Tennessee has a ``First Families Of Tennessee Project'' for its state bicentennial. There is some Matthews material submitted to that project for the line of Obadiah Matthews, the son of this person. The first name Preston is according to Anna Ruth Matthews of Sevierville, TN, a descendent of Obadiah who submitted material to the project. Anna Ruth Matthews responded to a letter of Dennis Nicklaus in November, 1996. According to what her father (now deceased) told her, Obadiah's line traces back to a great-great--grandfather James Matthews, great-grandfather James Jr., grandfather William, father Preston, then Obadiah. Here's what she said: ``The story told of our line of Matthews was that five brothers left England about 1600-1650 and came to America. The one we came from was James. The names of the other four are unknown. James had James Jr., then came William, Preston, Obediah, Robert, Thomas, Albert, Herman and me [Anna Ruth Matthews]. This is what my father, Herman, wrote down.'' She hadn't found anything in the way of original proof of this line at all.
Despite the lack of information about the parents in this family, we do know the names of several of the children.
My starting point for research on this Matthews family is a letter written by Tunstal Quarles (TQ) Matthews, who would be a great-grandson of this patriarch. This letter was written to his daughter Ruth and was handed down through Ruth's son Avesta Scott, his daughter Ida, Ida's grandniece Gertrude ``Trudy'' (Morrison) Heiman, and from Trudy to her cousin Lyman Morrison and then to me. It appears on the following pages. Elisha Challen Scott (TQ's grandson) also had a copy, as evidenced by some of Elisha's writings about TQ.
You will note that it mentions the following sons of this family: TQ's grandfather (who turns out to be Joel), James, Samuel, and Obadiah. The daughter, Elizabeth is hinted at by the mention of Rans Bird Green. Many details on Elizabeth and her family were provided by the work of Richard Davis, a descendent of Elizabeth. Richard submitted many of the family members to the LDS church for his father and has also shared a list of Elizabeth's descendents through the LDS Ancestor File database.
In addition to these known members of the family, there are several other Matthews in the same counties as the known members of this family. This Matthews family can be traced through Greene County, Tennessee (which at the time was still the western part of North Carolina), Pulaski County, Kentucky, Ross County, Ohio, and then on west.
The first tax list of Greene Co., Tennessee, taken in 1783, shows Joel, Obadiah, and Samuel Matthews, probably three of the sons in this family.
Joel and Obadiah, at least, served in the Revolutionary War in western North Carolina. Also, a James Matthews is listed in a as a participant in a book about the Revolutionary battle of King's Mountain (in that area of the country).
In addition to the known members of the family, John Walker of Ft. Worth, Texas has done extensive research into another Matthews family that might be related to these Matthews. Most of the Matthews presented here lived in Pulaski County, Kentucky in the early 1800s. Mr. Walker's Matthews family also lived in Pulaski County at about the same time. His Matthews trace back to two brothers, Samuel and Burgess Matthews.
An easy conclusion to leap to is that the two Samuel's are one and the same and that Burgess is another brother that TQ didn't know about. Also, a Burgess Matthews was a witness to the will of Daniel Matthews (who is presumed to be the same Daniel in this family) in Pulaski County. However, there is one legal refutation of the idea that Burgess might be an additional brother in this family: Samuel and Burgess are known to be brothers by documents settling the estate of that Burgess. These documents state that Burgess had no children and had only one brother, Samuel. Burgess died in 1846 in Marion Co., Tennessee. By this time, Samuel's children had already moved to Missouri. Burgess owned 28000 acres of land --- scrubby uplands not suitable for crops or cattle. Probably not being familiar with the provisions of the law of descent and distribution, Burgess' widow Sally sold his lands for $1,000. The land changed hands many times after that. In the 1880s the Tennessee Iron, Coal and Railroad Company began buying the land in that area for its coal deposits. In the course of tracing the title to the land, it was discovered that the descendants of Samuel Matthews had some interest in the land. (Burgess had no children, and one's widow was only entitled to inherit a fraction.) Various agents began buying up those interests. Burgess and Samuel may have had other siblings with living descendants, but no one found them and likely didn't look very hard. So Samuel's descendents split the proceeds of the land sales. For now, there is no evidence that says Burgess did belong to the same family, so he is left out.
Since this Matthews family lived in Pulaski County for roughly 15 years (about 1804-1817), by examining the Pulaski County tax and land records of the same era, we find several other Matthews who may be related in some way, but no relationship has been proven. One or more of these Matthews may even be the parent of this family.
Besides the known members of this family, the tax rolls of Pulaski County show a Joseph Matthews in 1799-1800, a Jeremiah in 1809, a Lewis Matthews, Jr. in 1810. (The known members of this family, Daniel, David, James, and Joel, first appear on the Tax Rolls in 1804.) Burgess and Samuel both appear first in 1806. In the years before 1810, the tax list was in two or three different ``parts''. Burgess and Samuel are listed in a different part than the others.
% Tables \ref{pultaxtab} and \ref{pultaxtab2} show Matthews listed on the Pulaski Co. tax rolls between 1799 and 1822.
\input{pulaski.tex}
%>
% I've made a short summary % of the Matthews who are named on early Pulaski Co. tax lists.
Pulaski land deed records show:
This Joseph is likely the same Joseph Matthews who married Margaret Burgess in Greene County, Tennessee in 1797. The first name of the aforementioned Burgess Matthews suggests a previous connection between the families. The early tax lists of Greene Co., TN (1798-1800) list the names Joseph and Thomas Mathews (also spelled Mathes).
Also, on the 1810 Census, there is a Joseph Matthews age 26--44 in Cumberland Co., KY with a wife and 7 children. Also in Cumberland Co. is a Samuel Matthews age 26--44 with 5 children and a wife age 16--25.
The 1810 Pulaski Co. census shows the following Matthews families on the following pages: Daniel, 149, James, 149, Burgis, 151, Joel, 153, Burgess, 154, James, 154, Obadiah, 154. The second Burgess and second James (page 154) don't appear on the 1810 tax rolls (There's only one James and one Burgess at a time ever). It seems to be possible that James and Burgess were just counted twice for the census. The two 1810 census entries for James are very similar: one has 2 sons and 2 daughters, the other has 4 sons, all under the age of 5. The two Burgess entries show different ages for the oldest male: he is 26--45 in one and over 45 in the other.
The following is from research of John Walker: Another brother of Joel may have been John Matthews, born March 15, 1741 in North Carolina. John served as a Revolutionary Soldier from Anson Co.,NC and moved to Tennessee before 1790 and to Highland County, Ohio in 1805. Highland Co. adjoins Ross and Pike counties. John named his second son Joel, born August 26, 1772. A DAR application based on John Matthews' military service states he had a brother James Matthews who was killed during the 1781 Revolutionary War battle at Guilford Court House, North Carolina.
A James Matthews does appear on the lists of soldiers involved in the key revolutionary battle of King's Mountain, North Carolina.
In an 1888 book of biographies of ``Prominent Tennesseans'', is the biography of a Captain James Harvey Mathes which might provide some clue to the origin of this Matthews line. Here is what it has to say: The Mathes family is of Scotch-Irish extraction. The remote ancestor of Capt. James Harvey Mathes, subject of this sketch, was Alexander Mathes (or Matthews, as he spelt the name), who came to America about 1720, first settling in Pennsylvania, and afterwards removing to Virginia. Some forty years after, four Matthews brothers, and their families, including Capt. Mathes' great-grandfather, George Mathes, removed to Washington county, East Tennessee, a period long anterior to the admission of the State of Tennessee into the Union, and it is a tradition that even up to this time the family name was spelled Matthews. The settled near what is now known as Washington College, then known as Martin's Academy, an institution in the establishment and support of which they and the Doak family, and other pioneers, took an active part. The Mathes family has been very prolific in preachers and doctors, and as their history shows they have, from early times, been the friends of education \ldots
According to other descendents, the father of James Harvey Mathes was Rev. William Alfred Mathes. His grandfather William was about the first white child born in Tennessee and his great-grandfather George Mathes was killed by Indians shortly after arriving in Tennessee. Unfortunately, none of this matches up with what is known about this Matthews family from TQ's letter.
Here follows TQ's letter:
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\hspace{4in} Sterling, Johnson Co. Nebraska;
Dear Children;
You request me in your last letter to give you what
information I can in reference to your mother and other relatives of
the past, This I have been thinking of for sometime past .
Your mother Jane Chloe Morgan was born on the 10th day of May
1807 in Pulaski Co. Ky. I was born in the same neighborhood on the
23rd day of Sept. the same year. Her father moved from there to
Fayette, Co. Ind. My father moved when I was about eight years old to
Ross Co. Ohio. When I was about 20 years old, we moved to Indiana,
near where your mother then lived. I think her father's name was
Adonijah, but am not certain. She had six brothers, Amaziah, Lewis,
John B., White, Adonijah, and William, in the order named. There were
four girls in the family. Ibby, who married Thomas Sargent; Dorcas who
married Peter More; Ruth, who married Rans Bird Green, who was my
father's cousin; Margaret who died when she was a young woman. Jane
C. was the youngest. Lewis married Sally Matthews, my fathers sister.
They had two children, Madison, with whom you were acquainted, and
Clabaum, who died when he was a young man.
Adonijah married Betsy Matthews, a cousin of mine. I had no
acquaintance with your mother's father or mother. They were both dead
before we were acquainted. My father was born in Virginia, on the
23rd day of March 1779. Died on the 16th of Sept. 1837. My mothers
name was Margaret Reed. Was about five years younger than my father,
and died Dec. 1824. Grandfather Matthews was a Baptist preacher, had
three brothers that I have heard spoken of, James, Samuel, and
Obadiah. My father's brothers were Daniel, Father next, David,
Obadiah, and William. My father's family was John Harvey, Mary C.,
Tunstal Quarles, and Lucinda R. My brothers and sisters are dead. I
do not suppose that any of your mother's brothers and sisters are
alive except William Morgan of your county maybe. I do not know how
long, but it was some years, that your mother belonged to the Baptist
church before we were married. But about the time we were married the
Reformation was introduced, as it was then called. And she went with
the party that took the Bible for there creed. This was called the
little Flat Rock Church, Rush Co. Ind. John P. Thompson, Preacher. He
was Calvanistic in his views, but had made a visit to Kentucky, and
heard John Smith preach, and came back, what was then called a
Campbellite. I united with the same church after the division of the
summer of 1829. So have been a member for over 47 years. Nearly all
the time I have been an active member, giving the church my most
earnest thought, and labor with a large amount of my substance. And
have received but little pecuniary help. I have received more since I
have been in Nebraska, than I ever received before. But I do not feel
I have labored in vain.
The Lord Knoweth them that are His. Your mother was well
informed in the Scriptures, zealous and a good talker, pleasant but
firm. I was 21 years old the 23rd day of Sept. 1828, and was married
the 25th day of Dec. following. Your mother was four months and ten
days older than I was. Had some very bad spells of sickness, and was
not as healthy as some girls. Yet, she had generally good health for
a number of years. I think we were as well suited to live together
happy as any others. We were married in Fayette Co. Ind., lived there
about three years then moved to Shelby Co. Ind. Louisa and yourself
were born in Fayette Co. When we had been there about one year, we
assisted in organizing the Church of Christ Brandywine. I was chosen
one of the Deacons. I have held a public office in the church about
every since. Sometime after this, the Scrofula showed itself by the
swelling of the glands on the neck. These were removed, but she did
not recover her usual health, and before Nancy Jane was born she was
scarcely able to be about. After she was born she appeared quite
smart. We were both in great hopes she would recover her usual
health. But by a fatal accident our hope was all gone. The first or
second [day] I was away from home a few hours. The Doctor had left
some %
laudanum %
drops in a Bateman drops bottle , of which she was to
take 15 drops for afterpains if necessary. Not feeling well she
concluded to take some Bateman drops which we had in another bottle
very near the same amount and color. But sister-in-law, Betsy Morgan,
got the wrong bottle and held it up and asked her if that was it , she
said it was. Betsy told her there was none too much to take and gave
it to her. I think it was about two tablespoonfuls. She soon felt
that something was wrong, and examined the bottle and found the
mistake. We then sent for the doctor but did not get him until nearly
morning. We kept her awake by every means at our command, but her
fatigue and altogether was followed by a fever which was followed by a
dry cough, which proved to be the Scrofula seated on the lungs. [Nancy
J. was born the 27th of June 1836] She so far recovered that part of
the time she was able to be up. She grew worse in Oct., we thought
she would not live until morning. She sometimes appeared some better,
but we never left her alone after that until she died the 7th of April
1837. From appearance she might have died any hour. She was so light
I could lift her out and in bed as easy as a child. She had to lay on
her back for so many months that the skin and flesh was all gone , the
bone white and dry. She was so weak that the only move she would make
was her hands and arms to the elbows. She could talk and had her
right mind. She was very sensitive of noise. It appeared that loud
talking would have killed her in a few minutes. After the disease
reached her stomach her suffering was intense beyond anything she had
ever endured. She told me to tell her friends how she suffered. It
put an unusual brightness in her eyes and strengthened her voice from
a whisper so that we could hear her across the house . She was a fond
mother and loved her little girls as well as any mother. But in her
extreme suffering and when all hope of life was gone, she gave them
up, said she did not care to see them. She was only waiting, anxious
for the moment to depart. There was only one earthly desire that
never left her. That was for me to be by her side. When I had to
sleep some of her friends would ask her if she could do without me
awhile and she told them not to ask her any more, she never wanted me
to leave her. When I could not set up and go to bed, she talked a
great deal about dying. She said one evening it was a serious thought
that before morning she would know what was beyond death and would
enter that eternal state, though she was one of the best of women she
said she could not trust in her own good work, but in the mercy of God
through Jesus Christ. She said she would give no direction what I
should do with the children. I knew better than she did. I feel
thankful that I was able to raise them as well as I did. I hope those
that have died have gone to everlasting life, and those that are alive
will live in Christ, that when we all pass the river of death, we may
again be united where parting will be no more and pain and sorrow will
never come.
Sometimes when I look back at the past and see how few of my
early associates are living, what changes in society both political
and religious, I feel bewildered and oppressed with the thought. I
truly have spent a busy life, sometimes done far more that I have
done, but circumstances seem to demand it. I believe I have had less
hard toil and trouble since I have been in Nebraska, then I ever had
for the same of time. There have been but a few days that I have not
been able to work this season. Mother has been quite well. Mary is
well and at home. Ella and Emma are well.
The election is day after tomorrow, and if I vote then it will be
forty-eight years since I first voted for president. I shall vote for
Hayes and Wheeler. Mary will write you the news in a few days.
\hspace{4in} As ever
\hspace*{4.25in} Nov. 5, 1876
\hspace*{4in} T. Q. Matthews.
James D. and Ruth Alkire
\twocolumn
Sources for this individual: @S1144@ @S1389@ @S338@ @S388@ @S400@ @S1390@ @S812@ @S811@ @S194@ @S197@ @S198@ @S1391@ @S404@ @S199@
