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February 18, 1999

Mr. Lynn Hopewell

82 Erin Drive

Warrenton, VA 20186

RE: Research Report on the Ancestry of Lodowick Matthews

Dear Mr. Hopewell:

This research segment was devoted to analysis of previous research on Lodowick Matthews to identify his parentage and hopefully extend his ancestral lines. Lodowick Mathew's widow, Barbara, and children, James William and Susan Maria, lived in the Portsmouth, Virginia area in 1850. Lodowick supposedly was from Gates County, North Carolina about 40 miles south of Portsmouth. From previous research it appeared more than one Ludowick lived at Gates in the right time period.

Excellent summaries of previous research were furnished by the client, although no documents were included. When analyzing previous research it is helpful to review the actual records checking what information was part of the original and what information may have been implied. As part of our Preliminary Survey and for the above stated reasons, we located some of the pertinent documents referred to in the summaries.

The Preliminary Survey began with the:

ANCESTRAL FILE

The Ancestral File, coordinated by the Family History Library, contains over 30,000,000 surnames listed in pedigree chart, family group record, or descendancy format with the submitter's name included. The Ancestral File invites people throughout the world to send their genealogies at no cost to be included in the file, links individuals into pedigrees showing their ancestors and descendants, includes such information as the given names, dates, and places of birth, marriage and death, and most importantly contains names and addresses of individuals who have contributed the information or filed a research interest in a particular surname so they can be contacted. Names may be listed phonetically or spelled exactly the same and sometimes lists people more than once due to submissions by other people.

In this instance, we found no Lodowick Matthews with a wife Barbara, no Matthews family with connections in the Portsmouth area. We did find a Lodowick Matthews of Gates County, North Carolina (see document 1). This Lodowick was the son of Anthony & Treasey (Smith) Matthews. This Matthews family came to Gates County, North Carolina from Isle of Wight County, Virginia. The information in the Ancestral File was submitted by Minnie M. Y. Johnson of El Paso, Texas. The documents used to compile the family group record are not currently available without contacting Minnie. This was not done at the present because the record appears to relate to the "other" Lodowick. The Lodowick Matthews, who was the husband of Barbara, supposedly was the son of a James Mathews not Anthony.

We then turned our attention to the IGI.

IGI The International Genealogical Index (IGI) is a worldwide index containing over 286,000,000 surnames of deceased persons. It is maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints (Mormon) but is not limited to information about its members or their descendants. The IGI provides birth, christening, marriage, and sometimes death information from wills but only lists information on deceased individuals. It is very good for finding information from vital records between the early 1550s up to 1875.

In the IGI, individuals are not joined in pedigrees or family groups, but birth and/or christening entries include the parents; and marriages include the name of the spouse. The search will help find original birth, christening, and marriage information; identify possible family connections to extend a pedigree, and/or determine if research was being conducted by an individual family member or part of a large extraction project. Variant name spellings are combined together as are names that sound alike such as Thomson and Thompson.

There are sometimes inaccuracy in the records due to the personal knowledge of the person submitting the information and the record used as the basis for the entry.

In the IGI we did not locate a Lodowick Mathews, and no information for his son James William nor his daughter Susan Maria (Maria Susan) the only children currently known for Lodowick

Portsmouth, Virginia Records

We next reviewed Portsmouth, Virginia records. Portsmouth is an independent city which was established in 1691 from Lower Norfolk County. In the Family History Library Catalog most records are listed under Portsmouth County, rather than Norfolk County.

In Portsmouth we located death records for Barbara and Susan Mathews, we were unable to find the death record for James William Mathews (see document 2). [The page where his death should have been recorded was apparently missed by the microfilmers, as the deaths skipped from 1878 to 1881.] The death records gave the names of parents for the deceased which confirms the identity of James & Susan's father as Lodowick Matthews and of Barbara as the daughter of William R. Smith.

We next reviewed the 1850 and 1860 census records for Norfolk County. In 1850 Barbara Mathews was living with her daughter Maria and husband John E. Morris. One child, Martha age 1 is with the family. Next door was a James Mathews with wife, Mary A, and children Mary H, Rose E, and James M. (see document 3). Both James Mathews and Maria Morris were listed as being born in North Carolina. Both John Morris and James Mathews were working as carpenters. John Morris had real estate worth $200, Barbara and James Mathews had no real estate in 1850. If they had received real or personal property at Lodowick Mathews death, it had been disposed of before 1850.

We did not find Barbara in 1860, at least she was not listed as living alone or with either James or Maria. It is possible Barbara had other children with whom she may have lived in 1860. We did not search the entire county looking for Barbara, but since she did not die until 1867, it is likely that she was still in the Portsmouth area.

The John Morris family and James Mathews family were still in Portsmouth in 1860 (see documents 4 and 5). James W. Mathews was living in the Jackson ward of Portsmouth. He was listed as a contractor with real estate worth $2000 and personal estate worth $1000. The same three children are still with James: Mary, Rosa and James. According to family records the girls were stepdaughters of James Mathews.

The John E. Morris family was living in the Jefferson ward of Portsmouth. John was still working as a carpenter. and had real estate worth $1800. With them were children Martha, Maria, Adronicus, Ed, B. and John. W. Neither the son Adronicus nor daughter Martha were shown on furnished family group sheets, thus enlarging the information available on this particular family.

We checked the 1840 Virginia census index but did not find reference to a Lodowick, Barbara or a James W. Mathews. Since Lodowick had supposedly died by 1840, if Barbara was still living in Virginia she must have been living with another family. Could she have been living with her father William or brothers? How many children were living with her? She should have had at least two children, James, about age 23, and Maria, about 15.

Earlier research listed a Norfolk deed where Barbara Mathews was called the widow of Lodowick Mathews. We found the early Norfolk County deeds catalogued in the Family History Catalog under the independent city of Chesapeake (see document 6). In the deed dated 22 Aug 1838, Barbara was identified as widow of Ludowick Mathews and daughter of the late William R. Smith. Both father and husband were deceased. As mentioned above, Barbara was not a head of house in 1840 and, at the present time, we were unable to determine who she might be living with.

More important in our quest for information on Barbara's husband, Ludowick, Barbara was not selling any property of her husband's, but was rather selling her rights to her father's estate. We have not yet been able to determine how long before 1838 Ludowick died or when the Mathews family moved to Norfolk. The 1830 Virginia census index was checked but no Barbara. Ludowick Mathews was listed. It is possible they were still in North Carolina and moved some time after 1830. Since it does not appear that Ludowick and Barbara owned property in Virginia, searching the personal tax records is probably the only way to determine when they came. It is also possible that Barbara did not move to Norfolk County until after Ludowick died. Perhaps she moved there to be closer to family.

North Carolina Census records

We checked the North Carolina census indexes for 1800 ‑ 1840 (see documents 7 ‑ 11). There are many Mathews in North Carolina and several living in Gates County, where it is proposed that Lodowick Mathews came from. No Lodowick or Barbara were listed as head of house in North Carolina in 1840. If the Ludowick of Norfolk and the Ludowick of Gates are the same person, this is what we would expect as Barbara Mathews of Norfolk was a widow by 1838.

In the census indices we located one Ludowick Matthews only. He is listed in 1810, 1820 and 1830 (See document 12 for 1810 census information). The 1820 census information was included in the index (see document 9). The 1830 census information see document 13. A census comparison on Ludowick's family composition follows:

1810 1820 1830 BORN

male 16‑26 male 16‑26 ‑ male 30‑40 ‑ 1794‑1800

female 16‑26 female 26‑45 female 30‑40 1790‑1794

female <10

female <I O

2 slaves

male <10 born aft 1810

dead/gone bef 1830

male <10 male 10‑15 born 1815‑1820

male <10 male 10‑15 born 1815‑1820

female 5‑10 born 1820‑1825

male <5 born 1825‑1830

female <5 born 1825‑1830

female <5 born 1825‑1830

Ludowick Mathews in 1810 was age 16 to 26, this means he was born between 1784 and 1794. Because there were two females under 10 living in the household, this would indicate that Ludowick was closer to 26 than 16. Thus, he probably was not the same person as the Ludowick Mathews listed in 1820 who was listed between the ages of 16 and 26. We feel there may be about 10 years in age difference between the two Ludowicks.

The Ludowick Mathews family shown in 1820 and 1830 appears to be the same family. In 1820 the adult female was born before 1794, while in 1830 she was born between 1780 and 1800 (She was 55 in 1850, and 68 in 1867 at her death, making her born about 1799). Ludowick and Barbara's two known children fit in this family, James William born about 1816 could be one of the males under age 10 in 1820 and between the ages of 10 and 15 in 1830. Susan Maria could one of the females under age 5 in 1830. If this is the same family as the Ludowick and Barbara Mathews family of Norfolk by 1838, we need to discover who the other children may have been and where were they in 1850? Perhaps a line by line search for Barbara Mathews in the 1860 Portsmouth census will help us answer this question.

Lodowick Mathews of Gates County in 1830 was living close to Wm. A. Mathews who was between the age of 40 and 50, Wm. had an older female between the age of 60 and 70 in the household; Lewis Walters who was between the age of 70 and 80; James Mathews who was between the age of 20 and 30; Ann Mathews who was between the age of 60 and 70; David Reddick who was between the age of 50 and 60, and John Mathews who was between the age of 30 and 40 (see document 13). As Ludowick was between the age of 30 and 40, he was of the right age to be brother of William A., James or John, and son of Ann. They are close neighbors, most certainly close relatives, at this point we do not know their relationships.

Gates County, North Carolina Records

Gates County Marriage bonds for grooms with the Mathews surname are shown in document 14. It seems unlikely that the Ludowick Mathews who married Lavina Foster in 1806 is the same Ludowick who was listed as age 16 to 26 in 1820. Researcher William Perry Johnson in his 1979 report suggested the probability of two Ludowicks in Gates County, North Carolina. The older Ludowick was listed with 100 acres in 1807 and 73 acres in 1808. He last appeared in the 1815 tax list, with the same 73 acres.

In 1818, the second Ludowick, listed as Ludowick of James, first appeared in the tax list with no land and no slaves. Johnson states, Ludowick of James last appeared in Gates County in 1830. There is no record of Ludowick or Barbara selling land in Gates County. If this Ludowick in the tax lists is the Ludowick who married Barbara, he apparently had no land to sell.

The first Ludowick is probably the Ludowick son of Anthony Mathews. In Johnson's report, Anthony Mathew's estate was divided among the widow Treasy, John, Ethelred, William, Riddick, Lodowick, Henry Turner and Easter Mathews. This was the same Mathews family found in the Ancestral File. This older Ludowick was probably the same man who married Lavisa or Lavina Foster in 1806.

Ludowick Mathews who first appeared in the 1815 tax list, according to Johnson's report was called Ludowick, son of James. This, again, supports the possibility that two Ludowick Mathews lived in Gates County, therefore the distinction "son of James." Most likely he had just turned 21 when first listed with one white poll and no property. Johnson proposes that this is the same as Ludowick appearing in Gates County tax list in 1830, still without land. There are personal tax records for each year during this time period. We did not have time to search them year by year, but this should be done for all of the Matthews to assist in sorting them into families.

There are published abstracts on some of the early Gates County deeds and probates. We checked them for Mathews families. As several Mathews families are in the Gates area, we copied references for James and Ludowick Mathews. At a later date it might be necessary to copy the other Mathews families as well.

Mathews in Early Deeds of Gates County, North Carolina

All records discussed in this section can be found in document 15. Esther Mathews was located as a witness to William Walters and Elizabeth, widow of James Bray Walters deeding land to John Bare of Nansemond County (p. 29). In 1789 William Walters deeds 150 acres in Merry Hill Pocosin to James Mathews (p. 73). James Matthews line was mentioned in 1792 and 1795 (pp. 117 and 144). In 1795 James and Sally Mathews sold the 150 acres in Merry Hill Pocosin to Jacob Pruden (p. 142). In 1794 Esther Mathews by deed of gift leaves the plantation, furniture and utensils to her son James. In the 1830 census a Lewis Walters who was in his 70s was living near Ludowick Mathews. It is possible that the Mathews and Walters families were related and not merely neighbors. It is also possible Esther may have been a Walters.

In 1801 Anthony Mathews of Nansemond County, Virginia buys land from Demsey Parker (p. 226). In 1802 he buys land from Isaac Walters in Merry Hill Pocossin (p. 226), Dread and Riddick Mathews were the witnesses on that deed.

Early Mathews in Wills and Probates, Gates County, North Carolina

Abstracts of Mathews wills were located as follows:

1807: the inventory of the estate of Anthony Mathews taken by John & Ethelred Matthews (see document 16, p. 155156).

1811: Elizabeth Smith left beds to her daughter Treasy Mathews (see document 17, p. 47‑48) [From other records Treasy was the widow of Anthony Mathews].

1816: The will of James Pruden lists a wife Easter, sons David & John Pruden, heirs of Nathaniel Pruden, Rachel Rice granddaughter of Abraham Pruden. When the will was proved in 1822, Ethelred Matthias (Mathews) was witness as Isaac Miller and Francis M. Foster had moved out of state (document 17, p. 91). Esther Pruden's will written in 1823 listed David Pruden, Easter Boyce, Celia Pruden and Olivia Pruden WITHOUT giving relationships. They are likely stepchildren or grandchildren. She then specifically mentioned her four grandchildren: Lodowick Mathews, Mary Rice, James Mathews and John Mathews. David Riddick was executor (see document 17, pp. 9596).

1822: The will of Andrew Mathews lists a wife Ann, with children: Jacob, Absilley, David, John, James, Salley and Milley. David Reddick was executor (see document 17, p. 87‑88).

1828: Mary Benton mentioned her sister Ann Mathews and her niece Mary Mathews. daughter of Ethelred Mathews (see document 17, p. 125).

1833: The will of John W. Matthews listed children Matthew, Arthur, Matilda, and Nancy. Ethelred Matthews was a witness (see document 17, pp. 144‑145).

1836: The will of John Matthews listed a wife Sarah, and sons Anthony & Thomas (document 17, p. 166).

1845: The will of William A. Mathews listed children Seth, Penelope, Jesse, Median Johnson, Willie and Emeline (see document 16, pp. 37‑38).

The earliest book of wills (pre 1807) was missing from the shelf. However the second Will Book had a list of the testators in book 1 and no Matthews were listed.

Early Gates County, North Carolina Court Minutes

Early court minutes have also been abstracted. We copied references for only James and Ludowick from 1800 ‑1831 (see documents 18‑23).

In 1808, Anthony Mathews estate was divided (see document 19, p. 69). This is the proposed father of the older Ludowick Mathews.

In 1808, James Mathews was sued for debt to David Reddick. As there was no personal property, four acres by Riddicks was sold (see document 19, p. 69, 77). Bill of sale from Riddick Mathews to Lodowick Mathews (see document 19, p. 83). Ludowick witnessed an agreement between Isaac Miller and Riddick Mathews (see document 19, p. 103).

In 1824 James Mathews received a license to sell spirits (see document 22, p. 2). James, John D. and Whitlock Mathews were insolvents on the 1825 tax list (see document 22, p. 117). James Mathews died a suspicious death in Nov 1826 as their was a coroner's inquest (dsee ocument 22, p. 118). Ethelred Mathews received administration on the estate of James Mathews in May 1827 (see document 22, p. 147). It is very unlikely that this is James Mathews, son of Easter and father of Ethelred. More likely it is James, son of Andrew Mathews.

Ludowick Mathews was called to jury service in 1813 and 1814 (see document 20 pp. 38, 41, 67, 72). To be able to serve on a jury a man had to hold land and be at least 21. This must be the older Ludowick.

Ludowick Mathews served as a guard in 1820 (see document 21, p. 71‑72) and also served in 1821 (see document 21, p. 103‑104) and in 1823 (see document 21, p. 165‑166). Ludowick Mathews was a patroler in 1829 (see document 23, p. 63), served in the militia to Chowan river looking for negroes in 1830 (see document 23, p. 79). He was listed as insolvent for 1830 taxes (see document 23, p. 118‑119). This appears to be the younger Ludowick.

Conclusions

There are at least two Lodowick Mathews in Gates County, North Carolina. One Ludowick is the son of Anthony Mathews, and appears to be the Ludowick who was serving on the jury in 1813‑1814 and was the most likely to have married Lovisa Foster in 1806. From the limited checking of personal tax records reported by Johnson, this Ludowick apparently leaves Gates County around 1816. At least he does not appear in the 1816‑1817 tax lists and has no probate in Gates County. As this Ludowick was at least 21 before 1813, and before his 1806 marriage, and he owns land, it is highly unlikely that this is the Ludowick listed in the Gates County census in 1820.

The second Ludowick listed as age16 to 26 in the 1820 census, was about 25. He married around 1815 from the age of the children in the household in 1820. This appears to be the same man as Ludowick, son of James in the 1815 tax list. He served as a patroler and on brief excursions in militia during the 1820s but was not on the jury list, and apparently had little or no property. In 1830 he was unable to pay his taxes. There were no deeds showing he sold land. If Ludowick Mathews had little or no real estate and could not pay taxes, it would make good sense that he would move looking for a better situation. Because we were unable to locate Ludowick in Gates County, North Carolina after 1830 and his family in Norfolk County, Virginia before 1838, we suggest that this was the same Ludowick. With that assumption, Ludowick was the son of James Mathews and grandson of Easter ? Mathews Pruden. He was either brother to or first cousin of John and James Mathews. These men need to be located in the records and followed as well.

As this younger Ludowick appears to be ours, research was hampered by his apparent lack of real estate. Further research should begin by reading the existing personal tax records of Gates County, North Carolina and of Norfolk County, Virginia for all Mathews. When the personal tax information is combined with the census, and probate information it should help sort out the Mathews families.

Anthony Mathews who died in 1807 apparently came to Gates County from Isle of Wight County in Virginia. Easter Mathews and her son James may have also come from there. As both families used Ludowick as a name, they are likely close relatives.

Prudens, Riddicks and Walters appear to be close neighbors and probably relatives of the Mathews. Riddicks are located in Gates County and in Nansemond County, Virginia. These families should also be studied to determine what their relationship might be.

Presuming that Ludowick Mathews in the 1830 census in Gates County, is the right Ludowick, further research needs to be done both in Gates County and in the Nansemond ‑ Norfolk area to try and identify the other children of Ludowick Mathews. Learning who they are would help confirm the hypothesis that the two Ludowicks are the same. A good beginning to try and locate them would be finding Barbara Mathews in the 1860 census.

The Importance of Documentation

It is important that the next phase include funds for documentation of materials collected to date. It is with the help of the computer data base of information, that we are able to provide such positive results in your family history research and therefore saves you money and time.

In addition, once the material is data entered, it is completely usable for publication as a family history with very little editing necessary. We convert the data from one data base program to a publishing program, scan in any photos or documents you desire, include an acknowledgments and foreword page if you like, generate a table of contents and an index, and a family history book is prepared.

The data, although entered only once, can be manipulated to generate pedigree charts of many varieties (we use the simplest form in our reports), as well as family group records, and many other formats.

If requested, we can prepared a GEDCOM file of all the data we have entered so that you can import it directly into your Genealogy program.

Suggested Future Research

1) Data enter documentation into Family Group Records.

2) A line by line search for Barbara Mathews in the 1860 Portsmouth census.

3) Extract all Mathews in Gates County, North Carolina Personal Tax lists.

4) Extract all Mathews in Norfolk County, Virginia Personal Tax lists, and analyze to see if the Ludowick of these two counties could be the same person.

5) Search 1860 census of Norfolk County, Virginia to find Barbara and who she is living with.

6) Abstract all the Mathews Deeds in Gates County, North Carolina. This will enable us to sort out the various Mathews families, thus allowing us find out what may have happened to the 73 acres of land that Ludowick of Gates County, North

Carolina had in 1810‑15.

7) We should find what land James, son of Easther, had and what happened to it?

8) Search to see if there any references to other children possibly in the family of Ludowick Mathews of Gates County in 1830?

9) Abstract all Mathews deeds in Norfolk County, Virginia. Are any other children of Ludowick and Barbara identified?

10) When Gates County references have been exhausted, look in Nansemond and Isle of Wight Counties in Virginia for earlier Mathews information to try and identify the Mathews husband of Easter.

This has been a very useful initial phase of research. It appears that the lineage is well documented. We look forward to helping you locate the clues that will allow us to extend this ancestry back even further. Just let us know when you wish us to continue by going on the Internet at graslc@aol.com, or calling 1‑801‑363‑3463, and asking for Tricia. She would be most happy to assist you.

Judith Hansen, AG

Primary research/preliminary report/suggestions for further research

Tricia Hammond, BA Genealogy

Preliminary evaluation

Holly T. Hansen, BA History

Final evaluation/final report/suggestions for further research

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