Henry Matthews Diaries

Henry Matthews Diaries

Henry Matthews (1799-18?) was a Methodist circuit rider, schoolteacher, and practicing physician from Ohio, who made his way from Ohio, through the Illinois Territory, to Texas. The five-volume set of diaries includes transcriptions of letters written by Matthews to various family members and friends in Ohio; student rosters and progress reports; descriptions of medical services rendered and patients’ progress and conditions; and sermon notes and copies of scriptural passages. The earliest of the diaries traces Matthews’s life on the Fairfield Circuit in Ohio and as a schoolteacher in rural Ohio. In later diary entries, Matthews’s commentary focuses on daily life in Texas, ranging from weather reports to crop and garden progress to community events and news to Texans’ relations with the nearby Native American Indian tribes like the Coshatta Indians.

Matthews, Henry, 1799-18?

Special Collections, Smith Library Center at Southwestern University

1806-1840