Henry Matthews (2nd Generation)

Henry Matthews Sr. to Charles Hedges, with subsequent assignment to Jacob Matthews & Henry Matthews Jr.

This is to explore the possibility that Henry MATTHEWS, of Bourbon Co., KY and apparent father of Jacob & Henry MATHEWS, may have been the son of Johann Jacob and Anna Margaretha (JUNG) MATHEIS, of Frederick Co., MD. I will attempt to list facts that tend to support or deny this proposition, and then invite my fellow collaborators to do the same by submitting their comments to me for inclusion here.

The case for Henry MATTHEWS, of Bourbon Co., KY, being the offspring of Johann Jacob and Anna Margaretha (JUNG) MATHEIS, of Frederick Co., MD, is strictly circumstantial, there being no record or contemporaneous account yet found that would prove this relationship conclusively.

Facts supporting this proposition:

1. In a sketch about a George W. Mathews published in 1884 in the History of Marion County (p. 628), it is reported that "his father, Jacob Mathews, was born in Frederick county, Md., in 1774", and that his mother, "Catherine (CALVERT) MATHEWS ... was born in Culpepper, Va., on March 25, 1781". It further reports that his parents "were married in 1809 in Bourbon county, Ky., near Paris, and emigrated to Marion county, Mo., in the fall of 1818". Another account, Atlas Map of Marion County Missouri 1875, also confirms Jacob's place of origin as Frederick Co., MD, albeit with a different birthdate of "about 1778". This account also implies through a different surname, GREEN, that his wife had previously been married. This fact is explicitly indicated in another section of the History, (p. 773), where it is stated that Jacob married a widow and lists GREEN as the surname of his step-children. On the previous page, we are reminded again that Jacob came from Bourbon Co., KY.

2. Enumerated In the 1810 census of Bourbon Co., KY, (reportedly performed within 10 months of August 6, 1810), we find a Jacob MATHEWS (age 26 thru 44, by himself) and a Catherine GREEN, (age 26 thru 44, with one male and two females under age 10). While the fact that they were enumerated separately would suggest that they were married some time after the 1809 period mentioned above, their unmarried status at this time confirms that they were not married prior to meeting each other in KY. This later period is also consistent with the birth of their first child, Elvira (MATHEWS) BROWN, (who was born about 1812 in KY per various census enumerations: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880). Further, their enumeration in this census is also consistent with the father and mother of the subject in the first item being the same individuals residing in Bourbon Co, KY at this time. Last, based on their stated age range, we can also deduce that both Jacob and Catherine were born some time between 1766 - 1784.

3. In the case of Jacob, we can further approximate his year of birth to a range between 1771-1780 based on his subsequent census records for Marion Co, MO, (1830, 1840). Note that all of the birth years reported in Item # 1 are consistent with ranges deduced here and in the previous item based on these census records.

4. Elvira (MATHEWS) BROWN's 1880 Census record reports her father and mother's places of origin as "Md and Va" respectively, confirming the account of their origins as reported in the History of Marion County. Her mother's place of birth is also confirmed by the 1850 census in which her mother, Catherine, living with her son George, was enumerated as having been born in "Va".

5. Two instruments recorded in Bourbon Co., KY in 1803, (included above under Deeds), involving Henry MATTHEWS, Sr., Jacob MATHEWS, and Henry MATHEWS, Jr., (a Bill of Sale and a Deed with immediate reassignment), provide circumstantial evidence of a family relationship between these individuals. The Sr/Jr distinctions suggests father/son, and the fact that Jacob and Henry Jr. are co-parties to these agreements suggests that they are brothers.

6. In a deed from Henry MATHEWS to John SMITH recorded on 27th day of February, 1838, in Bourbon Co., KY, Henry and Catherine MATHEWS are said to be "of the county of Marion and State of Missouri late of the county of Bourbon and State of Kentucky". This coincidence of name and locations tends to further confirm that the Jacob and Henry MATHEWS found in Marion Co., MO, are the same individuals mentioned in the 1803 instruments described in the previous item.

7. A Henry MATHEWS was also enumerated in the 1810 Census residing in Bourbon Co., KY, (age 16 thru 25, living by himself). From his stated age, we can deduce that he was born between 1785 and 1794. However, this is slightly at odds with his 1840 Census record for Fabius Township, Marion Co., MO, which implies a birth date between 1781 and 1790 based on a reported age range of between 50 and 59.

8. To the extent that the relationship suggested by the aforementioned Bill of Sale and Deed applies, and that the Jacob Mathews mentioned in the first item is the same one identified in these instruments, we can infer that Henry Sr. and Henry Jr. may have also come from Frederick Co., Maryland.

9. In the baptismal records for Apple's Church in Frederick Co., MD, we find a Jacob MATHIAS, "son of Henrich and Anna Margaretha MATHIAS, b. Dec. 16, 1773, bap. April 20, 1774," and a Johann Henrich MATHES, "son of Henrich and Anna Maria MATHES, b. Oct. 8, 1784, bap. Jan. 12, 1785." Note that these birth dates fall within the date ranges reported with the aforementioned census records, and that in the case of Jacob, closely approximates the year of birth reported in the History of Marion County. Also, while the names vary slightly, "Henry" and "MATHEWS" respectively are plausible anglicizations of "Henrich" and "MATHIAS/MATHES", and this transformation is also suggested by the fact that Henry Mathews Sr.'s name appears as "Mathis" in one place on the aforementioned bill of sale. Further, in this period, first names like Johann were reportedly "love names", used only in the family, and that the middle name in this case was what one was otherwise known as. Last, the discrepancy in the mother's name, (Margaretha vs. Maria), is thought to have been an error, as she is reported as "Maria" on the baptisms of their other children, and also coincides with one of the sponsor's name, the child's grandmother.

10. Per the Pioneers of the Old Monocacy, (p. 207), Jacob MATHIAS, (Johann Jacob MATHEWS), was one of three individuals involved in establishing Apple's Church, location of the aforementioned baptisms. Among the baptismal records of this church, we find many individuals born to the children of Johann Jacob MATHEWS, i.e., his grandchildren.

11. The wills of Jacob MATTHEWS and Margaret MATHIAS both mention a son named Henry.

12. "Jacob" and "Henry" were both names common to this family, the former obviously being shared by Johann Jacob MATHEWS, and the latter matching that of one of his sons, (Henry Jr.'s father).

13. We have been unable to identify any other Jacob MATHEWS born in Frederick Co., MD around 1773/4 with a father named Henry, and a brother named Henry born between 1781-1794.

14. Tom and Everett, with whom I share nearly identical Y-DNA characteristics, can both trace their ancestry to Nelson Co., KY, to where we know that two other sons of Johann Jacob MATHEWS and Anna Margaretha (JUNG) MATHEWS, John George and Conrad, migrated.

Facts not supporting this proposition:

1. The 1880 Census records for Rufus and George W. MATHEWS report places of origin for their parents, (Jacob and Catherine MATHEWS), that conflict in part with that reported by their sister, Elvira BROWN, (described in Item # 4 above), respectively "Ky and Ky" and "Mo and Va", (although the handwriting of the "Mo" is unclear enough that it might alternatively be construed as "Md"). Further, the 1900 Census record for Rufus reports the place of birth of both of his parents as "Virginia". If any of these reports are accurate, it would invalidate the notion of Jacob MATHEWS of Bourbon Co., KY, 1803, being the offspring of Henry and Anna Maria MATHEWS of Frederick Co., MD. Note however that in the same census Rufus' own offspring were inconsistent in reporting his place of origin, (George, Archer and Jefferson, as VA; Rufus and Mary as KY), when we know from above that he couldn't have been born in VA. This is in keeping with my general experience with this particular item of information, which I have found to have been notoriously inconsistent among the different offspring of an individual, and even inconsistent as reported by a single individual over multiple censuses.

2. The 1880 census record for Amanda (MATHEWS) LAKE, daughter of Henry and Catherine MATHEWS, reports the places of origin for her father and mother as "Ky" and "Md", respectively. If true, this would invalidate the notion of Henry being the offspring of Jacob & Margaretha MATHEWS. However, since her mother's place of birth was reported as "Ky" in the 1850 census, we have to consider the possibility that Amanda's response may have been transposed by the census taker. Statistically speaking, it's also much more likely that her father would have been born in MD then KY based on his age as reported in the 1840 and 1810 census and the limited settlement of KY during that period. Her mother on the other hand was about twenty years younger than her father, and therefore much more likely to have been the one born in Kentucky. In the 1900 census, however, both of her parent's places of origin were reported as "Kentucky".

3. The other participants in the 1803 instruments recorded in Bourbon Co., KY, (the Bill of Sale and the Deed with immediate reassignment), namely John BOYD, Charles HEDGES and John McKINSEY, were of an ancestry other than German, (BOYD and McKINSEY purportedly of Scotch ancestry, while HEDGES was of English ancestry). Dave maintains that "it is unlikely a German would have had three English/Scotch witnesses", and that while "English and Germans (may have) mixed on a day-to-day basis, when it came to witnessing legal documents, they tended to look to other Germans". If true, this would suggest that the Henry MATHEWS of Bourbon Co., KY may have actually been of English or Scotch ancestry, not German. Note however that his son was named "Jacob", and not "James", the English equivalent of this name.

4. Dave reports that this Charles HEDGES had a connection with a Chidley MATHEWS from Frederick Co., MD, in that his "aunt, Rachel (HEDGES) MATTHEWS, married John MATTHEWS (son of Chidley MATTHEWS Sr.)", and that "both the HEDGES family and the Chidley MATTHEWS family were Quakers". This fact tends to support the theory asserted in the previous item. Note however that we have thus far been unable to identify a Henry MATHEWS descendant in this line, much less one with sons named Jacob and Henry.

Conclusion:

In consideration of all of the above, it still seems reasonable to me to conclude that this Henry MATTHEWS, apparent father of Jacob and Henry based on the Bourbon Co, KY deed and bill of sale, is the offspring born to Johann Jacob MATHEWS and Margaret JUNG in Frederick Co., Maryland, c. 1745.