133 Fifth Street
Beach Haven, NJ
January 20, 1955

Mrs. C. B. Sardeson
Registrar of Joseph Hart Chapter
811 Chestnut Street
Columbus, Indiana

Dear Mrs. Sardeson:

Replying to your letter of the 14th about JOHN MATHIS
The "Great John Mathis Chapter" was named for a John Mathis who was born in England about 1690. When a young man he came, with his brother Charles, to Long Island. Charles settled at Shrewsbury, New Jersey but John remained on Long Island until 1713 when he purchased land (along with William Birdsall and Moses Forman) in Egg Harbor and in 1714 resided there. That was his commencement of his career as a land speculator, which (according to Leah Blackman's book) steadily increased until he was the greatest landholder in the township. The original spelling of his name was "Mathews", but it is said that John Mathis considered it a difficult name to pronounce and write and so modernized it to Mathis.

In the year 1716 John Mathis married Alice Higbee, widow of John Higbee, and eldest daughter of Edward Andrews*, the founder of Tuckerton. His wife had two children by her first husband. She and John Mathis had six sons and one daughter: Micajah, 9th day of 9th month 1717; Job, 13th** day of 5th month 1719; Sarah 19th day of 7th month 1721; Daniel, 7th day of 9th month 1723; Jeremiah, 14th day of 5th month 1726; Nehemiah, 13th*** day of 6th month 1728; Eli, 4th day of 6th month 1730****.

Nehemiah had a daughter, Nancy, who married John Mathis 4th and went to Ohio.

Micajah (son of Great John) married Mercy Shreve in 1747. They had 7 children, Martha, Job, John, Barzilla, Benjamin, Mercy and Sarah. There son John, born 23rd of 12th month 1753, married Martha, daughter of Caleb Cranmer, Sr. of Bass River. John and Martha had 11 children one of which was named John.

Nehemiah (son of Great John Mathis) married Elizabeth, daughter of John Cranmer Sr. of Bass River. Their children were Job, John, Nehemiah, Ziba, Alice, Elizabeth, Sarah, Rebecca, Hannah, Mary, Sophia, Phoebe and Nancy.

John, son of Nehemiah Mathis, married two wives, one a Carter, the other a Baremore.

Nehemiah, son of Nehemiah, married his cousin Susan, daughter of Lawrence Peterson, Sr. His children went west. Some of the children of Ziba also settled in the west. (Ohio)

The only Esther I came across was the daughter of Jeremiah J. and Mary Brower. ( Jeremiah Jr. was the son of Jeremiah Sr.) Also Aaron, son of Daniel Mathis and Phoebe Smith had children named John and Esther. Eli Mathis and Judith Willets had a daughter Esther, but she married a Gifford.

The fact that they used the same names in many branches of the family makes it rather difficult. You did not mention any dates and that makes it difficult too.

These people lived along the Bass River at Egg Harbor, New Gretna and Tuckerton, but their children were scattered all over. I have a friend in Waretown and will ask her what she knows of any John Mathis there. If you could give me some dates it would be helpful. There is an old cemetery in Waretown with stones of Revolutionary dates, but I do not recall any Mathis.

We have fourteen or so members who are descendants of John Mathis but it is all this same John Mathis. He was a Quaker and did not fight. He was an old man at that time and loaned money to the cause. I understand one of his sons was on the "Committee" to collect money. I am a descendant of him myself, through his son, Jeremiah.

I will see members of our chapter on Saturday and try to find more information for you.

In the meantime, I hope you may find something in my letter which will be of help to you.

Sincerely yours.

Mrs. Floyd L. Cranmer
133 Fifth Street
Beach Haven, NJ.
Librarian of Great John Mathis, also Chairman of Genealogy.

**Corrected to "18th, Bible page" written in pencil by unknown editor

***IBID

**** "1739?" written in pencil by unknown editor