hard document to tie this family group together the circumstantial evidence leaves little doubt. The circumstantial ties by time line and geography are quite strong. These individuals do fall in place by their Middlesex, New Kent and Essex County connections and their ties with Dragon Swamp in other documents. The grandchildren of Charles (2) were born in Dragon Swamp. The same land area we know was owned by Domingo. The other branch's span out from this one central location and into the surrounding counties. All of these lines point directly back to Dragon Swamp and Domingo Medeiras.
It is believed that Domingo had the following children:
Bolivar (2) See information under Jonas.
Jonas (2) I have not personally seen any documents with either Jonas or Bolivar listed, however, several early researchers apparently did. These names show on several family group sheets including the ones created by William Clinton Madaris and Floyd McKinley Medaris both very avid and reliable researchers. If anyone has any info on these two individuals please let me know.)
Charles (2) married Mary Beamon.
James (2) married Sarah ????.James and Sarah are the originators of a line of Maderra or Madara. Most researchers in their line believe they are not connected to our line, but James shows in New Kent Couny, Virginia about the same times as everyone else shows. I have included him here in this spot to aid in rearch purposes. Although there is no hard evidence to place James here, the locality and dates may be strong indicators. Naming trends in this branch however differ considerably form those in the line Charles (2).
Sarah (2).This is the only child of Domingo with a hard solid connection. She is listed in a 1668 document as being orphaned after Domingo's apparent sudden death.
(credits 00, 14, 15, 16, 17, 84)
Children of Domingo Medeiras are:
- +Charles Maderas, d. date unknown.
- Jonas Maderas, d. date unknown.
- Bolivar Maderas, d. date unknown.
- James Maderas, d. date unknown.
- Sarah Maderas, d. date unknown.