Notes:

Lucy M. Clarke was born in 1810. She married James Hamilton BASKIN, who was born 23 September 1814. He was the son of John Craig BASKIN and Elizabeth BASKIN, daughter of William BASKIN, of Christian's Creek, Augusta County, Virginia. James Hamilton Baskin was a grandson of Rev. John Craig, being a son of Capt. John Craig Baskin of the War of 1812, and a grandson of Captain Charles Baskin of the Revolution, who married Mary Craig, a daughter of Rev. John Craig, who was a pioneer Presbyterian Minister of Augusta County. It was under his pastorate that the Old Stone Church, at Fort Defiance, and Tinkling Spring Church at Fishersville were built. The Rev. Mr. Craig baptized Capt. Charles Baskin 15 March 1741. James Hamilton Baskin and Lucy Clarke Baskin emigrated about 1830 to Lancaster, Texas, however they were back in Augusta County about 1850. They had at least four children:

Lucy married James Hamilton Baskin WFT est 1827-1861. James (son of John Craig Baskin and Elizabeth Baskin) was born on 23 Sep 1814; died WFT est 1848-1905. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Samuel Clarke Baskin was born in 1838; died WFT est 1855-1928.
2. Elizabeth Baskin was born in 1841; died WFT est 1855-1935.
3. John Craig Baskin was born in 1842; died WFT est 1859-1932.
4. James William Baskin was born in 1845; died WFT est 1846-1935.

Samuel married Jane Mathews on 30 Oct 1790 in Augusta County, Virginia. Jane (daughter of Sampson Mathews and Mary Lockhart) was born WFT est 1759-1779 in Virginia; died on 22 Jun 1835. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Jane Mathews was born in Virginia, and died 22 June 1835. She married 30 October 1790 (or 2 November 1790), in Augusta County, Virginia, Samuel C. CLARKE, son of James Clarke of Augusta County and Jane KING of York County, Pennsylvania. Samuel C. Clarke was born c1768 in York County, Pennsylvania, and died 1 September 1856. James Clarke was a teacher and surveyor and came to Staunton from York County, Pennsylvania about the year 1785 with his wife and family of five children. Samuel Clarke was among the most popular and widely known citizens of Staunton, an earnest friend of liberal learning and a zealous Christian gentleman. Throughout the greater part of his life, Samuel Clarke, practiced law, and at the same time was Commissioner in Chancery. He also represented Augusta County, for the sessions of 1817-18, 1826-27-28 and 29, in the State Legislature, and a number of times held the office of Mayor of Staunton. In addition he was one of the four original ruling elders of the First Presbyterian Church of Staunton when it was established in 1804, and a director of the Western Lunatic Asylum, from the time of its foundation, and was President of the board at his death. The Staunton residence of Samuel and Jane Mathews Clarke was the house bounded on the East by Lewis Street and on the North by Frederick Street, and is still standing. They had eight children.

James married Jane King WFT est 1743-1786. Jane was born WFT est 1726-1749 in Of York County, Pennsylvania; died WFT est 1771-1837. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Colonel Sampson Mathews was born in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1737, and died 20 January 1807 in Staunton (Augusta County), Virginia. He married 1st, in September 1759, Mary LOCKHART, daughter of Captain James LOCKHART. She was the mother of his four children. He married 2nd, in June 1783, Mrs. Catherine North Park, whose first husband was Roger North and whose second husband was Edward Park who died in 1780. Waddell has this to say about Col. Sampson Mathews:

[Waddell, Joseph A., Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, second edition, 1902. Reprinted Bridgewater, Virginia: C. J. Carrier & Co., 1958]

"Sampson Mathews, son of John, was a very prominent citizen of the county for many years..... He was the father of Mrs. Samuel Clarke and Mrs. Alexander Nelson. He had two sons, John and Sampson, the latter of whom was the father of Andrew Mathews of Pulaski County and of Jacob and Sampson Mathews of Pocahontas County. The Staunton residence of Col. Sampson Mathews was the log house on the lot bounded on the South by Beverley Street and on the East by Water Street, which is still standing (in 1892). He died in Staunton in 1807. His wife was a Miss Lockhart."

Sampson and his brother George Mathews were, for a time in Staunton, Merchants and partners. Colonel Mathews was a man of strong character and sound integrity. He must have been highly respected for he was kept in public office continually for over fifty years.

He served in the Colonial Indian Wars and was in the battle of Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh). The operations against the French and Indians on the Ohio River were under the command of General Edward Braddock, who arrived from England in February, 1755. He brought two Royal Regiments, the 18th commanded by Lieut. Col. Dunbar, and the 44th commanded by Sir Peter Halkett. General Braddock appointed George Washington his aide-de-camp. There were 800 troops from Virginia (the Virginia Blues). They marched from Alexandria, Virginia, leaving 20 April and reached the Monongahela and crossed it 9 July 1755. They were ambushed that day by the French troops and a large force of Indians. General Braddock and approximately 1000 of his troops were killed. Col. George Washington conducted the retreat of his own militia as well as the British troops. This is the event that is referred to as "Braddock's defeat." Other members of the Mathews family were present on this occasion as well. George Mathews was present, and how many others is uncertain.

The Records of Augusta County, Virginia, show among other things, that in 1756 then Deputy Sheriff Sampson Mathews assumed the functions of a chancellor. Having an execution in his hands in the case of Ramsey vs Burton, he made return substantially that the judgment ought not to have been rendered, as the debt had been paid. Another execution, however, was put into his hands, and on that he made the following return: "Not executed by stress of water, and deft. Swore if I did get across to him he would shoot me if I touched any of his estate, also he is gone out of the country."

The November term, 1764, of the County Court of Augusta was a very busy one. William Fleming, Sampson Mathews, George Skillern, Alexander McClanahan and Benjamin Estill were recommended for appointment as Justices of the Peace.

On July 24, 1774, Lord Dunmore ordered Colonel Andrew Lewis to recruit a force of men and march them to the Ohio River. There Colonel Lewis and his force would join Lord Dunmore and his troops and march against the Indians at Point Pleasant. Point Pleasant is situated on the East side of the Ohio River and at the mouth of the Great Kanawha River. The men were recruited from Augusta, Botetourt, and Fincastle Counties, Virginia. A partial concentration of troops was made at Camp Union (the present site of Lewisburg, West Virginia). George Mathews commanded a regiment of men from Augusta County. It is told that the height of the men of one Company was marked on the bar-room walls in Sampson Mathews' ordinary. This ordinary was a long frame building on Augusta Street. None of the men measured less than six feet. George Mathews company of 60 men were all six feet or over in height.

There were no prescribed uniforms for the Virginia troops. Their shirts were different colors, such as white, yellow, red, and brown, and were made of Lindsey-Woolsey (a coarse cloth made of linen and wool or cotton and wool). They wore long leggings, usually made of deerskins. For headgear they wore coonskin caps. Each officer and soldier carried a rifle.

Colonel Andrew Lewis arrived at Camp Union in September 1774. On the 11th of September they began the march. There were no roads or pathways from Camp Union to the Ohio. The country was a vast wilderness. Colonel Lewis selected Mathew Arbuckle, a Captain in the Botetourt County Regiment under command of Colonel William Fleming, to guide the force of 2000 men to the Ohio River and Point Pleasant.

Sampson Mathews was commissary for the regiment of Colonel Lewis. Mathews and his men drove a herd of cattle and took along a load of rum. Because the subsistence of the men consisted mainly of beef, which were driven afoot, he was titled "Master driver of cattle."

It took 19 days to reach the mouth of the Kanawha River. They arrived 1 October 1774. Colonel Lewis waited 9 days for Lord Dunmore and troops to arrive. A courier then arrived with a message from Dunmore which said that he would not join forces with Lewis. Dunmore ordered Lewis to march directly against the Indians on the Scioto River. The Battle of Point Pleasant was fought the next day, 10 October 1774.

In 1775, the counties of Augusta, Buckingham, Amherst, and Albemarle, Virginia, appointed Sampson Mathews, a member of a Committee of Safety. On 8 September 1775, the Commissioners met at the residence of James Woods in Amherst County. As a member of the first Patriotic Convention he participated in the election of delegates to attend the first colony convention at Richmond, Virginia 20 March 1775. The Patriotic Convention convened in Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia.

On 16 July 1776, the first court to be held in Augusta County, Virginia, authorized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, met in Staunton, Virginia. Sampson Mathews was present as a member.

He was commissioned Justice of the Court of Augusta County on 19 November 1776. He also served as Justice in 1777. One case brought before Sampson Mathews was that of William Hinton, a Tory, a miller by trade, and very troublesome. He was tried and sentenced by Mathews. The sentence was four years in prison and a fine of 400 pounds.

Sampson Mathews was recommended as Lieutenant Colonel of the County of Augusta, Virginia, and he qualified as such 19 May 1778. He served as Lieut. Col. until 1783.

He was a member of the Virginia Legislature. In 1781, the Legislature retired form Richmond, Virginia, to Charlottesville, Virginia. These moves were necessitated because Cornwallis and his army had advanced into Virginia. Cornwallis had ordered Colonel Tarleton to pursue the members of the Assembly and capture them, but this he was unable to do.

When Benedict Arnold and Lord Cornwallis invaded Virginia in 1781 the troops from Augusta County were in action against the British. Arnold at the head of 1500 men, principally Tories, sailed up the James River, entered Richmond on 5 January 1781. They destroyed all public stores, plundered the plantations, and burned much private property. Governor Thomas Jefferson called out the militia and Arnold fell back to Portsmouth, Virginia. At that time Colonel Sampson Mathews commanded the Second Division from Augusta. Both Colonel Mathews and Colonel Hughart served until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1783.

Colonel Mathews marched from Staunton on 14 January 1718. The company spent four days in Fredericksburg, Virginia, then marched to Bowling Green arriving on the 21st. The Company was joined here by Colonel John Bowyer with 220 men from Rockbridge County. On the 30th of January, General Muhlenberg ordered Colonel Mathews to proceed to Smithfield, Isle of Wight County, Virginia. They were delayed three days by wet weather and boats that needed repair. Colonel Mathews had expected to be supplied with tents and ammunition but he was to be disappointed. An aide, Captain Robert Gamble, was dispatched to request these necessary supplies and he carried a letter asking that a qualified surgeon be sent to join the rifle corps. Many of the troops were ill from exposure.

When the State of Virginia undertook the task of providing a Navy there was no money obtainable to purchase linen cloth for sails. During the first session of the Legislature an act was passed concerning the Virginia fleet. Sampson Mathews and Alexander St. Clair, of Staunton, were appointed trustees to take care of this emergency. They were instructed to build a manufactory at public expense not exceeding a cost of one thousand pounds, and then superintend the making of sail duck. Much flax was grown by the farmers of Augusta County and the Irish who settled the Northern part of the county were skilled weavers.

Colonel Mathews was elected to the Senate of Virginia by the Augusta District in 1778. He served until 1781 and then resigned to accept an office at home.

In 1783, after the battle and surrender at Yorktown, Colonel Mathews removed to Richmond, Virginia. He practiced law there for a time and then returned to Augusta County to settle on his estate . This estate was called the "Wilderness." It was formerly owned by General Blackburn and located in the western part of the county. When Bath County was formed in 1791 this part of Augusta County became part of Bath County. Colonel Mathews was one of the first justices of Bath County and he was elected the first high Sheriff of Bath County. Sampson and his brother George, operated an ordinary at the "Wilderness" estate. They sold rum, beeswax, etc.

For the foregoing account and sketch of Colonel Sampson Mathews, we are indebted to Bess C. Aubel, a descendant of his, who, in her manuscript cites the following references: WADDELL, Annals of Augusta County; William & Mary Review; Historical Papers, Washington & Lee University, Augusta County Court Records; Chalkley's Abstracts of Augusta County, Virginia; History of Monroe County; Calendar of Virginia State Papers.
--------
Mr. Russell Clarke has provided us with the following account of Colonel Sampson Mathews:

Col. Sampson Mathews was one of the first trustees of Augusta Academy. This school was later moved to near Lexington and called Liberty Hall and later Washington College, and is now Washington and Lee University. Col. Mathews was for many years a very prominent citizen of Staunton and Bath County. In 1756 he was deputy Sheriff for Augusta County. When only twenty one years of age, Sampson was made reader in the Chapel of Ease near his father's home. His services were discontinued in 1759, owing to the partial depopulation of the neighborhood as the result of the Indian Wars. In 1762 with his brother George as a partner he went into the mercantile business at Staunton. Their store which was at the northeast corner of Beverly and Augusta Street, seems to have been on the lot which they purchased for $100.00 in the year 1760. Their business prospered and they opened a store at Lexington. Sampson and George also operated the Mathews Trading Post in the county of Greenbrier, now in West Virginia. One of their original day books has survived, and was published in the Journal of the Greenbrier Historical Society, Volume One, Number One. It is filled with the names of their earliest customers. They also acquired considerable lands. In 1765 they bought a large tract near Staunton between the famous hills known as Betsy Bell and Mary Gray. In the same year they purchased 1200 acres on Elk Run, this being the starting point of their Cloverdale estate. The price was 61 cents per acre. Five years later they patented 2080 acres adjacent thereto. They also owned several small tracts on the Cow Pasture.

Like most Virginians of this period, Sampson and George preferred the county to the town. They at length made their homes on the Cloverdale purchase. Sampson styling his residence as Cloverdale, George his as Market Hill. George Mathews lived here until 1785. Sampson removed to Staunton in 1791. A little before the outbreak of the Revolution in 1775 the brothers built a store at Cloverdale.

Their success in business demonstrated their executive ability. Being also of great energy and influence, they were drawn inevitably into public and military life. Sampson was nominated for a seat on the County Court in 1756, when he could not have been more than 28 years old. [Note: he was born in 1737.] He was by this time the proprietor of the most fashionable of hostelries at Staunton.

In the Point Pleasant campaign, Sampson Mathews had charge of the commissary department of the army under Lewis. As Colonel of Augusta militia he saw active service in the war for American Independence.

In January 1781, a British force under Benedict Arnold invaded Virginia. They sailed up James River, entered Richmond without resistance, on the 5th of January, destroying all the public stores there and some private property, and departed down the river. In the meanwhile the militia had been called out by Gov. Jefferson, Baron Stuben was at the head of the State troops. From the Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Volume 1, we learn that several hundred men from Augusta County served in lower Virginia at that time, and from the declarations of several old soldiers, made in 1832, we learn something about three companies, - Sampson Mathews was Colonel, William Bowyer Lt. Colonel, and Alexander Robertson, Major.

On the 13th of January, Col. Sampson Mathews wrote from Staunton to the Governor that in accordance with orders, he would start to Fredericksburg early the next morning with about 250 men. The men of the second battalion were then on their way, and also the militia from Rockbridge and Rockingham Counties. Major Posey, of the first regiment of the line, a recruiting officer at Staunton, was to go with Col. Mathews. His men would take some beef cattle from Augusta, as ordered.

On January 21st, Col. Mathews wrote to the Governor from Bowling Green, in Caroline County, where he was with his command, having been at Fredericksburg four days. (He made a rapid march, starting from Staunton on the 14th, spending four days at Fredericksburg, and arriving at Bowling Green on the 21st.) Col. John Bowyer, with about 220 men from Rockbridge joined him that morning. Smiths, vises, files, etc., were needed for the repair of firearms.

Col. Mathews wrote again, on the 29th from Cabin Point, in Surry County, south of James River, where he had been ordered, and was to proceed to Smithfield, in Isle of Wight County. He had been detained three days by "wett and the badness of the Boats." He had hoped to be supplied with tents and ammunition, but was disappointed, and had sent Capt. Robert Gamble (lately a prisoner at Charleston, S.C. and now probably a volunteer aide to Col. Mathews) to solicit these articles. Many of the men were sick from exposure, and the Col. feared mutiny if they were not supplied. The marching was so severe, the season so great, that soldiers were to be expected to grumble at their hardships. A surgeon was needed, and the letter requested that Dr. Foushee, or some other good surgeon, be ordered to join the rifle corps. The smiths, vises, etc. had not arrived, and many of the rifles were out of order.

Brig. Gen. Robert Lawson wrote to Gov. Jefferson, on February 15th having left the command in lower Virginia on the 13th. He says "Our advance post is at Hall's, consisting of nearly 350 Riflemen under Col. Sampson Mathews, with about 150 pick'd musqueteers, under Major Dick, with some light horses." Hall's was in the vicinity of Portsmouth, then occupied by the British. Of this expedition of Col. Mathews and his men, we have no further account. The Augusta militia returned home about the 17th of April.

The following is one of Col. Mathews' letters written from Cloverdale during the Revolution:

" Cloverdale 26th Sep 1781

"Sir

"I Recd your Excellencys favor of the 14th Instant on the 24th I have ordered 200 beef Cattle & 30 Waggons Loaded with stores & Spirits to be at Colo Esoms ordinary on Saturday the 6th nex month & So proceed with all Expedition To the army & Expect at Least 150 or 160 head of Cattle & 20 or 25 Waggons will at that time make their appearance.

"I also will forward in about 5 days after 80 or 100 cattle & 5 or 6 waggons, which will be the whole that posibly can be furnished from ye County. I have the honor to be with Much Esteem & Respect

" Your Excellencys
obt humbl Servt

" Samp Mathews"

Col. Mathews was a member of the Virginia Legislature as follows, 1776, 1777 for Augusta and Dunmore; 1778-81, for Augusta, Rockingham, Rockbridge, Shenandoah, and Pendleton. During his term of 1781, the Legislature assembled at Richmond and in danger of capture by the advancing Tory army, adjourned to meet in Charlottesville. Pursued thither by Tarleton whom Lord Cornwallis had ordered to make a raid in Virginia, the Assembly fled from Charlottesville across the Blue Ridge, to Staunton where, in old Trinity Episcopal Church, the Legislative Sessions were expected to go on undisturbed. But three days later a report was brought that Tarleton was pursuing them across the Blue Ridge. Danger seemed imminent; once more the members fled - so precipitately that tradition says Patrick Henry left Staunton wearing only one boot. Tarleton never crossed the Blue Ridge, and a few days later, on the 12th of June the Legislature reassembled at Staunton and elected Gen. Thomas Nelson Governor of the Commonwealth, on the 19th the new Governor qualified by taking the prescribed oaths before Col. Sampson Mathews, and on the same day Samuel McDowel qualified as member of the Governors council.

----------
The Will of Sampson Mathews is of record in Augusta County, Virginia, Will Book 10, Page 121 -

"IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN. I Sampson Mathews senior of the County of Bath & State of Virginia do hereby make this my last will & testament in the manner following to wit. It is my will that all my just debts shall paid as soon after my decease as it can be affected - and whereas I have heretofore executed a deed to John Coalter esquire as trustee for my wife Catherine Mathews and another deed to Samuel Clarke and Jacob Kinney as trustees for my self which deeds are now of record in the General Court of the State aforesaid in which said deeds I have made in the first place a provision for my wife & in the next place for my creditors as will more fully appear having reference thereto & whereas there is a suit now pending in the Federal Court in Chancery no order to set aside said deeds my will is that should said deeds or either of them be set aside that my estate shall be disposed of according to the true interst & meaning of said deeds after making provision for my wife as stated in the deed aforesaid to John Coalter & after discharging all my just debts what ever property then remains either real or personal I order & will that it shall be equally devided amongst my four children (or their heirs) to wit John Mathews, Sampson Mathews, Ann Nelson & Jane Clarke, whereas the firm of Sampson and George Mathews were indebted to John Moffett a considerable sum of money which they borrowed of said Moffett in hard money and paid it in paper money after it had depreciated and there arose a difference between said Moffett and myself on the subject my brother George Mathews has since paid Mr. Moffett one hundred for his proportion of the costs, notwithstanding the law would not compel me to pay anything and other circumstances had induced me to think heretofore that I was not bound in consequence to pay him any further sum upon a reflection I conceive that it is just that he should receive a further sum & therefore order that he shall be paid out of my estate the sum of one hundred pounds with interest thereon from the first day of January one thousand seven hundred & ninety all paid to paid out of my estate in the same manner my other just debts are paid & I do hereby give unto my Executors full power & authority to make legal conveyances of all lands & to do everything in case the deeds aforesd are set aside that I had given my said trustees power to do in said deeds and I do hereby constitute & appoint my friends Samuel Clarke and Jacob Kinney executors of this my last will and testament hereby revoking and disannulling all other wills by me heretofore made. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this 7th day of April 1800.

"W. Chambers
"Andrew Barry
"W. Herron

"A codicil to the last will and testament of Sampson Mathews dated April the 7th 1800. I Sampson Mathews of Augusta County having on the 7th day of April 1800 made my last will and testament which is hereby annexed do now make this codicil to said will to wit In addition to the provisions in said will for my wife I leave unto her my Negroe boy named Andrew and my Negroe girl Phillis (called little Phillus). I have hereuntobefore given said Negroes to my said wife and executed writings accordingly but lest they should be lost or mislaid I think proper to put this clause in my will and whereas I ordered in my will that after my death my just debts should be paid and the provisions for my wife deducted from my estate and the balance divided amongst my four children since that time I have taken into consideration the situation of my daughter Jane Clarke wife of Samuel Clarke and also the particular care and attention which the said Samuel Clarke has lately shown towards me I therefore order that instead of leaving my estate as aforesaid I leave the balance aforesaid to my daughter Jane Clarke & her heirs forever instead of leaving the same to be divided amongst my four children.

"Signed Sealed & published Samp Mathews Seal
"in presence of

"Andrew Barry; W. Chambers; W. Herron

"At a court cont. & held for Augusta County March the 24th 1807 this Last Will and Testament of Sampson Mathews decd with the codicil thereto annexed was presented in Court by Samuel Clarke and Jacob Kinney the executors therein named, and was proved by the oaths of William Chambers and Andrew Barry two of the witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded.

" Teste Chester Kinney C C

"Recorded in August County
Clerk's Office, Staunton, Va.,
in Will Book 10, P. 121."

Sampson married Mary Lockhart WFT est 1751-1784. Mary (daughter of Captain James Lockhart) was born WFT est 1723-1746; died WFT est 1766-1834. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

John Mathews was apparently born in Ireland and emigrated from Ireland to what is now Augusta County, Virginia, by way of Pennsylvania, with his in-laws, the Archer family, and many other Augusta County pioneer families. Various sources pinpoint his arrival in the County as early as 1724 and as late as 1739. He settled in the fork of the James River, near the Natural Bridge. Many sources attempt to show that John Mathews was a great-great grandson of Governor Samuel Mathews, and a son of Captain Samuel Mathews who died in Richmond County, Virginia in 1718. For a discussion of the various items which prove that the John Mathews who was a great-great grandson of Governor Samuel Mathews in fact died in 1729, see that John Mathews. Quite aside from the fact that this John seems to have died some twenty-eight years prior to the demise of John Mathews of Augusta County, is the fact that John Mathews and Ann, his wife, did not name any of their seven sons either Samuel, Francis, or Baldwin. This is, at best, circumstantial evidence as all branches of the Mathews family seem obsessed with the repeated use of the same given names for their male progeny.

The most often given date is that given in Waddell:

[Waddell, Joseph A., Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, second edition 1902, reprinted Bridgewater, Virginia: C. J. Carrier Co., 1958, page 209]

"John Mathews, one of the first settlers in Borden's tract, about 1737.....His wife was Ann Archer, daughter of Sampson Archer. His sister (in-law) Betsey, was the wife of Robert Renick." John Mathews died between the date of his Will - 20 April 1757, and the date it was probated -- 16 November 1757. [Will Book 2, Page 205, public records of Augusta County, Virginia.] The tract of land upon which he actually settled appears to have been adjacent to rather than actually a part of Borden's tract or grant. In 1742, John Mathews was in command of a Company of Augusta Militia, and was Captain of Militia during the time of the French and Indian Wars, and in Braddock's Campaign. [Pettigrew, Marion Dewoody, Marks-Barnett Families and Their Kin, Macon, Georgia: The J. W. Burke Co., 1939, p. 200.] His Will names his eleven children, of whom we have data concerning all but one.

Five of the seven sons of John Mathews served in and/or gave Patriotic service during, the Revolutionary War (the other two being dead by the time of the Revolution), and several of the sons-in-law and/or grandchildren also served.

"Sometime about 1735 or 1736, Benjamin Borden, Sr., (sometimes called Burden), obtained form Gov. William Gooch of Virginia, a grant of land then in Augusta County, Virginia, of 100,00 acres, on condition that he would settle on this grant one hundred families. Eventually he did bring from the North of Ireland, and settled on this grant, ninety two families, and a complete grant was made to him for the 92,000 acres. Each settler family entitled Borden to 1,000 acres around each cabin.

"Among the immigrant families who came to Augusta County, was John Mathews, his father-in-law, Sampson Archer, and his brother-in-law, Robert Renick. The names of other families were Alexander, McClung, Moffett, Mulholland, Stewart, Reid, Moore, and many other Scotch-Irish people. Mathews, Archer, and Renick settled in the forks of the James River, rather close to Natural Bridge, in what is now Rockbridge County, Virginia.

[McClintic, Judge George W., "Archer, Mathews and Others", - article in the West Virginia News, June 16, 1938, on the 160th anniversary of Greenbrier County, quoted in The Renicks of Greenbrier.]

"Borden's plan for his own profit was to convey to each of the families settling on this grant a certain number of acres, much less than the thousand acres and make his profit out of the excess of each thousand acres over and above the amount conveyed to the settler.

"He did, by deed dated 7 June 1742, grant to John Mathews, described as 'yoeman', (Borden himself being described as 'gentleman'), certain tract of land out of this 92,000 acre grant, comprising 237 acres, 2 roods and 10 poles, which small tract was fully described in the deed. This deed was recorded in Orange County, Virginia, where the land then lay, on the 26th day of August 1742, Augusta County had not yet been organized."

Recorded in Orange County, Virginia, in Deed Book 8, at Pages 135 and 136, is the following instrument:--

"Borden to Mathews

"This Indenture made the 10th day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty-two between Benjamin Borden of the County of Orange gent of the one part and John Mathews of the said County yeoman of the one part. Witnesseth that the said Benjamin Borden for and in consideration of the sum of five shillings current money of Virginia to him in hand paid by the said John Mathews at or before the sealing & delivery of these presents the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged Hath granted, Bargained and Sold and by these presents doth grant, bargain and sell unto the said John Mathews two hundred and ninety seven acres two rods and ten pole_ of land being part of ninety two thousand one hundred acres of the said Borden's patent and which said patent beares date the sixth day of November one thousand seven hundred and thirty nine in the said county, viz:

"Beginning at a double popler on a hill called the Timber Ridge corner to John _____land an running thence South 42 Deg. west one hundred and eighty pole_ to ashe between two chestnut trees South forty eight Deg. east one hundred sixty pole_ to a hickory Sapling? North forty two Deg. East three hundred pole_ to a hickory and _____ white oak on the side of a hill North forty eight Deg. West one hundred sixty pole to a hickory in John _____ line thence with his line South forty deg. West one hundred and four pole to the first mentioned popler the place of beginning and all houses, buildings orchards _____ watercourses in of its commodities hereditaments and appurtenances and whatsoever to the said premises hereby granted or every part thereof belonging or in anywise appertaining and the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders rents issues and profits thereof To have and to hold the said two hundred and ninety seven acres two rood and ten pole to the said John Mathews and his heirs for one whole year and all and singular other the premises hereby granted with the appurtenances unto the said John Mathews his Exrs and _____ and assigns from the day before the date _____ during the full term and time of one whole year from thence _____ ensuing fully to be compleat and ended yielding and paying therefore the rent of one ear of Indian corn on _____day next if the same shall be lawfully demanded to the intent and purpose that by virtue of these presents and of the statute for the transferring over into _ the said John Mathews may be in actual possession of the premises and be thereby enabled to accept _____ of the reversions and inheritance thereof to him and his heirs. In witness whereof the said Benjamin Borden gent hath hereunto set his hand and seal the day & year first above written.

Benjamin Borden (Seal)

Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of :

(three witnesses)

"At a court held for Orange County on Thursday the 26 day of Aug 1742, Benjamin Borden gent acknowledged _____ for _____ granted to John Mathews which on the motion of the said Mathews is admitted to record.
Test: Jonah (Jonath.) Gibson, CC"

Recorded in Deed Book 8, at page 137, 138, and 139, of the Records of Orange County, Virginia is a Deed from Benjamin Borden to John Mathews, dated June 7, 1742, recorded on August 26, 1742, conveying outright, the same tract of land described in the above instrument.

The following is from a copy on file in the Virginia State Library, Reel 107, p. 40b.-

"Patents No. 31 - 1751-1756. Reel 29, pp 664-5.
Jhn. Matthews's Pat: 1600 acres

"George the Second and To all & Know ye that for divers good causes & considerations but more especially for & in consideration of the sum of Eight Pounds of good & lawful money for our use paid to our Receiver General of our Revenues in this our Colony and Dominion of Virginia. We have Given, Granted and confirmed and by these Presents for us our Heirs and Successors Do give Grant and Confirm unto John Matthews one certain tract or Parcel of Land Containing One thousand six hundred Acres lying and being in the County of Augusta on Mill Creek in the Fork of James River and bounded as followeth to wit:

"Beginning at a Stake near a blazed black Oak corner to Erwin Patterson's Land and running thence with his Line South 30 (deg) East eighty six Poles to three black Oaks in the old Patent line then with said line North 75 (deg) East 226 Poles to a white Oak North 18 (deg) East 54 Poles to a Hickory and black Oak corner to Thomas Williams Thence with his line North 35 (deg) East 114 Poles to a white and black Oaks corner to Williams's Then North 70 (deg) east 102 Poles three white Oak Saplins in William's line then North 3 (deg) East 238 Poles crossing Mill Creek and another Branch to two white Oaks then North 82 (deg) West 201 Poles to a white and black Oaks West 120 Poles to between two black Oaks then North 40 (deg) West 100 Poles to a white Oak on a Hill South 62 (deg) West 160 Poles to a white and black Oaks South 25 (deg) East 86 Poles to three white Oak Saplins then North 85 (deg) West 96 Poles to a black and white Oaks then South 59 (deg) West 96 Poles to a black Oak and South 17 (deg) East 22 Poles to a black Oak and Hickory Corner in Poage's Land with his Line South 40 (deg) East 1 Poles crossing Mill Creek to a red Oak Then South 30 (deg) West 90 Poles to a large Chestnut Then South 40 (deg) West 212 Poles to a red Oak and Hickory South 100 Poles to three black Oaks South East 46 Poles to two black Oaks and a white Oak in Erwin Patterson's Line with said Line North 59 (deg) East 326 Poles to the Beginning.

"With all and To have and To be held & Yielding and Paying and Provided & In Witness & Witness our Trusty and well beloved Robert Dinwiddie Esquire our Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of our said Colony and Dominion at Williamsburgh.

"Under the Seal of our said colony the tenth day of September One Thousand seven hundred and fifty five In the twenty ninth year of our Reign.
Robert Dinwiddie."
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The Will of John Mathews, recorded in Will Book 2, Page 205, records of Augusta County, Virginia, is as follows:

"IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN the twentyeth day of April in the year of our Lord God One Thousand Seven Hundred and fifty seven

"I John Mathews of the forks of James River and County of Augusta Gent being very sick and weak in body but in perfect mind and memory thanks be to God for it therefore calling unto mind the mortality of my Body and knowing if it is appointed for all men once to die Do make and ordain this my last will and testament VIZ I principally and first of all I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and for my Body I recommend it to the Earth to be buried in a Christian like and decent manner at the deserction of my Executors hereafter mentioned nothing Doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the Mighty Power of God and as touching such worldly estate where with it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give bequeath and dispose of in the following manner and form and first I order and appoint that all my just debts may be paid and discharged and Secondly I leave and bequeath to my well beloved son John all that tract or parcel of land whereupon he now liveth as it is laid off to him butted and bounded upon condition that he pay unto me or to my use the sum of eight pounds twelve shillings current money of Virginia and Thirdly I give and bequeath to my well beloved son Joshua all that tract or parcel of land whereupon he now liveth during life and at his decease to be for the use of his two children Anne & Elizabeth and if either of them die before ye age of maturity ye said estate to fall to the survivor and if both happen to die before of age the estate to fall to their Uncle George & Archer & William to be equally distributed betwixt them and Fourthly I leave and bequeath to my well beloved son Richard one English shilling and Fifthly I leave to my beloved son Sampson all that tract of land lying upon Bordens Creek called and known by the name of Kellys Entry containing three hundred and fifty acres upon condition he pay to my use the just sum of ten pounds current money of Virginia and Sixthly I leave and bequeath to my well beloved son George one English shilling and further I leave and bequeath to my three well beloved daughters Jane Anne & Rachel one English shilling each and further I leave and bequeath to my Dearly Beloved Daughter Elizabeth to the value of thirty pounds when at the age of maturity to be valued by the Executors and if she shall die before she comes to age or marriage her part shall desend to my sons William and Archer and I further give and bequeath to my Dearly and beloved William and Archer this plantation whereon I now live with the still and mills with all my household furniture to be equally divided betwixt them when at age and further I give and bequeath to my Dearly and well Beloved wife Anne all and sole management of said plantation and stock and movables of every sort untill my sons arrive at age and shall have a lawfull and decent maintenance of the same during her life and if my sons and she cannot agree when grown up she shall have five pounds collected yearly off sd. estate for her maintinance while she remains a widow but if she marries again she must remove off said premises and be deprived of all part and privilege of said estate only her body cloaths she shall have and no more and further I do leave and bequeath the sum of three pounds current money to the poor of Augusta Parish, Provided the sd. parish is not divided before my decease and if it is devided to the poor of ye parish where I belong to be disposed of at ye descretion of the Vestry I do further ordain constitute and appoint my well beloved Sons Sampson & George to be my only and sole Executors of this my last will and testament and I do hereby utterly disallow revoke and disannul all and every other former testaments wills and legacies requests and Executrs. by me made in anywise before this time named willed bequeathed (and further I do appoint my Dearly beloved sons Sampson & George my Executors of this my last will to execute and perfect deeds of Lease and Release to William Bradshaw of a certain tract of land sold to said Bradshaw) Ratifying and Confirming this and no other to be my last will and Testament in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year above written.

"Signed Sealed and Published Pronounced & Declared by the said John Mathews his last will & testament in presence of the ye subscribers Viz

Mathew Campbell N.B. before Signed Inter-Anne A (her x mark) Kelley lined give &)
John Poage John Mathews Seal

"At a Court held for Augusta County Novr the 16, 1757, This last will and testament of John Mathews Gent decd. was proved by the oaths of Mathew Campbell and John Poage two of the witness_ thereto subscribed and admitted to record. And on the motion of Sampson & George Mathews the Executors therein maned who made oath according to Law. Certificate is granted them for obtaining a probat_ thereof in due form giving security where upon the sd. Sampson & George with John Poage & John Mathews their securities entered into & acknowledged their bond.

Test

Recorded in the Augusta County Clerk's Office, Staunton, Virginia, in Will Book 2, Page 205."

The foregoing is from a Certified copy of the Will of John Mathews. One might wonder on reading same, why some of his older children were apparently cut off with only a shilling. A search of the deed records in Augusta County will show that these children had already been deeded extensive lands etc.
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Following are some notes on John Mathews from various sources, as compiled by Mildred Hanna:

John Mathews, Sr., had a grant of 1600 acres on Mill Creek of James River. Part of the tract Robert Poage obtained from George Robinson and James Wood by Caveat. Robert Poage, George Robinson and John Mathews made a rush for the Valley of Mill Creek, on Poage's Run, and scattered settlements were made in different part of the territory, before any large grants were considered by the Council. John Mathews is mentioned in Orange County Order Book of 1735-45 which , we are informed, constitutes early enough mention of him to provide eligibility for membership in the Colonial Dames.

John Buchanan's list includes John Mathew_ and he is listed on this page as a member of the Justices. On the same page, Kegley says "of the twelve most able men in the county who constituted the Vestry, John Mathews was among those commissioned. He served as a member of the Vestry until his death in 1757. Just before his death, he was elected one of the Wardens. Sampson Archer, father-in-law* of John, who was elected to the Vestry.....was the other one." (*or in light of subsequent investigation, brother-in-law.) This was Trinity Church, Staunton, Virginia, and the names are on the old record books.

The following quotation, though exasperatingly shy of source references, sheds some circumstantial evidence as to John Mathews' origins:

The following book [French, Mrs. J. Stewart, The Doak Family, pp. 89-91.] contains this:

A letter from Miss I. C. VanDeventer, of Kansas City, Mo., gives many interesting details of family history, and it is therefore quoted here in full:
503 Munford Court,
Kansas City, Mo.,
May 30, 1933.

"My Dear Mrs. French:

"I am in receipt of copies of the Lookout and also your letter, and find the Doak data interesting. Hope you have more of the early history in your book, as that is what I am interested in. Had hoped that you would have the date of marriage of Samuel Doak and Jane Mitchell, as they were married on the voyage that would have given us date of their coming. Note that you place the date of their coming to America at about 1740. Our data handed down in the family, placed the date about 1720, and it may have been between those dates. I doubt if they came as early as 1720, but possibly before 1740, as Samuel Doak, Jr., is placed as the sixth child, born in 1749, so it is probably that his parents were married prior to 1740. A John Mathews, emigrant from the North of Ireland, is said to have come in 1737, and as his history runs parallel with ours and he settled in the Beverly grant, he may have been a brother to our George. His descendants have been prominent and there is so much about them in the reference books. They were prominent in the Revolution and his son, George, was three times Governor of Georgia.

"As to the spelling of the name, it was originally Mathews (one "t"). George Mathews, who emigrated with Samuel Doak, Sr., had 12 sons and one daughter. Four of the sons, Alexander, Allen, Jeremiah, and George, when they went from Virginia to Tennessee dropped the "w" and spelled the name Mathes - the tradition is, so that their descendants would know each other.....

"The Mathews and Doak families emigrated from Ireland together, and I have the notation that their home there was in County Antrim, in the neighborhood of Ballynure, between Belfast and Ballymena. Have not looked up the source of this information just now. They finally settled in Augusta Co., Va., and the sons, Samuel Doak, Jr., and Alexander Mathes, went together to Washington Co., Tenn., and were on the way at the time of the surrender of Cornwallis. They walked through the wilderness, and Theodore Roosevelt in "The Winning of the West" says that Samuel Doak "drove before him an old flea-bitten grey horse loaded with a sackful of books; crossed the Alleghenies and came down along blazed trails to the Holstun settlements." Alexander Mathes gave fifty acres of land for the site of Washington College. He was one of original elders in Salem church and also a charter member of the college board. There was a memorial window placed in Salem Church to the three Alexander Mathes names, who were ruling elders covering a period of 102 years consecutively.....
Sincerely,
(Miss) I. C. VanDeventer."


The following was written for the Rockbridge County, Virginia BiCentennial 1738-1938, by Colonel C. N. Feamster, of St. Petersburg, Florida:--

"Many of the families who were among the first settlers in what is now Rockbridge County, Virginia remain here for a few generations and then moved on leaving their names here only in the old records.


"Captain John Mathews, commissioned Captain in 1742, took up by Royal Grant 1600 acres of land.....This tract, roughly an oblong diamond shape, extended from near Buffalo Forge to the rear of and beyond "Hickory Hill". It was three miles long and one and one-half miles wide in the middle. The Falling Springs Church and cemetery are on the tract near the Northeastern corner.....

"In addition to being a Captain, John Mathews was Justice of the Magistrates Court and Vestryman of the Church of England, and was one of the most prominent men of Augusta County as it was then.....

"Taking up the sons in order listed in the will of Captain John Mathews we find that each was deeded previously or willed, three to four hundred acres of land. Captain John owned other tracts besides his 1600 acre tract. Each daughter was willed one shilling. The second of the seven sons, John, met with dire tragedy. His inheritance, the Northeastern end of the 1600 acre tract, home and improvements were near the spring situated below the cemetery on the Falling Springs Church property..... This home undoubtedly stood about where the center of the Falling Springs cemetery is now situated. John, Junior, was also a vestryman in the Church of England.

"The oldest son, Joshua, married in 1750, died in 1762, leaving three daughters. The elder, Elizabeth, married Captain John Murray who was killed in the Battle of Point Pleasant. Martha married Thomas Posey of Fredericksburg, whose intimate friendship with George Washington was well known. He was a Major in the Revolution, later Brigadier General, U. S. Army and Lt. Governor of Kentucky. In the chancery suit over the estate of John Mathews, Junior after his murder, Martha was given the title to the part containing the Falling Springs Church property. Martha's son, John Posey, deeded his interest to his father, Thomas, on August 16, 17_7, Thomas Posey deeds 3A 15 ? Poles to the Trustees of the Church, the stone church and burial grounds having already been located there.

"The third son Richard, married Eleanor Bradshaw, a neighbor, sold his inheritance, moved to Kentucky, then to Robertson County, Tennessee where he died in 1799. He left many descendants.

"The fourth son, Sampson, was Colonel in the Revolution and one of Augusta's most prominent men. His descendants in Virginia are very numerous, but through the female lines only. Professor Alexander L. Nelson, the well known and highly honored professor of Mathematics of Washington and Lee was a descendant. Sampson was a vestryman and lay reader in the Church of England.

"George, the fifth son, was a Captain in the Battle of Point Pleasant and Colonel of the 9th Virginia Regiment, Revolutionary war..... Descendants of Colonel George in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana became prominent and amassed so much property that the remark was made two generations ago that jointly they were worth a hundred million dollars.....

"The Sixth son, William was co-heir with his brother, Archer, to that part of the 1600 acres upon which was the so-called Manor House, a large log house on the little rise where Captain John Michie built the frame house now occupied by the Claytons. William and Archer were minors when their father died in 1757....."

The serious student of the family origins etc. might wish to read the above mentioned WADDELL's Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, and for more data as well as a good background account of the events behind the Scotch-Irish Immigration to Virginia, the following book is recommended:

PEYTON, J. Lewis, History of Augusta County, Virginia, Orig. publ. 1882, reprinted Bridgewater, Virginia: 1953.

Also, Chalkley's Abstracts of Augusta County Court Records, and KEGLEY's Virginia Frontier are replete with references to the Mathews family.

John married Anne Archer WFT est 1714-1751. Anne (daughter of Sampson Archer) was born WFT est 1697-1724; died WFT est 1751-1811. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]