Wedding certificate of John Harvey Matthews and Elizabeth Hatton
|--------Preston MATTHEWS ( - )
|
|---------Joel MATTHEWS (1755, (probably) Virginia - 1834, OH)
| |
| |--------RANSBIRD ( - )
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|------James MATTHEWS (1779, Virginia - 1837, Indiana)
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| | |--------
| | |
| |---------Patty (1757, (probably) Virginia - )
| |
| |--------
|
John Harvey MATTHEWS (1804, Kentucky - 1858, Washington)
|
| |--------
| |
| |---------
| | |
| | |--------
| |
|------Margaret REED (1784 - 1824, Ohio)
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| |--------
| |
|---------
|
|--------
Urged to come west by his sister-in-law Harriet Hatton Dillon,
John Harvey Matthews and his family first settled at Linnton near the
present day area of St. John's, Oregon. The property was delta land,
formed by the soil washed down the Columbia River, good for farming
with plenty of fresh water. Harriet told the Matthews of the free
land available for American citizens wishing to settle here. She and
her husband had crossed the plains to Oregon in 1847 without mishap
and felt that as the Matthew's children were older that they would be
better able to stand the arduous journey.
Both John Matthews and his wife Elizabeth Hatton were born in
Kentucky. He was born in 1804 and migrated to Tippecanoe County,
Indiana, where he was married to Elizabeth on April 5, 1832. She was
born in 1813 and had lived in Kentucky, Ohio and Iowa.
The Matthews had a family of seven children. On October 12,
1852, they arrived at The Dalles, Oregon, which was considered to be
the end of the trail. They took a raft down river to Linnton where
they were met by Elizabeth's sister and her family. Their brother
William S. Hatton also came with them.
John took out a Donation Land Claim of 289.06 acres in north
Clark County on November 2, 1852, located in Twp. 2N, R. 1W, Sec. 18
and 19. He passed away on December 8, 1858, just six years after
coming to the Northwest. William S. Hatton was appointed
administrator of his estate. H.B. Hathaway bought the major portion
of the claim. Elizabeth died about 1878 at the age of sixty years.
The article also contains information on his children. Much of the rest of the information on the descendents of John Harvey comes from data collected by his great-great granddaughter, Lorraine Alice (Matthews) Richmond.
In the book, ``Fort Hall'' by Frank Robertson, there are Oregon migration comments on (John) Harvey Matthews, brother of T.Q. Matthews, grandfather of Frank.
The emigrants desired only to be let alone. They wanted the Indian's
land when it looked good to them, but tried to avoid personal contact with
them. They had other problems. One of those emigrants was my great-uncle,
Harvey Matthews, some of whose letters to my grandfather, written more than a
hundred and ten years ago, I still have. He went on to make his farm on the
north side of the Columbia, directly opposite the mouth of the Willamette.
His letters bubble with enthusiasm for the fruits and vegetables he could
raise, and he was constantly imploring my grandfather, Reverend T. Q.
Matthews, of Keokuk (Co.), IA, to join him. On the debit side, he tells of
Indian scares and of trouble with the United States military. The settlers
objected to the soldiers voting, and on one occasion my great uncle and two
of his sons were badly beaten up by army men, Uncle Harvey being bedridden
for several weeks as a result. A minor thorn in his side was that he had
left his property back in Iowa in the hands of a brother-in-law he had
trusted, but who consistently refused to make an accounting, or send him any
money. There were no courts to which he cold appeal. It was an experience
common to many early Oregon immigrants.
Wapsinonoc Twp, where the family is in the 1850 census, is in the NW corner of Muscatine Co., Iowa, adjacent to Cedar Co.
The property that John Harvey bought when he arrived in Oregon is described as follows:
Sources for this individual: @S376@ @S377@ @S378@ @S379@ @S380@ @S339@ @S1375@
