The Mathews family is an American
political family descended from
John Mathews (d. 1757) and Ann Archer, originating in
colonial Virginia and active in Virginia and the American South in the 18th–20th centuries.
The family origins are unclear, though most researchers believe that the family founders arrived in America around 1730 with the
Scotch-Irish immigration, settling in Augusta County (present-day
Rockbridge County), Virginia. Several members played a role in the
American Revolution, and numerous members were elected to the
Virginia General Assembly over successive generations, while additionally members have been involved in the politics of
West Virginia,
Georgia, and other U.S. states in roles including state governor and state legislator, among others. Members have served in the U.S. military as generals, colonels, and other officers. Notable members include
George Mathews,
Sampson Mathews,
Henry M. Mathews, and
Mason Mathews Patrick.
The Mathews family is believed to be of
Scotch-Irish and/or possibly
Welsh ethnicity.[1][2] Numerous, sometimes conflicting family traditions exist regarding the Old World origins of
John Mathews (d. 1757). Several of these traditions hold that Mathews was a descendant of a Welsh
Mathew family, of which there existed branches throughout Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries.[2][3][4][5][6] However, these traditions lack corroborating records and/or remain speculative.[7] Mathews likely immigrated to America during early years of the
Scotch-Irish immigration of 1717–1775.[8] The female progenitor of the family, Ann Archer, immigrated to America during this period, and was of Scotch-Irish ethnicity.[8]
George Mathews' son
George Mathews Jr. (1774–1836) was a judge of the
Superior Courts of the territories of
Mississippi and
Orleans and as the
presiding judge of the
Louisiana Supreme Court.[19] George Mathews Jr.'s brother, John Mathews (c.1762–1806), was a federal
Supervisor of Revenue from Georgia.[20] In Virginia, three more members of the family from the third generation served in the state legislature: Sampson Mathews' son Sampson Mathews Jr. from
Bath County, and
John Mathews (1768–1849) and James W. Mathews (d. 1825), grandsons of John Mathews through his son William Mathews (1741–1772), from Greenbrier County.[21][22]
John Mathews (c.1762–1806),
Supervisor of Revenue for Georgia, 1794–1796. Son of George Mathews.[20]
Ann Mathews (±1767–1840), ∞ Samuel Blackburn (1759–1835), Virginia House Delegate from Bath County, 1799–1801, 1809–1813; Georgia Assemblyman, 1795. Daughter of George Mathews.[41][42]
Charles L. Mathews (1776–1842), ∞ Lucy Early, sister of
Peter Early (1773–1818), 28th Governor of Georgia.[45]
William Mathews (1741–1772), Justice of
Botetourt County, 1770–1772. Son of John Mathews[46]
Elizabeth Mathews (±1766–1853), ∞ Isaac Otey (1766–1850), Virginia House Delegate from
Bedford County, 1798–1813. Daughter of William Mathews[47][48]
Isaac Otey Jr., Virginia State Senator from Bedford and surrounding counties, 1821–1825; Virginia House Delegate, 1820–1821. Son of Elizabeth Mathews.[48]
John Mathews (1768–1849), Virginia House Delegate from
Greenbrier County, 1798–1801, 1803–1804, 1813–1814, 1816, 1829;
Federalist candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, 1815;
Clerk of Greenbrier County, Virginia 1831–1849. Son of William Mathews.[47][53]
Frances Crow Mathews (b. 1814) ∞ Robert C. J. Cary. Daughter of John Mathews.[54]
Roberta Elizabeth Cary (b. 1836) ∞ Ovid A. Kinsolving (1822–1894). Daughter of Frances Crow Mathews.[55]
Archer Mathews (1744–
c. 1796), Virginia House Delegate from Greenbrier County, 1780–1782. Son of John Mathews.[74]
Ann Mathews (1765–1852), ∞ Thomas Edgar (1754–1822), Justice of Greenbrier County and
Rockbridge County, Virginia; son of Thomas Edgar, Virginia House Delegate from Greenbrier County. Daughter of Archer Mathews.[75]
^Van Schreeven, William; Scribner, Robert; Tarter, Brent (1973). Revolutionary Virginia, the road to independence, vol. 7. Independence and the Fifth convention.
Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia. p. 90.
OCLC802770.
^Maurer (1987)Aviation in the U.S. Army, 1919–1939 (Appendix 5) p. 74
^
abPosey, John Thornton. General Thomas Posey: Son of the American Revolution. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1992. Pages 17-18
ISBN0-87013-316-0
^Gratz, Simon (1903). "The Generals of the Continental Line in the Revolutionary War". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 27 (4): 385–403 (390).
JSTOR20086102.
^
abLexington Gazette (1938). "Capt. John Mathews and his Descendants." 1738–1938. Bi-centennial Issue: Commemorating the Settlement of the Rockbridge Section of Virginia by the White Men. A Tribute to the Scotch-Irish Pioneers. Lexington Gazette (Virginia)
^
abMeyers, Virginia M. and Dorman, John F. (1987). Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia. Order of First Families of Virginia
^
abBoots, John R. (1970). The Mat(t)hews family: an anthology of Mathews lineages. The University of Wisconsin - Madison
^Harris, J.D. (1901) "General Thomas Mathews". The Virginia Law Register, Vol. 7, No. 3 (July 1901), pp. 153–158
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1100495 Retrieved October 25, 2013
Combs, James Thurl (1987). Greenbrier, C.S.A. Wartime Letters of Mason Mathews to his son Captain Joseph William Mathews, C.S.A.,p. 5–44. Parsons, West Virginia: The Journal of the Greenbrier Historical Society.
OCLC13983198.