Mathews, William H.

William H. Mathews was born in Butler Township, Pennsylvania to Edward and Annie Grant Mathews in August 1849, and later served in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War. Mathews’ parents were originally from Carroll County, Maryland and had moved to Pennsylvania in the early 1840s. After growing up mostly in Adams County, Pennsylvania, Mathews joined Company I of the 127th USCT in September 1864 at age 15. Mathews’ brothers, Samuel and Nelson, also served in the Union army. After the war, Mathews married Mary Jane "Jennie" Walker in 1869. The couple had six children. Mary Jane died in 1890, and Mathews followed her a year later on September 25, 1891. Mathews was originally buried at Yellow Hill Cemetery near Biglerville, but was reinterred at the Lincoln Cemetery in Gettysburg. Jessie Ellen, Mathews’ youngest daughter, married Robert Lee Vann who later became editor and publisher of the Pittsburgh Courier, one the nation's most widely circulated African American newspapers in the early twentieth century. (By Don Sailer)
Life Span
to
    Full name
    William H. Mathews
    Place of Birth
    Birth Date Certainty
    Exact
    Death Date Certainty
    Exact
    Gender
    Male
    Race
    Black
    Sectional choice
    North
    Origins
    Free State
    No. of Spouses
    1
    No. of Children
    6
    Family
    Edward Mathews (father), Annie Mathews (mother), Mary Jane "Jennie" Walker (wife, 1869), Lewis Mathews (son), Nettie Mathews (daughter), George Mathews (son), Mary Mathews (daughter), Cora Mathews (daughter), Jessie Ellen Mathews (daughter)
    Occupation
    Military
    Relation to Slavery
    Free black
    Military
    Union Army
    How to Cite This Page: "Mathews, William H.," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/32487.