Individual Details

From "History of Morgan County"

.....Samuel T. Mathews was of Protestant Irish descent, being a son of Richard Mathews, born during the Revolutionary period, and probably a descendant of one of the original immigrants of the early Colonial days.
Samuel Taylor Mathews came to Illinois in 1821, and entered a tract of Government land in Morgan County, on Section 4, Township 15, Range 9, of which his son, Richard T., still owns a part. Samuel T. Mathews was married in Kentucky February 22, 1821, and when he came to Morgan County with his wife brought with him $5, a portion of which was still in his possession at the end of the year, there being little in that new country for which he could spend money. He ground his own corn, having built one of the first grist and sawmills in the county, located on Mauvaisterre Creek, and the only establishment of the kind known there for many years. On February 22, 1821, he was married to Sarah Ann Adams, who was born October 20, 1803, in what is now Marion County, Ky., a daughter of Elijah Adams, a native of Maryland. In 1822 grandfather Mathews came to Morgan county, and soon afterward grandfather Adams followed. The Adams family in the county is now extinct. Nine children resulted from the union of Mr. and Mrs. S. T. Mathews, namely: Melinda J., deceased; Elijah A. and Richard W., who died in childhood; Margaret A., widow of Hezekiah Craig; Samuel T. and Cyrus W., both deceased; Sarah E., wife of J. W. Bab; John H. deceased; and Richard T., of Jacksonville. The father of this family continued to take up land and buy claims until he had about 1,100 acres of land, in all, and he has always engaged in farming and raising stock on a large scale. In 1875 he was instantly killed by falling from a tree.
In politics, Samuel T. Mathews was at first a Whig, but became a Republican in 1860. He served as one of the early County Assessors of Morgan County and for two terms as Sheriff, first during the "big snow" and again in the forties. He was a member of the Legislature for two terms, knew Abraham Lincoln well, and visited that illustrious man's house in Springfield, taking his son Richard T. with him.
Soon after Mr. Mathews' arrival in Morgan County, the Cumberland Presbyterians built a church on his farm, which is said by Hiram Reeve, who came here in 1820, to have been the first church edifice erected in the county. S. T. Mathews and his wife are both buried on the farm. The former was a Captain, raised a company in the Black Hawk War, and was made Colonel, commanding a regiment in that conflict."

Birth	21 Jan 1799	Green, Kentucky, United States
Marriage	22 Feb 1821	Kentucky, United States - Sarah Ann Adams
Census (family)	1830	Morgan, Illinois, United States - Sarah Ann Adams
Military	1831/32	Black Hawk War
Tax List	1839	Morgan, Illinois, United States
Census (family)	17 Aug 1850	Morgan, Illinois, United States - Sarah Ann Adams
Census (family)	11 Jul 1860	Mauvaise Terre Pct, Morgan, Illinois, United States - Sarah Ann Adams
Census (family)	1870	Morgan, Illinois, United States - Sarah Ann Adams
Death	23 Jun 1875	Morgan, Illinois, United States

Spouse	Sarah Ann Adams (1803 - )
Child	Melinda Jane Mathews (1822 - 1906)
Child	Elizah A. Mathews ( - 1830)
Child	Richard W. Mathews (1825 - )
Child	Margaret A. Mathews (1830 - )
Child	Samuel T. Mathews (1832 - 1906)
Child	Cyrus W. Mathews (1834 - 1906)
Child	Sarah E. Mathews (1836 - 1913)
Child	John H. Mathews (1839 - 1890)
Child	Richard Thomas Mathews (1843 - 1909)

Father	Richard Mathews Sr. (1775 - 1833)
Mother	Sarah Taylor (1772 - 1854)
Sibling	Cyrus W Mathews (1806 - 1872)
Sibling	Ann Taylor Mathews (1809 - 1842)
Sibling	John Mathews (1810 - )
Sibling	Sarah Mathews (1813 - )
Sibling	Richard Mathews Jr. (1815 - 1878)
Sibling	Elizabeth Mathews (1820 - 1845)
Sibling	Mathews ( - )

Notes