Sketch LIV
Pioneers in Methodism—James Matthews and
Jacob Buchner
Among the Methodist pioneers of old Long Point country no name occupies a more prominent place than that of James Matthews. During the troublous times of the Revolution, Joseph Ryerson and Mr. Matthews were warm friends and fellow Loyalists, and they came to Upper Canada about the same time.[1] Mr. Matthews took up his U. E. Loyalist grant on Lyons’ Creek, in the Niagara district, but his friends induced him to exchange it for land in Long Point settlement. The exchange was made for Lot 3 in the Gore of Woodhouse, where he settled and reared his family.[2] Here was established one of the first Methodist homes in Norfolk, and here were held many of the early Methodist pioneer meetings which culminated in the organization of the first Methodist society in the county. This pioneer society has now its third church edifice standing where its predecessors stood—just north of the old Matthews’ homestead.[3]
James Matthews was of English and Scotch descent, and his wife’s people were Dutch.[4]
He fought for George III. in the war of the Revolution, as a cavalryman, but there are no family records in existence from which anything further can be learned of the family history previous to the settlement here.[5]
The pioneer experiences of the family during the log-cabin era of Norfolk’s history were the common experiences of all. All were exposed to hardships, and there were few, indeed, who did not suffer cruel privations.
The late Holmes Matthews, seventh son of the old pioneer, who lived about twenty years beyond the “three score and ten” limit, said, while speaking of the old times:
“It seems to me that the greatest sin of which the young people nowadays are guilty, is that of ingratitude. Instead of properly appreciating the wonderful advantages which it is their blessed privilege to enjoy, they grumble at this and find fault with that, and imagine that life, somehow, has lost all of its charms. Because a bushel of wheat will no longer command a dollar, and everything else has depreciated accordingly, they have got the idea into their heads that the struggle for existence has almost reached the line where patience ends and despair begins. Why, my father used to carry five bushels of wheat on the back of a horse through the woods all the way down to the Short Hills, in the Niagara district, to get it ground. In those days we didn’t get even bread to eat three times a day that was made of wheat flour. Talk about the low price of wheat? Why, I remember when father hauled wheat through mud-holes, up sand-hills, and over corduroy roads, all the way to Job Loder’s mill at Waterford, and sold it for two York shillings a bushel—half in trade and the other half in cash to pay taxes with; and the trade was calico at four shillings a yard, and everything else in proportion. Young people nowadays don’t know anything about hard times.”
May the young men of Norfolk ponder well these words of a man whose life extended back to an age that is being too soon forgotten, and be led to prize more highly the patrimonial possessions which have been handed down to them—possessions which cost their grandsires so much self-denial and cruel drudgery.
James Matthews was a member of old London District’s first court jury, which sat at the house of James Monroe, April 8th, 1800. During the war of 1812 he served with his team in the transportation of army supplies. He died in 1818, having reached his 96th year.[6] It is said he walked up to Windham the day before his ninetieth birthday and returned the following day.
Mrs. Matthews nee Margaret Forse, drew land in Woodhouse in her own right as the wife of a U. E. Loyalist.[7] She died in 1839 in her 74th year. They had seven sons—John, James, Philip, George, Samuel, Adam and Holmes; and three daughters—Sarah, Ann and Amy.
John Matthews, eldest son of James, married Eliza Hazen, and settled in Windham, and subsequently in Charlotteville. He served in the war of 1812, and received a gun-shot wound in his knee at the battle of Lundy’s Lane. John W. Matthews, who served in the Charlotteville Council six years, is a son of John, and one of our leading citizens. He has resided on Lot 8, in the 9th concession for fifty-four years, and was one of the pioneers in his section of the township. James Matthews, second son of James, married Maria Buchner, and settled in Walsingham, where he raised a family.[8]
Philip Matthews, third son of James, settled in Michigan. Philip also served in the war of 1812.
George Matthews, fourth son of James, was born about the time the family came to Long Point. He married Jane Hazen, and settled in Woodhouse. He had four sons—George, John, Caleb and Adam Clark; and four daughters—Mary, Margaret, Phoebe and Elizabeth. George Matthews, the father of this family, was too young to serve at the breaking out of the war of 1812, but before it closed he was in the ranks. He died in 1860 in his 62nd year, and his wife in 1855 in her 56th year.
Samuel Matthews, fifth son of James, married Margaret White, and settled in Woodhouse.
Adam Matthews sixth son of James, married Charlotte, sister of Albert Toms, and settled on part of the old homestead. Adam had one daughter, Elizabeth, who remained single. She occupies the old home.
Holmes Matthews, youngest son of James, married Maria, daughter of Benjamin Mead. He settled on part of the old homestead, and had a family of three sons—George W., William and James. Mr. Matthews was a captain in the old militia, and during the rebellion he served in the Norfolk battalion of troops, as lieutenant in Captain Wilson’s company. His company was with Colonel McNab on the frontier, and Mr. Matthews says that Captain Wilson was one of the party under Captain Drew that sent the Caroline over the falls. While McNab was at Scotland with a detachment of the forces in pursuit of Duncombe and his followers, two brothers, by the name of Walker, deserted the ranks, refusing to surrender their small arms and threatening to shoot down any one who molested them. They lived not far away, and were considered desperate characters; and when a call was made for volunteers to go to their homes and capture the arms, no one responded. Finally, Holmes Matthews said that if one of the Havilands would accompany him he would undertake the job. Haviland volunteered, and the two succeeded in making the capture without bloodshed. Holmes Matthews was one of the very few men living in Norfolk in 1897, whose father fought in the war of the revolution. In his younger days he enjoyed the reputation of being a good shot, and among the many good hunting stories he tells is the following:
“I don’t b’lieve in tellin’ yarns, but I s’pose I can tell the biggest bear story ye ever heard. I killed a bear once with a single bullet at one shot an’ put five holes in the bears hide! Yes, sir, when I skinned that bear there were five holes in the hide all made by that one bullet. How did it happen? Well, I’ll tell ye all about it. Me an’ brother Samuel was cleanin’ buckwheat in the field when we saw a big lubberly bear comin’ towards us through the corn. I had my gun and dog with me, but the gun was loaded with shot and I had no bullets with me. The dog made for ‘im, but the bear was a big feller, an’ he cuffed the dog about without the least worry. I told Sam to go to the house for a bullet an’ me an’ the dog would tree the bear while he was gone. I kept the dog at ‘im ‘til he showed the white feather, an’ that meant a retreat up the nearest tree. When he got to the fence the fun began. When he tried to climb over the dog would seize ‘im by one of his hind legs, an’ then the bear would fall back an’ knock the dog over, an’ try it agin. Once he tried to climb over the fence backwards, but he made a failure of it. At last he succeeded in scalin’ the fence, an’ as he did so I let him have the charge of shot which sent him up a tree. When Sam got back I rammed down the bullet. He lay in the crotch of the tree, pretty well up, an’ partially hidden by the thick leaves on the branches of the tree. He lay all doubled up, an’ after a careful examination of the situation, I let ‘im have it, when down he came, kerplunk, on the ground. The ball passed through his neck, one leg, and entered his body and penetrated his heart.”
Sarah Matthews, eldest daughter of James, married Daniel Hazen, and settled in Oakland.
Amy Matthews, youngest daughter of James, married George Warwick, by whom she had one daughter, Margaret, who married Charles Wheeler, and settled in Michigan. Subsequently Mrs. Warwick married Jacob Buchner, jun., and settled in Woodhouse.
Jacob Buchner, jun., was a son of Jacob Buchner, the old Woodhouse pioneer, who settled near Port Ryerse soon after James Matthews came to the settlement. The elder Buchner was a fellow-worker with Mr. Matthews in the cause of Methodism, being one of the original members of the first society. He was also a member of Norfolk’s first court jury, that sat at the house of James Monroe, Charlotteville, as before stated, on the 8th day of April, 1800.[9]
The Buchner family suffered their share of the hardships that fell to the lot of all who came into the wilds of Norfolk without means, before the close of last century. A rude shanty, with blankets and the skins of animals hung up as substitutes for doors and windows—such was the Buchner home at first. The wolves were numerous, and Mrs. Buchner found it necessary to keep a loaded gun by her side when left alone, so that, when annoyed by them, she might at least frighten them away by discharging its contents at them. In this pioneer family of Buchners were five sons—Philip, John, Shelar, Jacob and James; and four daughters—Ann, Margaret, Clarissa and Jane. Jacob Buchner, sen., died in 1841, in his 79th year; and his wife, Catherine, died in 1855, in her 88th year.
Philip Buchner, son of Jacob, married and settled in Michigan, where he raised a family.[10]
John Buchner, second son of Jacob, settled in Walpole, where he raised a family.[11]
Shelar Buchner, third son of Jacob, married Martha Binkley, of Dundas, and settled on part of the homestead. He had three sons—John, William and George; and four daughters—Nancy, Sarah, Ann and Mary.[12] Jacob Buchner, fourth son of Jacob, married Mrs. Amy Warwick nee Amy Matthews, and settled, finally, in Houghton, where he died. He had one son, Mark; and six daughters—Sarah, Matilda, Martha, Catherine, Mary and Eliza. The son succeeded to the Houghton homestead.
James Buchner, fifth son of Jacob settled in Houghton also, where he raised a family.[13]
Of the daughters of Jacob Buchner, sen., Margaret married Jacob Jewell, and settled in Woodhouse; Clarissa married George Ritenor, and settled in Woodhouse; and Jane married Thomas Chapman, and settled in Woodhouse.[14] In the Chapman family were four sons—Jacob, George, William and James; and four daughters—Catherine, Elizabeth, Martha and Ann. [15]
[1] James Matthews arrived in Upper Canada from New Brunswick in 1795 and filed a land petition to the Executive Council on August 7, 1795 stating that he joined the 1st Regiment of the New Jersey Volunteers with his wife’s father Philip Force, Sr. and served for seven years. Matthews located his grant in Lots 5 and 6, Concession 7, Willoughby Township, Welland County. Source: Upper Canada Land Petition “M” Bundle 1, Doc. No. 59
[2] Both James Matthews and his brother-in-law Phillip Force Jr. exchanged their Willoughby Township Lands with Elijah Vincent in 1801. James received Lots 19 and 20 Concession 3 and the south half of Lot 21, Concession 4, Woodhouse Township in his exchange. In 1807, Matthews purchased from Samuel Ryerse Lot 3 in the Gore of Woodhouse Twp. between Simcoe and Port Ryerse and made that location his subsequent home. Source: “Force and Matthews” by Cathy Thompson in Long Point Settlers Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2.
[3] Old Woodhouse Methodist Church is a short distance north of the Matthews homestead on the opposite side of present Highway Number 24 near the corner of Highway Number 6.
[4] Chambers wrote of the Force immigrants in The Early Germans of New Jersey, “Three brothers came to this country from Germany, one who went to Philadelphia, another settled near Newark [New Jersey] from whom Rev. W. Manning Force descended and a third one near Spruce Row [married] Miss Woolever whose father came from Rhinebeck, Germany.”
[5] The Revolutionary and postwar period in New Brunswick are included in “Force and Matthews” op.cit
[6] The gravestone of James Matthews in Old Woodhouse Methodist Church Cemetery states that he died on September 9, 1848 aged 96 years, 4 months and 4 days.
[7] James Matthews filed a Land Petition dated October 11, 1796 requesting a grant of land on behalf of his wife Margaret, a daughter of Philip Force Sr. The Executive Council refused the request on the grounds that Philip Force did not come to Upper Canada and so did not qualify as a United Empire Loyalist. Force came to the province briefly in 1801 and then moved here in 1811. On the basis of additional certificates presented, the Council reversed its decision and granted 200 acres to Margaret Matthews. She located this land in Lot 16, Concession 4, Woodhouse Township. Source: Upper Canada Land Petition “M” Bundle 1, Doc. No. 59.
[8] John Wesley Matthews, the oldest son farmed in Malahide Township, Elgin County for a time then settled on Lot 8, Concession 8, Charlotteville Township. James Freeman Matthews, the second son lived on his mother’s grant in Lot 16, Concession 4, Woodhouse Township recorded in the 1834 Assessment. He then moved to Lot 22, Concession 4, Bayham Township, Elgin County recorded in the 1842 Census. Philip Matthews, the third son received a grant of Lot 29, Concession 6, West Zorra Township, Oxford Co. in 1825 and moved to Walker Township, Kent County, Michigan by 1847. Samuel Matthews, a cooper, was recorded in the 1852 Census of Townsend Township, Norfolk County. Source: Cathy Thompson, “Force and Matthews” in The Long Point Settlers Journal, Vol. 5, No. 3
[9] The children of Jacob and Clarissa (Shelar) Buchner were named in Jacob’s will dated at Woodhouse Township on April 27, 1841 with birthdates calculated from the 1812 Census of Woodhouse Township and gravestones: John born on June 28, 1789; Margaret; Anna; Elsie Ann born in 1795; Sarah born c. 1798; Shelar born in 1800; Jane born in 1800; Jacob Clasner born on April 10, 1803; Maria born c. 1805; Abraham Brock, born c. 1811/12; Clarissa. In addition, Allen Buchner, born c. 1809 was recorded in the family in the 1812 Census of Woodhouse Township. Source: Will of Jacob Buchner, Norfolk County Surrogate Registry
[10] No son named Philip was listed in Jacob Buchner’s will nor recorded with the family in the 1812 Census.
[11] John Buchner was listed in the 1829 Assessment of Woodhouse Township and on Lot 6, Concession 1, Woodhouse Township in the 1852 Census.
[12] Shelar and Catherine had two additional children buried in Old Woodhouse Methodist Church Cemetery: Aley Asa, died on October 8, 1840 aged 2 years 7 months, and Jacob L., died on August 15, 1852 aged 5 months 9 days. A daughter Sarah, born c. 1850 was also recorded with them in the 1852 Census.
[13] Jacob did not have a son named James in his will nor in the 1812 Census of Woodhouse Township. He did have a youngest son named Abraham Brock Buchner, born c. 1811. He married Catherine Shelar, settled on a part of the Buchner homestead in Lot 3, Concession 1, Woodhouse Township, and was recorded there in the 1852 Census.
[14] Of Jacob’s daughters, Margaret married first to Jacob Jewell and second on November 6, 1834, Joseph Lemon, the second marriage recorded in the George J. Ryerse Marriage Register. Anna married John Nixon and their family was recorded in Annals of the Forty (Grimsby Historical Society), Vol 7, p. 8. Elsie Ann married David Carle Gilbert according to Harriet Walker, Isaac Gilbert, UEL. Jane married Thomas Chapman (Sources in Boughner-Buchner Genealogy, p. 195-202); Maria married James Freeman Matthews (Thompson, “Force and Matthews”). Clarissa married on January 8, 1835, George Rittenour, recorded in the George J. Ryerse Marriage Register. Another daughter Sarah was listed in the 1812 Census but then not in her father’s will.
[15] Thomas and Jane (Buchner) Chapman had an additional son Joseph W. Chapman who died on 2 Oct 1848 aged 7 years 10 months and 11 days buried in Old Woodhouse Methodist Church Cemetery. Another child might have been Sarah Chapman who married on September 14. 1840, Henry Harvey Dell, their marriage recorded in the Talbot District Marriage Register.