Capt. Samuel Mathews, of "Denbigh"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Mathews

Captain Samuel Mathews, of Virginia was born before 1600 in England, perhaps as early as 1572, and died between 30 November 1657 and March 1658 in England.

Biographical notes

He came to Virginia before 1618 as a servant to Sheriff Johnson of London. He was first in James Towne but went to live in Sherley hundred.

Samuel received land at the mouth of the Warwick River where he built his plantation first called "Mathews Manor" and later called "Denbigh". This is an account of the plantation in 1649:

"Worthy Captaine Mathews, an old Planter of above thirty years standing, one of the Counsell, and a most deserving Common-wealths-man. I may not omit to let you know this gentlemans industry. He hath a fine house, and all things answerable to it, he sowes yearly store of Hempe and Flax, and causes it to be spun: he keeps Weavers and hath a Tan-house, causes Leather to be dressed, hath eight shoemakers employed in their trade, hath forty Negroe servants, brings them up to Trades in his house. He veerly sowes abundance of Wheat, Barley, &c. The Wheat he selleth at four shillings the bushell: kills store of Beeves, and sells them to victuall the ships when they come thither: hath abundance of Kine, a brave Dairy, Swine great store, and Poltery, he married the Daugher of Sir Tho. Hinton, and in word, keeps a good house, lives bravely, and a true lover of Virginia, he is worthy of much honour." (Anonymous, A Perfect Description of Virginia . . . ., London, 1649.)

Family

Married:

1. about 1628 in Virginia to Frances Grevill(e), (b. c 1596 and died 1633), as her third husband. She was the daughter of Giles Greville and Sarah Payne, and had been married, 1stly, to Captain Nathaniel West, and 2ndly, to cape merchant, Abraham Peirsey. [fn1]
2. in 1638, in England, to Sarah Hinton (b 1613 in England), daughter of Sir Thomas Hinton and Catherine Palmer.

Children of Samuel Mathews and Frances Greville:

1. Samuel Mathews, b. Abt. 1630, Mathews Manor, Virginia; d. Abt. 1659, Virginia.
2. Francis Mathews, b. Abt. 1632; d. February 16, 1673/74, York County, Virginia.

Origins

Parents seen as Tobias Mathews, Archbishop of York, Bishop & Dean of Durham (1546-1628) and Frances Barlow d. 10 May 1629.

However from

http://genforum.genealogy.com/matthews/messages/6109.html

Notes made by Frances Barlow Matthew on her children (transcribed from facsimile of manuscript by Stephen W. Edmondson). From York Minster Library Archives. Date needed):

" .... Samuell Matthew was borne 1583 the fifth of February being Wensday at two of the cloke in the morneing his godmother Mrs.Humfry his godfathers Dr. Slithers and Dr. Witherington. This Samuell Matthew, my most deerly beloved sonne, departed this Life most Christianly the 15 of June 1561/1601 and is buryed in Peter-House in Cambridge."

The Documentary Evidence

The records of those areas of Virginia that were the most important in the seventeenth century are, regrettably the most incomplete. The court records of Jamestown and James City County were destroyed in Richmond during the Civil War, as also were those of Warwick County. As Samuel Mathews owned property in both and served on the Council at Jamestown, it will be apparent much key information concerning his life and holdings has been lost. The history of the Mathews' family is tortuous to say the very least, and those historians and genealogists who have written on the subject have often served only to confuse the issue further. [source1]

Notes

• from: A Mathews/Matthews Family Line compiled by Ann Woodlief
  

Samuel Mathews came to VA before 1618 as servant to Sheriff Johnson of London. In 4/1622 he was in England, returning in the Southampton in Dec. 1622. He was sent to serve King James I as commissioner examining conditions in the Colony. He was, however, a Puritan and an early convert to the Parliamentary Cause.

Samuel had two land grants, Flowerdew Hundred lying on the south side of James River (which he later gave up in a land dispute) and another at Blunt Point on the north side at the mouth of Warwick River where he located his plantation, "Denbigh," described in 1648 as a "miniature village." By 1625 he was named to the Council; he was commissioned to build the fort at Old Point in 1629 and was authorized "sole trade in the Bay a year" in 1626 as partial payment. This became a lucrative business in furs. He was shrewd and industrious, establishing a large plantation with forty slaves trained as artisans. He was elected Governor in 1656, and reelected in 1657, dying in office. He was active in the controversies over Governor Harvey's governing, later named by Harvey as a "prime actor in the late Mutenye in Virginia." He represented Virginia in England in obtaining ratification of the articles of agreement; he remained and probably died in England.

from: Descendants of Samuel Mathews

The elder Samuel Mathews was the first of the Mathews family to emigrate from England to Virginia, arriving at Jamestown by 1619. He eventually had several other land holdings, including one near Henricus and another at Old Point Comfort. Known as Colonel Mathews, the elder Samuel became one of the most prominent men in the colony. He was a member of the Governor's Council and was actively involved in conflicts with the Native Americans. In 1635, he was one of the leaders of the popular mutiny that ousted Royal Governor Sir John Harvey. Upon returning to England, the elder Mathews was eventually cleared of any charges; upon returning to Virginia, he resumed service on the Governor's Council until 1644.

Citations

1. [S6626] Unknown author, Magna Charta Barons by Wurts.
2. [S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 405.

Sources

1. Descendants of Samuel Mathews
2. A Mathews/Matthews Family Line compiled by Ann Woodlief
3. http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p727.htm#i...
4. Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5: Families G-P edited by John Frederick Dorman page 636

for more reading

1. Boots, John R.. The Mat(t)hews Family: an Anthology of Mathews Lineages. Ocala, Fla., 1970.
2. Matthews, James Alonzo. Pearce, Bartlett, Matthews, Smart, And Allied Families. [S.l.: s.n., 1983.]
3. Cooke, John Esten (1883). Virginia: A History of the People. Houghton, Mifflin and Co.. pp. 205.
4. Bruce, Philip Alexander (1893). The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Virginia Historical Society. pp. 91.
5. Cooke p. 207.
6. Arthur, Timothy Shay (1852). The History of Virginia: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Lippincott, Grambo & Co.. pp. 14.
7. Robert Beverley, The History and Present State of Virginia
8. Waters, Henry Fitz-Gilbert (1885). Genealogical Gleanings in England. New England Historic Genealogical Society. pp. 101.

Footnotes

1. from: Descendants of Samuel Mathews
   

The "daughter of Sir Thomas Hinton" was not Samuel Mathews first wife. He had previously been married to the widow of Cape Merchant, Abraham Peirsey, and he was her third husband. Frances Grevill was one of four women who left Bristol aboard the ship, Supply, in September, 1620 and who first married Captain Nathaniel West, brother to the third Lord Delaware, Governor of Virginia.

West died at some date between April 1623 and February 1623/4, being listed in the 1623 census and absent from that of '24, and in the latter year, Frances was living on Virginia Company land at Elizabeth City with her brother-in-law, Francis West. At some time thereafter, Frances Grevill West married Abraham Peirsey, a man of considerable substance who, in addition to a residence at Jamestown, had bought the 1000 acre "Flowerdew Hundred" on the south bank of the James, from Sir George Yeardley. When Peirsey died in January 1627/8, he apparently "left the best estate ever known in Virginia," (12) thus making Frances Grevill West Peirsey a still young and second time widow. That she was by now somewhat used was amply compensated for in the eyes of any colonist by the value of her legacies. Frances was executrix of Peirsey's will and she was charged "to make saile of all the estate as aforesaid to the profit it can be sould for." (13) This she was in no hurry to do, possibly because she was more concerned with her marriage to Samuel Mathews who apparently hooked her very soon after her former husband's demise. The Peirsey estate was still waiting to be settled when she died in 1633.

We know that Samuel Mathews Sr. had two children and it is reasonable to deduce that both were the product of his first marriage to Frances Grevill, for the first was christened Samuel and the second Francis. Many people who have written about the Mathews family, have inexplicably hitched the name of Frances Grevill to Mary Hinton, an assumption for which there was not a shred of proof. (15) On the contrary, there is now archaeological evidence which strongly points to the second wife's first name beginning with "S" rather than "F" or "M."

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Samuel MATHEWS was born in about 1600 probably in England. He came to Virginia before 1618 as a servant to Sheriff Johnson of London. He was first in James Towne but went to live in Sherley hundred.

Samuel was first married to Frances GREVILLE after 24 Mar 1627. Frances was born in England and came to Virginia in the Supply when she was less than 20 years old in 1620. She was first married to Nathaniel WEST by whom she had a son named Nathaniel and later to Abraham PIERSEY.

Samuel and Frances had two sons:

1. Samuel, Jr, born about 1629, VA; died Jan 1659/60, VA

2. Francis, died 16 Feb 1674/5, VA; married ____BALDWIN

Frances died by 1633 when Mary Hll was appointed administratrix of the estate of her father Abraham PEIRSEY, the executrix, his late wife, having died. Thomas Hill and his wife Mary charged Samuel Mathews with having altered the estate of Peirsey after his marriage to the widow. The case was dismissed.

Samuel was married in about 1634 to S HINTON, daughter of Sir Thomas HINTON (1575-1635).

Samuel received land at the mouth of the Warwick River where he built his plantation first called "Mathews Manor" and later called "Denbigh". This is an account of the plantation in 1649:

"Worthy Captaine Mathews, an old Planter of above thirty years standing, one of the Counsell, and a most deserving Common-wealths-man. I may not omit to let you know this gentlemans industry. He hath a fine house, and all things answerable to it, he sowes yearly store of Hempe and Flax, and causes it to be spun: he keeps Weavers and hath a Tan-house, causes Leather to be dressed, hath eight shoemakers employed in their trade, hath forty Negroe servants, brings them up to Trades in his house. He veerly sowes abundance of Wheat, Barley, &c. The Wheat he selleth at four shillings the bushell: kills store of Beeves, and sells them to victuall the ships when they come thither: hath abundance of Kine, a brave Dairy, Swine great store, and Poltery, he married the Daugher of Sir Tho. Hinton, and in word, keeps a good house, lives bravely, and a true lover of Virginia, he is worthy of much honour." (Anonymous, A Perfect Description of Virginia . . . ., London, 1649.)

There are several pages about the excavation of Mathews Manor, the home Samuel Mathews, the first Mathews immigrant in this line. I have copied excerpts from the articles in The Daily Press, Newport News-Hampton, VA, and Mathews Manor by Ivor Noel Hume, Antiques, December, 1966.

Although the tract had been known as Denbigh Plantation as early as the beginning of the eighteenth century, its period of historical importance had ended nearly fifty years before. At that time it seems to have been named Mathews Manor, it was owned by Samuel Mathews (c 1600-c 1657), who settled in Virginia before 1622 and eventually became one of the most prominent men in the colony. He was a long-time member of the council, and in 1635 was one of the leaders of the popular mutiny that ousted Governor Sir John Harvey. In the spring of 1637 Mathews and three others were sent home to England to stand trial for Treason in the Court of Star Chamber, but the charges were eventually dropped and Mathews returned to Virginia in 1639. Meanwhile, Harvey had been reinstated as governor by Charles I and had seized and dispersed much of Mathews' property, and also sanctioned the ransacking of his house. But when Mathews returned, his property was restored to him by order of the King, and Harvey was evicted.

In the late fall of 1652 Samuel Mathews was sent to England by the council to serve as agent for the colony, with instructions to lobby on its behalf against the territorial claims of Lord Baltimore. Mathews was still about this business when last heard from in London on the last day of November 1657.

The archealogical finds at Mathews Manor are some of the best that have been found. . . a silver saucepan whose lid was engraved with the initials of Mathews and his second wife, M/SS, and stamped with the London date letter for 1638. This last find was of considerable importance since it identified the "Daughter of Sir Thomas Hinton," mentioned earlier, as S Hinton rather than Frances Hinton, as genealogists had mistakenly supposed, having confused her with Mathews' first wife, Frances Grevill West Peirsev. It is possible the saucepan was a wedding present and if so, it would follow that Samuel Matthews married S Hinton in 1638 after he was acquitted of the treason charge and before he returned to Virginia in the spring of the following year. This would explain the absence of any record of the marriage in Virginia. Be that as it may, the initials helped to confirm the view that the excavated site was certainly that of Samuel Mathews' "fine house," and not one belonging to a tenant or employee.

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His son: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Mathews_%28Governor%29

Samuel Mathews (Jr.) was the elder son of Samuel Mathews (Sr.) (1572-1657) and Frances Grevill West Peirsey Mathews (1590-1635). He was born at his father's plantation, Mathews Manor, later known as Denbigh, which was located on the north side of the James River at Blunt Point, the confluence of the Warwick and the James rivers in the area which later became Warwick County, Virginia (and which is now within the city limits of Newport News).

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Disputed Parents and Wife

The origin of Samuel Mathews, Sr is uncertain. He was born about 1590 (age 32 in 1622).

This website makes the interesting claim that Samuel Mathews was the son of a Samuel Mathews, son of Bishop Tobias Mathews, who matriculated at Cambridge in 1580 and died in 1601. However, this has been rebutted at this other website, which claims that Tobias's son Samuel who died in 1601 was actually born in 1583, too young to have been the father of Capt. Samuel Mathews. However, this rebuttal doesn't consider the possibility that Tobias had an older son Samuel by a first wife; the Cambridge entries for Bishop Tobias's sons John and Tobias clearly show that Samuel (matriculated 1581) was their brother.

A poorly-sourced and unreliable Hinton genealogy makes the unsupported statement that Samuel Mathews was the son of Tobias Mathew, Bishop of York himself and Frances Barlow. Unless some primary source documentation is provided, no parents should be added for Samuel Mathews.

The same unreliable Hinton genealogy conflates Sarah Hinton (second wife of Samuel Mathews, Sr.) with Frances (Greville)(West) Piersey (first wife of Samuel Mathews, Sr.), calling her "Mary Frances Hinton." This work falsely asserts that Samuel Mathews, Sr. was the "Military Governor of Virginia" per order of King Charles I. (In reality, it was Samuel Mathews, Jr. who became Governor of Virginia, several years after King Charles was beheaded.) The History of Parliament follows this error, stating that Sarah Hinton's husband Samuel Mathews was the Governor of Virginia. This has led others to the false conclusion that Sarah Hinton was the wife of Governor Samuel Mathews, Jr. In reality, Sarah Hinton was the second wife of Samuel Mathews, Sr.

 Biography 

Samuel Mathews was not Governor of Virginia, as was once commonly thought. His son, Samuel Mathews, Jr was Governor.

"Capt. Samuel Mathews came to Virginia before 1618. On 4 May 1622 Richard Brewster deposed in a suit against Captain Samuel Argall that 'the said Mathewes came thither over as a servant to Sheriff Johnson of London and then the def[endan]t Argall made him a Captaine, and the said Mathewes lived but a while in James Towne but went to live in Sherley hundred and looked to some few men of the Sherif Johnson's, and afterwards went to a place called Harryhattock where the said def[endan]t gave the said Mathewes to comaund of men & made him Captain of them.' On 27 April 1622 'Samuel Mathews of Arrowttox in the Countrie of Virginia, Esq., age 32,' presumably then in England, also made a deposition concerning the ship Treasurer. He returned to Virginia in the Southampton, which arrived in Dec. 1622, and in the census, 1623/4, is listed 'in the plantation over against James City,' where he was recorded in the muster, 1624/5, with Mr. David Sands, the minister, and a company of 20 men.... By 1625, and perhaps by 1623, Captain Mathews was named to the Council."

In the 1623/4 census, Samuel is not listed with any wife or children. However, Widow Frances West (later to marry Samuel as her third husband) is on the list in Samuel's settlement. In addition, there was a Robert Mathews on the list.

In the 1624/5 muster at Capt. Mathews' plantation next to James City, the name of Robert Mathews appears immediately after that of Capt. Samuel Mathews (the leader). The list shows that Robert came to Virginia in 1622 in the Southampton (as did Samuel), reinforcing the supposition that Robert was a kinsman (perhaps brother or nephew) of Samuel. In addition, there was a Samuel Mathew, age 14, who came to Virginia in 1635 on the 'Elizabeth'.

 First Wife Frances Greville 

"Some time after 24 March 1627/28 Samuel West married Frances Greville, widow of Nathaniel West and Abraham Piersey. She had come to Virginia in 1620 in the Supply with William Tracy and his wife (a niece of Fulk Greville [actually the sister of the husband of a daughter of Fulk Greville]) when she was less than 20 years old. She was dead by 1633 when Mary Hill was appointed administratrix of the estate of her father, Abraham Piersey, the executrix, his late wife, having died. Thomas Hill and his wife Mary [not a daughter of Frances] charged Samuel Mathews with having altered the estate of Piersey after his marriage to the widow."

 Second Wife Sarah Hinton 

The name of Samuel's wife is given as Sarah Hinton in the History of Parliament.[9] A teaspoon from Samuel's manor house at Denbigh shows her first initial as "S" (see below). It is well-established that she was the daughter of Sir Thomas Hinton.

In July 1634, in the middle of the uproar in Virginia related to the settlement of Maryland, a Capt. Thomas Young wrote a letter to Sir Tobey Mathews, son of Bishop Tobias Mathew. In this letter Capt. Young referred to Samuel Mathews as follows: "Captayne Mathews, an antient planter … This gentleman as I heare is lately married to the daughter of one Sir Thomas Hinton, who is lately retired into these parts, and he grows, as is conceaved, much bolder by this alliance, as hoping by his power to find great strength in England." From the quote it is clear that Samuel, a member of the Governor's Council, was involved in a power struggle, and indeed Samuel's new brother-in-law Thomas Hinton, was briefly on the Council before being expelled by Governor John Harvey. Harvey in turn was impeached by the House of Burgesses and returned to England in 1635, which eventually caused Samuel Mathews to be called to England to face an inquisition regarding his role in the "mutiny" against Governor Harvey. (Harvey was replaced as governor by John West, the brother of the first husband of Samuel Mathews' first wife Frances.

"Samuel received land at the mouth of the Warwick River where he built his plantation first called 'Mathews Manor' and later called 'Denbigh'. This is an account of the plantation in 1649: 'Worthy Captaine Mathews, an old Planter of above thirty years standing, one of the Counsell, and a most deserving Common-wealths-man. I may not omit to let you know this gentlemans industry. He hath a fine house, and all things answerable to it, he sowes yearly store of Hempe and Flax, and causes it to be spun: he keeps Weavers and hath a Tan-house, causes Leather to be dressed, hath eight shoemakers employed in their trade, hath forty Negroe servants, brings them up to Trades in his house. He veerly sowes abundance of Wheat, Barley, &c. The Wheat he selleth at four shillings the bushell: kills store of Beeves, and sells them to victuall the ships when they come thither: hath abundance of Kine, a brave Dairy, Swine great store, and Poltery, he married the Daughter of Sir Tho. Hinton, and in word, keeps a good house, lives bravely, and a true lover of Virginia, he is worthy of much honour.'"

"The archealogical finds at Mathews Manor are some of the best that have been found. . . a silver saucepan whose lid was engraved with the initials of Mathews and his second wife, M/SS, and stamped with the London date letter for 1638. This last find was of considerable importance since it identified the "Daughter of Sir Thomas Hinton," mentioned earlier, as S Hinton rather than Frances Hinton, as genealogists had mistakenly supposed, having confused her with Mathews' first wife, Frances Grevill West Peirsey."

Children (both presumably by first wife Frances Greville):
1. Samuel Mathews Lt-Col in 1655, Memb. of Council 2. Francis Mathews Captain, Justice of York Co., d Feb 16, 1674/5

"The will of Robert Nicholson, proved 10 Nov. 1651, in England, makes a bequest to "Capt. Sam: Matthews, to Mrs. Matthews, to Sam: Mathewes, the son of the said Capt., and to his brother."

Offices and Land Holdings
Samuel was a member of the Council to the Governor and commander of the fort at Old Point. Samuel was a Captain in the militia and then later made a Colonel as Virginia's agent to England

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Not the same as Samuel Matthew

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Capt. Samuel Matthews born 01 Feb 1583 Bristol, Somerset, England, died 13 Mar 1660 Denbeigh, Warwick, Virginia, USA . married Frances Greville, daughter of Edward Grenville and Jane Grey she was born 1590 aboard Ship supply, died 1633 Matthews Manor, York Va, USA She ws married 3 times. Other two husbands were Nathianial West 1592-1623 (married 1621 Va, USA) other spouse first name unknown last Peirsey. She and Capt. Matthews had 4 children Mary Ann Price Matthews 1600-1666 Samuel Matthews 1624-1671 Francis Matthews 1632-1674

She had one son Nathanial West Jr. 1622-1671

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Matthews_(captain)

Born in England, Mathews was the first of the family to emigrate from England to The New World, arriving at Jamestown by 1619. He established a plantation, "Mathews Manor", later known as Denbigh, which was located on the north side of the James River at Blunt Point, the confluence of the Warwick and the James rivers in the area which later became Warwick County, Virginia (and which is now within the city limits of Newport News).

He eventually had several other land holdings, including one near Henricus and another at Old Point Comfort. Known as Colonel Mathews, the elder Samuel became one of the most prominent men in the colony. By 1621 he was a member of the Governor's Council and was actively involved in conflicts with the Native Americans. In 1635, he was one of the leaders of the popular mutiny that ousted Royal Governor Sir John Harvey. In the spring of 1637 Mathews and three others were sent home to England to stand trial for treason in the Court of Star Chamber, but the charges were eventually dropped and Mathews returned to Virginia in 1639.[1] Upon returning to England, the elder Mathews was eventually cleared of any charges; upon returning to Virginia, he resumed service on the Governor's Council until 1644.[2]

Frances Grevill was one of four women who arrived at Jamestown from Bristol, England in September 1620 aboard the ship, Supply. She was first married to Captain Nathaniel West, brother of Thomas West, the third Lord Delaware, who had been governor of Virginia beginning in 1610. After West's death several years later, Grevill married Abraham Peirsey, a wealthy man who had purchased Sir George Yeardley's Flowerdew Hundred Plantation after his death. Peirsey died several years later. Twice widowed, but with considerable legacies, she next married Samuel Mathews.

They had two sons Samuel, and Francis (1632–1673). Francis, a tobacco planter had a large estate of some two thousand acres in Northumberland County.

Mathews served in London as the Colony's representative in handling disputes, particularly in the matter of establishing the border with Maryland.[3] Much of his influence has been attributed to his second marriage to the daughter of Sir Thomas Hinton whose son was a gentleman of the king's Privy Chamber.[1] Mathews died in London, England on November 30, 1657.

As a member of the House of Burgesses, Matthews was viewed as an "honest, energetic and faithful servant of the Colony" whose death was "universally lamented."[4]

References

• Mathews Manor Captain Mathews built the Manor around 1626.[5] The site of Mathews Manor, located within the independent city of Newport News, Virginia, was the subject of an archeological study led by Colonial Williamsburg's Ivor Noel Hume in the 1960s, and was placed on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places.[6]
• See also Colony of Virginia Governor's Palace List of colonial governors of Virginia History of Virginia
• Fausz, J. Frederick. "Merging and Emerging Worlds", Colonial Chesapeake Society, (Lois Green Carr, Philip D. Morgan, Jean Burrell Russo, eds.), UNC Press Books, 1991 ISBN 9780807843437
• http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/a/l/Jerry-M-Palmer/GEN...
• Cook, Minnie G., "Governor Samuel Mathews, Junior", The William and Mary Quarterly 14.2 (1934): 105–113
• Waters, Henry Fitz-Gilbert (1885). Genealogical Gleanings in England. New England Historic Genealogical Society. pp. 101.
• "Denbigh Plantation Site", James River Plantations http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/jamesriver/mat.htm
• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I4029...