FAMILY VOICES & LEGACY

This section offers a closer look at the people behind the names — the ancestors whose lives, choices, and character helped shape the Meehan legacy. 

Through stories, images, and personal details, This Is Us presents intimate portraits of our historical family members, bringing them into clearer focus not just as ancestors but as full human beings.

Here, memory meets history, and each life reminds us that we are who we are because of who they were.

Born About 1785

Died Before 1881

Not all legends make the history books. Some live quietly — passed around kitchen tables and through knowing looks. Livas was one of those legends.

He left no journals or grand speeches, only a trail of bold decisions: leaping from a ship, moving from Baltimore to Canada, and carving out a home in the wilds of Ontario’s Queens Bush.

Alongside others fleeing enslavement and oppression, he built a life from the land and found strength in community.

His legacy lives in more than bloodlines — it’s in the soil, the courage, and the quiet resilience carried forward through generations.

Born About 1798

Died In 1908

Addison Smith, Livas Anderson’s contemporary and eventual son-in-law, is a powerful figure in Meehan family history. After marrying Mary Ann Anderson, they built a large, lasting family.

Addison escaped enslavement after three attempts, finally finding freedom and community in Canada’s Buxton Settlement.

Together, he and Mary Ann raised 21 children — alongside the 8 children he fathered before his escape. Living to age 111, Addison witnessed three centuries of change, from 1798 to 1908.

Before his death, he shared his journey in a local newspaper — a rare firsthand account of resilience and legacy. That article is shared here with permission from the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum.

In Zion, Illinois — and across the greater Chicago Black community — the Booker T. Washington Civic and Progressive Club was a vital force for unity and self-determination.

My father, a proud member and former president, followed a tradition of leadership grounded in service, education, and respect.

Inspired by Booker T. Washington’s ideals, the club brought people together to mentor youth, support families, and amplify Black voices.

This tribute honors not just my father, but all who quietly built stronger communities and laid the foundation for generations to come.

These poems reflect a man who saw the world with clarity — through work, struggle, faith, and memory.

Portrait of a Janitor is the published collection of my father, William Meehan, who began writing poetry at age nine and continued for over 50 years.

A janitor by trade and a poet at heart, he wrote with dignity, insight, and a deep sense of history — capturing injustice, grace, and the quiet power of everyday life.

This selection offers a glimpse into a life both ordinary and profound, where poetry became an enduring act of reflection and resistance.

The Reading Room offers book recommendations that reflect the stories, themes, and histories explored on this site.

These are titles I’ve leaned on in my research — covering Black settlement, homesteading, migration, and memory across Canada, Nebraska, and beyond.

Some are written by descendants of DeWitty-Audacious families, others by local historians. All offer insight, context, and inspiration for continuing the journey of remembering and reclaiming.