Originally published in the Cecil Whig
At least two duels, both fatal, a potential war with France, and slavery are just some of the hot topics discussed in a packet of letters authored by members of the Matthews family, late of southern Cecil County, spanning the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Historical Society of Cecil County Librarian, Carol Nache, says the family had a colorful history. “Hugh (Matthews) was educated in Europe, and a number of his letters are in French. He seems,” Carol continues, “to have been forever getting in trouble with someone or another…. There are at least two duels mentioned in the letters, and a (long lasting) feud with Major (Thomas) Forman of Rose Hill Plantation.”
The letters are sketchy and somewhat hard to read at best, but they indicate that one of those duels took place between a Mr. Heath and a Mr. Knight in either December, 1791 or mid-January, 1792. Mr. Heath apparently died “as a consequence of the wound he received from the second fire of Mr. Knight.” The letter does not say who Mr. Knight was or what, if anything, happened to Mr. Heath. However, as Carol noted, this was not the first duel impacting the Matthews family. According to an article in the Cecil Historical Journal in the fall of 2005 by Dr. Bruce Bender, there was an earlier duel “in 1790 between (Richard Kay) Heath and (William) Matthews’ brother James – which resulted in James’ death.” The Heaths, according to Dr. Bender, “who had founded Warwick, had once been the wealthiest family in the lower part of the county, but,” Dr. Bender continues, “they were heavily in debt by the late 1780s.”
The Matthews family was drawn to both local and national politics. William Hughes first lost in 1792 then won election to Congress in 1796. As a Federalist, Matthews, according to Dr. Bender, “generally supported the Federalist party and the (John) Adam s administration.” However, there were exceptions, most notably, the Sedition Act which allowed for the jailing of anyone who criticized the administration.
In the spring of 1798 as war fever sweeps the nation, Hugh Matthews writes that French privateers off the coast of Delaware, were at least one catalyst for legislation which “allows the President to give orders… to take and bring into Port any privateers of France which may be found hovering on our coast.” He predicts “a fight will take place in a day or two….” Fortunately, that fight never happened.
Slavery comes to the fore in several of the Matthew family letters. At least 5 of the letters in the Society’s collection refer to the selling or giving away of slaves which the Matthew family owned. A September 15th, 1803 letter from Hugh Matthews includes a bill of sale for 5 slaves. Society volunteer Anne Fazio, reviewed and organized the letters, creating a finding aid which is available to anyone who wants to review the letters. Anne noted the September 15th letter as particularly disturbing.
“The saddest letter was the bill of sales for five slaves. While you know slavery existed, holding a copy of a bill of sale for five human beings was very depressing. Only first names of the slaves were used.” Anne noted the impact this practice would have on future genealogists. “I thought about descendants of slaves today trying to trace their ancestors which would be very difficult when no last names were used.”
Copies of all of the Matthews family letters are on file and available at the Historical Society of Cecil County. Thanks to Anne, a review of the finding aid, complete with names, dates, and subject matters, will make any letter search much easier. The Society is located at 135 East Main Street in Elkton and can be contacted through our web site, www.cecilhistory.org