Meazon, Catherine
Little is known of the life of Catherine Meazon. It is presumed that, by 1819, she had married a man with the surname Oxford and perhaps resided a distance from the tribal lands. It is possible also that Oxford represented a second marriage and that Meazon was also a married name. In April of 1819, Catherine’s name, written Catte Oxford, was included on a petition for the appointment of a new overseer. She, along with 24 others from the community, petitioned the New London County Court for the appointment of Captain Eneas Morgan as overseer. Catherine Meazon is conspicuously absent from the overseer records that itemize the annual expenses of the tribe. She does, however, re-emerge in the record as a signatory on a January 2, 1839 tribal petition. She and ten others sought the appointment of Erastus Williams as overseer in the place of Elisha Crary.
Based on the 1840 federal census for Ledyard, Connecticut, the community consisted of 13 households, some of which were headed by tribal members other not. Catherine was between the ages of 55-99 years old and listed as the head of a household of three. In addition to herself, there were two males between the ages of 24-35. It is likely that these two men were the individuals noted by the enumerator as being engaged in agricultural. Neighbors of Catherine Meazon Oxford included Charles Fagins, Mark Daniels, Joseph Lawrence, Hiram Lawrence, Amasa Lawrence, George Cottrell, Sullivan Fagins, Charles Fagins, Paul Baker, Frederick Toby, Basha Holt, Plowden Fagins, and Betsey Wheeler.
After a long absence, Catherine Meazon does appear in the overseer records of Roswell Allyn between March of 1840 and February of 1841. Tribal member Esther Dick was compensated for providing board for Catherine Meazon for an unspecified period, resulting in a $17.25 expense. Catherine accrued a mere 54 cents in other supplies during that year. It’s uncertain what became of Catherine Meazon after this point.
Petition of the Western Pequots to the Connecticut General Assembly, 1819.04.24.00; NLCC:PbS, Indians, Mashantucket Pequot, RG3, CSL; 1840 Federal Census, Ledyard, CT, Ancestry.com
Alias(es)
Catherine Oxford
Tribes
Ethnicity