Jesse William MATHEWS

     Jesse William MATHEWS, son of Henry James MATHEWS and Martha Ann Frances COLEMAN, was born on 4 May 1833 in Autauga County, Alabama.^1,2

Jesse William MATHEWS appeared on a census, enumerated 19 October 1850, in the household of his mother Martha Ann Frances COLEMAN in Prattville Washington Beat, Autauga County, Alabama. He was listed as Jesse Mathews, 17, Operator, born Alabama. He was the confidential secretary to Daniel Pratt for many years. Pratt, who founded the city of Prattville, operated what was at the time the world's largest cotton gin manufactury. Later Jesse became the secretary of the Prattville Cotton Mills. He had begun working in the cotton mill as a mechanic and after the Civil War became a bookkeeper.³ In 1854 Jesse was a sunday school teacher in the Methodist Church in Prattville.

Jesse William MATHEWS appeared on a census, enumerated 25 August 1860, in the household of his mother Martha Ann Frances COLEMAN in Prattville, Autauga County, Alabama. He was recorded as a 27-year-old carpenter.⁴

Jesse began military service at age 29 in December 1862 in Autauga County when he enlisted as a private in Co. G 21st Alabama Infantry Volunteers. He surrendered under Lt. General Richard Taylor at Citronelle, Alabama, on May 4, 1865, and was paroled 13 May 1865 at Meridian, Mississippi.⁵

Jesse married Sarah Elizabeth HORNE on 6 November 1872 in Autauga County, Alabama. She was the step-daugther of New Hampshire-born gin mechanic C. P. Morgan. She had moved to Prattville from Macon, Georgia at age 9 with her mother.^6,2

T. B. Rice who was born 1865 and raised iin Prattville, before later moving to Greensboro, Georgia, wrote several articles in 1942 in which he describes downtown Prattville during his youth. He wrote: "There was another store next to Ward Bros. that I overlooked. I refer to Mathews Bros. James and Jesse Mathews. I do not recall the nature of their business. The Mathews brothers were reared in Greene County, Georgia. Mr. Jesse Mathews told me this while on one of my visits to Prattville, and after I came to Greensboro."⁷

Jesse William MATHEWS appeared in a newspaper article 24 September 1878 in the Columbus Daily Enquirer. "The residence and kitchen of Mr. J. W. Mathews, near Prattville, were burned on the 14th."⁸

Jesse William MATHEWS died on 22 March 1912 in Prattville, Autauga County, Alabama, at age 78.⁹ He was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Prattville, Autauga County, Alabama.

His obituary appeared 28 March 1912 in the Prattville Progress, published in Prattville, Alabama. A Prattville newspaper. The article read, "One of the oldest and most prominent citizens of this county died near this city Saturday at 12 o'clock after some weeks of illness caused from old age. He leaves surviving him a wife and five daughters, the daughters all being married save one, Miss Carrie Mathews; Mesdames Benson Rucker and Henry James of Montgomery, and Lanier Dunn and Walter Stewart of this city.

The deceased was a prominent figure in the industrial life of Prattville and his father, Henry Mathews, was prominent in the political life of the county before him since the early 20s. Jesse W. Mathews came to Old Washington, then the largest and most important town in this county, with his father who became the county clerk of Autauga County. When Old Washington began to fall into decay the family removed to the new town of Prattville, where the young man secured employment with Hon. Daniel Pratt, the founder of this city and the father of the largest cotton gin factory in the world. Then for a number of years the decedent was the confidential secretary of the Prattville Cotton Mills which latter position he also held for a long period of time.

Jesse W. Mathews was also a prominent member of the local Baptist church, from which he was buried iin Oak Hill cemetery last Sunday afternoon, the funeral services being conducted by his pastor, Rev. E. T. Smith."

A second obituary from a different newspaper gives much the same information, but adds that he died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Walter Stewart, of Prattville at 11:30 after a lingering illness of two or three months. It adds that he lived the first seven years of his life in Georgia before coming to Washington in Autauga County.