John Mathews (October 30, 1768 – November 1849) was a 19th-century American

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. A

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

, he was a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses 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 ...

from Greenbrier County from 1798 to 1802, also serving as clerk of court for Greenbrier County from 1831 to 1849.

Life

John Mathews was born on October 30, 1768, in

Rockbridge County, Virginia Rockbridge County is a County (United States), county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its count ...

, to Frances Crowe and William Mathews. His father, who was justice of the peace for Botetourt County, Virginia, died when John Mathews was aged 4.Cole, J. R. (1917). "History of Greenbrier County." Greenbrier Historical Society: Lewisburg, WV. p 70 http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/WV-FOOTSTEPS/1999-09/0937846706 Retrieved November 2, 2012 He and a brother, Joseph Mathews, moved to Greenbrier County and settled in Lewisburg, Virginia (now West Virginia), when it was created by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

in 1782. John Mathews' uncle, Archer Mathews, was a founding trustee of Lewisburg, along with Colonel John Stuart. In his early life, John Mathews worked as a

for John Stuart in Lewisburg. In 1798 Mathews was elected to the

from Greenbrier County. A

, he was a staunch opponent to the

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

Virginia Resolutions authored by

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, which were passed in 1798 order to give states the right and the duty to declare

unconstitutional In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

any acts of the

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that were not authorized by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. The Resolutions, written in secret, were largely a response to the 1798 federal

Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a set of four United States statutes that sought, on national security grounds, to restrict immigration and limit 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech. They were endorsed by the Federalist Par ...

which raised residency requirements for United States citizenship from 5 to 14 years and authorized the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

to deport aliens, and permitted their arrest, imprisonment, and deportation during wartime.Aliens and Sedition Act. www.ourdocuments.gov http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=16 retrieved October 19, 2013 When the resolutions passed, the Greenbrier County was one of ten counties to oppose the acts, and its court was said to have displayed disapproval by "tearing them into pieces and trampling them underfoot." Rice, Otis K. 1986. A History of Greenbrier County. Greenbrier Historical Society, p. 222 In 1829 Mathews was appointed treasurer of the Lewisburg Bible society, which procured bibles for impoverished county residents.Rice, Otis K. 1986. A History of Greenbrier County. Greenbrier Historical Society, p. 211 In 1831 he was appointed

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the James River and Kanawa Company for Greenbrier County, when the company was created from the James River Company. From this position he was responsible for securing regional funds for the building of a canal that was to connect trade from

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

ports to Buchanan, Virginia, 195 miles to the west. In 1835, construction of the James River and Kanawha Canal resumed under Chief Engineer Benjamin Wright. Also in 1831 Mathews was elected clerk of court for Greenbrier County, and in that position he remained until his death in November, 1849.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, John 1768 births 1849 deaths County clerks in Virginia People from Lewisburg, West Virginia People from Rockbridge County, Virginia Mathews family (Virginia and West Virginia) Virginia Federalists Virginia lawyers Members of the Virginia House of Delegates American surveyors 19th-century American people 18th-century American lawyers 19th-century American lawyers 18th-century American politicians 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly