Joel Matthews was a millwright and a carpenter by trade, a county surveyor, a man who was a proprietor of many towns in Vermont, including Woodstock, a large land owner, and a Major in the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Windsor Convention which named the state of Vermont.
He was the son of Daniel Matthews and Eunice Morse, and was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He married Abigail Ball, born 1733, daughter of Nathan Ball and Mary Weston Ball, in Southborough, Massachusetts, and they had at least 6 children, the first four born in Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts:
Jonas born November 9, 1751; married first Martha Safford; married secondly, Susan Anthony;
Daughter Xena/Lena born June 10, 1753; married a Mr. Topliff and lived in Potsdam New York;
Son Aether/Luther born November 10, 1755;
Samuel, born July 24, 1760;
Katherine born March 5, 1771, and
Fanny born March 19, 1772; married Revolutionary War soldier, Joseph Dimick; moved to Pierpont, N.Y., died February 3, 1852.
The last two children were born in Hartland, Vermont.
He lived with his family for a short while in Surry, NH.
About 1767, he moved his family to Hartland, Vermont, where he owned a large tract of land on both sides of the Connecticut River. He was Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and Constable in 1767. He was town clerk in Hartland 1771-1772. He built a large two story home there near the Connecticut River.
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, about 1775, he moved his family to Woodstock, Vermont, and built a log house there on a hillside near a gently flowing brook. It had an outdoor cellar. He then built a fine frame house for his family and rented out the log cabin to tenant farmers. The big home burned down in 1824.
During the Revolutionary War, Joel Matthews served as a major in the Upper Regiment, and called out his men in July 1777 when he heard that English General Burgoyne's forces were at Rutland ready to advance.
After the war he was a selectman from Woodstock in 1788 and 1789.
His wife died age 74 on October 15, 1803. This was just a year after their son, Samuel Matthews, had died in Hartland, Vermont, leaving a widow and many young children. Joel moved in with his daughter-in-law, as he owned half of her home, and she agreed to care for him in his senior years. Joel is said to have died in 1818, but the actual location is unknown.
In the "History of Woodstock", it is noted that Joel lost his sight in his senior years. Visiting children in his home enjoyed climbing on his lap and asking for stories. Sometimes he would give them stories, and other times he would state his stories were all frozen up.
(The author of this bio, in 2002, was actually in the two story home in Hartland that Joel built. It has been gently restored to its original dignity. Seeing the old, old timbers in the cellar, still holding up this fine house, and seeing those axe marks on the timbers when they were felled in 1767 by Joel and probably his brother, Jonas, sent shivers up my spine. Knowing this house is well over 200 years old, and still housing a young family made me very proud. Major Joel Matthews was my fifth great grandfather.)
#######
Sources:
The History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1761-1886, pgs. 72-73, by
Henry Swan Dana
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1932,
Volume LXXXVI (86), pgs. 43-44
The Vermonter magazine, November 1913 issue
Vital Records of Petersham, Massachusetts
He was the son of Daniel Matthews and Eunice Morse, and was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He married Abigail Ball, born 1733, daughter of Nathan Ball and Mary Weston Ball, in Southborough, Massachusetts, and they had at least 6 children, the first four born in Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts:
Jonas born November 9, 1751; married first Martha Safford; married secondly, Susan Anthony;
Daughter Xena/Lena born June 10, 1753; married a Mr. Topliff and lived in Potsdam New York;
Son Aether/Luther born November 10, 1755;
Samuel, born July 24, 1760;
Katherine born March 5, 1771, and
Fanny born March 19, 1772; married Revolutionary War soldier, Joseph Dimick; moved to Pierpont, N.Y., died February 3, 1852.
The last two children were born in Hartland, Vermont.
He lived with his family for a short while in Surry, NH.
About 1767, he moved his family to Hartland, Vermont, where he owned a large tract of land on both sides of the Connecticut River. He was Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and Constable in 1767. He was town clerk in Hartland 1771-1772. He built a large two story home there near the Connecticut River.
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, about 1775, he moved his family to Woodstock, Vermont, and built a log house there on a hillside near a gently flowing brook. It had an outdoor cellar. He then built a fine frame house for his family and rented out the log cabin to tenant farmers. The big home burned down in 1824.
During the Revolutionary War, Joel Matthews served as a major in the Upper Regiment, and called out his men in July 1777 when he heard that English General Burgoyne's forces were at Rutland ready to advance.
After the war he was a selectman from Woodstock in 1788 and 1789.
His wife died age 74 on October 15, 1803. This was just a year after their son, Samuel Matthews, had died in Hartland, Vermont, leaving a widow and many young children. Joel moved in with his daughter-in-law, as he owned half of her home, and she agreed to care for him in his senior years. Joel is said to have died in 1818, but the actual location is unknown.
In the "History of Woodstock", it is noted that Joel lost his sight in his senior years. Visiting children in his home enjoyed climbing on his lap and asking for stories. Sometimes he would give them stories, and other times he would state his stories were all frozen up.
(The author of this bio, in 2002, was actually in the two story home in Hartland that Joel built. It has been gently restored to its original dignity. Seeing the old, old timbers in the cellar, still holding up this fine house, and seeing those axe marks on the timbers when they were felled in 1767 by Joel and probably his brother, Jonas, sent shivers up my spine. Knowing this house is well over 200 years old, and still housing a young family made me very proud. Major Joel Matthews was my fifth great grandfather.)
#######
Sources:
The History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1761-1886, pgs. 72-73, by
Henry Swan Dana
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1932,
Volume LXXXVI (86), pgs. 43-44
The Vermonter magazine, November 1913 issue
Vital Records of Petersham, Massachusetts
Joel Matthews was a millwright and a carpenter by trade, a county surveyor, a man who was a proprietor of many towns in Vermont, including Woodstock, a large land owner, and a Major in the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Windsor Convention which named the state of Vermont.
He was the son of Daniel Matthews and Eunice Morse, and was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He married Abigail Ball, born 1733, daughter of Nathan Ball and Mary Weston Ball, in Southborough, Massachusetts, and they had at least 6 children, the first four born in Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts:
Jonas born November 9, 1751; married first Martha Safford; married secondly, Susan Anthony;
Daughter Xena/Lena born June 10, 1753; married a Mr. Topliff and lived in Potsdam New York;
Son Aether/Luther born November 10, 1755;
Samuel, born July 24, 1760;
Katherine born March 5, 1771, and
Fanny born March 19, 1772; married Revolutionary War soldier, Joseph Dimick; moved to Pierpont, N.Y., died February 3, 1852.
The last two children were born in Hartland, Vermont.
He lived with his family for a short while in Surry, NH.
About 1767, he moved his family to Hartland, Vermont, where he owned a large tract of land on both sides of the Connecticut River. He was Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and Constable in 1767. He was town clerk in Hartland 1771-1772. He built a large two story home there near the Connecticut River.
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, about 1775, he moved his family to Woodstock, Vermont, and built a log house there on a hillside near a gently flowing brook. It had an outdoor cellar. He then built a fine frame house for his family and rented out the log cabin to tenant farmers. The big home burned down in 1824.
During the Revolutionary War, Joel Matthews served as a major in the Upper Regiment, and called out his men in July 1777 when he heard that English General Burgoyne's forces were at Rutland ready to advance.
After the war he was a selectman from Woodstock in 1788 and 1789.
His wife died age 74 on October 15, 1803. This was just a year after their son, Samuel Matthews, had died in Hartland, Vermont, leaving a widow and many young children. Joel moved in with his daughter-in-law, as he owned half of her home, and she agreed to care for him in his senior years. Joel is said to have died in 1818, but the actual location is unknown.
In the "History of Woodstock", it is noted that Joel lost his sight in his senior years. Visiting children in his home enjoyed climbing on his lap and asking for stories. Sometimes he would give them stories, and other times he would state his stories were all frozen up.
(The author of this bio, in 2002, was actually in the two story home in Hartland that Joel built. It has been gently restored to its original dignity. Seeing the old, old timbers in the cellar, still holding up this fine house, and seeing those axe marks on the timbers when they were felled in 1767 by Joel and probably his brother, Jonas, sent shivers up my spine. Knowing this house is well over 200 years old, and still housing a young family made me very proud. Major Joel Matthews was my fifth great grandfather.)
#######
Sources:
The History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1761-1886, pgs. 72-73, by
Henry Swan Dana
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1932,
Volume LXXXVI (86), pgs. 43-44
The Vermonter magazine, November 1913 issue
Vital Records of Petersham, Massachusetts
He was the son of Daniel Matthews and Eunice Morse, and was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He married Abigail Ball, born 1733, daughter of Nathan Ball and Mary Weston Ball, in Southborough, Massachusetts, and they had at least 6 children, the first four born in Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts:
Jonas born November 9, 1751; married first Martha Safford; married secondly, Susan Anthony;
Daughter Xena/Lena born June 10, 1753; married a Mr. Topliff and lived in Potsdam New York;
Son Aether/Luther born November 10, 1755;
Samuel, born July 24, 1760;
Katherine born March 5, 1771, and
Fanny born March 19, 1772; married Revolutionary War soldier, Joseph Dimick; moved to Pierpont, N.Y., died February 3, 1852.
The last two children were born in Hartland, Vermont.
He lived with his family for a short while in Surry, NH.
About 1767, he moved his family to Hartland, Vermont, where he owned a large tract of land on both sides of the Connecticut River. He was Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and Constable in 1767. He was town clerk in Hartland 1771-1772. He built a large two story home there near the Connecticut River.
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, about 1775, he moved his family to Woodstock, Vermont, and built a log house there on a hillside near a gently flowing brook. It had an outdoor cellar. He then built a fine frame house for his family and rented out the log cabin to tenant farmers. The big home burned down in 1824.
During the Revolutionary War, Joel Matthews served as a major in the Upper Regiment, and called out his men in July 1777 when he heard that English General Burgoyne's forces were at Rutland ready to advance.
After the war he was a selectman from Woodstock in 1788 and 1789.
His wife died age 74 on October 15, 1803. This was just a year after their son, Samuel Matthews, had died in Hartland, Vermont, leaving a widow and many young children. Joel moved in with his daughter-in-law, as he owned half of her home, and she agreed to care for him in his senior years. Joel is said to have died in 1818, but the actual location is unknown.
In the "History of Woodstock", it is noted that Joel lost his sight in his senior years. Visiting children in his home enjoyed climbing on his lap and asking for stories. Sometimes he would give them stories, and other times he would state his stories were all frozen up.
(The author of this bio, in 2002, was actually in the two story home in Hartland that Joel built. It has been gently restored to its original dignity. Seeing the old, old timbers in the cellar, still holding up this fine house, and seeing those axe marks on the timbers when they were felled in 1767 by Joel and probably his brother, Jonas, sent shivers up my spine. Knowing this house is well over 200 years old, and still housing a young family made me very proud. Major Joel Matthews was my fifth great grandfather.)
#######
Sources:
The History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1761-1886, pgs. 72-73, by
Henry Swan Dana
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1932,
Volume LXXXVI (86), pgs. 43-44
The Vermonter magazine, November 1913 issue
Vital Records of Petersham, Massachusetts
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