HomeMy WebLinkAbout2234"THE MATTHEWS FAMILY OF PICKERING"
- A FAMILY HISTORY -
Matthews
THE MATTHEWS FAMILY OF PICKERING TOWNSHIP,
ONTARIO, CANADA, EIGHT GENERATIONS, 1992
WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY:
RICHARD D. MATTHEWS JR., U.E.
ROSE MARIE (WELCH) MATTHEWS, U.E.
"The Matthews Family of Pickering"
-A Family History-Introduction
I started this project in 1988, shortly after the death of my grandfather, Roy Winfred Matthews.
To my surprise no one in our family had put down in any form our family history! My
grandfather had done a little research over the years, but was never able to complete it. I was
at home recovering from back surgery after an injury with a lot of free time on my hands when
I decided to do some research into our family history on my own. The following work took me
in excess of four years to complete. I have only used names and dates that I was able to
verify from documents. This work is meant to help preserve for future generations of our
family our rich history.
Information sources
1. The United States of America, 1850 and 1860 census of the State of Michigan.
2. The archives of Ontario, in Toronto, Canada.
3. The county clerks offices of Sanilac County, Huron County, St. Clair County, and Tuscola
County, Michigan.
4. Family records such as birth, marriage, & death certificates.
5. Information from local Michigan public libraries.
6. The national archives of Canada, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
7. Oshawa Historical society, in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
8. Prof. Ronald J. Stagg, Ph.D., of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
9. Mr. Roy Winfred Matthews, my grandfather.
10. Mr. Clarence Martin Matthews, my great uncle, and grandfather's brother.
11. Ms. Annette Ruth Matthews, my cousin.
12. Mr. Henry Norlande Ruttan, U.E., my distant cousin.
13. Rev. Dr. William Angus McKay, of Pickering Township, Ontario, Canada.
14. Mr. Gerald W. Nyquist, Ph.D., of Croswell, Michigan.
Written and compiled by: Richard Dale Matthews Jr., U.E. & Rose Marie (Welch) Matthews,
U.E. 1992
"DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE PATRIOTS OF 1837"
THE OLD STRUGGLES ARE ALMOST FORGOTTEN, OR BUT DIMLY RECALLED. IN JUST
A FEW GENERATIONS, NOT MANY STILL REMEMBER WHAT THE BATTLES WERE ALL
ABOUT; BUT ENJOY THE RESULTS OF THEM WITHOUT QUESTION. IT WAS ALL LONG
AGO, AND VERY PETTY AND UNIMPORTANT, SOME NOW SAY. BUT THERE ARE SOME
WHO STILL REMEMBER THE SACRIFICES OF CERTAIN OBSCURE MEN WHO HELPED
TO SET CANADA FREE, TO BECOME THE GREAT NATION SHE WAS TO BECOME. IT IS
SAID: "BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER JUSTICE".
R E D E L S MARCHING DOWN Y O N G E STREET
NAMES OF PERSONS ARRESTED IN UPPER CANADA AND IMPRISONED ON A
CHARGE OF INSURRECTION OR TREASON BETWEEN DECEMBER 5, 1837, AND
NOVEMBER 1, 1838. HOME DISTRICT
JAMES FOSTER JOHN ANDERSON THOMAS BURRILL JAY CODY JAMES SMITH
THOMAS RERDON DANIEL WINSTOW PETER DEGUIRE JOHN KENNEDY LOUIS BRINE
CORNELIUS DUNCAN JOHN KENNEDY 2 JAMES RAGGAT WILLIAM KENRICK PAT.
McCHRYSTAL PATRICK CASEY GEORGE IRELAND W.T.KENEDY H.CARLTON JOSEPH
HORNE W.MILNEY ARTHUR LAIDLAW MAURICE FITZGERALD F.WARDROPE
J.McGILLES GEORGE CARROL GEORGE FARLEY W.YOUNG
SAMUEL CARPENTER HENRY HALL JOHN DUNN JAMES LATIMER FREDERICK EIKART
WILLIAM PEARSON WILLIAM ALVES WILLIAM POOL ANDREW DRAGOON EDWARD
HILTON JOHN BRETT FRED. ANDERSON GEORGE NELSON FRANCIS WAY JAMES
BERGIN JOHN MONTGOMERY PETER STOREY HENRY COWEN HENRY BROCK
1 .
EDWARD SNIDER Wm. ALDERNEY ROBERT BROCK JOHN Mc'MILLAN FRANCIS LYONS
MICHAEL VINCENT HENRY SHAVER DANIEL GAMBLE JOHN WHITING EMANUEL
TOMLINSON Wm. ROBERTSON WILLIAM CLAY WILLIAM ROGERS ROBERT STIBBERT
JAMES EGAR SAMUEL BROCK JAMES JOHNSON ROBERT MIDDLETON PHILLIP
BUSSON GORDON BURGESS WILLIAM BALLARD GEORGE GARBUT JOHN
BURGESS SAMUEL READ JOHN BRAMMER JOHN PEARSON JOHN RUSSEL PHILO
BELFRY JAMES HUTCHINSON Wm. M. PLASTED ALEXANDER READ RICHARD
TAYLOR GODLIP EIKART WILLIAM NELSON ROBERT BAILIE GREGORY INNIS JOHN
CUYLER SEYMOUR H.STOGDILL GEORGE EIKART JOSHUA STEVENS COL.VAN
EGMOND GEORGE CHEWETT W.R. LOUNT JAMES HUNTER JOHN STEEPLE PHILIP
WIDEMAN WILLIAM WATSON
DAVID CASH RICHARD WATSON ELI BATEMAN ANDREW EIKART PETER ROGERS
JOSEPH SHEPPARD ROBERT STIVER WILLIAM KING JACOB SHEPPARD DANIEL
HIBNER WILLIAM ROGERS JOHN BROWN DANIEL SHEPPARD J.W.KENDRICK
GEORGE HILL JOHN M'KAY JAMES M1QUEEN JOSEPH GOULD PETER MATTHEWS
GILBERT F. MORDEN ABRAHAM HALING JOHN STEWART MICHAEL SHEPPARD
JOSEPH NEWLOVE JOHN WILKIE THOMAS SHEPPARD GEORGE WILSON REUBEN
LUNDY ROBERT WALKER WILLIAM ASHER EMANUEL DONER JOSEPH CLARKSON
JOHN BEILBY JOSEPH DONER ARTHUR SQUIRES JOSEPH WILSON JOHN
SHEPPARD JOHN M'DOUGALL PERIPHEN HAWKE JACOB TROYER PETER RUSH
GIDEON VERNON DAVID BLAIR WILLIAM WILSON ISAAC MASTERSON L.S.W.
RICHARDSON JACOB KIRTY
HENRY EARL CHRISTIN NINNY EDWARD BROGK ABRAHAM MUSSELMAN BENJAMIN
WINHUP ADAM SCOTT PETER PENCE THOMAS WILSON WILLIAM STOCKDALE HENRY
JOHNSON DAVID PORTER GEORGE BOLTON JAMES JOHNSON W.G.EDMONSTONE
JOHN MITCHELL JOSEPH JOHNSON GEORGE HOLBORNE JAMES HARMAN JOHN
CLARKE GEORGE LAMB JOHN G. PARKER JOHN BROWNE TOWNSEND WIXON
SAMUEL WATFORD HUGH D. WILSON SILAS BARDWELL ADAM BAIRD JOHN D.
WILSON COLIN SCOTT ASA WIXON WILLIAM BROUGHAM JOHN GIBSON CHARLES
LOW PETER GRANT HASEL H. SCOTT SOLOMON SLY JOSEPH MILLBURN HIRAM
MATTHEWS JOEL WIXON DAVID DEAN RUSSEL BAKER JOHN HILL PETER MUNRO
JOHN PROUT
ANDREW HILL SAMUEL MUNRO CHARLES CROCKER WILLIAM WILSON ABRAHAM
WILSON RANDAL WIXON JAMES LONG SAMPSON HARRIS
WILLIAM HILL WILLIAM CURTIS PATRICK GARRY
WILLIAM JACKSON CHARLES BURLING LEONARD WATSON ARTHUR KELLY JOHN
MARR JESSE DOAN JAMES KEENE THOS. WILSON DOUGAL CAMPBELL JOSEPH
M'GRATH ROBERT BERRIE DONALD CAMPBELL THOMAS SLY JOSEPH ELTHORP
JOHN CAMPBELL CHARLES DURAND JOHN GRAHAM ADAM GRAHAM THOMAS D.
MORRISON G.S. YEOMANS LUTHER ELTON JAMES LESSLIE WILLIAM BENTLY
JOSEPH WATSON -------LESSLE
WILLIAM GRAHAM ANDREW ROWAND JOHN DOEL NELSON FLANAGAN JOSEPH
BRAMMER ROBERT JOHNSON JOSEPH MATTHEWS FRANCIS MCDONALD JAMES
BROWN HENRY WEAVER W.J. COMFORT ASHER WILSON GEORGE BARCLAY
JACOB LANE LOUIS TERRY THOMAS GRAY
M.P. EMPEY ROBERT TAYLOR WILSON READ GERALD IRWIN THOS. HILL JOHN
READ WILLIAM DOAN JOHN RUMMERFELDT WESLEY DUNCAN THOMAS
THOMPSON JOHN P. PLANK JOHN McLAFFERTY HENRY STYLES WILLIAM KILBURN
WELDON HUGHES GEORGE ROBINSON ADAM RUPERT EBENEZER MOORE C.C.
SCOTT WILLIAM READ JR. WEBSTER STEVENS ABRAHAM FAULKNER THOMAS
WILSON JOHN GILLINGHAM THOS. SHERRARD GEORGE FLETCHER JOHN
M'CORMACK JOSHUA HASKILL WILLIAM CARNEY IRA ANDERSON JOSEPH MARTIN
NELSON CARVER JACOB LAMOUREAUX CHARLES RAYNER JOSEPH NOBLE G.G.
PARKER ABRAHAM ANDERSON CHARLES DOAN DUNCAN M'NAB PATRICK
CONDON JOSHUA WIXON CHARLES AXTELL JOHN O'BRIEN JAMES KANE J.F.
FARLEY JAMES KEANE JAMES BARRY GILBERT DECKER JEREMIAH C. CHAPIN
JOHN WILKIE 2d THOMAS ELLIOTT WILLIAM SHAW PETER GRANT 2d
WILLIAM CARROL EWEN CAMERON BURTON ATTWELL JAMES MCDONALD
EDWARD A. THELLER JOHN P. CHERRY ISAAC MOINS STEPHEN A. BROPHY JOHN
PLANK JOHN HOUCK CLAUDE CAMPEAU
R.S. SMITH MATTHEW HAYES AUG. D. BERDENEAU LAZARUS ELLIS SAMUEL
LOUNT
ELI IRWIN ARCHIBALD MOLLOY JOHN GARRY FRANCIS ROBBINS LUCIUS C. THOMAS
MARTIN SMITH ABRAM W. PARTRIDGE EBER THOMAS HENRY M1GARRY THERON
CULVER ELIAS CRERY JAMES EDMONSTONE LOUIS LENNOX ROYAL HOPKINS
WILLIAM BREWER FRANCIS CLUTIER TIMOTHY DOYLE TERRANCE FERGUSSON
BENJAMIN,F. PEW ALEXANDER CLUNY PETER M'CONVILLE HENRY L. HULL D.
HUTCHINSON JOHN HAWKES GEORGE DAVIS MICHAEL CORRIGAN JOHN KLINE
WALTER CHASE JOHN HALING MICHAEL FLOOD SQUIRE THAYER JOHN DOYLE
WILLIAM IRWIN NATHANIEL SMITH JOHN McANANY JAMES M1ISAAC W. W. DODGE
JAMES McGUIRE DENNIS LEAHY
JOHN DEVINS ELISHA MITCHELL GEORGE WRIGHT THOMAS WATTS CHANCEY
PARKER JAMES PARKER DENNIS O'CONNOR WILLIAM KETCHUM DONALD
CAMERON JOHN CONDON AaRON FREELE EWEN CAMERON JOHN KEANE THOMAS
TRACY JOHN CAMERON WILLIAM CARNEY JOHN ARTHUR TIDY CHANCEY HAWLEY
PETER MILNE JOHN KELLY JOHN ROBINSON EDWARD KENNEDY PAUL BEDFORD
EDWARD KEAYS JNO. HILL 2d. HARVEY BRYANT SIMON SERVOS BARTHOLOMEW
PLANK ENOCH MOORE JOSEPH WIXON WILLIAM WILSON PHILIP JACKSON R. A.
PARKER JAMES YULE DIOGENES M'KENZIE JOSEPH EARL IRA WHITE BENJAMIN
WARNER FRANCIS CLARKSON
FRANCIS StAUGUSTIN JONATHAN DOAN JAMES MURRAY HENRY JOHNSTON
ZACHARIA DENT PHILIP BRADY HUGH CARMICHAEL JAMES LELAND ISAAC MYERS
JESSE CLEVER JOHN RANDAL WILLIAM M'CARRICK WILLIAM DeLANEY MICHAEL
McFARLANE SAMUEL WOODS TITUS ROOT JAMES HOWIE JAMES MACE DANIEL
SCHELL SYLVANUS SPENCER JOHN M'INTYRE JOHN D. STAPLES THOS. J.
SUTHERLAND WILLIAM BELL JOHN CANE EDWARD CARMON JOHN M'LEOD JAS.
CANE HARATIO FOWLER EBENEZER WILCOX ROBERT WILSON FINLAY MALCOM
ROBERT COOK JAS. SQUIRES JOSEPH HART ALVARO LADD TIMOTHY MUNRO
JAMES BELL WILLIAM HERON
END OF LIST OF PERSONS WHO HAD BEEN ARRESTED IN UPPER CANADA AND
PLACED IN CONFINEMENT IN THE PRISONS OF TORONTO.(HOME DISTRICT)
"THE MATTHEWS FAMILY OF PICKERING"
- A FAMILY HISTORY -
- THE STORY OF PETER MATTHEWS -
WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY:
RICHARD D. MATTHEWS IR., D.E.
DECEMBER 1991
-THE STORY OF PETER MATTHEWS--1-
WE WILL START OUR STORY IN THE YEAR 1775 AND THE BEGINNING OF THE
"AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR", AND THE FIRST CALL FOR TROOPS. SOME OF
THE RUTTAN FAMILY WERE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS, AND SOME WERE ON THE
OTHER SIDE. OUR BRANCH OF THE FAMILY WERE LOYALISTS. AMONG THEM WAS
PETER RUTTAN, WHO WAS A CAPTAIN COMMANDING A BODY OF MEN
CORRESPONDING TO THAT OF A COLONEL TODAY. HE WAS THE FATHER OF MARY
RUTTAN MATTHEWS. CAPTAIN RUTTAN HAD A LARGE ESTATE IN WHAT IS NOW NEW
YORK CITY. HE ALSO HAD A TRACT OF 400 ACRES IN DUTCHESS COUNTY, NEW
YORK WHICH JUST BEFORE HIS DEATH AT THE GREAT AGE OF 96 HE GAVE TO HIS
DAUGHTER MARY, BUT OF COURSE IT WAS OUTLAWED WHEN LOOKED INTO YEARS
LATER IN 1844. HE JOINED GENERAL HOWE'S ARMY IN THE YEAR 1776.
PETER RUTTAN SERVED AS A CAPTAIN IN THE FOURTH BATTALION, AND IN THE
THIRD BATTALION OF THE NEW JERSEY VOLUNTEERS LATER IN THE WAR. HE WAS
CONSIDERED FORMIDABLE ENOUGH AS AN ENEMY TO THE CONTINENTALS THAT
THEY OFFERED A $3,000.00 REWARD FOR HIS HEAD, DEAD OR ALIVE. DURING
THAT TERRIBLE TIME OF WAR MARY'S MOTHER HELD THE PLOW, DROVE THE
OXEN, PLANTED AND REAPED. THE CONTINENTAL ARMY ENCAMPED THERE, SET
FIRE AND ROBBED THE FAMILY OF ALL THEY POSSESSED. THIS WAS COMMON TO
"LOYALIST FAMILYS" DURING AND SHORTLY FOLLOWING THE WAR. THE
CONTINENTAL ARMY WAS DISBANDED IN 1783, THE FINAL TREATY OF PARIS WAS
SIGNED ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1783, AND RATIFIED BY THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
ON JANUARY 14, 1784. THIS LEFT CAPTAIN PETER RUTTAN, THE LOYALIST, AMONG
THE DEFEATED. HE AND HIS FAMILY WERE LOYAL TO THE HEART'S CORE TO
GREAT BRITAIN. HE WAS A NATURAL ARISTOCRAT.
HE BELIEVED IN STABILITY OF GOVERNMENT AND THOUGHT NO BETTER
EXAMPLE OF IT WAS KNOWN TO ENLIGHTENED MAN THAN THAT FURNISHED BY
THE LIMITED MONARCHY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CAPTAIN RUTTAN COULD NOT FUSE
WITH THE NEW AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND BE LOYAL TO HIMSELF. THE
LOYALISTS' WERE SAD, AND FELT EXILED ALTHOUGH LIVING IN THEIR OWN
HOMES. THE CRUCIAL TEST CAME, TO SWEAR ALLEGIANCE TO THE NEW
GOVERNMENT AND BECOME A CITIZEN, OR TO FORFEIT ALL, AND BECOME AN
EXILE. ENGLAND OFFERED ALL LOYALISTS A HOME IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA,
IN THE BEAUTIFUL WILDERNESS LAND BEYOND THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER, AND
THE GREAT LAKES. CAPTAIN RUTTAN HAD BEEN DETAILED BY THE BRITISH (WHEN
THEY STILL HELD NEW YORK) TO GO WITH JOSEPH BRANT, CHIEF OF THE
MOHAWK INDIANS, ON A TOUR OF OBSERVA¬TION TO "WESTERN CANADA".
HOW THEY TRAVELED FROM NEW YORK IS NOT KNOWN. THEY, WITH THEIR
COM¬PANIONS STARTED INLAND, FOLLOWING OLD INDIAN TRAILS AND MAKING
THEIR OWN MARKS ON TREES AS THEY WENT ALONG. PETER SOMEHOW BECAME
SEPARATED FROM THE PARTY OF MEN HE WAS WITH AND BECAME LOST FOR
SEVERAL DAYS. HE WAS FOUND AND RESCUED BY CHIEF BRANT. WHEN FOUND
HE WAS FAINT FROM A LACK OF FOOD, HIS COMPASS WAS GONE, AND HIS GUN
DAMAGED AND UNABLE TO BE USED. AFTER A BRIEF PERIOD OF REST THEY
CONTINUED ONWARD. LATER, CHIEF BRANT PEELED FROM A BIRCH TREE A BIT
OF BARK AND ON IT WROTE "A CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE RENDERED BY CAPTAIN
RUTTAN".
"PETER'S STORY" -2-
HE LATER PRESENTED THIS TO THE GOVERNMENT AND RECEIVED A GRANT OF
SEVERAL HUNDRED ACRES OF LAND IN ADOLPHUSTOWN, WHICH TERMINATES AT
"RUTTAN'S POINT", AND WHICH HAS BEEN RETAINED CONTINUOUSLY IN THE FAMILY
FROM THOSE EARLY TIMES. CAPTAIN RUTTAN AND HIS FAMILY SETTLED IN
ADOLPHUSTOWN IN 1784. HE NEVER FORGOT CHIEF BRANT SAVING HIS LIFE AND
NAMED HIS FOURTH SON, JOSEPH BRANT RUTTAN, IN HONOR OF HIM. PETER
RUTTAN AND COLONEL SIMCOE, AFTERWARDS GOVERNOR OF CANADA, WERE
FRIENDS. THEY CONSULTED WITH EACH OTHER OFTEN. LADY SIMCOE WAS AN
ARTIST IN WATER COLORS AND WAS AN INSPIRATION TO YOUNG MARY (MARIA)
RUTTAN.
IN THE YEAR 1786 WHILE OUT HUNTING FOR GAME, CAPTAIN RUTTAN CAME UPON
CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS. HE HAD BEEN LOST IN THE WOODS FOR
SEVERAL DAYS WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER, AND WAS SUFFERING WITH A FEVER
AND FROM STARVATION. HE WAS A UNITED EMPIRE LOYALIST AND HAD COME
FROM NEW YORK TO SETTLE IN UPPER CANADA. CAPTAIN MATTHEWS WAS
NURSED THROUGH THE FEVER AND BACK TO HEALTH AT CAPTAIN RUTTAN'S
HOME. THIS WAS WHEN MARY AND THOMAS FELL IN LOVE. THIS ENRAGED HER
FATHER WHO THREATENED TO SHOOT MATTHEWS, FOR HE HAD PLANNED TO
WED MARY TO A FINE ENGLISH OFFICER, A FRIEND OF COLONEL SIMCOE. MARY
WAS JUST SEVENTEEN AT THIS TIME. WHEN SHE WAS JUST PASSED EIGHTEEN,
SHE AND CAPTAIN MATTHEWS ELOPED. HER FATHER DISOWNED HER. THEY
WERE MAR¬RIED BY A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.
MARY SUFFERED GREAT HARDSHIPS AFTER HER MARRIAGE CEREMONY.
THOMAS'S HEALTH WAS POOR, HE SUFFERED FROM "FEVER AND AGUE". THEY
SETTLED FOR A SHORT TIME IN NEW BRUNSWICK. MARY RAISED THE
VEGETABLES AND WITH GREAT PERSEVERENCE SUCCEEDED IN RAISING SOME
CORN, CAUGHT TROUT, AND SHOT SMALL GAME TO KEEP HUNGER AT BAY.
THOMAS WAS NOT CONTENT THERE SO THEY RETURNED TO THE BAY OF QUINTE
REGION, NEAR BELLEVILLE, SHORTLY BEFORE THE BIRTH OF THEIR FIRST CHILD,
A SON, PETER MATTHEWS. THOMAS RECEIVED LAND GRANTS IN THE TOWNSHIPS
OF MARYSBURG AND SIDNEY BEFORE FINALLY SETTLING IN PICKERING TOWNSHIP,
SOME TWENTY FOUR MILES FROM TORONTO, OR YORK, AS IT WAS CALLED THEN.
THEY HAD 600 ACRES OF WOODS. A GOOD PART VALUABLE PINE. AS THE
DAUGHTER OF A UNITED EMPIRE LOYAL¬IST MARY RECEIVED 200 ACRES.
CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS RECEIVED 350 ACRES BEING A LOYALIST
AND PURCHASED THE REMAINING 50 ACRES OF LAND.
CAPTAIN MATTHEWS WENT TO PICKERING IN THE FALL OF 1796, CLEARED A
SPOT AND PUT UP A LARGE, WELL BUILT LOG HOUSE WITH WINDOWS THAT
WERE CALLED LARGE, AND WERE MUCH ADMIRED. HE WENT FOR HIS WIFE AND
CHILDREN THE FOLLOWING SPRING. DURING THESE YEARS MOST OF THE OTHER
CHILDREN WERE BORN; THOMAS, DANIEL, DAVID, JOSEPH, JOHN, ASA, AND JANE.
THE FIRST YEARS IN PICKERING WERE HARD. MARY SUPERVISED MOST OF THE
CLEARING OF LAND AND FARMING, DOING MUCH OF THE LABOR HERSELF.
THOMAS PUT UP A SAW¬MILL IN THE PINE FOREST, CUT LUMBER AND HAULED IT
TO TORONTO FOR SALE. MARY TAUGHT READING AND GEOGRAPHY TO HER
CHILDREN AND THE CHILDREN OF WHITE AND RED NEIGHBORS. MANY WALKING
AS FAR AS THREE MILES. ALL WHO KNEW HER HAD A REVERENT LOVE FOR HER.
THOMAS MATTHEWS GOT HIS CROWN GRANT IN 1799. SO, ON THIS BEAUTIFUL,
HIGH TERRACE OF FERTILE BLACK LOAM, THE MATTHEWS FARM WAS BUILT.
AFTER A FEW YEARS THE MATTHEWS,
"PETER'S STORY" -3-
HUBBARDS, MAJORS, AND WILSONS BUILT A CRUDE LOG SCHOOL HOUSE ON THE
CORNER OF THE FIFTH CONCESSION AND THE BROCK ROAD, WHICH THEY
MAINTAINED OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKETS FOR MANY YEARS. THIS IS WHERE A
YOUNG PETER MATTHEWS MET AND FELL IN LOVE WITH HIS FUTURE WIFE, HANNAH
MAJOR. IN 1811 CAPTAIN MATTHEWS WAS MADE A MEMBER OF THE FIRST
PICKERING TOWN COUNCIL, AND WAS FOR MANY YEARS THEREAFTER A PATHMASTER. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR A PORTION OF THE BROCK ROAD AND HELPED CHANGE IT FROM AN INDIAN TRAIL TO A PATH WIDE ENOUGH FOR A STAGE COACH TO TRAVEL UP AND DOWN TO UXBRIDGE.
BEING INTENSELY ALIVE TO ALL GOVERNMENT INTERESTS MARY WAS FULL OF PATRIOTISM WHEN THE WAR OF 1812 TO 1815 CAME. HER HUSBAND THOMAS AND HER THREE OLDEST SONS ENLISTED IMMEDIATELY. PETER, THOMAS, AND DANIEL ALL WENT OFF TO THE NIAGARA REGION. PETER AND HIS BROTHER THOMAS FOUGHT WITH GENERAL BROCK. YOUNG THOMAS WAS SLAIN AT LUNDY'S LANE. PETER HELPED BURY HIS BROTHER NEAR WHERE HE FELL. YOUNG DAN¬IEL DIED IN SERVICE IN THE NIAGARA REGION ALSO. THEIR FATHER SERVED AS A LIEUTENANT IN THE 3RD REGIMENT OF YORK MILITIA. DURING THE WAR PETER ADVANCED TO THE RANK OF SERGEANT. FOR MANY YEARS FOLLOWING THE WAR MARY KEPT A WREATH OF EVERGREEN OVER THE MANTEL IN THEIR MEMORY.
MARY RUTTAN MATTHEWS LOVED THE METHODIST CHURCH. THE METHODIST CHURCH OF CANADA (OR SOCIETY THEN) WAS ORGANIZED IN HER HOUSE BY HER DAUGHTER JANE'S HUSBAND, WILLIAM LOSIE. MARY'S BROTHER WILLIAM WAS MADE A CLASS LEADER. WILLIAM WAS FOND OF THE VIOLIN AND OWNED A FINE ONE. LOSIE, LIKE ALL EARLY METHODISTS, THOUGHT THE VIOLIN "A SNARE OF THE DEVIL". HE TOLD RUTTAN HE MUST GIVE IT UP! AFTER MUCH DEBATING THE RARE OLD FIDDLE WAS CREMATED. ON AUGUST 30, 1819 AT THE AGE OF 52 YEARS, CAP¬TAIN THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS DIED. HE WAS PUT TO REST ON THE FARM IN THE FAMILY GRAVEYARD. PETER WAS NOW THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. HE AND HANNAH MAJOR HAD WED WHILE THEY WERE BOTH STILL IN THEIR TEENS. THEY WERE KNOWN BY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AS GOOD BAPTISTS. THE NAMES OF ALL OF THEIR CHILDREN ARE NOT KNOWN, BUT THREE OF THE SONS WERE, HIRAM, CHARLES, AND THOMAS. AS THE YEARS WENT ON HANNAH BECAME ILL AND DIED YOUNG.
PETER LATER REMARRIED FOR A SECOND TIME ON OCTOBER 26, 1831, IN PICK¬ERING TOWNSHIP. HIS SECOND WIFE WAS HANNAH (SMITH) MAJOR, THE WIDOW OF HIS FORMER BROTHER-IN-LAW THOMAS MAJOR. WITH THE TWO MARRIAGES PETER WAS THE FATHER OF EIGHT CHILDREN, AND TWO STEP-CHILDREN FROM HANNAH SMITH'S FIRST MARRIAGE. CANADA AGAIN WAS IN GREAT UNREST. THE MATTHEWS WERE RESIDENT LANDOWNERS WHO SPENT MANY DAYS AT BACKBREAKING TOIL MAKING ROADS AND PAYING TAXES WHILE NON-RESIDENT LANDOWNERS ES¬CAPED TAXATION AS WELL AS LABOR, BITTERNESS DEVELOPED. THE DISCONTENT WHILE NOT UNIVERSAL WAS WIDESPREAD IN THE TOWNSHIP CUTTING ACROSS LINES OF UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS, ENGLISH, IRISH, SCOTTISH AND AMERICAN SET¬TLERS. IT WAS FASHIONABLE AMONG ENGLISH COLONIAL OFFICERS AND FAMILY COMPACT ANGLOPHILES TO ADOPT A CONDESENDING ATTITUDE TO BOTH THE AMER¬ICANS AND THE BACKWOODS CANADIANS WHO MADE UP THE GREATER PART OF THE
"PETER'S STORY"
-4-
POPULATION. IN 1636 THE DEFEAT OF THE MORE MODERATE REFORMERS
BROUGHT THE HOTHEADS TO THE SURFACE. THEY COULD NOT TOLERATE
THE FI%ED ELECTIONS. THIS TIME SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD HAD GONE
TO FAR! THE REFORMERS WERE DETERMINED THAT SOMETHING WOULD HE
DONE. MEANWHILE, IN THE TOWNSHIP OF PICKERING MEETINGS OF RE-
FORMERS WERE BEING HELD IN THE TAVERNS AND TRAINING UNDER THE
GUISE OF TURKEY SHOOTS WERE BEING HELD IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE
TOWNSHIP. WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE WAS THE LEADER OF THE REFORM-
ERS. PETER BELIEVED THAT MACKENZIE WAS CORRECT IN HIS VIEWS AND
PRIOR TO THE REBELLION TOOK AN ACTIVE PART IN THE POLITICAL
UNION MOVEMENT. BEING AN AFPLUENT FARMER, AND A BAPTIST, PETER
WAS A MAN OF CONSIDERABLE LOCAL INFLUENCE.
MACKENZIE KNEW THIS AND CHOSE PETER AS HIS CAPTAIN FROM THE
PICKERING AREA. HE ALSO CHOSE THE MUCH RESPECTED SAMUEL LIGHT,
THE BLACKSMITH FROM HOLLAND LANCING. FINALLY THE REFORMERS WERE
READY TO TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST "TBE FAMILY COMPACT", WHICH IN-
CLUDED THE GOVERNOR GENERAL AND ALL LEADING OFFICIALS. THE RE-
FORMERS WERE OBLIGED TO HAVE WRONGS RIGHTED, TO SATISFY THEIR
CONSCIENCE IN REGARD TO JUSTICE. THEY FELT THEY DID THIS BECAUSE
^ OF THEIR LOYALTY TO CANADA AND TO THE MOTHER COUNTRY. CAPTAIN
PETER MATTHEWS LED HIS FAMILY, NEIGHBORS, AND FRIENDS TO MONT-
GOMERY'S TAVERN, AND LATER TO THE DON RIVER BRIDGE. HIS PARTY OF
-MEN WERE ABOUT SIXTY STRONG. AMONG THEM WERE PETER'S BROTHERS,
JOSEPH AND DAVID, ALSO HIS OLDEST SON HIRAM. THEY WEBS TO SET
FIRE TO THE BRIDGE IF GOVERNMENT TROOPS APPROACHED.
IT WAS DECEMBER ], 1837 AND THE REBELLION HAD FAILED! THAT AFTER-
NOON, WHEN PETER LEARNED NEWS OF THE REBEL FORCE'S DEFEAT AT
MONTGOMERY'S TAVERN, HE ABANDONED HIS OPERATIONS, DIVIDED HIS MEN
INTO SMALL GROUPS, AND TOOK TO THE WOODS IN AN ATTEMPT TO AVOID
CAPTURE IN THE ROSEDALE RAVINES. PETER AND A SMALL PARTY OF MEN
REMAINED IN THE RAVINES FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS UNTIL FORCED BY COLD
AND HUNGER TO MAKE THERE WAY TOTHEFARM HOUSE OF THE TWO BACH-
ELOR DUNCAN BROTHERS, JOHN AND WILLIAM. THEY WERE FRIENDS AND FED
THE STARVED AND MANGLED MEN, BUT AT MIDNIGHT A TROOP OF MILITIA
LED BY A TORY NEIGHBOR, THOMAS JOHNSON, BANGED ON THE DOOR AND
OVERPOWERED THE PATRIOTS. IT IS SAID THAT PETER MATTHEWS WAS
AROUSED FROM A DEEP SLEEP, USED HIS ENORMOUS STRENGTH -- HE AP-
PEARED MERELY TO TOUCH THE BREAST OF THE MAN WHO WOULD ARREST
HIM, AND THE MAN CRASHED AGAINST THE WALL AT THE FARTHER ENO OF
THE ROOM. THE MILITIA MANACLED THEIR CAPTIVES, AND PROCEEDED TO
MARCH ALL OF THEM THROUGH THE SNOW INTO TORONTO.
ON MARCH 26, 1838, PETER MATTHEWS, CHARGED WITH TREASON FOR HAV -
jt - 'ING LED A SECTION OF THE REBEL FORCES IN THE HOME DISTRICT, WAS
BROUGHT TO TRIAL BEFORE CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN BEVERLEY ROBINSON.
ALSO BROUGHT TO TRIAL ON THE SAME CHARGE WAS SAMUEL LOONS, A
COMMANDER OF THE FORCES AT MONTGOMERY'S TAVERN WOO HAD BEEN CAP-
TURED TRYING TO CROSS LAKE ERI£. ON THE ADVICE OF THEIR LEGAL
COUNSEL, ROBERT BALDWIN, BOTH MEN PLEADED GUILTY. ALTHOUGH THE
"PETER'S STORY"
-5-
EVIDENCE CONCERNING PETER MATTHEWS'S ROLE IN THE UPRISING WAS IN-
CONCLOSIVE, THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL DECIDED THAT HE HAD BEEN A LEA-
DING FIGURE AND ON MARCH 29, 1838 BOTH MATTHEWS AND DOUBT WERE
GIVEN THE DEATH SENTENCE, TO BE CARRIED OUT ON APRIL 12, 1838.
MR. CHARLES DURAND, THEN UNDER SENTENCE OF DEATH, GIVES THE FOL-
LOWING ACCOUNT OF THE LAST DAYS OF THIS PATRIOT: "MATTHEWS ALWAYS
BORE UP IN SPIRITS WELL. HE WAS, UNTIL DEATH, FIRM IN HIS OPINION
OF THE JUSTICE OF THE CAUSE HE HAD ESPOUSED. HE NEVER RECANTED.
HE WAS IRONED AND KEPT IN THE DARKEST CELL IN THE PRISON LIKE A
MURDERER. HE SLEPT SOMETIMES IN BLANKETS THAT WERE WET AND FRO-
ZEN. HE HAD NOTHING TO CHEER HIM BUT THE APPROBATION OF HIS COM-
PANIONS AND HIS CONSCIENCE". MACKENZIE HAD BEEN MORE FORTUNATE,
AND WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF THE FAILED REBELLION HAD MADE HIS WAY TO
NEW YORE, AND TO SAFETY.
BEFORE THEY WERE EXECUTED, MARY RUTTAN MATTHEWS WENT BEFORE THE
NEW GOVERNOR, SIR GEORGE ARTHUR, AND ON HER KNEES PLEAD WITH
HEART TOUCHING APPEAL FOR JUSTICE, AND A MONTHS EXTENSION OF THE
DREADED SENTENCE. HER PLEAS FELL ON DEAF EARS. LORD DURHAM WAS
SENT FROM ENGLAND TO CANADA TO ADJUST MATTERS, BUT ARRIVED SIX
r. WEEKS AFTER THE EXECUTIONS HAD TAKEN PLACE. HE VISITED MARY AND
SPOKE NOBLE WORDS TO HER, AND TO OTHERS ABOUT HER RARE INTEGRITY
AND HEROISM. YEARS LATER MARY SAID THAT LORD DURHAM LOOKED RE-
MARAAELY YOUNG - "WITH JET BLACK CURLY HAIR, DARK EYES, AND THAT
HE WAS NOT VERY TALL". THE VERY THINGS DEMANDED BY THE REFORMERS
WERE GRANTED BY ENGLAND AFTER LORD DURHAM'S FAMOUS REPORT. BUT TO
LATE FOR POOR MATTHEWS AND LOUNT, THE GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO GIVE
UP THE BODIES OF PETER AND SAMUEL AFTER THEY WERE EXECUTED. THEY
WEEK BURIED IN THE OLD POTTER'S FIELD, NORTH OF BLOCK STREET.
PETER'S BROTHER JOSEPH WAS CAPTURED, ALSO HIS SON HIRAM. IN MAY
OF 1838 THEY WERE BOTH PARDONED AND RELEASED FROM PRISON. DAVID
MATTHEWS HAD HID FOR A FEW DAYS FOLLOWING THE REBELLION AND MADE
HIS WAY TO MICHIGAN, AND TO SAFETY. HE WAS NEVER ARRESTED. THE
GOVERNMENT SEIZED THE FAMILY PROPERTY FOR THE CROWN, BUT IN 1849,
AFTER PARDONS HAD BEEN EXTENDED TO MOST OF THE REBELS, QUEEN VIC-
TORIA, IN THE EXERCISE OF HER ROYAL CLEMENCY ABSTAINED FROM EN-
FORCING THE FORFEITURE, AND WAS PLEASED TO SIGNIFY HER ROYAL
PLEASURE THAT SUCH FORFEITURE SHOULD NEVER BE ENFORCED. WARREN SIR
WAS ABLE TO RETURN TO CANADA UNDER THE FEBRUARY 1, 1849 GENERAL
AND FREE PARDON FROM HER MAJESTY, QUEEN VICTORIA. A REFORMER, AND
FORMER FRIEND, THOMAS ANDERSON, RECALLED YEARS LATER: "DAVID GIB -
SON AND I DUG UP THEIR BODIES FROM THE OLD POTTER'S FIELD...
WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE CAME UP JUST AS WE WERE LIFTING THEIR BOD -
YES INTO THE WAGON, AND THE THREE OF US RODE IN THE WAGON TO THE
NECROPOLIS, WHERE WE BURIED THESE MURDERED MEN, FOR I CALL IT
MURDER, IN ONE GRAVE".
MACKENZIE LIVED IN THE HOUSE ON BOND STREET BOUGHT FOR HIM BY HIS
FRIENDS UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1861. THE DATE PETER AND SAMUEL WERE
BURIED AT THE NECROPOLIS CEMETERY WAS NOVEMBER 28, 1859. YEARS
"PETER'S STORY" -6-
LATER A MONUMENT BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA WAS ERECTED AND UNVEILED
ON JUNE 2 8TH, 1893, AT 2:00 P.M.. THE CEREMONY AND SPEECH WERE BY J.D.
EDGAR, M.P., A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT. HIS WORDS REPRESENTED THE
NATIONAL SENTIMENT — THEY WERE STRONG AND FINE AS ONE COULD WISH.
THE TORONTO GLOBE, AN ABLE PAPER, SAID, "PATRIOTS OF THIRTY SEVEN". THE
MEMORIAL SHAFT DEDICATED TO PETER MATTHEWS, THE FARM¬ER, AND SAMUEL
LOUNT, THE BLACKSMITH, WAS PLACED OVER THEIR SIN¬GLE COMMON GRAVE.
THE MEN WHOSE PARTICIPATION IN THE UPRISING OF 1837 HAD BRANDED THEM AS
REBELS, AND COST THEM THEIR LIVES, BUT WHOSE MEMORY HISTORY HAS
ENSHRINED AND WHOSE NAMES TODAY ARE RE¬MEMBERED AS THOSE PATRIOTS
TO WHOM THE LIBERTIES OF TRUE CITIZEN¬SHIP WERE DEARER THAN LIFE ITSELF.
MARY RUTTAN MATTHEWS DIED AT BROUGHAM ON THE FAMILY FARM ON THE 1ST
OF DECEMBER, 1859, AT THE AGE OF 90 YEARS. SHE WAS BURIED BE¬SIDE HER
LATE HUSBAND, CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS,U.E.L., IN THE FAMILY
GRAVEYARD ON THE FARM. MARY'S FATHER, CAPTAIN PETER RUTTAN,U.E.L., HAD
DIED ON JANUARY 1, 1829 IN HIS HOME IN ADOL-PHUSTOWN. YEARS BEFORE HIS
DEATH THEY HAD MADE PEACE WITH EACH OTHER. FOLLOWING THE REBELLION,
HANNAH, THE WIDOW OF PETER LEFT CANADA AND SETTLED FOR A TIME IN
MICHIGAN. SHE LATER RETURNED TO PICKERING TOWNSHIP AND QUIETLY LIVED
OUT HER LIFE THERE. PETER'S OLDEST SONS, FROM HIS FIRST MARRIAGE,
STAYED WITH FAMILY MEMBERS IN WHAT IS NOW THE OLD VILLAGE OF
BROUGHAM. FOLLOWING THE YOUNG DEATH OF HIS OLDER BROTHER HIRAM,
THOMAS MATTHEWS DECIDED TO LEAVE CANADA WITH HIS WIFE AND INFANT
DAUGHTER.
HE LEFT FOR MICHIGAN IN THE SPRING OF 1848 AND SETTLED HIS FAMILY IN A
LITTLE VILLAGE IN WORTH TOWNSHIP KNOWN AS AMADORE. A NUMBER OF THE
FORMER REBEL FAMILIES FROM PICKERING HAD SETTLED IN THIS AREA
FOLLOWING THE REBELLION OF 1837. AMONG THESE FAMILIES WERE THE
WIXSONS. THEY HAD BEEN NEIGHBORS AND CLOSE FRIENDS OF THE MATTHEWS
FAMILY PRIOR TO THE REBELLION. THE FARM HOUSE THAT THO¬MAS MATTHEWS
BUILT STILL STANDS TODAY. IT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY RESTORED AND IS SAID
TO RESEMBLE THE FAMILY HOME THAT ONCE STOOD IN PICKERING TOWNSHIP AT
BROUGHAM. THOMAS MATTHEWS NEVER RETURNED TO CANADA AND LIVED TO
THE AGE OF 71 YEARS. HE DIED MAY 19, 1893, A MONTH BEFORE THE MONUMENT
TO HIS FATHER AND SAMUEL LOUNT WAS DEDICATED AT THE NECROPOLIS
CEMETERY IN TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.
THOMAS AND HIS WIFE MARGARET (SPENCER) MATTHEWS HAD ONE DAUGHTER
AND THREE SONS. THE SONS ALL BEING BORN IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN. THEIR
DESCENDANTS LIVE THRU-OUT THE MID-MICHIGAN AREA KNOWN AS THE THUMB
TO THIS DAY. THOMAS MATTHEWS WAS BURIED AT THE CROSWELL CEMETERY IN
SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN. THESE STORIES HAVE COME FROM MANY
DIFFERENT SOURCES. SOME HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN, WHILE OTHERS HAVE
COME OUT OF HISTORY BOOKS... MY FAMILY AND I BELIEVE THIS TO BE THE MOST
ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF OUR FAMILY HISTORY THAT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER AT
THIS TIME.
THE MATTHEWS FAMILY OF PICKERING" -A FAMILY HISTORY-
The rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada Aftermath
Dr. Scadding, the eminent anglican historian of the period writes of their death; quoting from an
eye-witness: "We saw Lount and Matthews walk out with the white cap upon their heads -- on
arriving at the fatal spot, although the steps were seven or eight, and the ascent almost
perpendicular, they mounted the stage without the least faltering. Lount first, followed by the
sheriff; then Matthews and the deputy, Mr. Baird.
Some have thought Matthews did not ascend with the firmness displayed by his fellow-sufferer;
but they do his memory injustice, for I was looking upon the motions of both with intense anxiety,
to see whether each disgraced his name, or the cause in which he had forfeited life, and there
was not, to my vision, the slightest trepidation.
Lount looked up and bowed to us; then kneeling upon the trap underneath one of the nooses,
the cord was placed about their necks by the executioner, and the cap pulled over their faces.
One of the clergymen, Mr. Richardson, made a prayer, and in an instant after these two heroic
souls were ushered into eternity. Their execution was a cruel, harsh and altogether unnecessary
proceeding."
National Archives Archives nationales
of Canada du Canada
Historical Resources Direction des
Branch ressources historiques
395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (Ontario)
K1A0N3 K1A0N3 Your lile Votre reference
Our lile Noire reference
12 March 1990 4140-90-MA-MD-8650
Richard D. Matthews Jr. 326 Norman Street Caro, Mich. 48723 U.S.A.
Dear Mr. Matthews,
In response to your letter of 1 March, I regret to state that a search of the logical sources
failed to produce any reference to a Royal Pardon for Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews in
1838. Rather, the despatches from the Colonial Secretary, Lord Glenelg, to the Lieutenant
Governor of Upper Canada, Sir George Arthur express a certain approbation of his actions
in punishing those implicated in the Rebellion. Enclosed is a photocopy of the calendar for
our series RG 7, G 1 in which the text of Glenelg's despatch of 22 May 1838, numbered 70,
is quoted in full.
In terms of judicial practices of the time, an appeal to the Queen was improbable. The royal
prerogative of granting clemency had been delegated to the Lieutenant Governor but he
declined to use it in the case of Lount and Matthews, despite several petitions made to him
on their behalf. For the authorities in England to have issued a pardon was not only
impracticable in that the execution took place before news of it reached London, but also
impolitic in that to countermand the decisions of one's deputy is to undermine the authority
he exercises. Glenelg's despatch is nonetheless a very discreet slap on the wrist: "I am
happy to learn ... that no further executions were likely to take place". Glenelg was obviously
irritated at receiving newspaper reports of the executions before Arthur's formal reports and
despatches.
At this period, by law the propery of convicted felons and traitors was forfeit to the Crown. I
have seen a number of pardons remitting that forfeiture in cases of the Patriotes in Lower
Canada, yet leaving them subject to the primary punishment of execution or imprisonment or
exile. A check of the records of the Provincial Secretary and Registrar produced no
reference to such a conditional pardon for the benefit of the widows and orphans of Lount
and Matthews. There is no other source likely to contain a pardon issued in England or in
Upper Canada in the name of Queen Victoria for these men.
Sincerely,
Patricia Kennedy
State & Military Archives, Manuscript Division.
Canada
"THE MATTHEWS FAMILY OF PICKERING" -A FAMILY HISTORY-
DOWNING STREET MAY 22, 1838
COLONIAL SECRETARY, LORD GLENELG, TO THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF UPPER
CANADA, SIR GEORGE ARTHUR, NUMBERED 70, QUOTED IN FULL.
GLENELG TO ARTHUR: NO.70
" I HAVE RECEIVED YOUR DISPATCH OF THE 29TH MARCH NO.1 REPORTING YOUR
PROCEEDINGS UP TO THAT DATE AND THE MEASURES WHICH YOU PROPOSED TO
ADOPT WITH REFERENCE TO THE MILITIA AND VOLUNTEERS, AND STATING THAT
TWO OF THE MOST ACTIVE OF THE PERSONS ENGAGED IN THE LATE REVOLT
HAVING BEEN BROUGHT TO TRIAL HAD PLEADED GUILTY AND HAD BEEN
SENTENCED TO DEATH, AND ASSURING ME THAT THE MOST MERCIFUL
CONSIDERATION WOULD BE SHEWN TOWARDS THE PRISONERS GENERALLY.
I HAVE LAID YOUR DISPATCH BEFORE THE QUEEN AND HAVE TO CONVEY TO YOU
HER MAJESTY'S APPROBATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS WHICH YOU HAVE
REPORTED. SINCE THE RECEIPT INDEED OF YOUR DISPATCH INTELLIGENCE HAS
APPEARED IN THE PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE EXECUTION AT TORONTO OF MESSRS
LOUNT AND MATTHEWS, —THE INDIVIDUALS AS I PRESUME ALLUDED TO IN YOUR
DISPATCH. I HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE THAT BEFORE CONSENTING TO SUCH A
MEASURE YOU DEVOTED TO THE CASES OF THESE PERSONS A CALM AND
DISPASSIONATE CONSIDERATION, BUT AS I HAVE HITHERTO RECEIVED FROM
YOU NO REPORT OF THESE EXECUTIONS, OR OF THE GROUNDS ON WHICH YOU
DECIDED TO LET THE LAW TAKE ITS COURSE, I ABSTAIN FOR THE PRESENT
FROM ANY FURTHER COMMENT ON THEM. I AM HAPPY TO LEARN THROUGH THE
SAME CHANNEL OF INFORMATION THAT NO FURTHER EXECUTIONS WERE LIKELY
TO TAKE PLACE." P.201
* NOTE:
THIS SHOULD PUT TO REST THE MYTH OF A PARDON THAT WAS SUPPOSE TO
BE ON IT'S WAY FROM ENGLAND TO SAVE PETER MATTHEWS AND SAMUEL
LOUNT.
"THE MATTHEWS FAMILY OF PICKERING" -A FAMILY HISTORY-
"IF WE HAVE NO REGARD FOR OUR PAST, WE WILL HAVE NO FUTURE WORTH
REMEMBERING." -CARL SANDBURG-
FROM JOHN BROWN WHILE CONFINED IN THE TORONTO GAOL UNDER THE
CHARGE OF HIGH TREASON, JUNE 1838.
IN MEMORY OF SAMUEL LOUNT AND PETER MATTHEWS MARTYRED APRIL 12, 1838
THEIR MINDS WERE TRANQUIL AND SERENE
NO TERROR IN THEIR LOOKS WERE SEEN
THEIR STEPS UPON THE SCAFFOLD STRONG
A MOMENT'S PAUSE...THEIR LIVES WERE GONE
FROM MARTIN SWITZER WHILE CONFINED IN THE TORONTO GAOL ON THE BOX HE
CARVED, INSCRIBED A MILITANT VERSE, THE SENTIMENTS OF AN UNREPENTANT
REBEL; THE TORIES, THE PARTY IN POWER, WERE THE REAL TRAITORS:
MAY VENGEANCE DRAW THE SWORD OF WAR
AND JUSTICE SMILE TO SEE IT DONE AND SMITE THE TRAITORS FOR THE DEATH
OF MATTHEWS, LOUNT AND ANDERSON
EXECUTION OF LOUNT AND MATTHEWS [date and artist unknown]
Public Archives of Canada
SEPARATE INSCRIPTIONS FOR THE GRAVES OF LOUNT AND MATTHEWS,
NECROPOLIS CEMETERY, TORONTO
I, Samuel Lount, coming from Pennsylvania to find work, live a free man, found work but no
freedom. So, fashioning a pike in the forge, I walked down Yonge Street, proud of it as a
banner, Though the hand was struck down, I hope that metal still glows.
I, Peter Matthews, having fought the Yankees with the Brock volunteers, sniffed out worse
tyranny thickening here, an insufferable cesspool. Reluctantly, turning my plough into a sword,
I hacked at the leg-irons chaining us all, but found only justice dangling from a British noose.
RAYMOND SOUSTER
'Unveiling speech of J.D. Edgar, M.P.' (Member of Parliament)
FOR THE MONUMENT TO SAMUEL
LOUNT AND PETER MATTHEWS
ON JUNE 28,1893 AT THE NECROPOLIS
CEMETERY, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
Unveiling speech of J.D. Edgar, M.P. for the monument to Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews;
June 28th, 1893 at 2:00 P.M.
J.D. Edgar, M.P. said:
I feel it an honour to have been chosen to unveil this monument, sacred to the memory of
Samuel Lount and of Peter Matthews. The fifty-five years that have passed over the fair land
of Canada since 1837 have softened many prejudices, and have, I hope, removed all bitterness
of heart. We who are here to bare witness of our sympathy with this tardy recognition of the
debt the country owes to Lount and Matthews, must try to avoid bitterness in recalling the
circumstances of their death. We must ask the voice of criticism and of prejudice to respect
the expressions of our grief.
It will not be out of place to refer, in a few words, to the causes which led to the armed uprising
in upper Canada, in December, 1837. The people were not blind to the vastly inferior position
they occupied when their system was compared with the free parliamentary government of
England, or with the democratic liberty of the United States. The sham of an elected legislature
existed, but it had no control whatever over either the nominated upper house, or the ministers
of the crown. It was little more than a complicated form of despotism, administered in the
personal interest of a pampered oligarchy, known to our history as "The Family Compact".
Wise and necessary legislation, when passed by the elected chamber, was rejected by the
irresponsible one. Votes of want of confidence in the advisers of the crown might be carried
in the popular house, over and over again, without the slightest result.
Is it to be wondered then that the sons of the British sires resented the odious tyranny under
which they groaned? No constitutional methods seemed to be of any avail. The colonial
office was deaf to petitions and remonstrances and dragged the British crown into sharing
responsibility for countless acts of injustice and oppression. It seems to have undoubtedly
been the intention of Lount and Matthews, and their followers, to march upon Toronto in
irresistible numbers in order to make such a demonstration as would overawe the governor,
Sir Francis head, and to demand from him a free constitution. Had not the Barons of England
wrung from a tyrant king the great charter of English liberty at Hunnymede, by a peaceful
display of irresistible force? If the Governor should resist he and his advisors were to be
seized, a free system of responsible government was to be adopted, and submitted to the
people for ratification. We can now see two things very clearly. First, that in case of the
capture of the government by the insurgents, the leaders of the latter would
never have stopped short of independence in their aims. Another self evident proposition is
that even the abortive effort at insurrection brought about the prompt concession of responsible
government to Canada and thereby infinitely strengthened the sentimental ties which bind us to
the British people and to the free institutions that have been developed under the British crown.
Would the survivors of those who rushed to arms to put down the rebellion now desire a return
to the condition of affairs which they then supported? Assuredly not. Their brief political creed
was to preserve Canada to the British crown on any terms. The imperial idea is a grand one,
but many of us believe that, without including freedom and self government for Canada it would
be but a hollow mockery. While we claim for those who took up arms in 1837, the name of
"patriots", we concede to their opponents the title of "Loyalists" - and both terms signify noble
and unselfish objects to be accomplished; though I believe our noblest loyalty to be a patriotic
love for Canada, and an ardent zeal for the freedom of her people.
The vindication of the patriots of 1837 is to be found in the prompt concession by England of
their demand for responsible government, on the advice of Lord Durham, and also in the
wholesale condemnation, in that statesman's famous report, of the family compact and all its
works. But the pity of it is, that vengeance had been wreaked upon poor Lount and Matthews
before England was aroused to do us tardy justice. Then tell me, too, wherein was their crime
a whit blacker than that of the outlawed French-Canadian rebel George Etienne Cartier
afterwards baronet, and Prime Minister of Canada? But poor Lount and Matthews were
cruelly done to death, and the only public honours they receive are those which we are able
to confer today, when we seek to keep their memories green in the hearts of the people.
In 1837 Samuel Lount was in the prime of a vigorous manhood, living at Holland landing, 36
miles north of Toronto. He was a leader among men; well to do, beloved by his neighbors for
his good deeds, and influential enough to be chosen by them for a seat in the legislature.
Peter Matthews had served at Queenston Heights under General Brock, and had fought in
the ranks of our brave Canadian armies throughout the war of 1812-1813. He was also
highly respected by his neighbors in Markham and Pickering. Both leaders in the advance
upon Toronto, and both were fugitives after the 7th of December.
Matthews was taken within a couple of days at a farm house in York Township, while Lount
reached Lake Erie, and after spending two days afloat in an open boat in mid-winter was
driven back upon the Canadian shore, and sent a prisoner to Toronto.
They were arraigned together and pleaded guilty on 26th March. On 29th March they were
sentenced to be hanged on the 12th of April. The entire community was filled with sympathy,
and petitions for commutation of the sentence were signed almost universally. But the new
governor, Sir George Arthur, and his advisers, were deaf to all appeals. No respite was
granted, although a few days delay would have probably saved their lives. On 14th March a
despatch was sent from the colonial office advising against extreme measures. The undue
haste with which the executions were forced on gives rise to suspicions that the arrival of such
instructions was dreaded, and that they were not unexpected. When sentences were
pronounced for treason against the British crown, and the super-loyal local authorities refused
to await the decision of the imperial advisers of the crown as to the penalty to be inflicted, no
wonder that such a course gave rise to imputations of sinister motives that have never been
removed.
The 12th of April arrived, and the hangman was ready for his victims. The other political
prisoners were called to the gratings of their cells to witness the executions which were to take
place in front of the goal. With head erect, with calm eye and firm tread each of the doomed
men mounted the scaffold steps. The last words they had spoken to their comrades were full of
hopefulness for the liberties of Canada, and they gloried in the sacred cause for which they
were about to die. Two noble hearts were stilled forever, their wives were widowed, and their
children were made orphans on that fatal day. Let those call them rebels who will, but surely
the Canadian people, whom they loved so well, should only think of them as patriots in life, and
as martyrs in their cruel death.
"PATRIOTS OF 1837
7 J
THIS MEMORIAL IS TO HONOUR THE MEMORY
OF PETER MATTHEWS AND SAMUEL LOUNT,
WHO, WITHOUT PRAISE OR GLORY DIED FOR
POLITICAL FREEDOM AND A SYSTEM OF
RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT.
THEIR MINDS WERE TRANQUIL AND SERENE
NO TERROR IN THEIR LOOKS WERE SEEN
THEIR STEPS UPON THE SCAFFOLD STRONG
A MOMENT'S PAUSE...THEIR LIVES WERE GONE
PETER MATTHEWS WAS THE SON OF CAPT.
THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS, A UNITED EMPIRE
LOYALIST, AND MARY RUTTAN MATTHEWS.
PETER WAS BORN IN THE BAY OF QUINTE
REGION OF UPPER CANADA, NOW ONTARIO. HE
GREW UP AND LIVED IN PICKERING TOWNSHIP IN
THE AREA NOW KNOWN AS THE VILLAGE OF
BROUGHAM, ON HIS FAMILY'S FARM.
THE MATTHEWS FAMILY & FRIENDS A. D. 1992
Necropolis Monument to Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount
-100TH ANNIVERSARY-
On the One Hundredth Anniversary of
The unveiling of the historic
Necropolis Monument over the graves
of Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount-
Martyrs of the Rebellion of 1837,
and executed, April 12, 1838, a new
memorial plaque is to 6e dedicated.
It will be unveiled by "Family and
friends of Peter 'Matthews and Samuel
Lount". You are cordially invited to
attend the 'Dedication Ceremony on
Monday, June. 28th, 1993, at 2:00 P.M.,
at the Necropolis Cemetery, (see map)
200 Winchester St., Toronto, Ontario
PROGRAMME
of
Family and Friends of Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount
on the occasion of the unveiling of
"PATRIOTS OF 1837"
at the Toronto Necropolis
Monday, June 28, 1993
2 p.m.
PIPER
1. Opening Remarks Chair of Programme: William Kilbourn
2. Ontario Heritage Foundation Dorothy Duncan, Chair
3. Toronto Historical Board David Burnside, Chair
4. Constituency of Durham West Jim Wiseman, MPP
5. Words from the Trial Larry O'Leary
6. Poem by Raymond Souster Separate Inscriptions for the
Graves of Lount and Matthews, Necropolis Cemetery, Toronto
Melville Johnston, Piper—Lament: Flowers of the Forest
7. Laying of Wreath Matthews and Lount Families
8. Unveiling of Plaque Matthews and Lount Families
9. Closing Prayer Rt. Rev. Allan A. Read
PIPER RECEPTION—CHAPEL
SPONSORS:
Richard D. Matthews, Jr.
George S. Lount
Mark Frank
Harold Blaine
Melviile M. Johnston
William Kilbourn
John Robert Colombo
Mike Filey
Kay Gardner
William N. Greer
Graham C. Lount
George Luscombe
Rick Salutin
Jim Wiseman
John Sewell
Jack Layton
Jim Turk
Marjorie Coons
Gordon Duncan
Helen Ruttan-Kinsley
Bill Kinsley
Clare Eves
Dorothy Eves
Steve Kinsley
Marilyn Eves-Kinsley
Tom Ellison
Helen Poulis
Bill Poulis
Robert Lount Abbott
Elvira Lount
Elizabeth Lount
RL Rev. Allan A. Read
Raymond Souster
Descendant of Peter Matthews
Great-great-grandnephew of Samuel Lount
Author, The Mackenzie Panels"
Former Editor, The Bay News"
Professor, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute
Author, The Firebrand"
Editor, "Colombo's Canadian Quotations"
Author
Councillor, City of Toronto, Ward 15
Architect—Heritage Preservation Consultant
Great-great-grandnephew of Samuel Lount
Theatre Director
Author, "1837: The Farmer's Revolt"
MPP (Durham West)
Former mayor of Toronto
Professor, Organizer
Director of Education, Ontario Federation of Labour
Lloyd town Rebellion Association
The Peter Matthews Committee (Pickering)
Descendant of Mary Ruttan, mother of Peter Matthews
Spouse of Helen Ruttan-Kinsley
East Gwillimbury Historical Society .
East Gwillimbury Historical Society
Related to Mary Ruttan, mother of Peter Matthews
Spouse of Steve Kinsley
Chair, Lloydtown Rebellion Association
King Township Historical Society
King Township Historical Society
Great-great-grandnephew of Samuel Lount
Producer of "Samuel Lount"; great-great-grandniece of Samuel Lount
Related to Samuel Lount
Former Bishop of Ontario, related to Thomas Elmes Matthews
Poet
CONTRIBUTORS TO MEMORIAL PLAQUE:
Richard D. Matthews, Jr., UE Annette R. Matthews Robert L. Matthews Gerald W. Nyquist
Dale E. Matthews
Mark Frank George Lount Steve Fearon Allan Best Larrv Cotton
with a special thank you to Wesley and Aurey Frederick of Cumings Memorials, Caro,
Michigan.
INFORMATION SHEET
Family and Friends of Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount
Formed in 1992, a group of family and friends of the late Peter Matthews (prominent farmer in
the Pickering-Brougham area) and Samuel Lount (blacksmith of Holland Marshes, north of
Toronto) were joined by a large group of notable community leaders to co-sponsor a series of
projects to honour the two martyrs of the Rebellion of 1837, unjustly executed by a vengeful
Family Compact on April 12, 1838, in Toronto (King and Toronto Streets).
These projects are:
• to seek public recognition by both the Federal Government and the Government of Ontario
that the execution of Lount and Matthews was a wrongful act and that rectification be made in
an official manner by both governments.
• to support the initiative taken by the Friends of Peter Matthews in Pickering-Brougham to
mount a plaque to Peter Matthews, the first ever, supported by the Ontario Heritage
Foundation. This was done December 6, 1992 (Brock Rd. and Hwy 7 East).
• to seek Toronto Historical Board support for the erection of a suitable plaque at the
approximate site of the execution at King and Toronto Streets. This has been agreed and is
being done.
• to hold an unveiling ceremony June 28, 1993 at 2 p.m. at the Toronto Necropolis alongside
the monument over the joint gravesite of Lount and Matthews correcting a genealogical error
in the original 1893 monument The new plaque will read "Patriots of 1837." Lount and
Matthews were originally interred in the Potters Field at the corner of Bloor and Yonge
Streets, but their bodies were transferred to the Toronto Necropolis some years after the
execution. It was not until 1893 that friends erected a suitable tombstone, still standing.
The aims of Family and Friends of Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount include support for
continuing research and study of the events of 1837-38, including research by any regional
groups in Canada or individuals abroad seeking revision of what they consider to be
inadequate accounts of the Rebellion of 1837-38. As well, they aim to ensure a balanced
representation in our history books of this major historical event in the Canadas of 1837-38.
THE MATTHEWS FAMILY OF PICKERING1 -A FAMILY HISTORY-
"Captain Peter Matthews"
William Lyon Mackenzie said of him, "Captain Peter Matthews was a jolly, hale, cheerful, cherry
cheeked farmer of Pickering, who lived on his own land, cultivated his own estate and was the
father of eight children, who beseeched the Sullivans, the Drapers and the Robinsons in vain for
that mercy to their father which they themselves must yet implore from a just God.
Captain Matthews had fought bravely for the King of England in the war of 1812, was a man of
unstained reputation, well beloved by his neighbors, unassuming, modest in his deportment, a
baptist, unfriendly to high church ascendancy, a true patriot, and indignant at the treacherous,
fraudulent conduct of the detestable Junto, who in 1837, governed Canada.
I often got his vote for a seat in the legislature and always his approbation." *
* From: E. C. Guillet, "The Lives and Time of The Patriots" appendix K. page 270
"THE CLIFTON GATE MEMORIAL ARCH" -NIAGARA FALLS, CANADA-
ABOVE IS A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL INVITATION TO THE MATTHEWS FAMILY TO THE
UNVEILING OF THE "CLIFTON GATE MEMORIAL ARCH". DEDICATED ON SATURDAY,
JUNE 18, 1938. THE ARCH WAS DEDICATED ON THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE REBELLION OF 1837-8 BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM LYON
MACKENZIE KING, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA. (GRANDSON OF WILLIAM LYON
MACKENZIE)
"THE CLIFTON GATE MEMORTAL ARCH"
The Memorial Arch and Clifton Gate House at the Canadian terminus of the Upper Steel Arch
Bridge, 1937.
The Memorial Arch from the Rainbow Gardens circa 1947. The Arch became a traffic hazared
and was removed after the 1967 tourist season.
"THE CLIFTON GATE MEMORIAL ARCH"
WEST FACE:
MACKENZIE PRESENTS THE SEVENTH REPORT OF GRIEVANCES TO THE
COMMONS HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, UPPER CANADA 1835.
THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED TO HONOUR THE MEMORY OF THE MEN AND
WOMAN IN THIS LAND THROUGHOUT THEIR GENERATIONS WHO BRAVED THE
WILDERNESS, MAINTAINED THE SETTLEMENTS, PERFORMED THE COMMON
TASK WITHOUT PRAISE OR GLORY AND WERE THE PIONEERS OF POLITICAL
FREEDOM AND A SYSTEM OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT WHICH BECAME THE
CORNER STONE OF THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS.
MEMENTO MORI
CHARGED WITH INSURRECTION OR TREASON AND EXECUTED IN 1837 - 1839
TORONTO
PETER MATTHEWS SAMUEL LOUNT
NIAGARA DISTRICT - JAMES MOREAU
LONDON DISTRICT
HIRAM BENJAMIN LYNN, DANIEL DAVID BEDFORD, ALBERT CLARK, CORNELIUS
CUNNINGHAM, JOSHUA GILLAM, AMOS PERLEY
KINGSTON DISTRICT
SILVESTER LAWTON, ANDREW LEEPER, JOEL PEELER, RUSSELL PHELPS,
SYLVANUS SWETE, NILS SCZOLTEVKI VON SCHOULTZ, MARTIN WOODRUFF
MONTREAL DISTRICT
JOSEPH NARCISSE CARDINAL, JOSEPH DUQUETTE, CHARLES HINDELANG,
PIERRE THEOPHIE DECOIGNE, PIERRE REMI NARBONNE, CHARLES SANG-UINET,
AMBROSE SANGUINET, FRANCOIS-MARIE-THOMAS, CHEVALIER DE LORIMIER,
FRANCOIS NICOLAS, JOSEPH ROBERT, AMABLE DAUNAIS, FRANCOIS XAVIER
HAMELIN
EAST FACE: DEDICATION INSCRIPTION
OUTSIDE FACE OF THE ARCH, FACING NORTH
"AND I SOUGHT FOR A MAN THAT SHOULD MAKE UP THE HEDGE AND STAND IN
THE GAP FOR THE LAND"
(THIS IS TAKEN FROM EZEKIEL, CHAP. 22, V. 30)
"THE CLIFTON GATE MEMORIAL ARCH"
-2-
OUTSIDE FACE OF THE ARCH, FACING SOUTH
"THE FLOODS HAVE LIFTED UP, O LORD, THE FLOODS HAVE LIFTED UP THEIR
VOICE"
(THIS IS TAKEN FROM PSALM 93, V. 3)
OUTSIDE WEST WALL: PLAQUE NO.1
DEPICTING THE DISCOVERERS, LA SALLE AND FATHER HENNEPIN VIEWING THE CATARACTS.
INSIDE WEST WALL: PLAQUE NO.2
SHOWING MACKENZIE PRESENTING THE SEVENTH REPORT OF GRIEVANCE TO THE COMMONS, HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, UPPER CANADA.
INSIDE EAST WALL: PLAQUE NO.3
DEPICTING A UNITED EMPIRE LOYALIST FAMILY TRAVELLING BY CART.
OUTSIDE EAST WALL: PLAQUE NO.4
PORTRAYS A PIONEER SOLDIER OF THE PERIOD OF 1812.
"THE CLIFTON GATE MEMORIAL ARCH"
-3-
EAST SIDE
THIS ARCH WAS DEDICATED ON THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
REBELLION OF 1837-1838 BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE
KING, C.M.G., P.C., M.A., LL.B., PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA. THE HONOURABLE
MITCHELL F. HEPBURN, PRIME MINISTER OF ONTARIO.
THE NIAGARA PARKS COMMISSION THE HONOURABLE T. B. McQUESTEN, K.C.,
CHAIRMAN
WM. L. HOUCK, M.L.A. DR. GEO. B. SNYDER DONALD McGILLIVRAY FRED W. BEARD
JOHN C. M. GERMAN, K.C.
ROSS G. L. HARSTONE
A. T. WHITAKER
ARCHIE J. HAINES, M.L.A,
TEMPORA MUTANTUR NOS ET MUTAMUR IN ILLIS
GENERAL MANAGER C. ELLISON KAUMEYER
"THE CLIFTON GATE MEMORIAL ARCH"
-4-
ON SEPTEMBER 6, 1984, THE MODEST GARDEN OF MACKENZIE HOUSE AT 82 BOND
STREET IN TORONTO WAS CROWDED WITH OFFICIAL DIGNITARIES FROM THE CITY
OF TORONTO, THE ONTARIO HERITAGE FOUNDATION, AND THE TORONTO HISTORICAL
BOARD AS WELL AS INVITED GUESTS. THEY WERE GATHERED TO WITNESS AN
UNUSUAL EVENT: THE UNVEILING OF PRECIOUS SCULPTURES RESCUED FROM A
NIAGARA PARKS COMMISSION MAINTENANCE YARD, WHERE THEY HAD BEEN
UNCEREMONIOUSLY DUMPED FOLLOWING THE DISMANTLING OF THE CLIFTON
GATE PIONEER MEMORIAL ARCH. WHEN FIRST DISCOVERED, SOME OF THE
SCULPTURES WERE BEYOND REPAIR BECAUSE OF INDISCRIMINATE EXPOSURE IN
THE OPEN AIR OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS. MANY THAT WERE SALVAGED WERE IN
PART RESTORED AND PLACED INTO THE GARDEN WALL AT MACKENZIE HOUSE.
OTHER STONES MAY BE FOUND ELSE¬WHERE IN TORONTO.
THE PIONEER MEMORIAL ARCH HAD BEEN ERECTED IN 1938 TO COMMEMORATE
THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REBELLION OF UPPER AND LOWER
CANADA IN 1837-38, TO PAY TRIBUTE TO ITS MARTYRS AND LEADERS, AND TO
HONOR THOSE WHO SUFFERED DEATH ON THE GALLOWS FOR THEIR PART IN THE
STRUGGLE TO WIN FREEDOM FROM COLONIAL TYRANNY. WHEN MACKENZIE KING,
THEN PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA, UNVEILED THE ARCH IN 1938, HE HAD
DECLARED: "OUR GENERATION REGARDS THE MEN AND WOMEN OF 1837 NOT
AS REBELS, BUT AS MARTYRS FOR CANADIAN FREEDOM." ONLY TWENTY-NINE
YEARS LATER THE MAGNIFICENT FIFTY FOOT ARCH WAS DISMANTLED. BELOW IS
A RELIEF FROM THE ARCH OF PETER MATTHEWS WHICH NOW SURVIVES IN THE
GARDEN AT MACKENZIE HOUSE.
ONE OF THE MOST ANCIENT OF THE SEVERAL VARIATIONS OF THE COAT OF ARMS
OF THE ANCIENT WELSH FAMILY OF MATTHEWS, FROM WHICH WE TRACE OUR
DESCENT IS DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS (BURKE, GENERAL ARMORY, 1884)
ARMS—"SABLE, A LION RAMPANT ARGENT."
CREST—"AN EAGLE DISPLAYED PER FESSE ARGENT AND GULES."
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY"
-EIGHT GENERATIONS-
1. CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS,U.E.L. HIS WIFE WAS MARY RUTTAN,U.E.
2. CAPTAIN PETER MATTHEWS HIS WIFE WAS HANNAH MAJOR
3. THOMAS MATTHEWS
HIS WIFE WAS MARGARET SPENCER
4. CHARLES WILLIAM MATTHEWS
HIS WIFE WAS LENA CAROLINE BARNES
5. WILBERT MARTIN MATTHEWS
HIS WIFE WAS VERNA LOUELLA WELLS
6. ROY WINFRED MATTHEWS
HIS WIFE WAS IRENE MARY WARNER
7. RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS
HIS WIFE WAS HELEN FRANCIS SUCKIEL
8. RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS JR.,U.E. HIS WIFE IS ROSE MARIE WELCH
THIS IS THE LINE OF DESCENT FOR OUR BRANCH OF THE MATTHEWS FAMILY.
THE MATTHEWS FAMILY WERE EARLY SETTLED IN WALES AND SCOTLAND ABOUT
THE END OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, IF NOT BEFORE! BRANCHES OF THE
FAMILY MADE THEIR WAY INTO IRELAND AND ENGLAND. PRIOR TO THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTIONARY WAR WERE SETTLED IN THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES, AND
LATER TO CANADA, FOLLOWING THE WAR. OUR FAMILY LEFT CANADA
FOLLOWING THE "MACKENZIE UPRISING", OR "REBELLION OF 1837" BECAUSE OF
THE FAMILIES INVOLVEMENT. THOMAS MATTHEWS (#3) LEFT CANADA IN THE
SPRING OF 1848 AND SETTLED HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER IN THE STATE OF
MICHIGAN. THEY SETTLED IN SANILAC COUNTY, IN WORTH TOWNSHIP. THE FAMILY
REMAINED IN WORTH TOWNSHIP, IN THE SMALL VILLAGE OF AMADORE FOR
MANY YEARS. THE MAJORITY OF THE FAMILY STILL LIVE IN EASTERN MICHIGAN TO
THIS DAY.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -FIRST GENERATION-
CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS, WAS A UNITED EMPIRE LOYALIST WHO
FOUGHT ON THE SIDE OF THE BRITISH DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY
WAR. HE WAS BORN IN ENGLAND IN THE YEAR 1767. AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF
THE WAR HE RECEIVED LAND GRANTS IN THE TOWNSHIPS OF MARYSBURG AND
SIDNEY BEFORE FINALLY SETTLING IN PICKERING TOWNSHIP, IN THE AREA NOW
KNOWN AS BROUGHAM, IN UPPER CANADA. IN MARYSBURG HE RECEIVED A
CROWN GRANT OF 1/2 OF LOT #11, WHICH WAS 100 ACRES. IN PICKERING TOWNSHIP
THOMAS RECEIVED A CROWN GRANT OF 350 ACRES, AND HIS WIFE, MARY
(RUTTAN) 200 ACRES, BEING THE DAUGHTER OF A LOYALIST. (CAPTAIN PETER
RUTTAN) THEY LATER PURCHASED ANOTHER 50 ACRES NEAR BROUGHAM, IN
PICKERING TOWNSHIP.
THOMAS AND MARY (MARIA) RUTTAN MARRIED AROUND THE YEAR 1786, THEY
ELOPED. MARY WAS THE DAUGHTER OF CAPTAIN PETER RUTTAN, A UNITED
EMPIRE LOYALIST, AND JANNETJE ACKERMAN. HER FAMILY SETTLED IN
ADOLPHUSTOWN FOLLOWING THE WAR. THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS DIED AT
THE AGE OF 52 YEARS ON AUGUST 30, 1819. HE WAS BURIED ON THE FARM, IN
THE FAMILY GRAVEYARD. DURING HIS LIFE HE WAS A SOLDIER, PIONEER, FARMER,
AND PUBLIC SERVANT. HE ALONG WITH THREE OF HIS OLDEST SONS SERVED IN
THE WAR OF 1812. THOMAS SERVED AS A LIEUTENANT IN THE 3rd REGIMENT OF
YORK (TOWNSHIP, UPPER CANADA) MILITIA.
IN PICKERING THE FAMILY WAS QUITE PUBLIC SPIRITED, CONTRIBUTING TO THE
BUILDING OF A SCHOOL AND WORKING TO IMPROVE THE MAJOR ROAD IN THE
AREA, THE BROCK ROAD. THOMAS WAS ACTIVE AS A LOCAL OFFICIAL AND WAS
NAMED A "PATHMASTER" AT THE FIRST TOWN MEETING IN 1811. BECAUSE OF
THE FAMILIES INVOLVEMENT IN THE REBELLION OF 1837 MUCH OF THE FAMILIES
RECORDS AND PERSONAL INFORMATION WERE LOST OR DESTROYED TO
PROTECT FAMILY MEMBERS. AS A RESULT, ALL OF THE NAMES OF THOMAS AND
MARY'S CHILDREN MAY NOT BE KNOWN! THE KNOWN CHILDREN ARE:
PETER MATTHEWS, BORN NEAR "MOIRA RIVER", NOW KNOWN AS BELLEVILLE, IN
THE BAY OF QUINTE REGION OF UPPER CANADA, NOW ONTARIO.
THOMAS MATTHEWS, DIED IN SERVICE WITH BROCK VOLUNTEERS AT "LUN-DY'S
LANE", DURING THE WAR OF 1812.
JOHN MATTHEWS, DIED YOUNG DURING THE LATTER PART OF 1823. WHILE OUT
RIDING HIS HORSE WAS STARTLED BY A BEAR, JOHN WAS THROWN FROM HIS
HORSE, RESULTING IN A HEAD INJURY THAT KILLED HIM.
DAVID MATTHEWS, LIVED MOST OF HIS LIFE IN THE PICKERING TOWNSHIP AREA.
HE MARCHED WITH HIS BROTHER PETER DURING THE REBELLION, BUT MANAGED
TO ESCAPE TO MICHIGAN, LATER TO RETURN TO PICKERING AFTER THE GENERAL
AND FREE PARDON FROM QUEEN VICTORIA. HE MARRIED AND RAISED HIS FAMILY
IN THE AREA NOW KNOWN AS BROUGHAM.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -FIRST GENERATION-
DAVID MARRIED ANN MacINTYRE, A DAUGHTER OF NICOL MacINTYRE, WHO WAS A
NATIVE OF MULL, ARGYLESHIRE, SCOTLAND. HE HAD BROUGHT HIS FAMILY TO
CANADA IN 1828. THE FAMILY LIVED ON THE NORTH HALF OF LOT 31, CONCESSION
5, SETTLING THERE IN 1830. DAVID WAS IN THE ENGAGEMENT AT MONTGOMERY'S
TAVERN, AND WAS FOR SOME TIME AFTERWARDS IN HIDING. ON A NUMBER OF
OCCASIONS PARTIES OF SOLDIERS CAME TO THE MacINTYRE HOMESTEAD IN
SEARCH OF HIM, BUT HE HAD ALREADY ESCAPED SAFELY TO THE UNITED STATES.
IN THE 1851 CENSUS FOR PICKERING THEIR CHILDREN ARE LISTED AS:
AMELIA, PETER, MARGARET, MARY, THOMAS, AND RACHEL
JOSEPH MATTHEWS, HE HAD ALSO MARCHED WITH HIS OLDER BROTHER IN THE
REBELLION, AND WAS ARRESTED FOR HIS INVOLVEMENT. HE WAS LATER GIVEN
A PARDON BY GOVERNOR GEORGE ARTHUR AND RELEASED, FOLLOWING THE
EXECUTION OF HIS BROTHER PETER, AND SAMUEL LOUNT, IN MAY OF 1838.
JOSEPH AND HIS FAMILY LEFT THE PICKERING AREA, AND WHAT BECAME OF
THEM IS UNKNOWN. HIS WIFE WAS ADELINE ELIZABETH MATTHEWS. THE NAMES
OF THEIR CHILDREN ARE ALSO UNKNOWN.
JANE MATTHEWS, SHE MARRIED ABRAM LOSIE IN THE SPRING OF 1815. HE WAS A
BLACKSMITH, AND LOCAL PREACHER IN THE METHODIST CHURCH.
DANIEL MATTHEWS, WAS THE YOUNGEST OF THE BROTHERS TO SERVE AS A
VOLUNTEER IN THE INCORPORATED MILITIA (IE, ATTACHED TO REGULAR BRITISH
FORCES) AND DIED IN SERVICE IN THE NIAGARA REGION, DURING THE WAR OF
1812.
ASA MATTHEWS, WAS THE YOUNGEST OF ALL THE KNOWN CHILDREN. HE ALSO
DIED VERY YOUNG. HE DIED ON JANUARY 19, 1835 LEAVING A WIFE, MARY
ALBRIGHT MATTHEWS, AND A SON, JOHN. HIS SON JOHN MATTHEWS WAS BORN
IN 1825, AND WAS LATER TO MARRY MARGARET STEVENSON. ASA LEFT A WILL,
WHICH IS ON FILE.
THESE ARE ALL THE KNOWN CHILDREN OF CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS,
U.E.L., AND HIS WIFE, MARY RUTTAN MATTHEWS,U.E..
THAT THE BARER, THOMAS MATTHEWS CAME INTO THIS PROVINCE, THEN THE
PROVINCE OF QUEBEC IN THE YEAR 1787 WITH HIS WIFE AND ONE SON WHO IS
NOW AN INHABITANT OF THIS DISTRICT AND THAT HE HATH RECEIVED AS YET ONLY
A GRANT OF TWO HUNDRED ACRES OF LAND.
HOME DISTRICT 30TH MAY, 1795
"THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS"
National Archives Archives nationales
of Canada du Canada
395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (Ontario)
K1A0N3 K1A0N3
22 November 1989
4140-89-MA-MD/55U
Mr. Richard D. Matthews, Jr. 326 Norman Street CARO, Michigan 48723 U.S.A.
Dear Mr. Matthews:
In reply to your letter of 28 October, I am pleased to inform you that a search of the various
indexes and logical sources in our custody has produced the following references of
possible interest:
Upper Canada Land Petitions (RG 1, L 3)
- Thomas Elms Mathews, Sophiasburgh, 1793 (Vol. 376, M Misc. 1/25, microfilm reel
C-2233).
- Thomas Matthews, York, 1796 (Vol. 328, M 2/132, reel C-2191).
- Thomas Elmes Mathews, York, 1816 (Vol. 336a, M 10/272, reel C-2198).
- Thomas Elmes Matthews, Pickering, 1817 (Vol. 379a, M Leases/180, reel C-2235).
Upper Canada Land Board (RG 1, L 4)
- Thomas Elms Mathews, re petition, Mecklenburg, 1793 (Vol. 8, p. 11, reel C-14027).
- Thomas Elms Mathew, schedule of locations, Mecklenburg, 1790 (Vol. 12, p. 33; Vol. 13,
pp. 48, 49, reel C-14028).
Ontario Crown Lands Department Loyalist List (MG 9, D 4, Vol. 4)
- Thomas E. Mathews, a settler (p. 308, complimentary xerox copy enclosed).
THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS
A PAID RECEIPT OF THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS FOR HIS
PROPERTY IN PICKERING TOWNSHIP, AT BROUGHAM.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS-PICKERING
AS FAR AS CAN BE LEARNED FROM RECORD OF MEETING AND THE RECORD OF
SALE AND LEASE OF LAND, THE FOLLOWING SETTLERS WERE ALSO IN THE
TOWNSHIP WHEN THE FIRST TOWN MEETING WAS HELD IN 1811.
CROWN LEASE A. DAVIDSON LOT 5
CROWN LEASE WM. HOWARD LOT 11
CROWN LEASE WM. PEAKE LOT 15
CROWN LEASE AB. SATTERLEY LOT 31
R. 2
CROWN LEASE DAVID HARSHORNE LOT 34
R. 3
CROWN LEASE WM. SMITH, SR. LOT 34
R. 2
CROWN LEASE WM. SMITH, SR. LOT 34
R. 1
CROWN LEASE CHAS. WARD LOT 5
CROWN LEASE SALMON FULLER LOT 15
CROWN LEASE AaRON SCRIBNER LOT 9
CROWN LEASE HAWKINS WOODRUFF LOT 12
CROWN LEASE SAM. MUNGER LOT 16
CROWN LEASE DAVID CRAWFORD LOT 16
CROWN GRANT JNO. RYCKERT LOT 16
CROWN GRANT D. CRAWFORD LOT 1 7
CROWN GRANT JNO. MAJOR LOT 18
CROWN GRANT THOS. MATTHEWS 3/4 LOT
17 &
LOT 18
CROWN GRANT CALEB PALMER LOT 23
CROWN GRANT JACOB WALDENBERGER LOT 16
BROKEN FRONT 1809
BROKEN FRONT 1800
BROKEN FRONT 1806
BROKEN FRONT 1804
BROKEN FRONT 1810
BROKEN FRONT 1811
BROKEN FRONT 1811
CONCESSION I 1802
CONCESSION I 1802
CONCESSION II 1802
CONCESSION II 1810
CONCESSION II 1802
CONCESSION IV 1807
CONCESSION V 1797
CONCESSION V 1807
CONCESSION V 1801
CONCESSION VI 1799
CONCESSION VI 1805
CONCESSION IX 1803
CALEB AND HENRY POWELL, NICHOLAS BROWN AND JAMES LAMORU WERE
ALSO IN THE TOWNSHIP IN 1811. THERE MAY HAVE BEEN OTHERS WHOSE NAMES
ARE NOT RECORDED IN ANY STATEMENT OF SALE, LEASE OR GRANT OR AT ANY
TOWN MEET¬ING. THIS INFORMATION IS FROM THE BOOK, "THE PICKERING STORY",
1961 BY REV. WILLIAM A. McKAY. PUBLISHED BY THE PICKERING HISTORICAL
SOCIETY.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS-
PICKERING
THE FIRST TOWN MEETING FOR PICKERING WAS HELD IN MARCH OF 1811. AT THIS
MEETING THE OFFICERS FOR THE TOWN, AS IT WAS CALLED WERE:
THOMAS HUBBARD TOWN CLERK
DAVID CRAWFORD ASSESSORS
JOHN HAIGHT
ABRAHAM TOWNSEND COLLECTOR
NOADIAH WOODRUFF PATHMASTERS
THOMAS E. MATTHEWS JOHN LAWRENCE ABRAHAM TOWNSEND
JOSEPH WIXON POUNDKEEPERS
TIMOTHY ROGERS
JOHN RICHARD TOWN WARDENS
JAMES POWELL
IN 1812 NICHOLAS BROWN WAS MADE ASSESSOR AND JAMES LAMORU,
PATHMASTER. THE SAME OFFICERS SERVED DURING 1813, AND 1814 WHEN NO
TOWN MEETING WAS HELD BECAUSE OF THE WAR OF 1812.
NOTE:
THIS INFORMATION IS FROM THE BOOK,"THE PICKERING STORY", 1961 BY REV.
WILLIAM A. McKAY. PUBLISHED BY THE PICKERING HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Transcribed from original
PREVIEW:
A memorial, to be registered, pursuant to the act of parliament in that behalf, of and Indenture
of bargain and sale bearing the date the Thritieth day of December in the year of our Lord One
Thousand Eight Hundred and sixty five; and made.
Between David Matthews of the Township of Pickering, in the Country of Ontario yeoman of the
FIRST PART; Jane Matthews of the place the wife of the said party for the First Part of the
SECOND PART; and Thomas Stevenson of the Township of Whitby in the said County of
Ontario yeoman of the THIRD PART...
ADDITIONAL NAMES INCLUDED: James Brown, Charles Authur Jones, C.A. Jones, David
Matthews
30 March 1990
4140-90-MA-MD/8060
Richard Matthews, Jr. 326 Norman Street CARO, Michigan U.S.A. 48723
Dear Mr. Matthews:
In reply to your letter of 7 February, I am pleased to enclose a complimentary reader-printer
copy of an Upper Canada land petition submitted in 1794 by Mary Rattan (Matthews) of the
District of Mecklenburg (RG 1 L 3, Volume 424, R3/67, reel C-2740). I trust you will find this
satisfactory.
Yours sincerely,
(Mrs.) L. St-Louis-Harrison
Genealogical Consultant
Reference Services Section
Reference & Researcher Services Division
/Is encl.
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So: Memory conquers time. It is the resurrection of the past The fragrance of the rose creates
Once more the garden where it grew. The mind's eye sees anew The face of the beloved, find
hears his voice With ears that memory provides. Kind memory has no power To make pain felt
in after years (But tells us only that it was; While joys give us once more a thrill So that at last
when we are old "We can be youthful once again.
Mary Ruttan Matthews
So: Memory conquers time.
It is the resurrection of the past.
The fragrance of the rose creates
Once more the garden where it grew.
qhe minds eye sees anew
The fate of the helaved,
And hears his voice
'With ears that memory provides.
Kind memory has no power
7o make pain felt in after years
But teles as only that itwas;
While joys give us once more a thrill
So that at last when we are old
We can he youthfulonce again.
'Mary Ruttan Matthews
A MAP OF PART OF ADOLPHUSTOWN TOWNSHIP, LENNOX COUNTY, MIDLAND
DISTRICT. SHOWN ARE THE CROWN GRANTS OF LAND MADE TO CAPTAIN PETER
RUTTAN AND HIS BROTHER LIEUTENANT WILLIAM RUTTAN ON WHICH THEY SETTLED,
BUILT THEIR HOMES, RAISED THEIR FAMILIES, AND DIED. IN ADDITION TO THESE
LANDS, THEY EACH RECEIVED GRANTS IN OTHER AREAS, TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH
THEY WERE ENTITLED. THE HAY BAY CHURCH WAS THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH
TO BE BUILT WEST OF THE MARITIMES. CONSTRUCTION BEGAN IN 1792, AND AMONG
THE NAMES OF THE SUBSCRIBERS ARE THOSE OF PETER AND WILLIAM RUTTAN.
THE REVEREND WILLIAM LOSIE WAS THE FIRST PREACHER.
"CAPTAIN PETER RUTTAN"
PETER RUTTAN, BAPTIZED APRIL 19, 1742, IN THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH IN
SCHRAALENBURG, NEW JERSEY. ON SEPTEMBER 8, 17 66, AT PARAMUS, NEW
JERSEY, HE MARRIED JANNETJE ACKERMAN, BORN MAY 12, 1751. HE WAS ONE
OF TEN CHILDREN BORN TO WILLIAM AND MARIE DE-MAREST RUTTAN. PETER
JOINED GENERAL HOWE'S ARMY IN DECEMBER OF 1776, AND SERVED AS
CAPTAIN IN THE 4TH BATTALION, AND LATER IN THE 3RD BATTALION OF THE NEW
JERSEY VOLUNTEERS. IT IS SAID THAT IN 1776 PETER ACCOMPANIED CHIEF
JOSEPH BRANT ON A TOUR OF OBSERVATION FROM NEW YORK TO "WESTERN
CANADA", AND THEY BECAME FAST FRIENDS. IN THE SUMMER OF 1783 WITH THE
WAR OVER, HE WAS APPOINTED CAPTAIN, SECOND IN COMMAND TO CAPTAIN
CONRAD VANALSTINE, OF A GROUP OF DISCHARGED SOLDIERS AND REFUGEES
WHO WERE ABOUT TO LEAVE NEW YORK.
UNDER CAPTAIN GRASS, ABOARD THE SHIP "HOPE", THE GROUP ARRIVED IN
QUEBEC ON AUGUST 14, 1783. TWO DAYS LATER THEY PROCEEDED UP THE ST.
LAWRENCE RIVER TO SOREL, WHERE THEY WINTERED. IN THE SPRING OF 1784
THEY TRAVELLED UP THE RIVER AND ARRIVED AT ADOLPHUSTOWN ON MARCH
20, 1784. PETER RUTTAN DIED JANUARY 1, 1829, AND FOR SOME UNKNOWN
REASON HIS PLACE OF BURIAL HAS NOT BEEN FOUND. JAN-NET JE ' S DATE OF
DEATH IS SUGGESTED AS BEING ABOUT 1810, AND HER PLACE OF INTERNMENT
IS ALSO UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME. IT HAS BEEN STATED BY A DESCENDANT THAT
HE BELIEVES THAT BOTH ARE BURIED IN THE HAY BAY CHURCHYARD WHERE
PETER AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAM¬ILY CONTRIBUTED TO THE BUILDING
OF THE CHURCH, AND OVER THE YEARS HELPED TO KEEP IT IN REPAIR. THEY
HAD EIGHT CHILDREN:
I ABRAHAM RUTTAN, BAPTIZED DECEMBER 24, 1769
II PETER RUTTAN (JR.), BAPTIZED DECEMBER 1, 1771
III MARY (MARIA) RUTTAN, BAPTIZED MARCH 1, 1772, WAS THE WIFE OF CAPTAIN
THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS,U.E.L.
IV JANE RUTTAN, BAPTIZED JULY, 1775
V WILLIAM RUTTAN, BAPTIZED JULY 9, IN THE REFORMED CHURCH IN NEW YORK.
VI JOSEPH BRANT RUTTAN, BORN IN 17 83
VII JOHN RUTTAN, BORN IN 1786
VIII DAVID RUTTAN, BORN IN 1789
ARMS OF THE FAMILY RUTTAN
NICHOLAS RUTANT - March 12, 1567
JEAN RUTANT - September 20, 1589
JACQUES RUTANT - April 25, 1589
PIERRE RUTANT - June 20, 1596
FLORENTINE RUTANT - December 12, 1599
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -SECOND GENERATION-
CAPTAIN PETER MATTHEWS, WAS BORN NEAR "MOIRA RIVER", NOW KNOWN AS
BELLEVILLE, IN THE BAY OF QUINTE REGION OF UPPER CANADA IN 1786. HE WAS
THE FIRST BORN OF CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMES MATTHEWS, A UNITED EMPIRE
LOYALIST, AND MARY (MARIA) RUTTAN MATTHEWS. THE EARLY YEA¬RS OF HIS LIFE
ARE UNKNOWN TO US. WE DO KNOW THAT HE WAS MARRIED TWICE, AND WAS THE
FATHER OF EIGHT CHILDREN FROM THE TWO MARRI¬AGES. HIS FIRST MARRIAGE
WAS TO HANNAH MAJOR, THE DAUGHTER OF JOHN AND MARGARET (REYNOLDS)
MAJOR. THEY HAD MARRIED WHILE THEY WERE BOTH STILL IN THEIR TEENS, AND
WERE ALWAYS KNOWN BY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AS GOOD BAPTISTS. HANNAH
DIED YOUNG, AND YEARS LATER PETER MARRIED FOR A SECOND TIME ON
OCTOBER 26, 1831, IN PICKERING TOWNSHIP, TO THE WIDOW, HANNAH (SMITH)
MAJOR. SHE WAS THE WIDOW OF HIS FORMER BROTHER-IN-LAW, THOMAS MAJOR.
AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, PETER WAS A FARMER WITH LARGE LAND
HOLDINGS IN PICKERING TOWNSHIP, IN THE THEN COUNTY OF YORK. (NOW ONTARIO
COUNTY) HE SERVED WITH HIS BROTHER THOMAS IN THE MILITIA WITH BROCK
VOLUNTEERS DURING THE WAR OF 1812 AS A SER¬GEANT, AND FOUGHT CLOSE
BY THE SIDE OF GENERAL BROCK. THE FAMILY WAS UNHAPPY WITH THE
SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE RURAL INHABITANTS BY THE GOVERNMENT IN
TORONTO. ALTHOUGH NOT AS PROMINENT A PUBLIC FIGURE AS HIS FATHER HAD
BEEN, PETER WAS INVOLVED IN LOCAL REFORM POLITICS IN A SMALL WAY AND
WAS DRAWN INTO THE EVENTS PRECEDING THE REBELLION OF 1837. HE WAS
ACTIVE IN THE POLITICAL UNION MOVE¬MENT IN THE SUMMER AND FALL OF 1837
WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO PRES¬SURE THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO GRANT
REFORMS.
THE LEADER, AND ORGANIZER OF THE REBELLION, WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE
CHOSE PETER AS HIS CAPTAIN FOR THE HOME DISTRICT AREA. PETER WAS TO
LEAD THE MEN FROM PICKERING AND NEARBY VILLAGES WHO JOINED THE
REBELLION. DECEMBER 7th, 1837 CAME, AND THE REBELLION WAS CRUSHED.
PETER WAS CAPTURED ON DECEMBER 10th, 1837 AT THE FARM HOUSE OF A
FRIEND NAMED JOHN DUNCAN IN EAST YORK. HE WAS TRIED FOR HIGH TREASON
BY CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN BEVERLY ROBINSON. LIKE MANY OF THE REBELS, PETER
WAS DEFENDED BY THE EX-PATRIOT, ROBERT BALDWIN. NOT ONLY DID HE
CHARGE A HIGH PRICE FOR THE LITTLE HE DID, BUT HE ADVISED HIM TO PLEAD
GUILTY. PLEADING GUILTY PLAYED INTO THE GOVERNMENT'S HANDS AND WAS
TO SEAL PETER'S FATE.
IN WHAT IS NOW REGARDED AS A CLEAR CASE OF JUDICIAL MURDER, THOSE
WHO TRIED PETER MATTHEWS AND SAMUEL LOUNT HAD BEEN DEFEATED ON
THE POLITICAL HUSTINGS. THEY HAD TRIED FIRST TO SILENCE THEM IN
ELECTORAL CONTESTS BY VIOLENCE, GERRYMANDERING, AND OTHER
ILLEGALITIES. WITHOUT ANY REAL TRIAL, PETER WAS SENTENCED TO HANG IN
TORONTO ON APRIL 12th, 1838.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -SECOND GENERATION-
A MASSIVE PETITION FOR CLEMENCY WAS SIGNED BY OVER 30,000, IN THOSE DAYS
A VAST NUMBER OF PEOPLE, AND A TESTAMENT TO THE PRO¬FOUND PUBLIC
SUPPORT ENJOYED BY THE LEADERS OF THE REBELLION. THE NEW LIEUTENANT
GOVERNOR, SIR GEORGE ARTHUR, WHO REPLACED THE RE¬CALLED HEAD,
ABRUPTLY TURNED THE PETITION DOWN. PETER MET HIS DEATH ALONG WITH
SAMUEL LOUNT ON THE GALLOWS, OUTSIDE THE OLD TORONTO CITY GAOL NEAR
TORONTO AND KING STREETS. FOLLOWING THE EXECUTIONS, THE FAMILY WAS
REFUSED PERMISSION TO GIVE PETER A CHRISTIAN BURIAL IN ST. JAMES1
CEMETERY, AND CONSEQUENTLY WAS INTERRED IN THE YORK GENERAL, OR
STRANGERS' BURYING GROUND, MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS "POTTER'S FIELD".
PETER AND SAMUEL REMAINED BURIED THERE FOR OVER 21 YEARS.
ON NOVEMBER 28, 1859, PETER AND SAMUEL LOUNT WERE REMOVED FROM THE
"POTTER'S FIELD" CEMETERY AND REBURIED IN ONE COMMON GRAVE AT THE
TORONTO NECROPOLIS CEMETERY. PETER MATTHEWS AND SAMUEL LOUNT LIE
IN GRAVE NUMBER 19, SECTION¦C, WHICH IS LOCATED AT THE WEST¬ERN END
OF THE CEMETERY NEAR SUMACH STREET. THE FIRST STONE OVER THEIR
GRAVE WAS A SMALL PLAIN TABLET OF WHITE MARBLE WITH THE SIMPLE
INSCRIPTION:
SAMUEL LOUNT
PETER MATTHEWS
1838
THIS TABLET RESTS ON THE PLOT, NEAR THE MONUMENT. IN 1893 A LAR¬GER
MEMORIAL WAS RAISED. THE COMMITTEE IN CHARGE BEING, THOMAS W.
ANDERSON, CHARLES DURAND, AND WILLIAM DOEL. IT WAS UNVEILED ON JUNE
28, 1893 AT 2 P.M.. THE MONUMENT IS OF GRAY GRANITE, SOME FIFTEEN FEET
HIGH, AND BROKEN OFF AT THE TOP TO INDICATE THAT THEIR LIVES HAD BEEN
CUT SHORT. IT WAS ERECTED BY THEIR FRIENDS AND SYMPATHIZERS, A.D.,1893.
OF PETER'S EIGHT CHILDREN, TWO SONS ARE LISTED:
HIRAM MATTHEWS, BORN IN 1812 OR 1813 AT BROUGHAM, IN PICKERING
TOWNSHIP, ONTARIO. HE HAD MARCHED WITH HIS FATHER IN THE REBELLION,
AND WAS ARRESTED AND PUT IN PRISON FOR HIS ROLE. HE WAS LATER GIVEN A
PARDON BY GOVERNOR ARTHUR, AND RELEASED IN MAY OF 1838, FOLLOWING
THE EXECUTION OF HIS FATHER. HIRAM DIED MARCH 24, 1847 IN PICKERING
TOWNSHIP. HE WAS SURVIVED BY HIS WIFE, DEBORAH SPENCER, AND THEIR
TWO CHILDREN, HENRY AND MARY.
THOMAS MATTHEWS, BORN ON JANUARY 25, 1822 AT BROUGHAM, IN PICKERING
TOWNSHIP, ONTARIO, CANADA.
6 March 1992 4140-92-Ma-Md-8032
Richard D. Matthews 327 Montague Avenue Caro, Michigan 48723 U. S. A.
Dear Mr. Matthews,
Your letter of 21 February gave me the opportunity to learn about the systems followed in
granting pardons and the records created as a result. The manner in which historians have
referred to the pardoning of individuals causes a great deal of confusion, creating false trails
to distract us. We tend to think exclusively of the document issued by the governor (as
representative of the Crown) as the instrument used to remit or commute a penalty imposed
by the courts. Statutes could also be used, although it was much less common to do so.
Many of the sentences passed by the civil courts and courts martial in 1838-1839 were altered
by conditional or unconditional pardons issued (in the form of letters patent) by the Lieutenant
Governor of Upper Canada and the Governor-in-Chief of Lower Canada. After 1840, pardons
for political offenders are conspicuous by their absence from the Registrar's entrybook of
documents issued over the Great Seal (our RG 68). [The pardons allowing persons
transported to Australia to return home were issued and recorded there; I saw some of them
at this time last year.]
Thinking to find a shortcut to locating the documents you asked for, I reviewed the entry for
William Lyon Mackenzie in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. That directed me to the
amnesty statute, 12 Victoria chapter 13 (An Act for the Queen's Most Gracious, General and
Free Pardon), where I found references to four other relevant statutes. I took another look at
the DCB entries for Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews as well, particularly noting the
sources identified by the author (R. J. Stagg). Copies of the biographies and the statutes are
enclosed.
Professor Stagg said, in reference to both Lount and Matthews that their properties were
confiscated. The source for that is supposedly the Archives of Ontario MS 88, Robert
Baldwin et al. Opinion Book, p. 226. He must have interpreted the authorization for
confiscation as proof of its having taken place. He identifies no proof of actual seizure.
The amnesty statute as passed in February 1849 had the effect of pardoning all persons
implicated in the Rebellions of 1837-1838. Although the biography of Mackenzie implies that
he was specifically named in the statute of 1849, no individual offender was mentioned in its
general provisions. Individuals were named in its reference to two other statutes: 8 Victoria
chapter 106 (An Act to vest in John Montgomery and Thomas Ewart the property forfeited to
the Crown by the attainder of the said John Montgomery), and 9 Victoria chapter 105 (An Act
to reverse the attainder of Peter Matthews and to avoid the forfeiture of his Estates and
Property).
Two years earlier, the statute 10 Victoria chapter 106 (An Act to restore the rights of certain
persons attainted for High Treason) had reversed the forfeiture of property for persons found
guilty of high treason during the Rebellions of 1837-1838. It was a long-standing custom that
when a person was convicted of a felony — from High Treason down through a range of capital
crimes such as murder and burglary — his real and personal property was forfeit to the Crown.
It could be seized and sold, but the Crown did not necessarily exercise its right. Indeed, I have
found many pardons to ordinary criminals contain a clause restoring their goods and chattels.
Often, the pardon remitted only the forfeiture and was issued after the person had served his
term of imprisonment.
The statute of 1846 reversing the attainder of Peter Matthews implies that the Crown
abstained from enforcing the forfeiture. That could be interpreted as allowing his widow to
remain on the family farm, but without clear title and thus no right to sell it — or possibly even
to lease it. The statute restored unquestioned title to his widow and children; any property
held by the government should then have been returned. ' R. J. Stagg may be wrong in
stating that Mrs Matthews did not return to the farm until 1848. Is there proof she left it?
My first thought was to recommend you investigate the possibility of the land being leased,
by Mrs. Matthews or by the Sheriff on the Crown's behalf, through a search at the Land
Registry office. Occupancy of the farm between 1838 and 1848 should be specified in the
assessment records (the responsibility of the provincial archives). On second thought, I went
looking for a petition from Mrs. Matthews — the action likely to have resulted in the statute of
1846.
Hannah Matthews was a dauntless, persistent petitioner. Her 1841 petition could not be
found, though it is mentioned in her petition of 22 January 1844, where she quotes the reply
made by S. B. Harrison, the Provincial Secretary, on 17 June 1841. That reply included the
statement "that the property in question has not yet been vested in the Crown but that steps
are now in progress for that purpose ...". (The 1841 petition may survive in RG 5, C 1; the
indexing for 1841 is incomplete and I must limit my searching to the indexes.)
The most revealing petition is that of 23 October 1843 (RG 5, C 1, vol. 117; PSO/CW file 6642
of 1843; pages 46483-46487 on microfilm reel C-15756); between her statement and the
government's commentary it becomes clear that she had been dispossessed (of her dower
rights) by the "heir at law" of her husband, Peter Matthews having died intestate. No answer
was made to this petition before she wrote again on 22 January 1844 (RG 5, C 1, vol. 122;
PSO/CW file 7081 of 1844; pages 48165-48168 on microfilm reel C-15757). The text of the
Provincial Secretary's reply is found on page 48165: the matter was under consideration. It
was referred to the Executive Council 19 July (see the Minutes in RG 1, E 1, Canada State
Book C, page 464).
A further petition (apparently dated 4 September 1845) was referred to the Executive
Council in May 1846. The petition is missing from the file; only a copy of the
Order-in-Council of 5 May 1846 and the text of the Provincial Secretary's reply to Hannah
Matthews were kept (RG 5, C 1, vol. 176, PSO/CW file 13262 of 1846; a photocopy is
enclosed). The text of the Minutes of Council (RG 1, E 1, Canada State Book E, page 370),
being virtually the same as the Order-in-Council, will not offer additional information. Hannah
Matthews' petition may have been referred to Parliament and been lost to fire with other
records of that institution.
Copies of the two files on microfilm are being made for you (under Work Order B 93946)
and will be sent under separate cover. At this point, I would recommend a search of the
probate court records, as there should be Letters of Administration for the estate of Peter
Matthews. (A centralized index is available at the Archives of Ontario). The files here do not
name the "heir at law" who refused Hannah Matthews her dower rights, but the probate court
records should do so.
I hope that my recommendations of potential sources will prove beneficial. The treatment of
widows and orphans in such circumstances is a matter of some interest to me, so I hope
that you will keep me informed of your findings.
Sincerely,
Patricia Kennedy
State & Military Archives Programme
Manuscript Division (613) 996 7348
FAX: 943 8112 encl.
ANNO NONO
VICTORIE REGINE.
CAP. C V. Au Act to reverse the attainder of Peter Matthews, and to avoid the for-
feiture of his Estates and Property.
[9lh June, 1846.]
"WHEREAS Peter Matthews, in his lifetime of the Township of Pickering, in the Home District,
having been lawfully convicted of and attainted for High Treason by him committed, did in the
year of Our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, suffer capital punishment for his
said crime ; And whereas by the said attainder and the corruption of blood wrought thereby, the
estates and property real and personal of the said Peter- Matthews became forfeited to Her
Majesty; And whereas Her Majesty hath in the exercise of Her lloyal Clemency hitherto
abstained from enforcing the said forfeiture, and hath been graciously pleased to signify Her
lloyal Pleasure that such forfeiture should never be enforced; And whereas for giving full
effect to the gracious intentions of Her Majesty in the behalf aforesaid the intervention of the
Provincial Parliament is desirable : Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent
Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and of the Legislative
Assembly of the Province of Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the
authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, and intituled, An Jlct to re-unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for
the Government of Canada, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the
attainder of the said Peter Matthews shall be and is hereby reversed, and the corruption of
blood and forfeiture wrought by the said attainder shall be and are hereby taken away, and
avoided, and all and singular the estates, property and effects which immediately before his
s:iid attain¬der were of him the said Peter Matthews, shall be and are hereby vested in the
same person, persons or parties, in the same manner and with the same effect to all intents
and purposes whatsoever, in as full and ample a manner, and with the same and no other
effect or consequence as to the rights ot third parties in, upon or with regard to such estates,
property or effects, as if he the said Peter Matthews had died without being so attainted as
aforesaid.
2 March 1993 4140-93-Ma-Md-8323
Richard D. Matthews jr. 327 Montague Avenue Caro, Michigan 48723 U. S. A.
Dear Mr Matthews,
In response to your letter of 11 February, I am forwarding a request to our Photoduplication
staff for copies of the petition from Peter Matthews, with all the accompanying certificates or
depositions (our RG 1, E 3, volume 45, pages 34-42), and the various reports by the Chief
Justice (J. B. Robinson) and Attorney General, with the Minutes of Council on the matter (our
RG 1, E 3, volume 50, pages 1-47). A copy of the work order (C 01267) is enclosed. The
invoice will be sent under separate cover, on completion of the work. The charge is 25 cents
per page for these copies, taken from the microfilm. Neither federal nor provincial taxes are
charged on orders from outside Canada.
A succession of fiscal restraints and cut-backs has severely reduced our ability to undertake
research on any question, so I have not been able to examine the afore-mentioned documents
on your behalf. The page references were taken from our index for the series, which provides
only a general outline of contents. As you are concerned with the petitions from Matthews,
statements by him, or the legal opinions on his case, I have not ordered copies of several
petitions in his favor (RG 1, E 3, volume 46, pages 131-179 and 239-264; on reel C-1195).
Should you want to examine them, you could request a loan of that microfilm through your
local library. You might also like to review the documentation in the Upper Canada Sundries
(RG 5, A 1, pages 99107-99108 and 99030-99033 on reel C-6894; pages 104652-104667
and 104969-104989 on reel C-6897; and pages 107043-107048 and 107144-107183 on
reel C-6899) - which I mentioned to you in my letter of 25 July 1989.
The inclusion or exclusion of documents from Read & Stagg's book on the Rebellion reflects
both their interest in various questions and space constraints. Their failure to alert readers
that they had edited the petition, and other documents, saddens but does not surprise me.
Far too many editors fail to highlight where cuts have been made to texts.
An officer investigating the Matthews case for the National Parole Board called me last month;
he and I have consulted with a member of the Carleton University law faculty who has made a
special study of treason trials. The prosecution and sentencing of Lount and Matthews were
undoubtedly legitimate. The papers of Robert Baldwin (who had counselled Lount and
Matthews, and later served as Attorney General) include his Opinion Book (Archives of Ontario,
MS 88, reel 2). It records a lengthy opinion on the broad questions regarding amnesty for those
implicated in the Rebellion and reversal of attainder — written before passage of the general
amnesty Acts of 1847 and 1849. He states very clearly (at page 226)
"The case of ... Peter Matthews was dealt with by a special Act (9 Vic. C. 105) by which the
attainder is removed and the corruption of blood and forfeiture wrought by such attainder
taken away and avoided and his estates, property and effects vested in his real and
personal representatives as if he had died without being attainted [my italics]. The attainders
of Lount and the other sufferers remain unremoved."
In other words, to the extent that the penalty could be remitted it had been. Hannah Matthews
had done a thorough job of clearing her late husband's name.
The copy of your family history arrived on my desk while I was on holiday last August. Much
to my chagrin, I set it aside before acknowledging the gift. Please accept my belated thanks
for it, and the photographs of the monument and historical plaque.
Sincerely,
Patricia Kennedy State & Military Archives Programme
Manuscript Division (613) 996 7348
FAX: 943 8112 encl.
PROVINCIAL PLAQUE COMMEMORATES REBEL MARTYR
On Sunday, December 6,1992, a provincial historical plaque commemorating Peter Matthews,
a martyr of the Rebellion of 1837, was unveiled in the community of Brougham. The plaque is
located in the Brougham Parkette, Brougham Road and Highway #7, in the Town of Pickering.
This is one in a series of plaques erected throughout the province by the Ontario Heritage
Foundation.
The bilingual marker reads:
PETER MATTHEWS c. 1789-1838
Peter Matthews farmed the lands immediately northeast of here in the early nineteenth century.
On December 2,1837, neighbours asked him to lead men from the area to join an uprising
against the government in Toronto planned by William Lyon Mackenzie. Matthews supported
democratic reforms, was popular in his community, and had served in the War of 1812. He
agreed to the request and played a leading role in the confused events of the Rebellion of
1837. When the rebellion failed, Matthews was captured by government militia. Authorities
decided to make an example of Matthews and another prominent rebel, Samuel Lount.
Convicted of treason and publicly hanged, they became martyrs of the rebellion whose
memory would be invoked by reformers for generations to come.
PETER MATTHEWS, v. 1789-1838
Peter Matthews exploite les terres au nord-ouest d'ici au debut du dix-neuvieme siecle. Le 2
decembre 1837, des voisins le prient de mener des hommes de la region qui se joignent au
soulevement foments par William Lyon Mackenzie contre le gouvernement a Toronto.
Partisan des reformes d^mocratiques et membre populaire de la communaute' qui a servi
dans la guerre de 1812, Matthews accepte et joue un role important dans les eV6nements
de'sordonne's de la Rebellion de 1837. Lorsque la rebellion 6choue, Matthews est
apprehend^ par la milice gouvernementale. Les autorite's de*cident de faire un exemple de
Matthews et d'un autre rebelle connu, Samuel Lount. De'clare's coupables de trahison et
pendus publiquement, ils deviennent martyres de la rebellion dont le souvenir sera invoqu6
par les reTormateurs pendant des generations.
The Ontario Heritage Foundation
welcomes you
to the unveiling of a
Provincial Historical Plaque
PETER MATTHEWS c.1789-1838
Brougham, Ontario
December 6, 1992
1:30 p.m.
Programme
Opening Remarks Historical Background
Remarks
Unveiling
Dorothy Duncan
Chair, Ontario Heritage Foundation
Dr Ronald Stagg
Chairman, Department of History
Ryerson Polytechnical Institute
Mr Jim Wiseman, M.P.P. for Durham West
His Worship Wayne Arthurs Mayor of Pickering
Mr Richard Matthews and other descendants
of Peter Matthews Mr Gordon Duncan Mr Mark Frank
Refreshments will be served in the Community Hall following the unveiling.
Everyone is welcome!
RE: Peter Matthews
The Colonial Advocate Newspaper May 1, 1834, Pickering
NOTICE:
We hereby forbid any person purchasing a note of hand dated 29 November 1833 given by the
subscribers to Waterman A. Spencer for 19 pounds 5 shillings, payable 15 February 1834 as
said Spencer agreed to give up the note to the subscribers on condition of them giving bail for
him which they did. After which he left the province without giving up said note according to
agreement.
Pickering Peter Matthews
22 April 1834 George Spencer
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY"
This is a copy of the petition of Adeline Elizabeth Matthews, on behalf of her husband, Joseph
Matthews, brother of Captain Peter Matthews, to Governor George Arthur, for his release and
pardon from prison. Following the "execution" of Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount on April
12, 1838 Joseph was released and pardoned in May of 1838.
Kind sir, I now write you a letter concerning my sufferings since my husband has been in prison,
which is very great indeed. I am left with three little children and nothing for there support, and
what to do I cannot tell, unless you will bless me with my companion that is so near and dear to
me. It is now coming on cold weather and I have neither food nor fuel. I am poor and have
nothing to make my little innocent children comfortable and my connections live eight hundred
miles from here and I have no friend but my husband and you can judge for yourself how
unpleasant my life is therefore I wish you could consider my husband's case as light as
possible as he was led away by some evil minded men. My husband has always bore the
name of a peaceable man, and I hope you will forgive him, as this is the first wrong step he has
taken in your land.
I will pledge my word that he will do the thing that's right for time to come if you will set him free.
Unless you do, I must suffer still for I have no means to support my family, and how hard it is
to see little innocent children crying around and nothing for them to eat, and I have seen that
since my husband has left me. It is a painful thing to think of, I will assure you now kind sir. If
you grant me my wishes you shall have my prayers while life remains. I could willingly bow at
your feet if it would do any good. Kind sir, if you did only know what trouble I do see. You
open wide the prison door and let my husband free.
This is from you well wishor Adeline Elizabeth Matthews
MATTHEWS FAMILY RECORDS REBELLION PAPERS
ADALINE ELIZABETH MATTHEWS
'n./ .i/mn '/i'un M+rte 4/ <. %✓+m .... w ,/r'. +- .ne
' w.%<` n, y rmnf,o,,.a,. % p/ 6 S ..,..n. >o. / •r .voa.
(4
> i^'.'rc'`a /Its ...w.., r /.I %" /^'o„ a.v.//.dn9(.vc .✓...... se J ww y- y
✓
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..mc uh. ^rm a cnN^•'a' Yawpn,. nmp ..+o+ . h'
(( / in .nM 6✓.Ce%r . a,G,II 'pp9/( n r °''
c
MATTHEWS FAMILY RECORD REBELLION RARERS
City of Toronto 14 Dec.1838
SIR
A MEMORANDUM HAS JUST BEEN PUT INTO MY HANDS WRITTEN BY COL. COX,
STATING THAT HE HAD AUTHORIZED THE ARREST OF THE FOLLOWING PERSONS:
I HAD SENT THEM TO JAIL IN CUSTODY OF A CONSTABLE AN ARMED RARTY.
JOSEPH MATTHEWS
HIRAM BENTLEY
SAMUEL BENTLEY
JONATHAN STEPHENS
JOHN STEPHENS
JOHN O'BRIEN
HIS FATHER
GEORGE SPENCER
ABRAHAM KNOWLES
WOODRUFF
I FIND ON EXAMINING THE PRISONERS THAT THE PERSONS ACTUALLY ARRESTED
AN BROUGHT HERE ARE
GEORGE SPENCER
HUGH L.O'BRIEN
NELSON WOODRUFF
WILLIAM O'BRIEN
ABRAHAM KNOWLES
WILLIAM BENTLEY
NELSON MATTHEWS
JOHN VERT
YOU
FROM:NATIONAL ARCHIVES CANADA
RG 1 E 3 VOLUME 52
FILE: PAGE 45
REEL: C1196
DATE: AUG.24,1989
- .... _......_.
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"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -THIRD GENERATION-
THOMAS MATTHEWS, WAS BORN IN WHAT IS NOW THE VILLAGE OF BROUGHAM, IN
PICKERING TOWNSHIP, UPPER CANADA. (NOW ONTARIO) HIS DATE OF BIRTH IS
JANUARY 25, 1822. THOMAS WAS A SON OF PETER MATTHEWS AND HANNAH
MAJOR MATTHEWS OF PICKERING. BOTH OF HIS PARENTS BEING FROM UNITED
EMPIRE LOYALIST FAMILIES. THOMAS MARRIED A LOCAL PICKERING GIRL NAMED
MARGARET SPENCER, THE DAUGHTER OF GEORGE AND MARY (STEVENS)
SPENCER, WHO ALSO LIVED IN THE PICKERING AREA. THOMAS AND MARGARET
MARRIED IN 1846. IN 1847 THE YOUNG COUPLE HAD THEIR FIRST CHILD, A
DAUGHTER, THEY NAMED SAMANTHA A. MATTHEWS. FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF
THOMAS'S OLDER BROTHER HIRAM, THEY DECIDED TO LEAVE CANADA IN THE
SPRING OF 1848.
THEY SETTLED IN A LITTLE VILLAGE IN WORTH TOWNSHIP KNOWN AS AMADORE.
IT IS LOCATED IN SANILAC COUNTY, IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN. LATER THAT
SAME YEAR THEIR FIRST SON WAS BORN, CHARLES WILLIAM MATTHEWS. THEY
WERE TO HAVE TWO MORE SONS IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS. THOMAS WAS A
GOOD CARPENTER AND IN JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS HAD BUILT A BEAUTIFUL
FARM HOUSE AND TWO BARNS ON HIS THEN, EIGHTY ACRE FARM. HE HAD
SETTLED IN WORTH TOWNSHIP HAVING CLOSE FAMILY FRIENDS ALREADY LIVING
THERE FROM PICKERING TOWNSHIP, THE WIXSON FAMILY. THEY WERE FAMILY
FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS PRIOR TO THE REBELLION IN 1837, AND SUPPORTED
THE FAMILY FOLLOWING IT. MARGARET DIED SOMETIME BETWEEN 1860 AND
1862. THOMAS AND MARGARET HAD FOUR CHILDREN TOGETHER, THEY WERE:
I SAMANTHA A. MATTHEWS, SHE WAS BORN IN 1847 IN WHAT IS NOW THE VILLAGE
OF BROUGHAM, PICKERING TOWNSHIP, ONTARIO, CANADA.
II CHARLES WILLIAM MATTHEWS, WAS BORN NOVEMBER 9, 1848, IN AMADORE,
WORTH TOWNSHIP, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
III DENNIS MATTHEWS, WAS BORN IN 1852 IN AMADORE, WORTH TOWNSHIP,
SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
IV MARTIN L. MATTHEWS, WAS BORN SEPTEMBER 13, 1855 IN AMADORE, WORTH
TOWNSHIP, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
FOLLOWING MARGARET'S DEATH, THOMAS MARRIED FOR A SECOND TIME ON
DECEMBER 21, 1862. HIS SECOND WIFE WAS CATHERINE COOK, THE DAUGHTER
OF DAVID AND CATHERINE COOK, THIS FAMILY BEING FROM ONTARIO, CANADA
ALSO. THE FARM, WITH HIS MARRIAGE TO CATHERINE GREW ANOTHER 40 ACRES,
MAKING IT A TOTAL OF 120 ACRES. THOMAS MATTHEWS DIED AT THE AGE OF 71 ,
AT HOME, ON HIS FARM. THE DATE WAS MAY 19, 1893. HE WAS PUT TO REST AT
THE CROSWELL CEMETERY, CROSWELL, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN. THOMAS
AND CATHERINE HAD THREE CHILDREN TOGETHER, THEY WERE:
I SARAH MATTHEWS, BORN IN 1864 IN AMADORE, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
II THOMAS WALTER MATTHEWS, BORN MAY 27, 1867, IN AMADORE, SANILAC
COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
III ETHEL L. MATTHEWS, BORN IN 1882 IN AMADORE, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
THIS IS A PHOTO-COPY OF THE MARRIAGE RECORD OF THOMAS MATTHEWS, AND
HIS SECOND WIFE, CATHARINE COOK, DATED DECEMBER 21, 1862*. THE RECORD
OF MARRIAGE IS LOCATED AT THE SANILAC COUNTY COURT HOUSE IN SANDUSKY,
MICHIGAN.
MAP OF SANILAC COUNTY
Two-post marker
Same Text Both Sides
2" Caption
1-1/2" Text
Sanilac County
Worth Township
MATTHEWS FARM
1 In 1848 Thomas and Margaret Spencer
2 Matthews came to Worth Township from
3 Ontario, Canada, following other farm
4 families who migrated from Upper
5 Canada to Michigan. Matthewsrs
6 grandfather, Thomas Elms Matthews, a Loyalist during the American Revolu-
8 tion, left New York for Upper Canada
9 after the war. Young Thomas's father,
10 Peter, was executed in Toronto in 1838
11 for his role in the 1837-38 Rebellion
12 of Upper Canada. Today, historians
13 consider him a patriot and a martyr.
14 This farmhouse, built in 1852,
15 exemplifies plank-frame construction
16 commonly used in Upper Canada during
17 the early nineteenth century. An
18 English hay barn also survives. Thomas
19 lived quietly, farming and raising his
20 seven children. He died in 1893 at age
21 seventy-one. The Matthews Farm is
22 listed in the National Register of
23 Historic Places.
Bureau of Michigan History, Michigan Department of State
Registered Local Site No. 1926 Property of the State of Michigan, 1995
BUREAU OF MICHIGAN HISTORY Michigan Department of State
INVENTORY FORM
Michigan Historical Commission Meeting February 16, 1995
Site (Historic Name): Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm
(Other Names): Meadowcroft Farm
Address/ Location: 5916 East Gardner Line Road
Municipal Unit: Worth Township
County: Sanilac
Owner: Gerald W. Nyquist, Ph.D.
Mailing Address: 5916 East Gardner Line Road
Post Office, Zip Code: Croswell, MI 48422
Description
Original Use: farm
Present Use: residence
Description Statement:
The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm is located in the Thumb Region of
Michigan in rural Sanilac county between the Black River and Lake Huron. The house and its
outbuildings sit on a ten-acre parcel of land, a portion of which is being leased for agricultural
production. The farmhouse was constructed in 1852, according to Matthews family oral
traditions, by Thomas Matthews after the Canadian farmhouse he grew up in Pickering
Township, Ontario. Further, the tax rolls show an increase consistent with an 1852 date of
construction. In addition, the present owner describes a construction technique based on his
various restoration projects that can only date to the 1850s. It is believed Matthews
influenced its design and had a hand in its construction. The house is a one-and two-story
gable-front-and-wing building of classical design, constructed with locally available building
materials. The structure has vertical plank framing with weatherboard siding, a fieldstone
foundation and an asphalt roof. There is a shed porch within the L formed by the upright and
wing. The decorative porch trim as added later, perhaps as late as the 1870s. The
vergeboards are a recent addition. The only surviving outbuilding is an English rectangular
hay barn with a gabled roof. There are three historical archaeological sites: they include a
well, rubbish mound and the remains of a log house. The property is well-maintained and
retains a high degree of historic integrity. The only change to the original footprint of the
house is a recent, ten-by-ten-foot addition at the southeast corner. The structure remains in
its original location, and its setting is nearly unchanged. The original design and
workmanship have also been retained.
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
This dwelling is located about 25 yards south of East Gardner Line Road, on a rectangular
parcel with a north-south axis, one-quarter of a mile deep by 110 yards wide. The property
includes a garage, pole building and barn along with the historical archaeological sites. The
garage is just off of the southwest corner of the house, the barn is 92.3 yards south of the
garage with the pole building approximately 13.3 yards east of the barn. The layout of the
house and outbuildings is perfectly linear. The garage and pole building are recent constructions
and are non-contributing structures.
The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews House is roughly two perpendicular rectangles
with the ten-by-ten-foot addition projecting from the rear corner of the front gable end. The
construction technique of this house is Canadian in its derivation. According to the present
owner, the exterior walls are composed of vertical, rough-sawn planks two inches thick and
twelve inches wide. These planks stand on a hand-hewn sill beam that rests on a stone
foundation. The first floor walls feature a double layer of planks, overlapped halfway onto one
another producing a four inch thickness. The second-story floor level, creating a two-inch wide
shelf that supports beams that support the floor joists. All of the beams are attached to one
another at the corners of the house with wooden pins. The vertical planks are attached to one
another and to the beams with cut nails and the occasional wooden pin. The weatherboard is
nailed to the vertical planks on the outside, and the wooden lath and trim are nailed to the
plank on the inside. This plank frame method of construction is commonly found among the
early 19th-century farmhouses of Ontario. The architecture of the house is said to resemble
the farm home in which Thomas spent his first sixteen years back in Pickering, Ontario,
Canada, according to the Matthews family historian.
The gable-front portion of the house is two stories in height with the one-story wing. There is
an enclosed back porch on the south side of the wing. The house has fieldstone basement
walls with a concrete floor; the original floor was dirt. Below the kitchen there are remnants
of a cistern in the southwest corner of the front-gable section. The gable front is symmetrical
facing East Gardner Line Road having two-over-two sash windows with shutters. There is an
attic vent, as well, on the front. All windows are two-over-two sash windows with shutters and
a fronton cap. The same treatment can be found on the doors, including the new addition, the
only exception being the door to the screened porch on the wing. The corners of the one-and
two-story sections of the house are treated with attenuated classical antae, with center
panels, topped with capitals. Under the eave overhang is a broad frieze band. The final
decorative element under the eave is the vergeboard, a modern addition.
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
The interior retains the original floor plan. The gable-front upright has the parlor across the front
of the house with the stairways, pantry with an added bathroom, and kitchen behind. The ten-by-
ten foot addition was put on the southeast corner of this section of the house. The one-story
wing has the dining room and a bedroom. The front and back porches extend off this wing. A
deck has been added by the current owner to the southwest corner of the one-story wing
giving the house a square appearance. There are three bedrooms and a bathroom, which
has been added by the current owner, on the second floor of the gable-front. All of the
original pine woodwork remains on both levels; however, it has been heavily repaired, so
that the current owner has painted it rather than using stain.
The hay barn is the only original outbuilding remaining on the farm. This is a basic English
rectangular barn with a gabled roof. It is roughly thirty-four by fifty feet in ground dimensions.
Constructed of hand-hewn beams with mortise and tenon joints, it has vertical rough-sawn
siding. In the gable of the barn is a trolley that runs on a wooden rail to support a hay rope
used with a fork to unload wagons and lift hay to the mow. The date of the barn is not known;
however, it is believed to date to the construction of the house.
Finally, there are three historical archaeological sites contributing to this nomination. There
is a well, a rubbish mound, and the foundation of the log house. The house was occupied by
the Thomas Matthews family from 1852 to 1854, when the farmhouse was completed. The
deposits in the well and on the rubbish mound likely date from 1848 through the 1940s.
These archaeological sites are well preserved and protected by the current land owner. In
addition, there was a privy, the location of which has been lost.
Significance
Themes: P3\P4\AV\EX
Construction Dates: 1852-1893
Architect/Builder: unknown
Significance Statement.
The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm represents a period in our history
during which a large number of Canadian farm families migrated to the Thumb Area of
Michigan. Initially these families came in flight from prosecution for their involvement in the
Rebellion of Upper Canada of 1837-38; others, like the Matthews family, came because
their families and friends had migrated into the area before them. Most of the pioneer
families were actively involved in the rebellion against the government in Toronto. The
settlement of Sanilac County by these Canadians culminated a pattern from New York to
Upper Canada in response to being loyalist during the American Revolution and then to
Michigan. The farmhouse built by Matthews exemplifies plank-frame construction commonly
used in early nineteenth-century Upper Canada. There were several outbuilding including
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
a common New England rectangular hay barn that remains to this day. There is also evidence
of three potential historical archaeological sites that are likely to yield insights into nineteenth
and early twentieth century farm life for these Canadian emigres.
Thomas Matthews was born in 1822, into a family with a long tradition of patriotism and loyalty
to Canada and the Crown. His grandfather, Thomas Elmes Matthews, was a United Empire
Loyalist and a resident of New York prior to the American Revolution. After the war, he left New
York for Canada and is said to have gotten lost in the woods and to have been rescued near
starvation by Captain Peter Ruttan, another United Empire Loyalist, who had taken up
residence in British North America. Thomas Elmes Matthews was nursed back to health in the
Ruttan household and fell in love with the captain's seventeen year old daughter Mary. After her
eighteenth birthday, she and Matthews eloped. Mary Nast Wherry in The Family and I, indicated
their first son, Peter, was born within a year of the marriage.
Thomas Elmes Matthews was "granted land in Marysburg Township and then in Sidney
Township" according to Mary Bentley's Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. VII, near
Belleville, Ontario, Canada at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River at Lake Ontario. The
same source indicates that "about 1799 the family moved to Pickering Township, where
Thomas obtained 350 acres and Mary 200 acres" from the Canadian government for their
loyalty to the Empire. "In Pickering the Matthews family was quite public-spirited, contributing
to the building of a school and working to improve the major road in the area" again,
according to Bentley. During the War of 1812, father and sons served in the Canadian militia.
Thomas Elmes Matthews died in August 1819. Matthews and his widow, Mary Ruttan
Matthews, had been very patriotic and seem to have imbued their children with the same
sense of patriotism and civic mindedness.
Son, Peter followed closely the family tenets of service to community and country. Peter was
a sergeant in the Canadian militia during the War of 1812. He married Hannah Major,
probably in 1810, and they had eight children. Thomas was one of their sons. Bentley says,
the Peter Matthews family "was unhappy with the services provided to the rural inhabitants
by the government at Toronto." The Constitutional Act of 1791 had given power to "an official
oligarchy . . . known as the Family Compact." The Family Compact identified with the Church
of England, "a decided minority in the province; and thus the political struggle took on the
colour of a religions issue, into which economic grievances entered as well," according to
the Encyclopedia Canadiana. As a result, Peter became actively involved "in the political
union movement of the summer and fall of [1837], which was designed to pressure the
British government to grant reforms," Bentley said.
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
Matthews was selected for a leadership role in the rebellion because he was a prosperous
farmer, who was well-respected and liked by his neighbors.
During the Rebellion of 1837-38, Peter Matthews was given responsibility for about sixty men
from the local community, who all volunteered "to take part in the uprising planned by William
Lyon Mackenzie," Bentley said. Matthews and his men were assigned responsibility for
creating a diversion to prevent the government forces from attacking their headquarters, until
reinforcements were in place. "Matthews's party killed one man and set the bridge and some
houses on fire before being driven off by Loyalist forces. The rebellion failed that day and
Matthews fled, but he was captured in a farmhouse in York Township," also according to
Bentley. Peter Matthews was arrested on December 14, 1837, and he pleaded guilty to a
charge of treason. His case was heard and determined by a special oyer and terminer, he was
found guilty and was sentenced to be executed. The execution was carried out on April 12,
1838, according to the author of The Life and Times of Wm, Lyon Mackenzie, the leader of
the rebellion. Peter was pardoned in 1848 and had come to be known as a patriot and a
hero.
Thomas was a lad of sixteen when his father was executed. There are scant details of his
life from 1838-48 when he migrated to Worth Township. According to the family historian,
his mother, Hannah, left Canada and migrated to Michigan after the unsuccessful rebellion
that cost her husband his life. It is not known whether Thomas accompanied his mother on
this trip. The oral history suggests she remained in the states for a short time before returning
to Canada. Thomas did not permanently leave Canada until 1848 after the death of an older
Brother, according to the family historian, Richard Matthews, in Kindred Spirits. It was also
in 1848, when the crown returned Peter Matthews's property, which it had seized after his
conviction.
Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews and their infant daughter settled in Worth Township
in the Spring of 1848. "A number of the former rebel families had settled in this area following
the uprising. Among these families were the Wixsons, formerly of Pickering Township, and
close friends of the Peter Matthews family," Matthews said.
Public records indicate Thomas Matthews was granted a patent by the State of Michigan to
forty acres of land in Section 16 on March 2,1848. According to the patent, Matthews
purchased the forty acres for one hundred and sixty dollars. There is no evidence, however,
that a structure was ever constructed on this parcel. The abstract indicates he sold it on
March 24,1852, one month before he purchased the eighty acres in Section 22 for six
hundred dollars on which he built his farmstead. The eighty acres consisted of the northeast
quarter of the northwest quarter and the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter.
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews had four children, Samantha born in Canada and
three sons all born after they migrated to Michigan. There is little official information concerning
Margaret Spencer. We can deduce she was born in Canada in 1829 or 1830. She married
Thomas in 1846, at the age of sixteen or seventeen. Margaret appears on the 1850 and the
1860 U.S. Population Schedules as the wife of Thomas Matthews. Then on December 21,
1862, at the age of forty Thomas Matthews married Catharine Cook, a girl of eighteen. It is
presumed Margaret died during the interim; however, there is no record of Margaret's death.
There is little mention of Matthews except in public documents recording births, deaths, deeds,
and the U.S. census. He appears to have lead a rather uneventful life as compared to that of his
ancestors. Prior to his death on May 19,1893, the Matthews farm even managed to escape
destruction from three forest fires in Sanilac County, namely the 1864 fire and two fires one in
1871 and the other in 1881. There is no record of public service, the only mention of him is that
he was a farmer. The Matthews farmstead survives to represent the early migration of
Canadians to the Thumb in the wake of the 1837-38 rebellion. The house on the property,
although a typical midwestern American upright-and-wing building, reflects the Upper
Canada origins of its early owners in its plank frame construction.
The farmstead is also significant for its historical archaeological potential. Farmstead sites
are a source of data on agricultural settlement in Michigan. Individual sites may yield a
variety of types of information, including data on the types of buildings that made up the
complex, the spatial layout of the buildings and land, and the way the landscape in and
around the complex was altered over the years. Examining these aspects of a number of
farmsteads from different time periods can contribute to understanding agrarian
development in a region over time. This development process might be manifested in
changes in the size and composition of farm complexes, the distribution of farmsteads
across a region, the economic status of farmers, household size, and so forth.
An example of the kind of research to which farmstead sites are important is a study on
agricultural settlement patterns in southern Michigan which focuses on the evolution of
frontier economies. Sanilac County is ideal for this kind of research because Thomas
Matthews and his friends were the initial settlers in the mid-nineteenth century, following on
the heels of the land speculators and the lumbermen.
The farm's potential to provide archaeological data has not been evaluated. However, such
locations as foundation remains, garbage dumps, wells and privy sites are all likely to retain
cultural material which could provide insights into nineteenth century farm life for this group
of Canadian settlers in Sanilac County.
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm meets the criterion for designation in the
State Register of Historic Sites under criteria I for the pioneer settlers who left Canada to make
their home in the Thumb of Michigan in response to the political upheaval following the
Rebellion of 1837-38; criteria III for the plank frame construction technique derived from Upper
Canada; and, criteria IV for its historical archaeological potential to yield information regarding
early farm life in Sanilac County. The State Historic Preservation Office recommends listing
under the local level of significance.
State Register Designation
(L/S and number): L1926 Marker Name: Form Prepared by: Carrel Cowan-Ricks
Michigan Historic Site. No. L1926
THOMAS AND MARGARET SPENCER MATTHEWS FARM
State Register on February 19, 1995 by the Michigan Historical Commission Michigan
Department of State
Michigan Historical Center, State Historic Preservation Office
717 West Allegan Street
Lansing, Michigan 48918-1800
May 1, 1995
Gerald W. Nyquist, Ph.D.
5916 East Gardner Line Road
Croswell, MI 48422
Dear Dr. Nyquist:
The National Register of Historic Places Branch of the National Park Service, U.S.
Department of the Interior, has listed the Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm,
5916 East Gardner Line Road, Township of Worth, Sanilac County, MI, in the National
Register of Historic Places. The register listed the property on April 7, 1995. Nominations of
Michigan properties to the national register are made by the Michigan Historical Center of
the Michigan Department of State, in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act
of 1966, as amended.
Any questions you may have concerning this nomination and the national register program
should be directed to the State Historic Preservation Office, Michigan Historical Center,
717 West Allegan, Lansing, Michigan 48918 (telephone 517/335-2719).
Sincerely,
Kathryn B. Eckert
State Historic Preservation Officer Michigan Historical Center
cc: Enclosure
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -FOURTH GENERATION-
CHARLES WILLIAM MATTHEWS, WAS BORN IN THE VILLAGE OF AMADORE, IN WORTH
TOWNSHIP, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN ON NOVEMBER 9, 1848. HE WAS THE FIRST
OF OUR FAMILY TO BE BORN IN THE UNITED STATES. HIS PARENTS WERE THOMAS
AND MARGARET (SPENCER) MATTHEWS. CHARLES MARRIED LENA CAROLINE
BARNES ON SEPTEMBER 22, 1870 IN LEXINGTON, WORTH TOWNSHIP, SANILAC
COUNTY, MICHIGAN. SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF JOHN AND MINNIE (BRUNSWICK)
BARNES. LENA AND HER FAMILY HAD COME TO THE UNITED STATES FROM
GERMANY, LENA HAVING BEEN BORN THERE. AFTER HIS MARRIAGE TO LENA,
CHARLES LEFT WORTH TOWNSHIP AND BOUGHT HIS OWN FORTY ACRE FARM IN
PORT SANILAC, WHEATLAND TOWNSHIP, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
CHARLES FARMED, BUT HIS LOVE IN LIFE WAS HORSES. HE RAISED THEM FOR
THE BETTER PART OF HIS LIFE. WHEN CHARLES AND LENA RETIRED, THEY MOVED
TO HARBOR BEACH, IN HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN. CHARLES DIED NOVEMBER
1ST, 1931 AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY-TWO, JUST EIGHT DAYS BEFORE HE WOULD
HAVE BEEN EIGHTY-THREE YEARS OLD. HE DIED AT HIS HOME IN SEIGEL
TOWNSHIP, HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HE WAS BURIED AT THE VERONA
CEMETERY, VERONA, IN HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HIS WIFE LENA IS BURIED
THERE ALSO, BESIDE HIM. LENA HAD DIED MAY 14, 1931. THEY HAD BEEN
HUSBAND AND WIFE FOR OVER SIXTY YEARS. DURING THOSE YEARS, CHARLES
AND LENA HAD SEVEN CHIL¬DREN, FIVE SONS, AND TWO DAUGHTERS. THEIR
CHILDREN WERE:
I WILLIAM MATTHEWS, BORN AUGUST 8, 1871 IN AMADORE, SANILAC COUNTY,
MICHIGAN.
II THOMAS HIRAM MATTHEWS, BORN JUNE 29, 1873 IN AMADORE, SANILAC
COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
III JOHN IRA MATTHEWS, BORN JUNE 29, 1873 IN AMADORE, SANILAC COUNTY,
MICHIGAN. (THOMAS AND JOHN WERE TWINS)
IV WILBERT MARTIN MATTHEWS, BORN AUGUST 17, 1876 IN PORT SANILAC,
SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
V SARAH HELEN MATTHEWS, BORN JULY 17, 1879 IN PORT SANILAC, SANILAC
COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
VI MINNIE LENA MATTHEWS, BORN JUNE 2, 1882 IN PORT SANILAC, SANILAC
COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
VII ARTHUR HERBERT MATTHEWS, BORN APRIL 19, 1886 IN PORT SANILAC,
SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -FIFTH GENERATION-
WILBERT MARTIN MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON AUGUST 17, 1876 IN PORT SAN-ILAC,
SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HE WAS BORN ON HIS FATHER'S FARM. HE WAS A
SON OF CHARLES WILLIAM AND LENA CAROLINE (BARNES) MATTHEWS. HIS MOTHER
WAS KNOWN TO FRIENDS AS "CARRIE". WHEN WILBERT MARRIED HE WAS 24, AND
HIS WIFE WAS 18. HE MARRIED VERNA LOUELLA WELLS, A FARMER'S DAUGHTER,
ON DECEMBER 25, 19 00, IN DECKERVILLE, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN. SHE
WAS THE DAUGHTER OF BENJAMIN AND EMMA (MERIDITH) WELLS. SHE WAS
KNOWN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY AS "VERNIE".
WILBERT AS A YOUNG MAN FARMED AND RAISED HORSES WITH HIS FATHER
CHARLES, BUT WAS NOT VERY CONTENT DOING THIS FOR A LIVING. YEARS LATER
HE BECAME A PLUMBER, ALTHOUGH HE LOVED MUSIC AND TRIED TO MAKE A
LIVING PLAYING THE VIOLIN IN HIS EARLY TWENTIES. AS HIS FAMILY GREW IT
BECAME TO HARD TO PURSUE MUSIC AS A CAREER. HE MANAGED TO PLAY
WEEK ENDS WHENEVER POSSIBLE. VERNIE DIED ON MARCH 11, 1934 IN ARGYLE,
SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN. SHE WAS PUT TO REST AT THE JOHN R CEMETERY,
CEMETERY LOT #17, IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN.
WILBERT DIED AT THE AGE OF 7 5 IN VASSAR, TUSCOLA COUNTY, IN MID-
MICHIGAN. HE DIED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1951, AND WAS PUT TO REST AT BYRAN
CEMETERY, BYRAN, IN SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. WILBERT AND VERNIE
HAD FIVE CHILDREN TOGETHER, THEY ARE:
I LILLIAN L. MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 16, 1904 IN ARGYLE, SANILAC
COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
II ROY WINFRED MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 23, 1906 AT HARBOR
BEACH, HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
III LEE OTIS MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1908 AT HARBOR BEACH,
HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
IV CLEMONS OSCAR MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON JANUARY 3, 1911 AT HARBOR
BEACH, HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
V CLARENCE MARTIN MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON SEPTEMBER 26, 1913 AT
HARBOR BEACH, HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -SIXTH GENERATION-
ROY WINFRED MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 23, 1906 AT HARBOR BEACH,
HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HE WAS THE FIRST BORN SON OF WILBERT MARTIN AND
VERNA LOUELLA (WELLS) MATTHEWS. ROY, ALONG WITH HIS BROTHERS AND
SISTER GREW UP ON THE FARM OF THEIR GRAND¬FATHER, CHARLES WILLIAM
MATTHEWS. UPON REACHING HIS MID-TEEN YEARS, WENT OUT ON HIS OWN. HE
SETTLED HIMSELF IN THE PORT HURON AREA, IN ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN. THIS
IS WHERE HE MET, LATER TO WED, IRENE MARY WARNER. SHE WAS A DAUGHTER
OF JONATHAN WESLEY AND MATILDA "TILLY" (PRICE) WARNER. THEY MARRIED ON
MAY 8, 1926 IN PORT HURON, ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ROY DID SOME FARMING IN HIS EARLY YEARS, BUT LATER WAS TO BECOME A TOOL
& DIE MAKER IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY. HE BOUGHT HIS OWN FORTY ACRE
FARM IN YALE, GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP, ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN. AFTER
RETIRING FROM THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY HE FARMED ON HIS OWN LAND AS A
HOBBY, AND TO KEEP HIMSELF BUSY. HE ENJOYED IN HIS LEASURE TIME TO PLAY
THE VIOLIN. HE OWNED A FINE ONE THAT HAD BEEN PASSED DOWN TO HIM FROM
HIS FATHER. THE VIOLIN HAD BEEN IN THE FAMILY FROM THERE DAYS IN
PICKERING TOWNSHIP, ONTARIO, CANADA. IT WAS BROUGHT TO MICHIGAN WITH
THOMAS MATTHEWS (A SON OF PETER MATTHEWS) WHEN HE SETTLED HIS
FAMILY IN AMADORE, IN THE YEAR 1848.
ROY DIED AT HIS HOME IN YALE ON MAY 15, 1988. HE DIED OF NATURAL CAUSES,
IN HIS SLEEP, AT THE AGE OF 81. HE WAS BURIED AT THE PARKVIEW MEMORIAL
CEMETERY, LIVONIA, MICHIGAN. DURING ROY AND IRENE'S MARRIAGE THEY HAD
THREE CHILDREN, ALL SONS. THEY ARE:
I WILFRED MARTIN MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 29, 192 6 IN PORT HURON,
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
II RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON SEPTEMBER 28, 1927 IN PORT
HURON, ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
III KENNETH LlOYD MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 25, 1928 IN PORT
HURON, ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
THE MICHIGAN CENTENNIAL FAMILY CERTIFICATE
THE MICHIGAN GENEALOGICAL COUNCIL
Takes pleasure in presenting
This special tribute to a descendant of
Charles W. Matthews
Who settled and lived in
The State of Michigan
In the year 1876 or before
Roy W. Matthews
Presented December 31, 1976
Lansing Michigan
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -SIXTH GENERATION-
CLEMONS OSCAR MATTHEWS, WAS BORN AT HARBOR BEACH, MICHIGAN,
JANUARY 3, 1911. HE WAS THE SON OF WILBERT MARTIN AND VERNA LOVELLA
(WELLS) MATTHEWS. CLEM GREW UP IN HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HE STARTED
WORKING ON FARMS FOR HIS ROOM AND BOARD WHEN HE WAS ONLY EIGHT YEARS
OLD. THIS CONTINUED UNTIL HE WAS FOURTEEN, WHEN HE WENT TO DETROIT,
WHERE HE WORKED AT VARIOUS JOBS. IN 1933 HE MARRIED DOROTHY MARIE
RICHLEY, AND HAD TWO DAUGHTERS: KATHRYN JEANETTE MATTHEWS, AND
BEVERLY JUNE MATTHEWS. KATHRYN NOW LIVES IN FLINT, MICHIGAN, AND
BEVERLY IN SPARTA, TENNESSEE. CLEMONS AND DOROTHY WERE DIVORCED IN
19 39.
ON JUNE 14, 1941, HE MARRIED LILLION ELEANOR MARSHKE IN DETROIT. THEY HAD
TWO SONS: DOUGLAS ROGER MATTHEWS, BORN IN MARCH OF 1942, AND FRANK
MARTIN MATTHEWS, BORN IN MAY 1945. CLEM, AS HE WAS KNOWN BY EVERYONE,
WORKED IN DETROIT IN THE INDUSTRIAL SHEET ME¬TAL TRADE. IN 19 59 THEY
MOVED TO HOWELL, MICHIGAN, WHERE EACH DAY CLEM HAD TO DRIVE INTO
LANSING TO WORK. HE SPENT ABOUT 35 YEARS IN THE INDUSTRIAL SHEET METAL
TRADE. IN 1974 CLEM AND LILY MOVED TO ST. GEORGE, UTAH, WHERE THEY
RETIRED. IT WAS BACK IN DETROIT, ON JUNE 7, 1959, WHEN CLEM JOINED THE
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, AND HE HAS LIVED THE
GOSPEL FAITHFULLY EVERY DAY SINCE JOINING THE CHURCH.
IN ST. GEORGE EVERYONE KNEW CLEM AS THEIR "HANDY-MAN". BUT HE ALSO
PLAYED GUITAR AND SANG IN MANY REST HOMES. HE LOVED HIS FAMILY, HIS
WORK, AND HIS MUSIC. IF CLEM HAD LIVED UNTIL JUNE 14, 1991, HE AND LILLY
WOULD HAVE CELEBRATED THEIR GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. HE MISSED
IT BY FIFTEEN DAYS. CLEM HAD ONE SISTER AND THREE BROTHERS: CLARENCE,
THE YOUNGEST, WHO LIVES IN SEVIER-VILLE, TENNESSEE. CLEM'S SISTER AND
TWO BROTHERS PASSED AWAY A FEW YEARS AGO. LILLIAN WILL CONTINUE TO
MAKE HER HOME IN ST. GEORGE AMONG HER MANY FRIENDS. CLEM DIED AT HIS
HOME IN ST. GEORGE ON THURSDAY, MAY 30, 1991, OF CANCER. HE WAS EIGHTY
YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH. CLEM WAS BURIED IN THE ST. GEORGE
CITY CEMETERY. HE HAD 19 GRANDCHILDREN, AND 37 GREAT GRANDCHILDREN.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -SEVENTH GENERATION-
RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON SEPTEMBER 28, 1927 IN PORT HURON,
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HE WAS A SON OF ROY WINFRED AND IRENE MARY
(WARNER) MATTHEWS. HE WAS A VETERAN, HAVING SERVED IN THE UNITED
STATES NAVY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. FOLLOWING THE WAR WAS
STATIONED AT THE CHARLESTOWN NAVY BASE IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
THIS IS WHERE HE MET, LATER TO WED, HELEN FRANCIS SUCKIEL. SHE HAD
BEEN A LIFE LONG RESIDENT OF CHARLESTOWN. HELEN WAS A DAUGHTER OF
MICHAEL AND ANTONINA (GOSZCYNSKA) SUCKIEL. BOTH OF HER PARENTS HAD
BEEN BORN IN POLAND, SHE WAS A FIRST GENERATION AMERICAN. DICK AND
HELEN WERE MARRIED JULY 13, 1946. THE WEDDING CEREMONY TOOK PLACE IN
BOSTON, SUFFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS WITH THE RECORD OF MARRIAGE
RECORDED AT BOSTON CITY HALL.
DICK WAS A MAN WHO LIKED TO WORK WITH HIS HANDS. HE WAS SKILLED IN THE
BUILDING TRADES, WITH ELECTRICAL WORK, AND FURNACE REPAIR AND
INSTALLATION. IN HIS SPARE TIME HE VERY MUCH ENJOYED RIDING
MOTORCYCLES, BOWLING, AND LISTENING TO CHRISTIAN AND COUNTRY MUSIC.
HE WAS A KIND AND GENTLE MAN WHO WOULD GIVE A STRANGER A HELPING
HAND. DICK'S MARRIAGE TO HELEN FAILED, AND ENDED IN A DIVORCE. THEY HAD
TWO CHILDREN DURING THEIR MARRIAGE, BOTH SONS. THEY ARE:
I RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS JR., HE WAS BORN ON APRIL 12, 1948 AT BOSTON,
SUFFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
IT ROBERT LOUIS MATTHEWS, HE WAS BORN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 1950 AT PORT
HURON, ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
DICK LATER REMARRIED ON NOVEMBER 28, 1953 TO SARAH ELLEN JEFFERY OF
CROSWELL, SANILAC COUNTY, MICHIGAN. THEY HAD EIGHT CHILDREN TOGETHER
DURING THEIR MARRIAGE. DICK MOVED TO TUSCOLA COUNTY, MICHIGAN IN THE
LATE NINETEEN SIXTIES. FIRST LIVING IN THE SMALL VILLAGE OF MAYVILLE LATER
TO LIVE IN CARO. AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 57 DICK DIED OF A MASSIVE HEART
ATTACK AT HIS HOME IN CARO. HE DIED ON SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 1985, AND WAS
PUT TO REST AT THE ALMER CEMETERY, CARO, TUSCOLA COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HIS
CHILDREN FROM HIS SECOND MARRIAGE ARE:
1. DALE E. MATTHEWS
2. JEFFERY A. MATTHEWS
3. JONATHAN E. MATTHEWS
4. MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS
5. LORRAINE A. MATTHEWS
6. RONALD R. MATTHEWS
7. RHONDA E. MATTHEWS (RHONDA AND RONALD WERE TWINS)
8. JOY ANN MATTHEWS
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -SEVENTH GENERATION-
THE CHILDREN OF RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS SR., AND HIS SECOND WIFE,
SARAH ELLEN (JEFFERY) MATTHEWS:
I DALE EUGENE MATTHEWS, BORN FEBRUARY 3, 19 55, IN POLK COUNTY, DES
MOINES, IOWA.
II JEFFERY ALLEN MATTHEWS, BORN JUNE 8, 1957, IN ST. CLAIR COUNTY, PORT
HURON, MICHIGAN.
III JONATHAN ERROL MATTHEWS, BORN JULY 29, 1960, IN ST. CLAIR COUNTY, PORT
HURON, MICHIGAN.
IV MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS, BORN SEPTEMBER 29, 1961, IN ST. CLAIR COUNTY,
PORT HURON, MICHIGAN.
V LORRAINE ALLISON MATTHEWS, BORN JULY 15, 1964, IN POLK COUNTY, DES
MOINES, IOWA.
VI RONALD R. MATTHEWS, BORN MAY 25, 19 65, IN POLK COUNTY, DES MOINES,
IOWA.
VII RHONDA E. MATTHEWS, BORN MAY 25, 1965, IN POLK COUNTY, DES MOINES,
IOWA. (RONALD AND RHONDA WERE TWINS)
VIII JOY ANN MATTHEWS, BORN MARCH 8, 1967, IN ST. CLAIR COUNTY, PORT
HURON, MICHIGAN.
ALL OF DICK AND ELLEN'S CHILDREN LIVE IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN. THE
MAJORITY LIVING IN THE PORT HURON AREA OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -EIGHTH GENERATION-
RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS JR. WAS BORN IN BOSTON, SUFFOLK COUNTY,
MASSACHUSETTS ON APRIL 12, 1948, AT THE BOSTON CITY HOSPITAL. HE WAS THE
FIRST BORN SON OF RICHARD DALE AND HELEN FRANCIS (SUCKIEL) MATTHEWS.
HE WAS A VETERAN, HAVING SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY, DURING THE
VIETNAM WAR ERA. RICK MARRIED THE FORMER, ROSE MARIE WELCH WHILE STILL
IN THE NAVY. THEY MARRIED MAY 23, 1966, AT THE QUONSET POINT NAVAL AIR
STATION, QUONSET POINT, RHODE ISLAND. THEIR RECORD OF MARRIAGE IS
RECORDED AT CITY HALL, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND. ROSE WAS THE FIRST
BORN OF LAWRENCE EMERY AND MILDRED JEAN (HARRINGTON) WELCH. SHE
WAS BORN ON JULY 28, 1948, AT MERRY HOSPITAL, IN BROWNSVILLE, CAMERON
COUNTY, TEXAS.
RICK SPENT HIS CHILDHOOD IN CHARLESTOWN, SOUTH BOSTON, AND
DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS. WHEN HE WAS STILL 15 YEARS OLD, ROSE AND
HER FAMILY MOVED NEXT DOOR TO WHERE RICK AND HIS FAMILY LIVED. ROSE
AND RICK WERE TO MARRY THREE YEARS LATER. RICK WAS NEVER MUCH ON
SPORTS, BUT ENJOYED MUSIC, DRAWING, AND WORKING WITH HIS HANDS. BY
THE END OF THE SIXTIES, BOSTON HAD CHANGED FROM THE CITY THAT ROSE
AND RICK HAD GROWN UP IN! IT HAD BECOME AN UNSAFE PLACE TO TRAVEL IN,
OR TO RAISE A FAMILY. THE PACE OF THE CITY HAD CHANGED ALSO, IT HAD
BECOME A LOT FASTER THAN THEY LIKED. THEY DECIDED TO TRY MID-MICHIGAN,
IN TUSCOLA COUNTY, WHERE RICK'S FATHER LIVED. RICK LEFT HIS JOB, AND IN
SEPTEMBER OF 1976 HEADED FOR MICHIGAN WITH HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN. HE
HAD WORKED IN BOSTON IN SHOPS, IN THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY.
IN MICHIGAN, RICK WORKED WITH HIS FATHER, LEARNING TO BE A FINISH
CARPENTER. ROSE WENT BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE MID-EIGHTIES, AND IN 1988,
GRADUATED FROM GREAT LAKES JUNIOR COLLEGE, CARO CAMPUS, CARO,
MICHIGAN. SHE GRADUATED WITH HONORS, (DEAN'S LIST) AND NOW WORKS IN
THE MEDICAL FIELD AS A MEDICAL BILLER. BOTH ROSE AND RICK WERE FROM
OLD MICHIGAN PIONEER FAMILIES THAT CAME OVER FROM CANADA. MEMBERS
OF BOTH OF THEIR FAMILIES HAD BEEN FORMER UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS.
WHEN TIME PERMITS, THEY ENJOY WORKING ON THEIR FAMILY HISTORY, AND TO
VISIT THE PLACES THEIR ANCESTORS ONCE LIVED. RICK AND ROSE HAD FOUR
CHILDREN, THEY ARE:
I DORRINE MARIE MATTHEWS, BORN AUGUST 18, 1966 IN BOSTON, SUFFOLK
COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
II RICHARD WALTER MATTHEWS, BORN AUGUST 17, 1970 IN BOSTON, SUFFOLK
COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
III MELISSA ANN MATTHEWS, BORN JANUARY 20, 1976 IN BOSTON, SUFFOLK
COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
IV LAWRENCE DAVID MATTHEWS, BORN JULY 21, 1978 IN LAPEER, LAPEER COUNTY,
MICHIGAN.
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -EIGHTH GENERATION-
RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS JR. WAS BORN IN BOSTON, SUFFOLK COUNTY,
MASSACHUSETTS ON APRIL 12, 1948, AT THE BOSTON CITY HOSPITAL. HE WAS THE
FIRST BORN SON OF RICHARD DALE AND HELEN FRANCIS (SUCKIEL) MATTHEWS.
HE WAS A VETERAN, HAVING SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY, DURING THE
VIETNAM WAR ERA. RICK MARRIED THE FORMER, ROSE MARIE WELCH WHILE STILL
IN THE NAVY. THEY MARRIED MAY 23, 1966, AT THE QUONSET POINT NAVAL AIR
STATION, QUONSET POINT, RHODE ISLAND. THEIR RECORD OF MARRIAGE IS
RECORDED AT CITY HALL, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND. ROSE WAS THE FIRST
BORN OF LAWRENCE EMERY AND MILDRED JEAN (HARRINGTON) WELCH. SHE
WAS BORN ON JULY 28, 1948, AT MERRY HOSPITAL, IN BROWNSVILLE, CAMERON
COUNTY, TEXAS.
RICK SPENT HIS CHILDHOOD IN CHARLESTOWN, SOUTH BOSTON, AND
DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS. WHEN HE WAS STILL 15 YEARS OLD, ROSE
AND HER FAMILY MOVED NEXT DOOR TO WHERE RICK AND HIS FAMILY LIVED.
ROSE AND RICK WERE TO MARRY THREE YEARS LATER. RICK WAS NEVER MUCH
ON SPORTS, BUT ENJOYED MUSIC, DRAWING, AND WORKING WITH HIS HANDS. BY
THE END OF THE SIXTIES, BOSTON HAD CHANGED FROM THE CITY THAT ROSE
AND RICK HAD GROWN UP IN! IT HAD BE¬COME AN UNSAFE PLACE TO TRAVEL IN,
OR TO RAISE A FAMILY. THE PACE OF THE CITY HAD CHANGED ALSO, IT HAD
BECOME A LOT FASTER THAN THEY LIKED. THEY DECIDED TO TRY MID-MICHIGAN,
IN TUSCOLA COUNTY, WHERE RICK'S FATHER LIV¬ED. RICK LEFT HIS JOB, AND IN
SEPTEMBER OF 1976 HEADED FOR MICHIGAN WITH HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN. HE
HAD WORKED IN BOSTON IN SHOPS, IN THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY.
IN MICHIGAN, RICK WORKED WITH HIS FATHER, LEARNING TO BE A FINISH
CARPENTER. ROSE WENT BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE MID-EIGHTIES, AND IN 1988,
GRADUATED FROM GREAT LAKES JUNIOR COLLEGE, CARO CAMPUS, CARO,
MICHIGAN. SHE GRADUATED WITH HONORS, (DEAN'S LIST) AND NOW WORKS IN
THE MEDICAL FIELD AS A MEDICAL BILLER. BOTH ROSE AND RICK WERE FROM
OLD MICHIGAN PIONEER FAMILIES THAT CAME OVER FROM CANADA. MEMBERS
OF BOTH OF THEIR FAMILIES HAD BEEN FORMER UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS.
WHEN TIME PERMITS, THEY ENJOY WORKING ON THEIR FAMILY HISTORY, AND TO
VISIT THE PLACES THEIR ANCESTORS ONCE LIVED. RICK AND ROSE HAD FOUR
CHILDREN, THEY ARE:
I DORRINE MARIE MATTHEWS, BORN AUGUST 18, 1966 IN BOSTON, SUFFOLK
COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
II RICHARD WALTER MATTHEWS, BORN AUGUST 17, 1970 IN BOSTON, SUFFOLK
COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
III MELISSA ANN MATTHEWS, BORN JANUARY 20, 1976 IN BOSTON, SUFFOLK
COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
IV LAWRENCE DAVID MATTHEWS, BORN JULY 21, 1978 IN LAPEER, LAPEER
COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
U.E.
November 1, 1991
Richard Matthews
707 37th Street S.E. #41
Auburn, Washington
USA 98002
Dear Mr. Matthews,
On behalf of the Toronto Branch Executive and Members, I would like to congratulate you
upon receiving your U.E. Certificate, and welcome you as an United Empire Loyalists'
member.
You are to be commended for the successful search and proof of your genealogy back to
one of Canada's founding families,
We look forward to your continuing support and your encouragement in preserving our
history.
Loyally,
Martha Hemphill, U.E. Membership Chairman Toronto Branch The United Empire Loyalists'
Association of Canada
TORONTO BRANCH
234 Eglinton Ave. E., Suite 601
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 1K5 Phone 489-1783
United Empire Loyalist Association
Richard Dale Matthews Jr.
descendant of
Thomas F. Matthews
United Empire Loyalists Association
Richard Dale Matthews Jr.
descendant of
Captain Peter Ruttan
A United Empire Loyalist
United Empire Loyalists' Association
Rose Welch Matthews
descendant of
Thomas Condon
A United Empire Loyalist
"MATTHEWS FAMILY HISTORY" -EIGHTH GENERATION-
ROBERT LOUIS MATTHEWS, WAS BORN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 19 50 IN PORT HURON,
MICHIGAN WHICH IS LOCATED IN ST. CLAIR COUNTY. BOB WAS THE SECOND BORN
CHILD OF RICHARD DALE AND HELEN FRANCIS (SUCKIEL) MATTHEWS SR. .
ALTHOUGH BEING BORN IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN BOB GREW UP IN
MASSACHUSETTS. SHORTLY AFTER THE BIRTH OF BOB THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN
HIS PARENTS FAILED AND ENDED IN DIVORCE. HELEN RETURNED TO
MASSACHUSETTS WITH HER TWO SONS FROM HER MARRIAGE TO RICHARD
DALE MATTHEWS SR., AND THE TWO BOYS WERE RAISED IN THEIR YOUTH IN
CHARLESTOWN, SOUTH BOSTON, DORCHESTER, AND LATER IN THE SUBURBS
OUTSIDE OF BOSTON IN A SMALL TOWN CALLED ROCKLAND. IN THE MID-FIFTIES
HELEN REMARRIED A MAN BY THE NAME OF ERNEST ROSS LUN-BECK III, WHO WAS
BORN AND RAISED IN SUMNER, WASHINGTON. (NEAR TACOMA, WASHINGTON) HE
WAS STATIONED AT THE BOSTON NAVAL BASE WHILE SERVING IN THE U.S. NAVY.
IN THE SUMMER OF 1967 THE FAMILY MOVED FROM MASSACHUSETTS TO THE
STATE OF WASHINGTON. (EXCEPT FOR RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS JR. WHO
WENT INTO THE U.S. NAVY) THE FAMILY SETTLED IN A LITTLE TOWN NEAR
TACOMA KNOWN AS PUYALLUP. WHILE ATTENDING PUYALLUP HIGH SCHOOL BOB
MET, AND DATED HIS FUTURE WIFE, LINDA CAROL DEDMON. LINDA WAS BORN
ON FEBRUARY 23, 1951, IN COMPTON, CALIFORNIA WHICH IS LOCATED IN LOS
ANGELES COUNTY. THEY WERE LATER TO MARRY ON OCTOBER 11, 1968 IN
AUBURN, KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON. FOLLOWING SCHOOL BOB WENT TO
WORK FOR HIS FATHER-IN-LAW WHO WAS A BUILDING CONTRACTOR. YEARS
LATER HE BECAME A BUILDING CONTRACTOR HIMSELF. BOB AND LINDA HAD
TWO CHILDREN:
I ROBERT LEWIS MATTHEWS JR., BORN ON JULY 14, 1970 IN RENTON, WASHINGTON,
IN KING COUNTY.
II CHRISTINA RAQUEL MATTHEWS, BORN ON JULY 18, 1974 IN RENTON,
WASHINGTON, IN KING COUNTY.
PRINTED IN THE BAY NEWS, MARCH 28, 1990 PICKERING, ONTARIO, CANADA
200th birthday
Our freedom martyr
by Richard Matthews Jr.
This is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Peter Matthews, late of Pickering Township,
Ontario.
He was born in Belleville, in the Bay of Quinte Region of Upper Canada in the year 1790.
He was the first born child of Captain Thomas Elmes Matthews, a United Empire Loyalist,
and Mary Ruttan Matthews, a United Empire Loyalist herself.
His grandfather was Captain Peter Ruttan of Adolphustown who was a Loyalist as well as a
descendant of French Huguenots.
Childhood
Peter was of the first generation to be born in the new country of Canada following the
"American Revolutionary War". He spent his childhood working on the family farm with his
father and brothers.
The first 10 years were hard ones for the family, as the farm was unspoiled virgin land. Peter
married Hannah Major while they were both in their teens.
Volunteered
They were always known by friends and neighbors as good Baptists.
When the War of 1812 came, the Matthews men were eager to defend their new country.
The father and oldest sons volunteered.
The father served as a lieutenant in the 3rd Regiment of York (Township, Upper Canada)
Militia.
Peter and his brothers Thomas and Daniel served and fought in various battles in the
Niagara region. This was a sad time for the family, as two the sons were killed.
Battles
Thomas fell at Lundy's Lane and Peter helped bury him near where he fell. Daniel died in
service in the Niagara region also.
Peter and his father returned home safely after the war to work the family farm. Peter's wife
Hannah dies young, as life was difficult in those early days.
Peter later married for a second time, and as a result of the two marriages had eight children.
The family was unhappy with the services provided to the rural inhabitants by the government
in Toronto. Peter got involved in local reform politics in a small way, and was drawn into the
events preceding the Rebellion of 1837.
He was active in the political union movement in the summer and tali ot 1837 which was
designed to pressure the British government to grant reforms.
Rebellion
The organizer and leader of the rebellion, William Lyon MacKenzie, chose Peter as his
captain from the "Home District Area". Peter led the men from Pickering and nearby
townships who joined.
December 7, 1837 came, and the rebellion was crushed. Peter and 10 of his men escaped
for a couple of days.
But he was captured on December 10, 1837 at the farm house of John Duncan in the third
concession of East York. Like many of the rebels, Peter was defended by the ex-patriot
Robert Baldwin. Peter was advised to plead guilty.
Hanged
Pleading guilty played into the government's hands and sealed Peter's fate. He was
convicted and sentenced to hang in Toronto on April 12, 1838.
The 12th of April arrived, and the hangman was ready for his two victims, Peter Matthews
and Samual Lount.
The other political prisoners were called to the gratings of their cells to witness the
executions which were to take place in front of the goal.
With head erect, with calm eye and firm tread, each of the doomed men mounted the
scaffold steps.
Liberties
The last words they had spoken to their comrades were full of hopefulness for the liberties of
Canada, and they gloried in the sacred cause for which they were about to die.
Two noble hearts were stilled forever. Their wives were widowed, and their children were
made orphans on that fatal day.
Let those call them rebels who will, but surely the Canadian people, whom they loved so well,
should only think of them as patriots in life, and as martyrs in their cruel death.
(Editor's note - Writer Richard Matthews Jr of 326 Norman St., Caro, Michigan, U.S.A. is a
descendant of famous Pickering freedom fighter Peter Matthews. He took the last two
paragraphs of this piece from the unueiling speech of J.D. Edgar, member of Parliament,
made at the monument to Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount of June 28, 1893, at the
Necropolis Cemetery in Toronto.)
PRINTED IN THE "BAY NEWS", IN PICKERING, ONTARIO. JUNE, 1992
Pickering to erect plaque to freedom hero Matthews
By Michael Maunder
A Pickering man who was hanged for treason and buried in a pauper's grave will finally be
honored by his home town, nearly 160 years after his Ignoble death.
Peter Matthews was a local farmer, one of hundreds who Joined William Lyon Mackenzie in
1837 to take up arms against the wealthy oligarchy then entrenched in power in Upper
Canada.
They came from all over the new colony: Matthews from the family farm near Brougham;
Samuel Lount, a blacksmith from Holland Landing; farmers, merchants and other small
people who felt disenfranchised by colonial guardians of privilege.
Examples
It was a futile resistance movement: the brief rebellion quickly flared and was as quickly
routed; the farmers who marched down Yonge Street scattered; and in the aftermath, the
Brougham farmer and the Holland Landing blacksmith were captured and dealt with, as "an
example.
They were hanged in Toronto and buried in Potter's Field in April, 1838.
In 1893, benefactors moved their bodies to the Toronto Necropolis.
Although the rebellion Itself was futile, it planted the seeds for freedom. British authorities
appointed Lord Durham to examine the causes of the unrest, and his report led to
responsible government In Canada.
100 years
Next year, on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the memorial at the Necropolis,
descendants of Peter Matthews hope to erect a plaque over their forefather's grave, setting
the historical record straight and acknowledging him as one of Canada's first fighters for
freedom, rather than a traitor.
The plaque would read:
This memorial is to honour the memory of Peter Matthews and Samuel Lounf, who, without
praise or glory, died for political freedom and a system of responsible government.
Their minds were tranquil and serene
No terror In their looks were seen
Their steps upon the scaffold strong
A moment's pause...their lives were gone.
Peter Matthews was the son of Captain Thomas Elmes Matthews, a United Empire Loyalist,
and Mary Ruttan Matthews. He was bom in the Bay of Qulnte region of Ontario, spending
most of his life fn Pickering township, In Brougham, on the family's farm.
Here too
Driving force behind the memorial is Matthews' descendant, Richard Matthews, of Caro,
Michigan.
Acting Pickering Mayor Maurice Brenner says the town will erect a similar plaque at the
Pickering Museum on June 28, 1993 - the same day the Necropolis plaque is unveiled.
The Pickering plaque will be about six miles from the vanished farmstead of the Matthews
family.
The poet
In the late 1800's, British poet Rupert Brooke wrote about Canada's promise for the future:
"The breezes have nothing to remember and everything to promise. There walk, as yet, no
ghosts of lovers in Canadian lanes...it is possible, at a pinch, to do without gods. But one
misses the dead."
It's Richard Matthews' hope his long-forgotten ancestor will not be missed.
THIS PROJECT HAS TURNED OUT TO BE AN UNEXPECTED PLEASURE FOR ME TO
DO OVER THE LAST FIVE OR SO YEARS NOW! IT STARTED OUT AS SOMETHING I
FELT I WAS SOMEWHAT FORCED TO DO! I WAS AFRAID THE OLD FAMILY STORIES
AND LEGENDS WOULD BE LOST FOREVER IF ANYMORE TIME WENT BY WITHOUT
RECORDING THEM. THIS WORK IS THE VERY BEST I FEEL I'M CAPABLE OF DOING
WITH MY LIMITED WRITING SKILLS. IT IS MY HOPE THAT IN THE NOT TO DISTANT
FUTURE SOMEONE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON RESEARCHING OUR FAMILY
HISTORY. IT WAS MY DESIRE TO FIND OUT WHERE CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMES
MATTHEWS, THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALIST HAD LIVED PRIOR TO THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN THE COLONIES. MY LATE GRANDFATHER, ROY WINFRED
MATTHEWS HAD TOLD ME THE FAMILY HAD LIVED IN PENNSYLVANIA. I HAVEN'T
BEEN ABLE TO DOCUMENT THIS.
ANOTHER GOAL I HAD WAS TO FIND OUT WHO HIS PARENTS WERE, AND WHERE
THEY LIVED DURING THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. THE NAME "ELMES" IS
NOT A COMMON NAME. I THINK THIS NAME MAY BE THE KEY TO FINDING WHERE THE
FAMILY LIVED IN EARLY PENNSYLVANIA. PERHAPS THE NAME IS TO BE FOUND ON
SOME OLD PRE-REVOLUTIONARY WAR CENSUS! I HAVE COLLECTED AND
RECORDED AS MANY OF THE OLD STORIES AS I COULD FROM THE EXISTING
SOURCES AVAILABLE TO ME. AT THIS WRITING ONLY ONE MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
SURVIVES THAT KNOWS THE OLD STORIES, MY GREAT-UNCLE CLARENCE
MARTIN MATTHEWS. LAST MONTH HE TURNED 82 YEARS OLD. HE IS A
WONDERFUL MAN WHO I AM VERY FOND OF. HE WAS A LOT OF HELP WITH
NAMES AND DATES OF FAMILY EVENTS. I HAD HOPED THAT MORE MEMBERS OF
THE FAMILY WOULD HAVE TAKEN AN INTEREST IN THIS PROJECT, BUT
GENEALOGY ISN'T OF INTEREST TO EVERYONE I GUESS!
I MUST ADMIT I WASN'T REALLY INTERESTED IN THE FAMILY HISTORY UNTIL MY
GRANDFATHER HAD PASSED AWAY WITHOUT RECORDING IT! HE HAD BEEN
DOING RESEARCH FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS BEFORE HIS DEATH, BUT ALL HIS
WORK WAS LOST WITH HIS PASSING! I WISH WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND WAS
BEING TOLD THE OLD STORIES THAT I HAD PAID MORE ATTENTION TO MORE OF
THE DETAILS! I'M PRETTY MUCH SATISFIED WITH THE WAY THIS HAS TURNED OUT.
IT HAS BEEN A LOT OF FUN FINDING DISTANT CANADIAN COUSINS THAT WERE
LOST TO THE MICHIGAN BRANCH OF THE FAMILY SINCE OUR LEAVING ONTARIO,
CANADA SO MANY YEARS AGO. WE ALL SHARE A WONDERFUL EXCITING
HERITAGE.
RICHARD DALE MATTHEWS JR.,U.E. OCTOBER 15, 1994
Two-post marker
Same Text Both Sides
2" Caption
1-1/2" Text
Sanilac County
Worth Township
MATTHEWS FARM
1 In 1848 Thomas and Margaret Spencer
2 Matthews came to Worth Township from
3 Ontario, Canada, following other farm
4 families who migrated from Upper
5 Canada to Michigan. Matthews's
6 grandfather, Thomas Elms Matthews, a
7 Loyalist during the American Revolu-
8 tion, left New York for Upper Canada
9 after the war. Young Thomas's father,
10 Peter, was executed in Toronto in 1838
11 for his role in the 1837-38 Rebellion
12 of Upper Canada. Today, historians
13 consider him a patriot and a martyr.
14 This farmhouse, built in 1852,
15 exemplifies plank-frame construction
16 commonly used in Upper Canada during
17 the early nineteenth century. An
18 English hay barn also survives. Thomas
19 lived quietly, farming and raising his
20 seven children. He died in 1893 at age
21 seventy-one. The Matthews Farm is
22 listed in the National Register of
23 Historic Places.
Bureau of Michigan History, Michigan Department of State
Registered Local Site No. 1926 Property of the State of Michigan, 1995
Matthews Grave
BUREAU OF MICHIGAN HISTORY Michigan Department of State
INVENTORY FORM
Michigan Historical Commission Meeting February 16, 1995
Site (Historic Name): Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm
(Other Names): Meadowcroft Farm
Address/Location: 5916 East Gardner Line Road
Municipal Unit: Worth Township
County: Sanilac
Owner: Gerald W. Nyquist, Ph.D.
Mailing Address: 5916 East Gardner Line Road
Post Office, Zip Code: Croswell, MI 48422
Description
Original Use: farm
Present Use: residence
Description Statement:
The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm is located in the Thumb Region of
Michigan in rural Sanilac county between the Black River and Lake Huron. The house and its
outbuildings sit on a ten-acre parcel of land, a portion of which is being leased for
agricultural production. The farmhouse was constructed in 1852, according to Matthews
family oral traditions, by Thomas Matthews after the Canadian farmhouse he grew up in
Pickering Township, Ontario. Further, the tax rolls show an increase consistent with an 1852
date of construction. In addition, the present owner describes a construction technique
based on his various restoration projects that can only date to the 1850s. It is believed
Matthews influenced its design and had a hand in its construction. The house is a one-and
two-story gable-front-and-wing building of classical design, constructed with locally available
building materials. The structure has vertical plank framing with weatherboard siding, a
fieldstone foundation and an asphalt roof. There is a shed porch within the L formed by the
upright and wing. The decorative porch trim as added later, perhaps as late as the 1870s.
The vergeboards are a recent addition. The only surviving outbuilding is an English
rectangular hay barn with a gabled roof. There are three historical archaeological sites: they
include a well, rubbish mound and the remains of a log house. The property is
well-maintained and retains a high degree of historic integrity. The only change to the
original footprint of the house is a recent, ten-by-ten-foot addition at the southeast corner.
The structure remains in its original location, and its setting is nearly unchanged. The
original design and workmanship have also been retained.
PHOTOGRAPHS: The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
This dwelling is located about 25 yards south of East Gardner Line Road, on a rectangular
parcel with a north-south axis, one-quarter of a mile deep by 110 yards wide. The property
includes a garage, pole building and barn along with the historical archaeological sites. The
garage is just off of the southwest corner of the house, the barn is 92.3 yards south of the
garage with the pole building approximately 13.3 yards east of the barn. The layout of the
house and outbuildings is perfectly linear. The garage and pole building are recent
constructions and are non-contributing structures.
The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews House is roughly two perpendicular rectangles
with the ten-by-ten-foot addition projecting from the rear corner of the front gable end. The
construction technique of this house is Canadian in its derivation. According to the present
owner, the exterior walls are composed of vertical, rough-sawn planks two inches thick and
twelve inches wide. These planks stand on a hand-hewn sill beam that rests on a stone
foundation. The first floor walls feature a double layer of planks, overlapped halfway onto one
another producing a four inch thickness. The second-story floor level, creating a two-inch wide
shelf that supports beams that support the floor joists. All of the beams are attached to one
another at the corners of the house with wooden pins. The vertical planks are attached to one
another and to the beams with cut nails and the occasional wooden pin. The weatherboard
is nailed to the vertical planks on the outside, and the wooden lath and trim are nailed to the
plank on the inside. This plank frame method of construction is commonly found among the
early 19th-century farmhouses of Ontario. The architecture of the house is said to resemble
the farm home in which Thomas spent his first sixteen years back in Pickering, Ontario,
Canada, according to the Matthews family historian.
The gable-front portion of the house is two stories in height with the one-story wing. There is
an enclosed back porch on the south side of the wing. The house has fieldstone basement
walls with a concrete floor; the original floor was dirt. Below the kitchen there are remnants
of a cistern in the southwest corner of the front-gable section. The gable front is symmetrical
facing East Gardner Line Road having tow-over-two sash windows with shutters. There is an
attic vent, as well, on the front. All windows are two-over-two sash windows with shutters and
a fronton cap. The same treatment can be found on the doors, including the new addition,
the only exception being the door to the screened porch on the wing. The corners of the one-
and two-story sections of the house are treated with attenuated classical antae, with center
panels, topped with capitals. Under the eave overhang is a broad frieze band. The final
decorative element under the eave is the vergeboard, a modern addition.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
The interior retains the original floor plan. The gable-front upright has the parlor across the front
of the house with the stairways/ pantry with an added bathroom, and kitchen behind. The ten-by-
ten foot addition was put on the southeast corner of this section of the house. The one-story
wing has the dining room and a bedroom. The front and back porches extend off this wing. A
deck has been added by the current owner to the southwest corner of the one-story wing
giving the house a square appearance. There are three bedrooms and a bathroom, which
has been added by the current owner, on the second floor of the gable-front. All of the
original pine woodwork remains on both levels; however, it has been heavily repaired, so
that the current owner has painted it rather than using stain.
The hay barn is the only original outbuilding remaining on the farm. This is a basic English
rectangular barn with a gabled roof. It is roughly thirty-four by fifty feet in ground dimensions.
Constructed of hand-hewn beams with mortise and tenon joints, it has vertical rough-sawn
siding. In the gable of the barn is a trolley that runs on a wooden rail to support a hay rope
used with a fork to unload wagons and lift hay to the mow. The date of the barn is not known;
however, it is believed to date to the construction of the house.
Finally, there are three historical archaeological sites contributing to this nomination. There
is a well, a rubbish mound, and the foundation of the log house. The house was occupied by
the Thomas Matthews family from 1852 to 1854, when the farmhouse was completed. The
deposits in the well and on the rubbish mound likely date from 1848 through the 1940s.
These archaeological sites are well preserved and protected by the current land owner. In
addition, there was a privy, the location of which has been lost.
Significance
Themes: P3\P4\AV\EX
Construction Dates: 1852-1893
Architect/Builder: unknown
Significance Statement:
The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm represents a period in our history
during which a large number of Canadian farm families migrated to the Thumb Area of
Michigan. Initially these families came in flight from prosecution for their involvement in the
Rebellion of Upper Canada of 1837-38; others, like the Matthews family, came because
their families and friends had migrated into the area before them. Most of the pioneer
families were actively involved in the rebellion against the government in Toronto. The
settlement of Sanilac County by these Canadians culminated a pattern from New York to
Upper Canada in response to being loyalist during the American Revolution and then to
Michigan. The farmhouse built by Matthews exemplifies plank-frame construction commonly
used in early nineteenth-century Upper Canada. There were several outbuilding including
PHOTOGRAPH: Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
a common New England rectangular hay barn that remains to this day. There is also evidence
of three potential historical archaeological sites that are likely to yield insights into nineteenth
and early twentieth century farm life for these Canadian emigres.
Thomas Matthews was born in 1822, into a family with a long tradition of patriotism and loyalty
to Canada and the Crown. His grandfather, Thomas Elmes Matthews, was a United Empire
Loyalist and a resident of New York prior to the American Revolution. After the war, he left New
York for Canada and is said to have gotten lost in the woods and to have been rescued near
starvation by Captain Peter Ruttan, another United Empire Loyalist, who had taken up
residence in British North America. Thomas Elmes Matthews was nursed back to health in the
Ruttan household and fell in love with the captain's seventeen year old daughter Mary. After her
eighteenth birthday, she and Matthews eloped. Mary Nast Wherry in The Family and I,
indicated their first son, Peter, was born within a year of the marriage.
Thomas Elmes Matthews was "granted land in Marysburg Township and then in Sidney
Township" according to Mary Bentley's Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. VII, near
Belleville, Ontario, Canada at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River at Lake Ontario.
The same source indicates that "about 1799 the family moved to Pickering Township,
where Thomas obtained 350 acres and Mary 200 acres" from the Canadian government for
their loyalty to the Empire. "In Pickering the Matthews family was quite public-spirited,
contributing to the building of a school and working to improve the major road in the area"
again, according to Bentley. During the War of 1812, father and sons served in the
Canadian militia. Thomas Elmes Matthews died in August 1819. Matthews and his widow,
Mary Ruttan Matthews, had been very patriotic and seem to have imbued their children with
the same sense of patriotism and civic mindedness.
Son, Peter followed closely the family tenets of service to community and country. Peter was
a sergeant in the Canadian militia during the War of 1812. He married Hannah Major,
probably in 1810, and they had eight children. Thomas was one of their sons. Bentley says,
the Peter Matthews family "was unhappy with the services provided to the rural inhabitants
by the government at Toronto." The Constitutional Act of 1791 had given power to "an
official oligarchy . . . known as the Family Compact." The Family Compact identified with the
Church of England, "a decided minority in the province; and thus the political struggle took
on the colour of a religions issue, into which economic grievances entered as well,"
according to the Encyclopedia Canadiana. As a result, Peter became actively involved "in
the political union movement of the summer and fall of [1837], which was designed to
pressure the British government to grant reforms," Bentley said.
PHOTOGRAPH: Matthews' Property
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
Matthews was selected for a leadership role in the rebellion because he was a prosperous
farmer, who was well-respected and liked by his neighbors.
During the Rebellion of 1837-38, Peter Matthews was given responsibility for about sixty men
from the local community, who all volunteered "to take part in the uprising planned by William
Lyon Mackenzie," Bentley said. Matthews and his men were assigned responsibility for
creating a diversion to prevent the government forces from attacking their headquarters, until
reinforcements were in place. "Matthews's party killed one man and set the bridge and some
houses on fire before being driven off by Loyalist forces. The rebellion failed that day and
Matthews fled, but he was captured in a farmhouse in York Township," also according to
Bentley. Peter Matthews was arrested on December 14,1837, and he pleaded guilty to a
charge of treason. His case was heard and determined by a special oyer and terminer, he was
found guilty and was sentenced to be executed. The execution was carried out on April 12,
1838, according to the author of The Life and Times of Wm. Lyon Mackenzie, the leader of
the rebellion. Peter was pardoned in 1848 and had come to be known as a patriot and a
hero.
Thomas was a lad of sixteen when his father was executed. There are scant details of his
life from 1838-48 when he migrated to Worth Township. According to the family historian,
his mother, Hannah, left Canada and migrated to Michigan after the unsuccessful rebellion
that cost her husband his life. It is not known whether Thomas accompanied his mother on
this trip. The oral history suggests she remained in the states for a short time before returning
to Canada. Thomas did not permanently leave Canada until 1848 after the death of an older
brother, according to the family historian, Richard Matthews, in Kindred Spirits. It was also
in 1848, when the crown returned Peter Matthews's property, which it had seized after his
conviction.
Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews and their infant daughter settled in Worth Township
in the Spring of 1848. "A number of the former rebel families had settled in this area following
the uprising. Among these families were the Wixsons, formerly of Pickering Township, and
close friends of the Peter Matthews family," Matthews said.
Public records indicate Thomas Matthews was granted a patent by the State of Michigan to
forty acres of land in Section 16 on March 2,1848. According to the patent, Matthews
purchased the forty acres for one hundred and sixty dollars. There is no evidence, however,
that a structure was ever constructed on this parcel. The abstract indicates he sold it on
March 24,1852, one month before he purchased the eighty acres in Section 22 for six
hundred dollars on which he built his farmstead. The eighty acres consisted of the northeast
quarter of the northwest quarter and the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter.
PHOTOGRAPH: Matthews Farm and ceremony
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews had four children, Samantha born in Canada and
three sons all born after they migrated to Michigan. There is little official information concerning
Margaret Spencer. We can deduce she was born in Canada in 1829 or 1830. She married
Thomas in 1846, at the age of sixteen or seventeen. Margaret appears on the 1850 and the
1860 U.S. Population Schedules as the wife of Thomas Matthews. Then on December 21,
1862, at the age of forty Thomas Matthews married Catharine Cook, a girl of eighteen. It is
presumed Margaret died during the interim; however, there is no record of Margaret's death.
There is little mention of Matthews except in public documents recording births, deaths, deeds,
and the U.S. census. He appears to have lead a rather uneventful life as compared to that of
his ancestors. Prior to his death on May 19, 1893, the Matthews farm even managed to
escape destruction from three forest fires in Sanilac County, namely the 1864 fire and two fires
one in 1871 and the other in 1881. There is no record of public service, the only mention of him
is that he was a farmer. The Matthews farmstead survives to represent the early migration of
Canadians to the Thumb in the wake of the 1837-38 rebellion. The house on the property,
although a typical midwestern American upright-and-wing building, reflects the Upper
Canada origins of its early owners in its plank frame construction.
The farmstead is also significant for its historical archaeological potential. Farmstead sites
are a source of data on agricultural settlement in Michigan. Individual sites may yield a
variety of types of information, including data on the types of buildings that made up the
complex, the spatial layout of the buildings and land, and the way the landscape in and
around the complex was altered over the years. Examining these aspects of a number of
farmsteads from different time periods can contribute to understanding agrarian
development in a region over time. This development process might be manifested in
changes in the size and composition of farm complexes, the distribution of farmsteads
across a region, the economic status of farmers, household size, and so forth.
An example of the kind of research to which farmstead sites are important is a study on
agricultural settlement patterns in southern Michigan which focuses on the evolution of
frontier economies. Sanilac County is ideal for this kind of research because Thomas
Matthews and his friends were the initial settlers in the mid-nineteenth century, following
on the heels of the land speculators and the lumbermen.
The farm's potential to provide archaeological data has not been evaluated. However, such
locations as foundation remains, garbage dumps, wells and privy sites are all likely to retain
cultural material which could provide insights into nineteenth century farm life for this group
of Canadian settlers in Sanilac County.
Unveiling .............. Gerald W. Nyquist and
Richard D. Matthews, Jr.
Acceptance................. Gerald W. Nyquist
Reflections......... Richard D. Matthews, Jr.
Closing............................. Lee Cork
Reception . .
ABOUT THE MARKER LANDSCAPING
The two flower urns were generously donated by the Richard D. Matthews Family, in memory
of Rick's great-great-great grandfather Thomas Matthews. These antique urns were originally
located at Thomas's grave in the Croswell Cemetery, six miles from this Farm, and are thought
to have been placed there in 1893, the year of his deeith.
Native American and Canadian lilies, planted on opposite sides of the Marker, commemorate
the historic efforts of the Matthews pioneers on both sides of the U.S.A. - Canadian border.
BUREAU OF HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
The Thomas and Margaret Spencer Matthews Farm meets the criterion for designation in the
State Register of Historic Sites under criteria I for the pioneer settlers who left Canada to
make their home in the Thumb of Michigan in response to the political upheaval following the
Rebellion of 1837-38; criteria III for the plank frame construction technique derived from Upper
Canada; and, criteria IV for its historical archaeological potential to yield information regarding
early farm life in Sanilac County. The State Historic Preservation Office recommends listing
under the local level of significance.
State Register Designation
(L/S and number): L1926 Marker Name: Form Prepared by: Carrel Cowan-Ricks
Map of Worth Township, Locating AMADORE
and THE MATTHEWS FARM (AT ARROW)
(One inch = 1.2 miles)
THOMAS AND MARGARET SPENCER MATTHEWS FARM
was listed in the
STATE REGISTER
February 16, 1995
of the
MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT
OF STATE
by the
MICHIGAN
HISTORICAL
COMMISSION
PHOTOGRAPH: THOMAS MATTHEWS FARM SIGNS