Tenth Generation

548. Benjamin MATHEWES^529,952 was born in 1723 in South Carolina Province, Charles Town. He signed a will on 18 Apr 1754 in South Carolina Province, Charles Town.⁷⁴⁶ South Carolina In the Name of God Amen I Benjamin Mathewes of Charles Town in the Province of South Carolina Merchant being weak in Body but of sound and disposing memory and understanding / thanks be given to Almighty God for the same / calling to mind the uncertainty of this mortal State & knowing that it is appointed all Men once to Die and desireous to settle my Temporal Affairs before my great change comes Do make and declare my last Will & Testament in manner & form following But first and Principally Recommending my Immortal Spirit into the hands of my Great Creator trusting in the merits of my Blefsed Saviour Jesus Christ for Pardon & Remifsion of all my Sins & An Happy Admifsion into the Regions of Blifs and Life Everlasting & my Body to the Earth whence it was taken to be decently Interred at the direction of my Exers Exers hereinafter named and touchg. the disposition of such Worldly Estate with which it hath pleased Almighty God to blefs me I give and bequeath the same in manner and form following Imp. I will & order that all my Just Debts & Funeral Expenses be paid and discharged with all convenient after my Decease Item I give devise and bequeath unto my dearly beloved Son Benjamin Mathews and to his heirs and Afsigns forever all that Brick Tenament on Mefsuage wherein I lately lived & which is now in the Pofsefsion of Hexter Benzenger d' Beaufain Esq. with the ground & improvements containing by Estimation Forty three Feet of Land Front on Church Street & one Hundred and Ninety six feet Deep measuring from West to East & the Front part of the said Lot or ground to measure

from North to South beginning at the Southernmost side of the Alley or Arch the parts the said Mefsuage or Tenament from another Mefsuage or Tenament which I used as a Kitchen & which is now used as a Kitchen by the said Hester B. d'Beaufain Item I give devise and bequeath unto my dearly beloved Son Isaac Matthews and to His heirs and Afsigns forever All that my other part of the said Lot with the improvements thereon containing in Front on Church Street twenty five feet of Land measuring from the Northernmost Corner Southerley as far as the Southernmost part of the said Arch or Alley and on which said part of the said Lot stands a Brick Mefsuage or Tenament which has hitherto been used as a Kitchen & which has the same Depth that the other part has which I have given to my Son Benjamin Item I give devise and bequeath unto my dearly beloved Son John Raven Matthewes all that my part of a L Lot of land with the improvement thereon which I purchased from John Chapman and which contains Forty Feet Front on Church Street in Charles Town aforesaid & one hundred & ninety six Feet in Depth measuring from West to East To Hold the same to my said Son John Raven Mathews his heirs and afsigns forever. And also I give devise and bequeath unto my said Son John Raven Mafthews the sum of One Hundred Pounds good & Lawful money of Great Britain to be paid him by my Executrix and Exers immediately after my Decease in case my said Son shall then be Twenty One Years old but if not then my Will & mind is and I do hereby direct that the said sum of One Hundred Pounds Sterling shall be put out at Interest on such good personal Security as my Executrix & Exers shall think proper until he shall attain his age of Twenty one Years & then the same to be paid him together with all such Interest money as shall then be due the son. Item I give & bequeath unto my dearly beloved daughter Ann Matthews the sum of Two thousand Pounds current money of the said Province to be put at Interest for her use until she shall attain her age of Twenty one Years or day of Marriage which shall first happen Item I give and bequeath unto my said daughter Anne Matthews one Negro Girl named Haunch with

her future ifsue and increase Item I give & bequeath unto my dearly beloved Wife Anne Matthewes all those my five Negro Slaves named Clarinda Pathena Florah Diamak and Dinah together with their each and every of their future ifsue & increase also all those my six Negro men Slaves named Robin Jacob Quash Midday Ben and Jack together also with all & singular my wearing Apparel Household furniture of what nature or kind soever also my silver plate mereerlfs Riding chair and Books To hold the said Slaves and every of them & also the af.d Plate apparel Books Riding Chair & Household Furniture unto my said dearly beloved Wife Anne Matthewes to her her Exers Admers or Afsignes forever to be at her & their absolute Will & disposal without any Condition or Limitation whatsoever Item I give & devise all the rest and residue of my Estate both Real & Personal whatsoever & wheresoever of what nature or kind soever to be equally divided between my said wife Ann Mathews my Daughter Anne Matthewes & my three sons Benjamin Isaac and John Raven Matthews Share & Share alike to their each and every of their Exers Admers and Afsigns forever But my Will and mind is and I do hereby direct the same accordingly that in case any of my said Children shall happen to Depart this Life before he she or they shall have attained his her or their Respective ages of Twenty one Years or day of Marriage which shall happen first and without ifsue of his her or their Body Lawfully begotten that the share of part shares or parts of his her or them so dying as aforesaid shall go to and belong to the Survivors and Survivor of my said Children share and share alike and to the heirs Exers & Admors of such Survivor forever Item In case it should so happen that my said wife Anne Matthews should be with child at the time of my Death and the said Child should be born after my Decease as a Provision for the said Child I do hereby give & bequeath unto such child whether Male or Female out of the Residue of my Estate the sum of Two thousand Pounds current money of the said Province & also a distribution part of the Remainder of the

Residue of my said Estate with my said Wife and Children share and share alike but in case any such posthumerous Child should happen to Die under the age of Twenty one Years or day of Marriage which shall first happen & without ifsue of his or her body Lawfully begotten then my Will and mind is and I do hereby direct the same according that the share or part of such Posthumerous Child so dying shall go in a course of Survivorship and among my other Children share and share alike in like manner as is above mentioned & in case any such Posthumerous Child should happen to Live to the age of Twenty one Years or day of Marriage as aforesaid I do hereby intitle him or her to the like Benefit & advantage of Survivorship as any of my other Children shall or may be intitled unto Item I do hereby give full Liberty to my dearly beloved Wife Anne Matthews and to her Afsigns to have the Free use and occupation of my part of a Lot And Buildings which I have hereinbefore given to my Son Benjamin and that Rent free until my said Son Benjamin shall attain his age of Twenty one Years she paying the Taxes and keeping the same in Repair And Lastly I do hereby nominate constitute & appoint my said dearly beloved wife Anne Matthews Executrix & my Brother John Matthews and my Brother-in law John Raven Executors of this my Last Will & Testament hereby Revoking and making Full and void all former and other Wills by me at any time here tofore made In Witnefs whereof I the said Benjamin Matthews have hereunto set my hand and Seal this Eighteenth day of April in the Year one thousand seven hundred and fifty Four & in the twenty seventh Year of the reign of King George the second. /.

Benjamin Matthews LS

Signed Sealed Published and declared by the said Testator Benjamin Matthews as and for his Last Will & Testament in the presence of us who in his presence & at his request here subscribed our names as Witnefses thereto ----
Edward Lightwood
Samuel Evelsigh
Jacob Hilner

This will was proved before the Ordinary the thirtieth day of May 1755 And at the same time Anne Mathews Qualified.

Recorded from Will Book No. 1752-1756 page #357

(Charleston Wills vol. 8, pg 424)






He died on 11 Dec 1754 in South Carolina Province, Charles Town. He was evidently a minor when his father died. (See Will of Anthony Mathewes in Notes under his name.) given house on Church St., youngest son.
"Benjamin Mathewes was born in Charleston, the son of Captain Anthony Mathewes and Lois, his wife. Like his father, he became a successful merchant in the province. Along with Thomas Lloyd and Richard Beresford, he was part owner of one sloop, Harriot. Mathewes served only one term in the Commons house. St. Johns Colleton Parish elected him in a special election to the twentieth Royal Assembly and he qualified on 16th April, 1752. He was a member of the South Carolina Society and served that organization as treasurer but declined election as constable. His only other public office was commissioner of the work house and markets and the poor.
On February 5, 1745, Mathewes married Anne Holmes, a woman of "good fortune". They were married by the Reverend Mr. Josiah Smith, presbyter Minister according to their profession. ( St. Philip's Register) Four children, all of whom survived their father, were born to them: Benjamin, Isaac, John Raven, and Ann. The fifth, George, was born posthumously.
Benjamin Mathewes died on 11 December, 1754 after a lingering illness."[From Message 3288 edistoisland website-Stephen Holmes]

July 7. 1753 - Benjamin Mathewes, part owner of the sloop, Harriot, 20 ton [with Thomas L. Lloyd, merchant of Charleston. SC Historical Soc. Gazette vol 74-4 p. 231 Ship register in SC Archives 1734-80.

Benjamin MATHEWES and Anne HOLMES were married on 5 Feb 1744/45 in South Carolina Province, Charles Town.^953,954,955 "1744/5 Febry. 5th There was married Benjamin Mathews and Ann Holmes, spinster by the Revd. Mr. Josiah Smith presbyter Minster according to the form of their profession."
St. Phil PR
Notice - SC Gazette February 11, 1745 - On Tuesday last Mr. Ben Mathewes was wedded to Miss Anne Holmes, a celebrated beauty with a large fortune.

549. Anne HOLMES⁷⁵³ was born about 1724 in South Carolina Province. She died in 1795 in USA, South Carolina, Charleston.⁵³³ uncle Wm. Holmes will, gr pa Henry's will

The following from "Charleston Business on the Eve of the American Revolution" by Leila Sellers, Chapel Hill, u. of N.C. Press, 1934
The initiative in forming a non-importation association at Charleston, in order to bring about a repeal of the parliamentary revenue acts, was taken by small factors or merchants, by mechanics, and by planters, rather than by the great merchants whose economic interest had not seriously conflicted with those of the British merchants.
The General Committee advertised Ann and Benjamin Mathewes [her son] in the "Gazette" of May 31, 1770, 'as violators of the Resolutions and as persons audaciously counteracting the united sentiments of the whole body of people, not only in this, but in all the Northern provinces, and preferring their own little private advantage to the great good of America'. People were cautioned against having any commercial dealings with them and were pronounced obstinate and inveterate enemies to their country and unworthy of the least confidence and esteem.
Mrs. Mathewes' defence was given to the public, not by the South Carolina Gazette, in which she had been advertised as a delinquent, but by the "South Carolina and American Gazette", published by Robert Wells, who had been accused of being lukewarm in his support of the Association and who during the Revolution became a Loyalist.
Mrs. Mathewes stated that the merchandise in dispute had been ordered before the Resolutions had been entered and that Captain Curling had been detained by contrary winds and did not arrive until January 11. Soon after the goods arrived the Committee of Inspection had called on her son to see the original order, which he submitted to them but the Committee had refused to allow the goods to be sold, and insisted that he sign a paper agreeing to store the goods, which he agreed to do without consulting his mother, fearing that he would be advertised. She asked the Committee to reconsider the case and offered to reship the goods if the Committee would indemnify her friend in England through whose endorsement the goods had been obtained. When the goods were becoming damaged, she in the absence of her son, had opened and sold them because she had no other means of supporting herself or paying the friend who had given security for her in London. She charged that Mr. John Edwards, one of the Committee had received two cargoes a short time before hers, which she defied to the Committee to say were ordered before hers, and he had been allowed to sell them. Mr. Rutledge had received a pair of horses from London as late as April 13, which had not been reshipped, because they came in consequence of an old order which he could not countermand. Her case was similar to his, but a great difference was being made in the cases because he was a man of spirit who could not be trifled with, while she was a poor widow living a few doors from a leading member of the Committee and thus might take a little cash now and then from some of his customers. Ann Mathewes' fight, however was in vain. Benjamin Mathewes could not resist the pressure exerted on him. In the South Carolina Gazette of October 4th, he made humble confession and sued for pardon.
[This occurrence also recounted in McCrady's History of South Carolina under the Royal Government, pg 671-679]


Children were:

	i.	Benjamin MATHEWES Jr.952,953 was born about 1745/46 in South Carolina Province, Charles Town.533 He died on 18 Feb 1801 in USA, South Carolina, John's Island.533 February 20, 1801 - Death Notice:"Died on Wednesday last at his plantaion on John's Island, Benjamin Mathewes, Esq."[Charleston Times] Mary Mathewes was a cousin of Benjamin. They lived at Mullet Hall. He served as a lieutenant and captain in the John's Island Company of the Colleton County Regiment of Militia from late 1779 until May 1780. After being taken prisoner at the fall of Charleston, he was held thirteen months before being exchanged. Yearbook, 1893; S.C.H.&G.,ii, Council of Safety, 2 December, 1775. Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution by Bobby Gilmer Moss. He enlisted in the Fourth Regiment on December 1, 1776. N.A. 853 (Ibid) He served 229 days in the militia. From April 15 to August 20, 1781, he served 127 days under Captain Joseph Johnson. In addition, he was under Captain Frederick Wommack. (A.A. 4842 V168 (Ibid)] Was tax collector in 1778 for St. Johns, Colleton County, Johns Island (Vol IV Statutes at Large of State of SC -pg 413 Acts of State Legislature, 1778, edited by Thomas Cooper, M.D., published in the S.C. Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol 5 pg 26-27) From Lois Mathewes will of 1752 - Grandson Benjamin Mathewes Junr., the negro slave boy named Prince which I did heretofore promise him. ?Match? Mathewes, Benjamin of John's Island and Edith Mathewes, of Charles Town, widow November 18, 1778; Daniel Hall, wit. Mar Set. 1:147-148 South Carolina Census, 1790-1890 Viewing records 1-1 of 1 Matches Year Surname Given Name (s) County State Page Township or Other Info Record Type Database ID# 1778 MATHEWES BENJAMIN Charleston dis SC No Township Listed SC Early Census Index SCS1a2083722
	ii.	Anne MATHEWES533 was born about 1748 in South Carolina Province.533,753,956 She died on 21 Jun 1763 in USA, South Carolina, Charleston Co., Charleston.533 no issue
	iii.	Isaac MATHEWES753,952 was born about 1750 in South Carolina Province. in "Bio. Dir. of SC Hse. Rep." Vol2, p 436
	iv.	John Raven MATHEWES533,952 was born about 1753 in South Carolina Province.957 He signed a will on 6 Aug 1783.533 WILL - In the name of God. Amen. I, John Raven Mathewes of John's Island in the State of South Carolina, Planter, being sick and weak in Body but of sound mind, memory and understanding do make publish and declare my last Will and Testament in a manner and form following that is to say I will order and direct all my just debts and funeral expenses to be fully paid and satisfied, after which I give devise and bequeath the whole of my estate real and personal to my beloved daughter Elizabeth Mathewes her heirs and assigns for ever to be delivered her upon her arrival to the age of twenty one years or day of marriage which shall first happen, but in case of her death before her arrival to the age of twenty-one years without issue living at the time of her death, then and in such case my will and desire is that the whole of my said estate real and personal shall go to and I hereby give devise and bequeath the same unto my Mother Ann Freer, and my brothers Benjamin and George Mathewes, and their respective heirs and assigns for ever as tenant in common. And I hereby authorize and empower my executors herein after named and the survivors and survivor of them who shall qualify as such and take upon them the buden and execution of this my will and the executors and administrators of such survivor qualifying as aforesaid from time to time to sell and dispose of either at public or private sale the whole or any part of my said estate and to place the monies arising from such sales at interest on good security or to impove my estate by the purchasing of lands, negroes or other effects and again selling or disposing of the same as to my said executors or the survivors or survivor of them qualifying as aforesaid shall appear most for the benefit of my estate or they in their discretion shall think best giving and granting unto him or them hereby full power and authority to make execute and deliver unto the purchasers or purchaser thereof good and sufficient titles and conveyances for the same or any part thereof. Lastly I hereby nominate constitute and appoint my brothers Benjamin and George Mathewes and my friends Isaac Holmes and Thomas Bee executors of this my last will and testament and guardians of my said daughter until her arrival to the age aforesaid or day of marriage, which shall first happen. In witness thereof I the said John Raven Mathewes have hereunto set my hand and seal this sixth day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty three and in the eighth year of American Independence. John Raven Mathewes. Signed sealed published and declared by the above named John Raven Mathewes as and for his last will and testament in the presence of us who in his presence, at his request and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses hereto: John Troup, William Brailsford, John Mafsey Proved August 14, 1783 at the same time qualified Benjamin Mathewes, George Mathewes, and Isaac Holmes Exors. Recorded Will Book A 1783-86 Page 185. He died before 14 Aug 1783.533 Lived at Ravenswood on John's Island. ("A Place Called St. John's" by Jordan & Stringfellow.] He served as Lieutenant in the John's Island Company of the Colleton County Regiment of Militia. In addition, he was Captain of the Charleston "True Blues". [Yearbooks 1893, Capt. John S8139] (From Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution by Bobby Gilmer Moss, pg 664)
274	v.	George A. MATHEWS.