KANE COUNTY
SAMUEL
B. MATLACK, the father of
Mrs. Amos Hair, was a native of
Philadelphia.
His wife, Mary Ann
Fry,
was born February 13, 1832, in
Perry County, Pa., and
died November 21, 1875. Mr. Matlack
is now a resident of Aurora, Ill. One of
their children, Mary Elizabeth,
is deceased; those living are:
Louisa (Mrs. C.
Harnish), Shiremanstown,
Pa.; Timothy, Lake View, Ia.;
Martha (Mrs. Benjamin
Harnish),
Waterman, Ill.; Emma, a widow, residing in
Chicago, Ill.; Annie V.
(Mrs.
Amos Hair), New Bloomfield, Pa.;
and James C., a resident of Aurora,
Ill. (Biographical Encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley Page:
1028-19)
KENDALL COUNTY
HISTORY OF KENDALL CO
ILLINOIS pg 124
John Matlock was from
Indiana. His family
consisted of five sons:
John, who after
two years retuned again to
Indiana; West, well
known as Deacon Matlock,
now
residing in the town
of Kendall; George,
who
became a physician and
died in
California;
Joseph, a lawyer in
Marcello, Indiana;
David, a
Baptist pastor,
who
died at Makanda,
Illinois. William Paul
and Simeon Oatman came
with them. The
former
Mr. Matlock’s
son-in-laws. John bought
of George Hollenback the
farm now
owned by John
Evans, west of Pavilion. The Bristol brothers had
it first, and left
it.
Then Henry Ford took it,
and sold
it to Hollenback. Paul is
probably living now,
somewhere out West. Oatman is dead. When
David
Matlock and
his
father were out
prospecting the previous
autumn, they slept one night in the bark
covered hut
erected by
the Bristol brothers on
their own claim, not more than two rods from
John
Evans’ residence.
It snowed in the night,
and when they awoke in
the morning they
were
covered with
a sheet of
snow. It was a cold
reception in the new
land, but it
did not
damp their ardor, though
it did their clothes.
After selling to Robert
Ford,
Mr Matlock bought
out James Ford, whose
claim
covered the present site
of Pavilion
and the farm of John Kellett.
Charles O Matlack who
resided in Shipman was
born near Haddonfield,
Camden County
N. J. December 4
1828. His
father, William E Matlack, had his
nativity in the same
place March 14 1802, and
was the
son of Josiah Matlack of Welsh
ancestry. This
grandfather was a
millwright by trade and
spent his
entire life in
New Jersey. He
served as
an officer in the War of
1812. The father of our
subject
was reared to
agricultural pursuits and
resided in his native
State until 1857, when
he came to
the Prairie
State in time to spend
one week in the home of
his affectionate son,
our subject, before his
departure to the spirit
land.
The maiden name of the
mother of our subject
was Hope Osler. She also
was born near
Haddonfield,
N. J. and
died in her native State
in 1839, when Charles
was a lad of
eleven
years. The father
married a second time,
being then untied with
Frances Ferry,
who died
in Martinsburg MO, while
on
a visit there about the
year 1881. Our subject
was reared and educated
in his native county,
and assisted his father
in carrying on
a farm,
taking hold of
agricultural pursuits as
soon as he was large
enough to help.
He resided on the old
homestead until 1855.
In the fall of of that
year Charles Matlack
came to Illinois and
spent the first
winter near
Brighton. The following
spring he bought a tract
of land in Shipman
Township. There was a
frame
house
then in process of
construction and about
eighty
acres of the land
was improved when he
took it. He resided
there until 1873 and
during that time placed
the land under
cultivation,
erected a
barn and completed
the
house, besides planting
orchard which are now in
full bearing condition.
In 1873 Mr Matlack
placed his farm in the
hands of a tenant and
removed to Shipman where
he since
that time lived a
retired life. His
marriage which took
place in 1855 untied him
with R A Abbott
who was
born in Salem N J. Her
father William and his
father Joel, were
of the
same county and of
English ancestry. The
American progenitor of
this family is
said to
have come to this
country at a very early
date. The father of Mrs
Matlack was
finely
educated and a teacher
by profession, but is
more advanced years
devoted himself
to
agriculture. He came to
Illinois in 1855
settling near Brighton,
and spent his last
years
there. He died April 21
1884, at the home of a
daughter at Springfield
MO where he
was visiting.
The maiden name of the
mother of Mrs. Matlack
was Abigail Steward. She
was born in Salem
County
N. J.
of which her
father Nathan Steward
was also a native. He
was the son of
Joseph
Steward, who
was born
in
that State March 19,
1768. From him the
family genealogy
was
traced back through
Joseph Steward, the
third, who was born May
13 1746, and his
father
Joseph Steward the
second, who was
born
September 12 1702, to
the original Joseph
Steward with Alice
Wright, his wife came
from Scotland to America
in the Colonial days
and
settled in New Jersey.
Joseph the second
married
Bridget Middleton a
daughter of John
and
Esther Middleton, and
died March 12 1780.
Joseph the
third, married Ann
Robbins,
daughter of
Nathaniel and Ruth
Robbins, and died in
1813.
Nathan Steward the
grandfather of Mrs.
Matlack married Rachel
Morgan, the daughter of
Jonathan and Bathsheba
Morgan. He was a farmer
and spent his entire
life in New Jersey,
dying April 18 1811.The
mother of Mrs Matlack
died in Salem county N.
J. July 16 1847.
The
father married a second
time,
his wife being
Sarah Hutchinson who
passed away March
27
1884. Mr and Mrs Matlack
are earnest and
conscientious members of
the Methodist
Episcopal
Church, and have
laborers in the
Sunday-school for
many years. He has also
been
Steward of the
church for a long time.
The Republican party
embodies
in
its platform
the political views to
which he gives assent.
He takes an interest in
educational matters
and
was a member of the
School Board, serving in
that capacity with
credit to himself and
advantage to the
district. ( Portrait and
Biographical of Macoupin
County Illinois pg
275-
276)
