Thomas Mathews (1742–February 20, 1812) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Revolutionary War general and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

lawyer and politician. For almost two decades (with minor interruptions), Mathews represented variously Norfolk Borough and Norfolk County in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

, and served as that body's

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

from 1782 until 1793.Harris, J.D. (1901) General Thomas Mathews. The Virginia Law Register , Vol. 7, No. 3 (Jul., 1901), pp. 153-158 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1100495 Retrieved October 25, 2013 He also represented Norfolk at the

Virginia Ratifying Convention The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at ...

of 1788.

Early and family life

Thomas Mathews was born c. 1742 on

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

, an island of the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. His father was Samuel Mathews. Mathews emigrated to Virginia in 1764. In 1773 he married Molly Miller, daughter of Captain Matthias and Ann (Eady) Miller of Norfolk County.Jamerson

Military career

In 1775 Mathews became Lieutenant of the Norfolk County militia, then accepted a commission as captain in 1776 and command of Fort Nelson, which protected

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

and the nearby Gosport naval yard, which was very important following the departure of Lord Dunmore from the capital at Williamsburg to British ships in the Hampton Roads area of Chesapeake Bay. In 1777, Mathews was assigned to the artillery regiment of Col. Thomas Marshall, with the rank of major. He was in command when British General Edward Mathew landed at Port Norfolk in 1779. He received a promotion to lieutenant colonel on November 8, 1779, and another to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

before the

Battle of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

. Mathews later became an active member of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

Political career

Norfolk County voters first elected Mathews as one of their representatives to the

in 1781, and re-elected him and his fellow delegate Thomas Newton once, before Mathews' first brief gap in his part-time legislative service, in 1783. Beginning in May 1784, Mathews represented Norfolk Borough for several years, before reverting again to Norfolk County in 1797. Fellow members elected him

. Mathews became the first speaker in the present Capitol building in Richmond, remaining as such through the 1793 legislation. An eminent member of the Norfolk Bar, Mathews also represented Norfolk at the

of 1788, which ratified the federal Constitution.Leonard pp. 173, A candidate for the

governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

, Mathews withdrew his nomination. He was a

mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

, and in 1790 was elected Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge of Virginia The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of Virginia, commonly known as "Grand Lodge of Virginia", claims to be the oldest independent masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins ...

. He served as grand master until 1793, at which point the office was passed to

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

Death and legacy

Mathews died in Norfolk borough on February 20, 1812 and was buried at St. Paul's Churchyard. A portrait of him by Mrs. William Hodges Mann Jr. hands in the courthouse in Mathews. During his lifetimw

Mathews County, Virginia Mathews County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,533. Its county seat is Mathews. Located on the Middle Peninsula, Mathews County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport ...

was named to honor him. He has been connected to the

Mathews family The Mathews family is an American political family descended from John Mathews (d. 1757) and Ann Archer, originating in colonial Virginia and active in Virginia and the American South in the 18th–20th centuries. The family origins are unclear ...

of Virginia by some historians,''Lexington Gazette'' (1938). "Capt. John Mathews and his Descendants." 1738–1938. Bi-centennial Issue: Commemorating the Settlement of the Rockbridge Section of Virginia by the White Men. A Tribute to the Scotch-Irish Pioneers. Lexington Gazette (Virginia) though the connection has not been made by others.Washington and Lee University (1890). ''Historical Papers, Volumes 1–2''. New York Public Library: Washington and Lee University, 1890 https://books.google.com/books?id=9p4gAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA87&dq=%22sampson+mathews%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8IWVUJiMFqSa0QGKm4GQAQ&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22sampson%20mathews%22&f=false Retrieved November 3, 2012Waddell, Joseph A (1902) ''Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871''
Waddell's Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871
retrieved October 20, 2012

References

* List of former Speakers of the House of Delegates, in the old House chamber in the Virginia State Capitol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Thomas Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia 1742 births 1812 deaths Mathews County, Virginia People from Saint Kitts Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution Virginia colonial people

Early and family life

Military career

Political career

Death and legacy

See also

References