Introductions - Thomas Mathews

Thomas Mathews

12 June 1782 - 14 October 1874

In 'Introductions', my plan is to give readers a brief biography of family members who I will be writing about in more detail in the future. It stands to reason that the first of these introductions should be to the person I am named after, My great x3 grandfather, Thomas Mathews.

Thomas Mathews (Matthews) and his family were linen weavers who lived near Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland. He was married to Nancy Ross of nearby Derrykeighan. They had 10 children.

The Industrial Revolution and the invention of the steam-powered loom in the early 19^th century radically changed the textile industry and led to a sharp decline in the price of linen, crippling the economic prospects of most home-based weavers. In 1840 the Mathews joined the many other families that gave up the weaver’s trade and emigrated to America.

They left Belfast and sailed to Liverpool where they boarded the ship ‘Jane Ross’ of Philadelphia, and set sail for New Orleans, arriving in February, 1840. From there they traveled up the Mississippi by riverboat to Chester, Illinois. From there they traveled overland to Jordon's Grove where they settled and took up farming on 'Border's Hill', in Randolph County. All but one of their children married and had families of their own. Nancy, often subject to severe attacks of asthma, died on August 9, 1861. Thomas lived to age 92, dying in 1874.

They left thousands of descendants, many that I know of, and many more that I would like to learn about. I'll be posting more about this family in the future.  

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