I am looking for the parents of Edward F. Matthews who is shown in the 1850 Monroe County census. After many years of looking, I am guessing that Edward's parents eventually lived in Monroe County and bought land there in the 1830s.

Edward was born in 1813 in Fayette County, PA and moved around most of his life living in Indiana in his early years; Guernsey County; Belmont County; Marshall County, WV; Washington County, PA; and finally settling in his 50s in Putnam County, WV. He died there in 1887.

I have reviewed his death certificate but his parents aren't listed unfortunately.

The Matthews family is known by a number of different spellings, such as Mathews, Mathes, Mathis, Mathos, etc. Family lore has it that my family was originally known as Mathis; interestingly, the spelling used in Monroe County is Matthess. Since this is the only time I've seen this spelling used in all of my ten years of research, I think Monroe County may hold the clues that I've been seeking for so long.

I suspect that Edward may be the son of one of the Matthesses or Matthewses who lived in Monroe County in particular and Sunsbury Township in particular. I wonder if he moved to Monroe County after the death of his father, but I don't know this for sure.

I also suspect that Edward may be a descendant of Garrett Matthews, born in Hardwick, NJ on Dec 7 1750. He was a Revolutionary Soldier and died in Guernsey County. I believe he lived in Fayette County had three other brothers, Andrew, Isaac, and John (I think I have these names right). From what I've found online, I don't think Edward is the son of Garrett, but perhaps he comes from one of his sons?

I suspect that Andrew Matthews may very well be Edward’s father. Andrew lived in Fayette County, PA in 1810; Edward was born there in 1813. Andrew isn’t shown in the 1820 census; perhaps he had taken his family to Indiana, which is part of the family lore? I haven’t been able to find Andrew in 1820 in Indiana or anywhere else for that matter. By 1830, Andrew moved to Monroe County and then bought land there in the mid-1830s (see the land records). He’s also shown in the 1840 Monroe County census but I think died before 1850 because he is not shown in the 1850 census. Edward moves his family back to Monroe County in 1850, perhaps to be closer to his mother?

Finally, none of us really knows the nationality of the original American Matthews. Family lore says that we are either Welsh, German, Quaker, and Amish Mennonite, but who knows what's correct? Not I!

If I can provide any other information or answer any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Julie Matthews Burnette
Ggg-granddaughter of Edward Matthews and Rebecca Daugherty
301-330-8595
julie@julieandcompany.com