Individual Details
Elizabeth Mathewes
(1753 - 16 Aug 1782)
"In 1773 Elizabeth Mathewes, daughter of the Honorable John Mathewes, married Thomas Heyward. The life of Elizabeth Mathewes was divided between the elegant townhouse on Church Street in Charleston and a plantation, 'Whitehall', outside the city. While she no doubt had numerous slaves and servants to help maintain the two residences, her position as overseer must have been taxing. Their marriage produced one son and several children who died in infancy.
Elizabeth Heyward accompanied her husband to Philadelphia during the Continental Congress and was honored at a ball given there for the Dauphin of France, where George Washington crowned her 'Queen of Love and Beauty'.
She no doubt also possessed great strength, for while Thomas Heyward was a political prisoner in St. Augustine after Charleston was taken by the British in 1780, Elizabeth Heyward endured many hardships. She lived in the townhouse with her sister, Mrs. George Abbott Hall, after her plantation had been plundered and the slaves carried off. When the Charleston citizens were told by the British to illuminate their homes in celebration of a British military victory in 1781, she disobeyed and kept her house in darkness. On the anniversary of the fall of Charleston, when the order to illuminate was again given, she defied the order and consequently her house was attacked by a band of loyalists. During the attack, her sister died. The following year Elizabeth Heyward sacrificed her life, as well as that of her fifth child in her effort to meet her husband upon his release from prison in St. Augustine." (From "Thirteen Colonies Cookbook", by Donavan, pg 215-216, 641.5)
Elizabeth Heyward accompanied her husband to Philadelphia during the Continental Congress and was honored at a ball given there for the Dauphin of France, where George Washington crowned her 'Queen of Love and Beauty'.
She no doubt also possessed great strength, for while Thomas Heyward was a political prisoner in St. Augustine after Charleston was taken by the British in 1780, Elizabeth Heyward endured many hardships. She lived in the townhouse with her sister, Mrs. George Abbott Hall, after her plantation had been plundered and the slaves carried off. When the Charleston citizens were told by the British to illuminate their homes in celebration of a British military victory in 1781, she disobeyed and kept her house in darkness. On the anniversary of the fall of Charleston, when the order to illuminate was again given, she defied the order and consequently her house was attacked by a band of loyalists. During the attack, her sister died. The following year Elizabeth Heyward sacrificed her life, as well as that of her fifth child in her effort to meet her husband upon his release from prison in St. Augustine." (From "Thirteen Colonies Cookbook", by Donavan, pg 215-216, 641.5)
Events
Families
Spouse | Thomas Heyward Jr (1746 - 1809) |
Child | Daniel Heyward (1774 - 1796) |
Child | Mary Heyward (1775 - ) |
Child | Thomas Heyward III (1778 - ) |
Child | John Heyward (1779 - ) |
Child | Thomas Heyward (1782 - 1782) |
Father | John Raven Mathewes I (1720 - 1759) |
Mother | Sarah Gibbes (1724 - 1760) |
Sibling | Lois Mathewes (1742 - 1781) |
Sibling | Gov. John Mathewes (1744 - 1802) |
Sibling | Nancy Anne Mathewes (1752 - 1793) |
Notes
Marriage
Mattewes, ElizabethHeywood, Thomas Jr.
26 Apr 1773
Death
She died on August 16, 1782 after the birth of a child that did not survive in Philadelphia where she had gone to meet her husband after his release from prison. (From SCHM Vol LIX No 3, p 153)Endnotes
1. Jean Ann Lemon, "Descendants of Anthony Mathewes," complied records from
2. Jean Ann Lemon, "Descendants of Anthony Mathewes," complied records from
3. Jean Ann Lemon, "Descendants of Anthony Mathewes," complied records from
4. Jean Ann Lemon, "Descendants of Anthony Mathewes," complied records from
5. Jean Ann Lemon, "Descendants of Anthony Mathewes," complied records from