Working on Wednesday: Eli Matthews (1804? - 1864?), Farmer, Postmaster, Justice of the Peace

This maternal great great great grandfather (the husband of Susan Hanon) was born in Tennessee, probably in the part of Smith County that's now Warren County*, in about 1804. Unfortunately the U.S. Census records for Tennessee are missing for the years 1800 and 1810.

[Tennessee. Drawn by S. Lewis. Engraved by Lawson. (Published by John Conrad & Co., Philadelphia. 1804)

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

We don't know if the Matthews family remained in Tennessee until they settled in what's now Christian County, Illinois, shortly after Martin Hanon moved his mother and siblings there in 1818.

[Ancestry.com. Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history. Jacksonville, Ill.,: Printed by Production Press, 1968.]

And as we've seen, the Matthews were living close to Sarah Hanon's household in the 1820 U.S. Census, just three years before Eli married Susan.

[Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

The 1830 and 1840 U.S. Census records for this branch of the Matthews family, located first in Sangamon County and then back in Christian County, were already covered in my post about Susan so I won't repeat them here but we do know something more about what Eli was doing between those two census years.

In about 1835 Eli and his brother-in-law Martin Hanon bought a mill "some ten miles north-west of Taylorville."

[Ancestry.com. Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history. Jacksonville, Ill.,: Printed by Production Press, 1968.]

There are a number of index-only public land purchases made by Eli beginning in about 1835, and he's described as a Justice of the Peace for Christian County starting in 1839.**

[Ancestry.com. Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history. Jacksonville, Ill.,: Printed by Production Press, 1968.]

Also in 1839, he was appointed to a commission "to view and locate a road from Taylorville, ina north-western direction, to Elgan's mill, on the lower South Fork."

[Ancestry.com. Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history. Jacksonville, Ill.,: Printed by Production Press, 1968.]

And on April 17, 1841, he was named the first Postmaster of Taylorville Township, operating out of the Taylorville Courthouse.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.

Original data: Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls.

Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives.]

Early in 1850, Eli was chosen as one of seven delegates chosen to represent Taylorville in the forthcoming railroad convention.

[Date: Saturday, February 2, 1850;  Paper: Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield, IL)   Page: 2  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

Besides the regular population count, the 1850 U.S. Census included a Selected Non-Population Schedule for Agriculture so we have a view of what farmer Eli was growing on his farm valued at $2,000.***

[Ancestry.com. Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.]

The 1855 Illinois State Census lists Eli as head of household, everyone else is a number.

[Ancestry.com. Illinois, State Census Collection, 1825-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Illinois State Census, 1825. Microfilm. Record Series 103.003, 1 roll. Illinois State Archives, Springfield, Illinois.]

And 1860 brings us another Selected Non-Population Schedule for Agriculture**** to supplement the enumeration of the population. This is the last record we have for Eli and he doesn't appear on the 1865 Illinois State Census so he almost certainly died before then.

[Ancestry.com. Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.]

*His father, another Claiborne Matthews, has a land record for 50 acres in Warren County as early as 1813.
**His land purchases continued at least through 1854.
***Eli Matthews is enumerated on line 26 on this schedule.
****Eli's record is on line 15.

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