Peter Matthews (rebel)
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Captain Peter Matthews (1796 - April 12, 1838) was a farmer and soldier who participated in the
Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...
of 1837.


Biography

He was born in the
Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...
region of
Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...
around 1789, the son of Captain Thomas Elmes Matthews and Mary Ruttan,
United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Quebec and governor general of the Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North Ameri ...
s with both Dutch and French (including
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
) as well as English ancestry. In 1799, the family moved to Pickering Township. Peter Matthews served with Isaac Brock as a sergeant in the local
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. In 1837, Matthews was active in the political union movement pressuring the British government to grant reforms, and in December of that year, was persuaded to lead a group from Pickering Township to join
William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify the establishment of Upper Canada. He represe ...
's uprising. Matthews' group of 60 men arrived at Montgomery's Tavern on December 6 and, on the following day, were assigned to create a diversion on the bridge over the Don River. They killed one man and set fire to the bridge and some nearby houses before they were driven off by the government forces. Matthews was arraigned on March 26, 1838 before
Sir John Robinson, 1st Baronet, of Toronto Sir John Beverley Robinson, 1st Baronet, (26 July 1791 – 31 January 1863) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was considered the leader of the Family Compact, a group of families which effectively controlled the ear ...
after having been held through the winter in jail. He pleaded guilty to treason on the advice of his counsel Robert Baldwin, who provided a less than robust defense given his views on reform. Against the advice of Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg, Robinson and Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet, as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, wished to set some examples of the rebels, even though the evidence in the case was not clear. Matthews and Samuel Lount were hanged in the courtyard of the new King Street Gaol on April 12, 1838. Joseph Sheard was the foreman for the jail and was expected to share in the work of building the scaffold. However, he refused saying, 'I'll not put a hand to it,' said he; 'Lount and Matthews have done nothing that I might not have done myself, and I'll never help build a gallows to hang them." He was refused a Christian burial in St. James Cemetery (Toronto) and was instead interred in Toronto's Potter Field (re-developed later into
Yorkville, Toronto Yorkville is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Davenport Road to the north, Yonge Street to the east and Avenue Road, Toronto, Avenue Road to the west, and ...
). In 1848 Captain Matthews was pardoned and his property was relinquished by the government. On June 28, 1893 a monument to patriots Captains Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount was unveiled in the Necropolis Cemetery in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. The monument's dedication was led by Canadian Member of Parliament Sir James David Edgar. In the 1930s a Memorial Arch was placed at the end of the Honeymoon Bridge in
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
which commemorated the arrival of
United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...
and those that participated in the
Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...
, included reliefs of Captains Lount and Matthews designed by Emanuel Hahn. These reliefs are now held by the Mackenzie House. In 1992 the town of Pickering unveiled a plaque for Captain Matthews which read as follows: In 2012, as part of the 175th anniversary of the executions of Matthews and Lount, a Lount and Matthews Commemoration Committee was formed to raise public awareness. Captain Matthews had eight children. His son Hiram, who marched with him in the rebellion and was also arrested, was pardoned and remained in Canada (died in Pickering in 1847). His other son, Thomas Matthews, married a Margaret Spencer and migrated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, settling in Worth Township, Michigan. Their farm, believed to have been designed based on Matthews' farm in Pickering, was granted landmark status by the US
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Peter 1796 births 1838 deaths Pre-Confederation Ontario people Upper Canada Rebellion people Executed Canadian people People executed for treason against the United Kingdom People executed in British North America by hanging People executed by Upper Canada People from Pickering, Ontario Canadian people of Dutch descent Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)