Alexander Ferdinand Mathews (November 13, 1838 – December 17, 1906) was an American lawyer, banker, and university board director in the U.S. State of West Virginia. He served as a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

officer and aide-de-camp to Brigadier General

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil W ...

during the American Civil War.

Early life

Alexander F. Mathews born on November 13, 1838, in Frankford, Greenbrier County, Virginia, to Eliza (Reynolds) and

Mason Mathews Mason Mathews (December 15, 1803 – September 16, 1878) was an American merchant and politician in the U.S. State of Virginia (present-day West Virginia). He served in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing Greenbrier County, West Virgin ...

. He was educated at the local Lewisburg Academy and enrolled in the University of Virginia in 1854 at the age of 15, where he earned a Masters of Arts in less than two years, graduating before his 18th year. This accomplishment was said to have been unprecedented in the history of the university at the time.

Combs Combs may refer to: Places France * Combs-la-Ville, a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris United Kingdom *Combs, Derbyshire, England *Combs, Suffolk, England United States *Combs, Arkansas, a community *Combs, Kentucky, a com ...

, p. 18 He was a member of the

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

fraternity.University of Virginia (1907). Alumni Bulletin of the University of Virginia, Volume 7. University of Virginia Press, 1907, p 318 https://books.google.com/books?id=4d5KAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA317 He returned to the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 1857, and in the same year was admitted to the bar.

Civil War

On the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Mathews volunteered for the Confederate States Army. He received a commission of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was assigned to the staff of Brigadier General

as Wise's aide-de-camp during Wise's unsuccessful campaigns in Western Virginia. Wise's brigade was broken up, and Mathews was reassigned to the

59th Virginia Infantry The 59th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia's western counties for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia, and in the Carolinas ...

as first lieutenant and

drillmaster A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

. In 1864, he was again reassigned to of Inspector of Conscription for Virginia's 8th congressional district, where he remained for the remainder of the war.

Postbellum

Mathews married Laura M. Gardner on December 28, 1865. Together they had eight children: Mason, Charles Gardner, Mary Miller, Eliza Patton, Maud, Florence, and Henry. LLHE Due to the restrictions placed on former Confederates in the years after the war, Mathews was unable to practice the law. He taught for several years at the Lewisburg Academy, where he had received his early education. When restrictions for Confederates were lifted, he and his brother

Henry M. Mathews Henry Mason Mathews (March 29, 1834April 28, 1884) was an American military officer, lawyer, and politician in the U.S. State of West Virginia. Mathews served as 7th Attorney General of West Virginia (1873–1877) and 5th Governor of West Virgin ...

opened a law firm under the name Mathews & Mathews, which became one of the most successful in the region.Calohill, et al (1909). The Virginia Law Register, Volume 14. J.P. Bell, 1909, p 484 https://books.google.com/books?id=HHgzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA478 Retrieved April 26, 2013 Mathews was appointed to the West Virginia University Board of Regents during that institution's infancy, and served on the board from 1871-1881.West Virginia University. Undergraduate catalog, Volume 1867-1869. Morgantown, WV : The University. https://archive.org/stream/undergrad6769west/undergrad6769west_djvu.txt Retrieved April 28, 2013. In 1871, Mathews, along with Adam C. Snydor and

Homer A. Holt Homer Adams Holt (March 1, 1898January 16, 1975) was a West Virginia lawyer and politician who served as that state's 20th governor from 1937 to 1941. Born in Lewisburg, West Virginia, he attended the Greenbrier Military School there and the ...

, founded the first bank in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Until 1888, this was the only bank between

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

and

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

some 200 miles apart. He served as president or director of the bank continuously until his death. Mathews additionally took part in the founding the First National Bank of

Ronceverte Ronceverte is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States, on the Greenbrier River. The population was 1,572 at the 2020 census. Culture and history Ronceverte might have been named "Edgar", for the high number of Edgars who lived ...

, when it was chartered by the State of West Virginia in 1888.First National Bank (2013). First National Bank: Celebrating 125 Years. http://www.wvbankers.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/FirstNationalBankCelebrates125%20Years.pdf He died on December 16, 1906, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was buried at the Old Stone Church in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Alexander Ferdinand 1838 births 1906 deaths American bankers American financiers Military personnel from West Virginia Beta Theta Pi Burials in West Virginia Confederate States Army officers Educators from West Virginia Mathews family of Virginia and West Virginia People from Lewisburg, West Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War People of West Virginia in the American Civil War University of Virginia alumni Virginia lawyers West Virginia Democrats West Virginia lawyers West Virginia University regents People from Greenbrier County, West Virginia