Luke Matthews of Brunswick County, Virginia, 1739-1788, and His
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COUNTY VIRGINIA AND Gc 929.2 M3 2 m 1135700 L A “TUI ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY / 833 00854 2539 ' . This edition is limited to three hundred and twenty copies, of which ten are printed on Japanese handmade paper with special binding. LUKE MATTHEWS “ One family. Part of the host have crossed the flood And part are crossing now ” Charles Wesley. LUKE MATTHEWS OF BRUNSWICK COUNTY VIRGINIA 1739—1788 AND HIS DESCENDANTS BY WILLIAM KENNON MATTHEWS H. KODAMA, Printer, Kobe, Japan CONTENTS Page Preface.I-IV Part I History of the Family 3^5^00 Origin of the Family Name .. 1 Early emigrants to Va. by the name of Mathews .. .. 2 The Family of Luke Matthews . 7 The Family of Lucy Fox, wife of Luke Mathews.... 9 The Matthews Family Bible. 12 The will of Luke Matthews . 13 Life of the family in Brunswick Co. Va. 16 The children of Luke and Lucy Matthews. 20 0 Part II Original Documents, Records and Notes & The Mathews genealogy. 23 List of early emigrants to Virginia.. 27 '/*?- Articles of Agreement between Luke Mathews and Thos. Creedwell Gent. 30 Early Counties of Southern Virginia . 32 Notes on Brunswick County records . 33 Relationship of various persons by the name of Mathews in Brunswick Co. 40 Three other Mathews families, probably related .. .. 41 Notes and Records regarding the Fox family .. .. 45 Notes on the Sims and Pegram families. 50 Part III List of Descendants Descendants of Angelica Matthews. 53 Descendants of Hannah Matthews. 65 Descendants of Elizabeth Matthews . 65 Descendants of Lucy Matthews . 68 Descendants of John Matthews . 68 Descendants of Luke Matthews . 112 Descendants of Isham Matthews . 112 Descendants of Nancy Matthews. 138 Descendants of Drury Matthews . 139 Index. 141 ( * ** I PREFACE Some years ago, for my own satisfaction, I began to collect information regarding that branch of the Matthews family with which I am connected. This led to considerable correspondence with various members of the family, many of whom I found to be likewise interested in the family history. While I had no intention of writing a book on the subject, so many persons requested a copy of what I should find that I finally agreed to publish what I have been able to gather together. This material is arranged in three sections. The first part is a historical section. It aims to state briefly what is known of Luke and Lucy Fox Matthews, with whom our family Bible begins its record ; what is known of their ancestors, including a survey of the chief Mathews families of early Virginia, and in addition, other facts related to the family history which it has seemed wise to include. Frequent footnotes indicate sources of informa¬ tion or add details. The second part is a collection of documents, such as wills, genealogies, county records and notes regarding records. These are given because of their intrinsic interest and also for the benefit of those who may wish to make further research. They bring those remote days near and give a proper atmosphere. It has not been possible for me to examine all the original documents quoted or referred to. I have had to depend in large measure on copies or abstracts sent to me by others. Even access to standard reference books and genealogical magazines has been my privilege only on occasional furloughs in America. Further research would, I am sure, have brought to light much additional information. It is to be hoped that other members of the family will correct and supplement what is here given. II The third part of this book is the section which gives the family genealogies of Luke Matthews’ descendants, so far as traced, and shows the place of each member in the family line. The names of both parents, when reported, have been included. It would have added much to the interest and value of this section if the life story and the chief characteris¬ tics of each person could have been even briefly stated but that was impracticable both in case of those long dead and in case of most of the living, who are unknown to the author. This section of the book is the least satisfactory. It has been impossible for me, living in far Japan, to trace some family lines that could and should have been found and included ; or, more serious still, to verify the lists of descendants as given to me by others, often in script difficult to read. Some of these lists are thoroughly trustworthy. Others were furnished by somewhat distant relatives, often from memory, and are likely to be in error at many points. Notwithstanding checking and correction where feasible, regretable omissions and errors of many kinds are to be expected. Apologies are hereby made in advance and your forgiveness requested. The author will welcome additional facts, corrections and documents as it may be possible to issue a supplement at some later time. Since almost all of these lists were collected in 1927, subsequent changes in most families are not shown. This was unavoidable. In the absence, however, of any family history, it is hoped that this book, incomplete and unsatisfactory though it be, may meet a present need in our family life. It is too restricted in purpose and too wide in scope to be of much direct value to persons interested in scientific genealogical studies. But it will answer in part two questions that every child asks ; first, how he is related to that group of persons called his “ family ”, and second, who his ancestors Ill were. Would that it could tell us more fully, what kind of persons these relatives and ancestors have been, and what they have done in the world. To the three main parts of the book there has been added a complete index of all persons connected with the family lines. There is included also some blank pages for the convenience of members who wish to note corrections, or additional facts in their family history. The title of this book has been chosen with care in an effort to state accurately the field to be covered. For this reason it was necessary to include in the title the years in which this Luke Matthews lived ; for, in addition to his own son Luke, there was another Luke Mathews living in Brunswick Co. in his latter years, and there have doubtless been others since. As to the spelling of the surname it is necessary to add a word. In all early records there is found much variation in the spelling of names, and the surname Matthews is no exception (See p. 39). “Mathews” was, it seems, the form most commonly used in Virginia. It is to be noted that in this family, the name is spelled “ Matthews ” for the first time in the last entry of the family Bible record (1831). Apparently the Tennessee branch of the family had by that time decided to use this spelling. I remember how, years ago, certain aged relatives emphasized and took pride in the fact that the name thus spelled was a proof of family rela¬ tionship. Because the name has been thus spelled for over a hundred years and because there is no certainty as to how it was spelled by Luke Matthews or his ancestors, it has seemed best to use the form “ Matthews ” on the title page of this book and to follow elsewhere the documents as given. The notation used in the list of descendants is an adaptation of the decimal system found in many libraries. Children in each family are numbered 1-9 in order of birth. In rare cases there are more than nine children. Then the IV tenth is designated by the letter “ A ” instead of a number, the eleventh by “ B ” etc. The first generation has one figure, the second two etc. Thus “ 738 Benjamin Cofield Matthews ” indicates that he was of the third generation and the eighth child of No. 73 (E. D. Matthews) ; also that his father (No. 73) was the third child of No. 7, (Isham Matthews), who was the seventh child of the common ancestor, Luke Matthews. Each member of the family has thus his individual number and the system is capable of indefinite extension, e. g. No. 571511 Sarah Elizabeth Green, is of the sixth generation. The list is divided into nine sections, each giving the descendants of one of the nine children of Luke Matthews. Each branch is treated as a whole before the next branch is taken up. To find the place of any person in the list consult the index. To the many members of the family who have so willing¬ ly cooperated in supplying needed information I wish to express my grateful thanks. I am particularly indebted to Miss Ada R. Wright of Clarksburg, W. Va. for supplying me with family documents and valuable notes on county records collected by her and her sister Mrs. R. R. Jones. W. K. MATTHEWS, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Japan. PART I HISTORY OF THE FAMILY 1 ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY NAME The name Matthews or Mathews is an example of surnames arising from baptismal names. The given name Matthew, which is of Hebrew origin and means “ Gift of God,” has been commonly used in the British Isles since the conversion of the people to the Christian religion. There were few surnames before 1350, so in speaking of children, John the son of Matthew was called Matthew’s John. Gradually the “ Matthews ” part of such combinations came to be treated as a surname. Other surnames arising from the same baptismal name were Mathew, Matheson, Matson, Madison, Mathy, Maddy and Matty.(1) Variations in spelling gave rise to still other forms, such as Mathews, Mathis, Mathes, Matthewes, Mathaw, and Mathias.G) It is said that the first use of Mathews as a surname occurred after Sir Mathew ap Evan (Jevan), eleventh Lord of Cardiganshire, Wales, was knighted by Richard II in 1386.