Jacob Mathews of Alsace and Frederick County, MarylandUpdated September 5, 2000 |
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David A Mathews
4218 Fox Hollow Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45241-2941
513-563-8328
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Johann Jacob and Anna Margaretha (Jung) Mathews were progenitors of a huge American family. They had more than 70 grandchildren, all of them born before 1800. As usual, names and the spelling of names present problems. Johann Jacob was also Hans Jacob. Anna Margaretha has been called Maria. Like most Germans, they often used their second names as call names. Hereafter they are referred to as simply Jacob and Margaret. The name Mathews is often spelled Mathias, Matthias, Matthews, Mateas, Mates, Mateus, Matheus, Matias, Mathis, Matthis, etc. Johann Jacob Mathews was born in the town of Schweighausen sur Moder in the Bas-Rhin region of Alsace on October 23, 1704. At that time official sovereignty of Alsace was contested, the consensus being that it was a part of France. The region has been passed back and forth between Germany and France throughout history, usually as the spoils of a war. Today, the region is again part of France. Jacob and Margaret, as well as most of the people in the area at that time, were definitely Germanic. Jacob's father's name was also Johann Jacob. His mother's name was Anna Maria. Jacob had at least one sibling, a brother named Johann Georg. Jacob married Margaretha Jung in the neighboring town of Gundershoffen on January 25, 1729. Margaret was born August 24, 1709 in Gundershoffen. Her parents were Johann Michael and Anna Margaretha (Gass) Jung. Johann Michael Jung was the son of Jacob and Susannah Jung. Anna Margaretha Gass was the daughter of Michael and Elisabeth (Müller) Gass. Jacob and Margaret settled in Gundershoffen where their first two children were born. Johann Heinrich was born July 18, 1730, and Johann Jacob was born August 13, 1732. In the spring or early summer of 1733, the family left their homeland and started for America. Jacob financed the voyage by entering into a redemption agreement with Johann Peter Appel, who had arrived in Philadelphia the previous year. They first had to travel down the Rhein River to Rotterdam, Holland. There they boarded the British ship "Samuel" and began their long journey to the new world, first stopping by the port of Deal in England. They arrived at Philadelphia on August 17, 1733. The entire trip from Germany to America normally took about two or three months, and it would be difficult to overstate the hardships they endured. Their two young sons, Henry and Jacob, apparently died during the voyage. There is no record of their deaths in Gundershoffen, yet Jacob and Margaret arrived at Philadelphia without children. The family lived for a few years in the Conestoga area of Lancaster Co, Pennsylvania. They soon joined the large migration of Pennsylvania Germans southward into the wilderness area known as "Monocacy". This area became a part of Frederick Co, Maryland in 1748. Jacob and Margaret were Lutherans and active in church affairs of the community. Jacob helped to establish the little church and schoolhouse that became known as "Apple's Church". He was a farmer and wagoner. His farm located near Thurmont, called "Slate Ridge", totaled 579 acres by 1763. Jacob and Margaret had 8 sons and 5 daughters. The first 2 sons, as mentioned earlier, died young. (3) Anna Margaret married George Valentine. (4) Anna Magdalena married Henry Firor. (5) John George married Maria Barbara Ambrose and moved to Pennsylvania. (6) Maria Catherine married John Stull. (7) Anna Maria married John Flower. (8) Philip married Maria Magdalena Beyerly. (9) Maria Barbara married Mathias Ambrose and moved to Pennsylvania. (10) Conrad married Maria Magdalena Weller and moved to Kentucky. (11) Henry probably married Maria Catherine Appel. (12) John Mathews, the youngest, married Maria Catherine Weller. (13) A son Joseph married Elizabeth. There are references that all of the sons served in the American Revolution. Jacob died on the farm May 7, 1782. Margaret continued to live there until her death on October 12, 1788. Both are buried in Apple's Church cemetery |
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