Genealogy Research Associates, Inc.

Tricia Hammond, BA Genealogy, Research Director

139 East South Temple Street, Suite 300

Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

(Phone) 801‑363‑3463 (Fax)801‑363‑1315

Education (E‑mail) graslc@aol.com

Research Helping people trace, compile, and publish their family histories.

Preservation

April 13, 1999

Lynn Hopewell

82 Erin Drive

Warrenton, VA 20186

RE: Research Report on the Identity and Ancestry of Lodowick Matthews

Dear Mr. Hopewell:

In the continuing saga on the life and ancestry of Lodowick Matthews, this research phase concentrated on possible records in the "Norfolk County" area, i.e., records currently located in the Independent Cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk and Portsmouth.

1840 "Norfolk County" Virginia Census

From previous research we knew that Lodovick was dead by 1838 when his widow Barbara sold her rights to her deceased father's property. Barbara was living in Norfolk County, where she and children, James W. and Susan Maria were located in Portsmouth in 1850. As stated in the last report, neither Barbara nor James W. Matthews were located in the 1840 Virginia census index. No persons of the right age were living with Barbara's father, William R. Smith, however, we knew that the family must be there.

The 1840 Virginia census was rechecked to see what Matthews were in the Norfolk County area. We located a James Mathews family in Portsmouth (document 1). The census showed James was of the right age, 20‑30. Three females lived in the household, two 15‑20 (Susan & ?) and one 40‑50 (right age to be Barbara). This appears to be our missing Matthews family. The second younger female could be another daughter, or possibly a first wife for James as he was old enough to have married.

"Norfolk County" Virginia Marriage Records

In this area the only type of marriage record which exists before 1850 are marriage bonds. The groom and another adult male (often a relative of the bride) took out a bond before the marriage took place. We checked the Norfolk County marriage bonds. Some bond books are indexed by groom. The whole index was then read for brides. Other books which had no index were read page by page. We located the marriage records for Susan Mariah Matthews to John E. Morris and James W. Mathews to Mrs. Mary A. A. White (documents 2 and 3). They married in the fall of 1847. James was bondsman for Susan. We did not locate anyone who could be the other female in the 1840 census, either as a first wife for James or another daughter in the family.

We next checked to see if Barbara and Lodovick had married in Norfolk County. No record of their marriage was found, but the bonds for the period between 1800 and 1817 were missing. From the birth date of James W. Matthews, we calculate that his parents married around 1815, therefore they could have married in Norfolk County. At this point, we cannot tell where the marriage occurred. We abstracted all Matthews marriages located in Norfolk for the period 1817‑1850 (see abstracts 410. They were intentionally left as abstracts and not pulled into the body of the report). If Lodovick Matthews is later found not to be of the Gates County, North Carolina Matthews, perhaps some of these Matthews could be his relatives.

Norfolk County, Virginia, 1860 Census

We read the 1860 Norfolk County, Virginia census page by page for the area of Portsmouth. We were not successful in locating Barbara Matthews. She must have been living elsewhere in 1860. We abstracted all Matthews found in the Portsmouth area in case they may be of future interest (see abstract 11).

Norfolk County, Virginia Personal Tax Lists

As stated in the previous report, we have located no record of Lodowick owning real estate, so deeds and land tax records appear to be of little help. However, all adult males were charged a poll tax and also had to pay personal property tax. Personal property tax lists for Norfolk County begin before 1800. We checked the Norfolk County, Virginia tax lists from 1813 to 1848, looking for Lodowick Matthews. If the Lodowick Matthews family in Portsmouth in the 1840s and later is the same family as Lodowick Matthews of Gates County, North Carolina in 1830. He would not appear in Norfolk records until after 1830. We also wanted to see what other Matthews were living in the area.

The county was usually divided into two tax districts called by the name of the official in charge of receiving the tax. Some times the geographic location was also given at the beginning of the list. Since the tax lists were alphabetical, it was not possible to see who was living next to each other, but only which district they were in. Many of the lists also list an abbreviation to show what part of the county the taxpayer was living in.

We located four references to Lodowick Matthews. Interestingly, the first listing for him is in 1817 (document 23). His place of residence was recorded as "W.B." Other Matthews listed, all as residents of W.B. as well, include: William, Nathan, Baily, Samuel, Jno., and a second Samuel. After 1817, Lodowick does not appear again until 1832. He was listed, with no property, in the personal tax lists of the Portsmouth and Elizabeth River Parish area in 1832, 1834 and 1836 (documents 12‑14).

In 1836 Lodowick was the only Matthews listed in the Portsmouth Parish area (Manning district). This shows he was still alive in 1836. We already knew he was dead by 1838. Few Matthews were listed in this district in later years. Samuel H. E. P. Matthews was there in 1838, but not in later years. In 1844, Jno. C., Herman and Ethelred Matthews were listed. John and Ethelred were still there in 1847, and Ethelred appears again in 1848. The only other Etheldred Matthews known is Etheldred Matthews in Gates County, North Carolina, son of one of the Anthony Matthews, He had a brother, Lodowick who we have proposed is the older Lodowick Matthews. Since the name Etheldred is so uncommon, there is probably a connection to the Gates County family. No Etheldred was found in the 1850 Virginia census index but a Herman Mathews was there.

As discussed, after his entry in 1817, Lodowick first appeared in Norfolk County, Virginia in 1832. Also in the Portsmouth area were William, Joshua and Samuel. No district returns are available for 1833. In 1834, Lodovick was still there. Joshua and Samuel were missing, but Overton Matthews and Harmon Mathews appeared.

All Matthews located in the tax lists from 1825 to 1848 are shown by abstracts 15 and 16. They are left in abstract format, and not pulled into the body of the report, to make it easier to view which Matthews were living in the same area of the county. We found a William Matthews in the area beginning in 1813 when we first began our review of the lists. A William (probably the same one) continues to appear in the tax lists until 1836. Also Samuel Matthews was found in Norfolk in 1813, and continues to appear most years until 1834. Nancy (Ann) Matthews is there from 1822 to 1829. Andrew Matthews shows up in 1827, Miles in 1828, and Joshua in 1832. At this point it is not known how there are related, where they came from or where they moved to. They need to be compared with the Matthews located in the census records.

Virginia Census Indexes

While an 1810 Census for Virginia is not available, there is a census for this year called the "1810 Census Supplement" which was created from county tax lists over a period of about ten years. The listings only rarely identify from which tax year the individual came. In this index, we noted reference to a "Lodowick Mathews" in Nansemond County (document 24). This is a vital document as it places a Lodowick Mathews in Nansemond probably before the tax entry we found in Norfolk County in 1817. Time has not permitted us to examine the tax lists of Nansemond County, however, this should certainly be done to determine for how long Lodowick appears in this county. We did check a number of published sources for Nansemond County, including marriage records, land abstracts, and probate records, but have not as yet noted another entry for him in the indexes.

We copied the census indexes for Virginia 1820‑1850 (documents 17‑20). At this time we have not copied the Matthews families found in the index or reviewed the families to see which ones were in the personal tax lists. We were more interested to note whether any Lodowick continues to appear in the census for Virginia. He does not.

We find it very interesting that Lodowick appears in the tax lists for Norfolk in the year 1817, and not thereafter, and coincidently, the Lodowick we believe to be a second Lodowick in Gates County, appears in the Gates County tax lists in 1818, just when this Lodowick disappears from Norfolk County. It could be argued that this is the same, elder, Lodowick, whose disappearance from Gates County after 1815 is due to a removal to Norfolk for a short period of time, after which he returned to Gates County in 1818. However, we still have conflicting census information related to the structure of his household over the years, which still supports that there are probably two Lodowick Matthews.

Future research should perhaps include efforts to determine what happened to the Lavisa Foster who we believe married the elder Lodowick Matthews. If we can find her in later years, still carrying the Matthews surname, we would have further evidence to distinguish between the two Lodowicks, and to evidence that the marriage to Barbara Smith was not a second marriage. Still, the fact that an Ethelred Matthews appears in the Norfolk tax lists with Lodowick in later years does suggest that the Lodowick in Norfolk was somehow related to the Anthony Matthews family.

One final argument to the distinction between the two Lodowicks are the court and tax records for Lodowick Matthews in Gates County in earlier years, in the same years that we have now located reference to a Lodowick Matthews in Norfolk County. These include the documents you provided for Lodowick dated 1815 and 1816 as compared with the tax list for the Lodowick in Gates County dated 1815. The entries you found agree with the tax list found for Lodowick in Norfolk in 1817. Verification of the 1810 census supplement entry for the Lodowick Matthews in Nansemond County should allow us to make even further distinction.

Gates County, North Carolina Deed Records

We ended this research session by checking Gates County, North Carolina Deed indexes for Lodovick Matthews. We found only two references. In 1808, Reddick Matthews sold Lodowick Matthews a Negro, George (document 21). In 1809, Lodowick Matthews sold John Matthews 73 acres of land on the south side of Middle Swamp (document 22). It was land that had been owned by Anthony Matthews. This is obviously the Lodowick, son of Anthony. Also, this Lodowick had to have been at least 21 to have sold land, which means he was born before 1788. He appears to be at least 5 years older than the Lodowick Matthews listed in Gates County in the 1820, 1830 and 1840 censuses, but fits the Lodowick Matthews listed in the 1810 census.

Summary

Lodowick Matthews appears in the 1810 Virginia census supplement for Nansemond County, and in Norfolk County, Virginia court records and personal tax lists in 1815, 1816, 1817, 1832, 1834 and 1836. This indicates that he possibly lived earliest in Nansemond County, then in Norfolk County, where he probably married. It appears that Lodowick left Norfolk County after 1817 and was gone for a period of 25 years before he returned to the area around 1831. Lodowick was not taxed for any property, but was listed only for poll tax. Barbara does not appear in any tax lists after Lodowick's death. Apparently she did not own any property to be taxed. Their son James does not appear either. It is likely that Barbara moved her family into town and the city of Portsmouth had its own tax lists.

At this point, any connection between Lodowick and other Matthews found in the Portsmouth area is uncertain. We do know that about half of the Matthews reviewed in total over the years 1813‑1825 were residents of the same area initialed "W.B." as Lodowick. These included mainly a William Mathews, James Mathews, John Mathews, Samuel Mathews, and later, an Ann Mathews. We are particularly interested in the James, John, and Ann Matthews, given the will of Esther Pruden naming grandsons, James, John and Lodowick, and given the entry for Ann Mathews listed as a neighbor to William, Lodowick, James and John Mathews in the 1830 census of Gates County. The Ann Matthews in Norfolk County is absent from the tax lists after 1829 and the James and John Matthews disappear from Norfolk much earlier.

An Etheldred Matthews was found in Portsmouth for a few years after Lodowick's death. The only other Etheldred we located was the Etheldred Matthews of Gates County, North Carolina, son of an Anthony Matthews and brother of the "older" Lodowick. Again, this suggests that though there are two Lodowicks, they are very likely closely related, possibly as cousins.

Suggestions for Future Research

We suggest that research continue with the list from last report, particularly including the following:

1. Perhaps, it would be best to begin with either the deed records or the personal tax lists in Gates County. The tax lists would better reflect who and how many adult male Matthews are in Gates County. We would also want to determine if the William, James and John Matthews appeared in Gates County at the same time that they disappeared from Norfolk County.

2. Further research into the later life of Lavisa Foster Matthews, as discussed in this report, would also be of interest.

3. Additional research to verify the 1810 census entry for Lodowick Matthews in Nansemond County and to determine the tax list year should be done. More extensive research in the microfilmed original records of Nansemond County would also be wise considering that this is the earliest reference to what appears to be the younger Lodowick Matthews that we have thus far.

This research period has allowed us to gather further evidence to distinguish between apparently two Lodowick Matthews in Gates County, North Carolina. We anticipate that future research following the above guidelines will offer the conclusive proof desired which will then allow us to devote our efforts to extending the Lodowick Matthews ancestry. You may contact us by e‑mail at graslc(cr~aol.com or by phone at (801) 363‑3463 to our Research Director, Tricia Hammond. We would be happy to assist you.