Family Group Record ========================================================================================== Husband: Levi Walter Matthews ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Birth: Dec 4 1845 Washington, Washington County, PA Residence: bef 1856 Woodland, WV on the Ohio River at the mo Residence: 1856 Putnam County, WV Census: 1860 Marshall County, WV Census: 1870 Buffalo Township, Putnam County, WV Census: 1880 Union, Putnam County, WV Burial: 1931 Grandview Baptist Church Cemetery, Red H Death: Aug 16 1931 Putnam County, WV Marriage: Feb 28 1870 Gallia County, OH Father: Edward F Matthews (b Jan 16 1813) Mother: Rebecca Daugherty (b Jun 15 1815) ========================================================================================== Wife: Prudence Abigail Williams ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Birth: Jul 6 1850 Marshall County, WV Burial: 1940 Grandview Baptist Church Cemetery, Red H Death: Mar 21 1940 Putnam County, WV Father: John Williams (b Dec 1811) Mother: Prudence Richardson (b Jun 1811) ========================================================================================== Children ========================================================================================== 1 M Romulus Lee Matthews Birth: Sep 28 1870 Buffalo, Putnam County, WV Elected: bet 1929-1934 West Virginia State House of Delegates Elected: bet 1937-1942 Delegate to the WV House of Delegates Elected: bet 1945-1950 Delegate to the WV House of Delegates Death: Dec 16 1954 Burial: Grandview Baptist Church Cemetery, Red H Membership: Freemason ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 F Lizzie Leota Matthews Birth: Jun 20 1874 Putnam County, WV Burial: 1896 Grandview Baptist Church Cemetery, Red H Death: Sep 30 1896 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 M John Edward "Ed" Matthews Birth: Mar 29 1876 Putnam County, WV Death: Mar 27 1964 Wellston, Jackson County, OH AKA: Ed Spouse: Verna Alice Warner (m Jul 17 1910) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 F Emma Cordelia "Dillie" Matthews Birth: Jan 23 1878 Putnam County, WV Death: 1973 Burial: 1973 Grandview Baptist Church Cemetery, Red H Spouse: Samuel V Workman ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 F Effie Jane Matthews Birth: Jun 27 1880 Putnam County, WV Death: Dec 18 1962 Montgomery County, OH Spouse: William Kirby ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 F Iva May Matthews Birth: Apr 30 1883 Putnam County, WV Death: 1973 Burial: 1973 Grandview Baptist Church Cemetery, Red H Spouse: Clarence A Vaughn ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 M Walter Virgil "Virge" Matthews Birth: Aug 11 1885 Putnam County, WV Death: Dec 1950 Spouse: Iva Warner ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 M Thurman Louis Matthews Birth: Oct 4 1888 Putnam County, WV Spouse: Florence Steiger ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 M Gallatin Vandevere "Gallie" Matthews Birth: Jul 14 1891 Putnam County, WV Death: Nov 11 1968 Ohio Residence: Milford, Clermont County, OH Spouse: Iva Warner ========================================================================================== Prepared Nov 22 2004 by: Julie Matthews Burnette ========================================================================================== FAMILY NOTES Marriage(1,2): Married on the Steamer Kanawha Belle by Rev. Walter Mitchell HUSBAND NOTES: Levi Walter Matthews Birth(3,1): Or perhaps born December 10 (info from Brent Williams). Or perhaps born in Ohio according to the 1900 Federal Census. Residence(4): Residence(4): Census(5): Shown as 13 years old. Census(6): Census(7): Other Information: Birth Year <1846> Birthplace VA. Age 34 Occupation Farmer Marital Status M Race W Head of Household Levi MATHEWS Relation Self Father's Birthplace PA. Mother's Birthplace MD. Burial(8): Death(1): General(3): "Dad's father, Levi, came from someplace around Washington, Pa. and judging from family photographs and the clothing shown thereon, they were likely Pennsylvania Dutch--Amish that is. It seems that Levi was a little light on the work ethic, but was rather heavy in the reading and scholarship side. One of my few memories of him was listening to him "arguing religion" which was a favorite occupation of the learned men of that day, probably because the Bible was the most readily available reading matter. His "arguments" sounded very logical to me, if a little scary. The only thing I remember for sure is that he believed in the "washing of feet" for religious, as well as for hygenic reasons." From the Matthews Family Chronology: "Our Mother's parents with most of their family emigrated to Putnam County in 1856 in search of better and cheaper land where most of the family grew up and married, and most of them had farms and large families. Our Mother married Levi W. Matthews, who under similar conditions had migrated to Putnam County about the same time from Woodland, W. Va., on the Ohio River at the mouth of Fish Creek some 25 miles below Wheeling." WIFE NOTES: Prudence Abigail Williams Birth(1,9): Burial(8): Death(1): General: -----Original Message----- From: Charles & Carolyn Miller To: Julie Burnette Date: Saturday, November 14, 1998 11:21 PM Subject: Re: Williams Julie, thanks for the file, it is now a part of my file. I talked to my Dad this evening and he remembered Prudence Williams Matthew's. He lit up when I mentioned her. He said he liked her a lot, that she was feisty and that she had trouble keeping her teeth in. He remembered when he was a small boy (he's 77) one of the Williams family coming to Granddad Tucker's and this person had a watch on that had a flex band. It was the first one he had every seen. He remembered the William family as always very nice. He called her Aunt Pruddy. CHILD NOTES: Romulus Lee Matthews Birth(10,11): Elected(12): Matthews, Romulus L. (b. 1870) -- also known as R. L. Matthews -- of Montgomery, Fayette County, W.Va. Born in Buffalo, Putnam County, W.Va., September 28, 1870. Democrat. School teacher; pharmacist; banker; member of West Virginia state house of delegates from Fayette County, 1929-34, 1937-42, 1945-50. Protestant. Member, Freemasons. Burial location unknown. Elected(12): Elected(12): Burial(8): Membership(12): General: Listed on The Political Graveyard site: http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/matthews.html#04J0XO245 After Fifty Years Address by R. L. Matthews at the Matthews - Robson - Duncan Reunion August 17 1947 Dear Friends, It is entirely fitting that we should hold this Reunion here at GrandView for this and the adjacent country-side is the scene of our pioneer efforts to build a good community here in Putnam County. In this life-long effort (or struggle) the Matthews - Robson - Duncan families have played their part along with their neighbors and friends, many have moved to other countries and have played a creditable part in founding new communities. Right here let me mention a few early settlers who moved here before we have a Free-School System in this state. Shortly before the war John Williams, Sam Hartley and Tom Cooper brought their families from Marshall County to Eighteen Mile Creek and soon thereafter came the William Hartleys from Wetzel County, Edward Matthews's and Lewis Barnharts from Fish Creek, Marshall County. My Father said the first man they met at Red House was Dudley Montague. Others had preceded us along the river and creeks, some of them were the Hensons, Harrisons, McGraws, Garrisons, Harmons, Higginbothams and Oldakers who settled at Oldakers Mill just as soon as the Indians under Cornstalk were defeated by Col. Andrew Lewis at the battle of Point Pleasant in 1774. Marietta, Gallipolis and Point Pleasant were settled before Washington died in 1799. Winfield and Buffalo were settled about 1840. The old poor farm on Eighteen Mile Creek now owned by the J. M. Henson heirs had the date 1826 cut out of the chimney of the rambling old house. Then the Tucker farm just above, now owned by John Hartley was part of that old settlement. So you see we were on the scene a hundred years ago and many of the pioneers of that day rest in the Graveyard across the way and the names on the Tombstones is a Roster of the First Families - as Gray aptly wrote - "Let not ambition mock their useful toil, their homely joys and destinies obscure; nor granduer hear with disdainful smile the short and simply annals of the poor"- I want to mention W. Y. Matthews as an outstanding citizen of his time. He was richly endowed and he gave generously. He wasn't rich as the world counts wealth but he was rich in the service of his neighbors. The Dunlaps built a Church nearby which bears their name - and rightly so for they gave beyond their generation. Then there were the Olders, the Honakers, The Thomases, the Parkinses, the Knapps, the Nulls, the Jividens, the Rayne's, the Pitchfords, the Workmans, the Allinders, the Crandalls, the Comstocks, the Walkers, the Gates and Steeles who did yeomans service for the community to list a few of the many. Life in the "Horse and Buggy Days" was hard indeed and we contrived quaint and odd customs to make it livable; for instance, "Work Frolics" in which threshing wheat and rolling logs was considered fun. Few schools, mud roads, Churches and Sunday School contributed to our social life as well as our spiritual. Roads were designated by the names of farms through which they ran and when farms changed people were confused for a time. Then came, in less than fifty years, the modern inventions we take for granted now, and out goes the Country store and Post Office and one room School House and blacksmith shop - all real institutions a few years ago - even the Chestnut tree is gone. We have come through three economic phases. First the Hunter. Second the Timber man and third the Farmer - and we're entering the fourth which is the Industrial worker. These changes vitally effect our lives and our community but wherever our lot is cast let us continue to emulate the example of our forebears to the end that we will leave the next generation as good (?) a world as our forefathers left us - which is not as easy or as simple as it sounds. We have a number of cousins in the Wheeling area. The Putnam County migrations seemed to have cooled their pioneer spirit - they couldn't keep up with Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett any longer although Uncle Tom Williams went west in a covered wagon and raised a large family near Winfield, Kansas, and Uncle John Matthews migrated to Sioux City, Iowa, and raised a family of two. I might add that Grand Father Williams was of Welch descent and Grand Mother Williams, English. Grand Father Matthews, German, and Grand Mother Matthews, Scotch-Irish. I remember my Grand Parents well and they were estimable people and good citizens of their generation, as were our Parents in theirs. We should emulate them by carrying on and living creditable lives. I might add there are three sources of information unavailable as present: S. V. Hartley's notes on the Richardson family, a branch of the Matthew's family at Barnesville, Ohio, and the Hood family, of Moundsville, West Virginia. CHILD NOTES: Lizzie Leota Matthews Birth(1,11): Burial(8): Death(1): 22 yrs 3 mos 1O dys. CHILD NOTES: John Edward "Ed" Matthews Birth(3): "Dad was born in 1876 on either the Ohio side or the West Virginia side of the Ohio River just a few miles below Wheeling. His mother and father were married in Gallipolis, Ohio and since Dad was the second oldest boy, I rather think he was born in Ohio. Anyway, early in his boyhood, they moved about 30 miles back into the West Virginia hills, to Grandview, back of Buffalo, and his early memories seemed to stem from that location. He was born Mathews, with one "t" and remained Mathews until his older brother, Romulus Lee, added the extra "t." He always said that his older relatives and acquaintances of the family called them "Mathis" and it seems quite probable that Mathis, or Mathes is the correct family name." Note: John Edward Matthews was born in Putnam County, WV and his birth is on record there. Death(13): From Ohio Death Index 1958-1969, Update: Certificate Number: 20251 Volume Number: 17615 Sex: Male Race: White Name: MATTHEWS, JOHN E County of Death: Jackson County City of Death: Wellston County of Residence: Gallia County City of Residence: Date of Death: March 27, 1964 Age of Death: 87 Years Marital Status: Married General: From http://ourfamily.users2.50megs.com/Ed%20Matthews.htm History Of John Edward Matthews John Edward Matthews (always called "Ed") had a wealth of entertaining and unusual expression, many of which he no doubt invented. He didn’t like to say anything in an ordinary way, if he could express it more colorfully. * He was born in 1876 on either the Ohio side or the West Virginia side of the Ohio River just a few miles below Wheeling. His mother and father were married in Gallipolis, Ohio and since he was the second child, it seems he would have been born in Ohio. He was born with the name Mathews, with one "t" and remained Mathews until his older brother, Romulus Lee, added the extra "t". He always said that his older relatives and acquaintances of the family called them "Mathis" and it seems that Mathis or Mathes is the correct family name. John Edward dropped out of school after what he always estimated as the 5th grade. His memories of school seemed to center around the way that discipline was enforced. He was always a law-abiding citizen but he did not like to be reminded of any inadvertent slip-ups by the forces of law and order. His stated reason for dropping out of school was to help his mother and to help put his brothers through school and no doubt that was largely the truth of it. It could be though that an unjustified, in his mind, whack with a hickory stick played some part in the decision. He quit his job as superintendent for E. C. Humphrey because he was criticized for allowing his employees a day off to attend the Gallia County Fair. He was a hard worker in his way. He could unload 100 bushels of coal and shovel it through a head high window without pausing for breath. During his bachelor days he worked as a teamster in logging and railroad construction camps and had absorbed some of the songs, stories, and attitudes from that rough and colorful background. He has admiration for the poker players that hung around the camps. He said they always had a 38 in their hip pocket and spent all their winnings on fine clothes before they could lose it back. He also mentioned the false frontiers that ate at the boarding house and went down to the hotel, stood in front and picked their teeth with the drummers (traveling salesmen to you). He apparently liked to travel in his younger days. He went with one brother from Charleston to Norfolk and went on a boat trip on Chesapeake Bay "out of sight o land". Someone in Richmond train station offered them a job at a "stave mill" but they decided to go back home. In later years he went to Denver with Erie Denny and some other men and bought a load of horses or mules. They traveled in a truck and slept in a tent. He was very proud of his children and later his grandchildren. He could, and would, recite their accomplishments to anyone that showed and interest. I believe that this tended to make his children feel worthy and maybe a little self-satisfied. In this same vein, he was inclined to forgive small transgressions, such as a dent in the car, a lost corn knife, or the use of a good wrench for a hammer. He was inclined to value mental accomplishments more highly that manual labor. In general, the children were never asked to give up any scholarly or literary pursuit to help with the chores. This was one area where he and his wife were in almost full agreement. He was admittedly soft hearted. It disturbed him to see any living thing hurt or in pain, and he was inclined to tears at sad stories, funerals and such. His children remember his crying on the day their Mother was operated on at Delaware Hospital, and they saw him turn white when he accidentally slammed a car door on a child’s finger. This true sensitivity was unusual and resulted in some inconveniences. A neighbor had to be enlisted to kill the hogs when we butchered, to do away with an old and sick dog, to castrate or ring the pigs. All in all, though, they were proud of his being that way. Aside from his family, his primary interest in life was Horse-Trading. He said that he had owned 1200 horses between his first trade and the time of him marriage at age 35. He further said that he could recognize by sight and years later any horse that he had ever owned, and mostly he could tell you who he bought it from and how much he paid for it. Also, who he sold it to and the amount of the sale. Aside from the horse trading, he had a genuine love for horses. He understood them, cared for them with concern and skill. He respected them as individuals, and groomed them to perfection with currycomb and brush. They were fed solid yellow corn in a clean feed box. They had bright straw for bedding and he cleaned the stables himself. His highest compliment to a man was "His word is his bond." Woe to anyone who doubted his word and integrity. When he was in his 70’s he suffered a light stroke in his right arm. He was taken to the doctor who recommended that he cut out smoking and cut down on his coffee drinking. When he was informed this information he said "NO" and went home and dug some postholes that afternoon, although he admitted his right warm was a little weak. Late in life he developed a hearing problem and wore hearing aid. He never seemed to adjust to this very well, but he did get to be a pretty accomplished lip reader. He developed a quivering voice, and ended up needing reading glasses. CHILD NOTES: Emma Cordelia "Dillie" Matthews Birth(1): Death(8): Burial(8): Tombstone is shared with Iva May Matthews. CHILD NOTES: Effie Jane Matthews Birth(1): Death(13): From the Ohio Death Index 1958-1969, Update: Certificate Number: 92086 Volume Number: 17127 Sex: Female Race: White Name: KIRBY, EFFIE County of Death: Montgomery County City of Death: County of Residence: Montgomery County City of Residence: Date of Death: December 18, 1962 Age of Death: 84 Years Marital Status: Widowed CHILD NOTES: Iva May Matthews Birth(11): Death(8): Burial(8): Tombstone is shared with Emma Cordelia Matthews. CHILD NOTES: Walter Virgil "Virge" Matthews Birth(1,11): CHILD NOTES: Thurman Louis Matthews Birth(10,11): CHILD NOTES: Gallatin Vandevere "Gallie" Matthews Birth(1,11): Residence(14): GALLATIN MATTHEWS 14 Jul 1891 Oct 1968 45174 (Milford, Clermont, OH) (No Location Given) 234-28-4269 West Virginia Before 1951 SOURCES 1. Brent Williams,. 2. Leslie I Lewis, 1009 Tyler Street, Port Townsend WA, 98368-6543, lewisparr@olympus.net. 3. Glenn Edward Matthews, 1974. J. Ed. Matthews 1876-1964. Glenn Edward Matthews, 1974. 4. Our Family... A Chronology, with Notes. Romulus Lee Matthews, 1945. 5. 1860 West Virginia Census. 6. 1870 Census. 7. FamilySearch Ancestry File, www.familysearch.com. 8. Putnam County, WV Cemeteries. 9. 1850 Census. 10. Putnam County, WV births as transcribed by Cathy Brubaker (dennis@newwave.net) on January 28, 1999. 11. ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/wv/putnam/vitals/birth/birth001.txt. 12. http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/matthews.html#04J0XO245. 13. Ancestry.com, Ohio Death Index 1958-1969, Update. 14. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index.