John Steger Meade (b. 1856) left the family home place, " The
Hermitage " in Amelia County, Virginia, about 1877. He and his
younger brother became affiliated with the tobacco dealer firm
by the name of Meade and Southerlin Tobacco Company. He first
married Sallie Gordon Edmunds and they resided at 828 Paxton
Avenue, Danville, Virginia where their four children were born.
They attended and were members of The Episcopal Church of the
Epiphany. His wife died of tuberculosis and his daughter along
with at least one sister also caught the disease. They were all
residing in the same residence. He served as President of the
Danville Tobacco Association in 1908. After his first wife`s
death he married Josephine Wooding and converted to the Baptist
faith. He was one of the co-founders of the Lee Street Baptist
Church. He was named for his maternal grandfather, John Harris
Steger.
