b. 29 January 1819, d. 17 August 1886
Birth | 29 Jan 1819 | Mathew Ryburn Clark was born on 29 Jan 1819 in Washington County, Virginia.6,7 |
Childhood | | He grew up on his father's land which spanned both sides of present day Prices Bridge Rd. north of the Middle Fork of the Holston River. |
Marriage | 6 Jan 1848 | Mathew married Isabella Louisa Fullen, daughter of Andrew E. Fullen and Mary Buchanan, on 6 Jan 1848 in Washington County, Virginia.8 |
| | They were second cousins. |
Land-Sell | 1 Sep 1848 | On Sept. 1, 1849 Mathew and Isabella sold their interest in a 9th share of several tracts that had belonged to Isabella's grandfather James Fullen. They received $60 as Isabella's one fifth part of her deceased father's share.9 |
Land-Buy | 5 Oct 1848 | The following month Mathew bought 220 acres on the waters of the North Fork of the Holston River from Rebecca Caywood for $2,500. |
Cens-1850 | 5 Aug 1850 | A year and a half after their marriage, Mathew and Isabella appeared on the 1850 census together. Mathew was thirty years old and Isabella was twenty-one. Their first child, Robert, was listed as eleven months old.10 |
Land-Sell | 4 May 1858 | Mathew and Isabella appear to have suffered a financial set back in the late 1850s. On May 4, 1858 Mathew sold John W. Kreger his 3 tracts of land in trust to secure debts owned Buchanan, Preston and Dickenson.11 |
Land-Sell | 10 Jun 1858 | Two months later, in June 1859, Mathew and Isabella sold 80 acres to Ben K. Buchanan for $200. The land was described as near the Valley Road and Saltworks Rd.12 |
Contract | 15 Oct 1858 | And on Sept. 23, 1858, Mathew sold much of the family's personal property to Samuel Skinner for $90.94. The list included farm animals, two wagons, and various household items. However 3 weeks later Mathew's father James, along with Mathew Buchanan, repurchased the items and executed a deed loaning them back to Mathew.13 |
Land-Sell | 4 Jun 1859 | The following June James also purchased Mathew's remaining 140 acres for $1. James executed a deed in trust such that Mathew and Isabella could continue to live on the land and support their family from the profits of the farm. James also stated that should Mathew die the land was to be conveyed to his children, allowing Isabella her dower share.14 |
Cens-Sum | | Mathew and Isabella appeared on 3 additional Washington County federal census enumerations during their married lives. Mathew continued to farm. His 1860 census entry listed him as the owner of land worth $6,000 which was probably not entirely accurate. The agricultural schedule recorded the person reponsible for managing a given farm regardless of whether they actually owned it. Mathew was recorded with 100 acres of improved land and 50 acres of unimproved land. The 1870 census, following the Civil War, valued Mathew's holdings at $1,200. The couple's children appeared on census records as expected, with the exception of 1870 where William J. appears to have been recorded as Mary J. and James S. as Dan S. [many Washington Co. households were misrecorded that year]15,16,17 |
| 15 Mar 1870 | When Mathew's father, James Clark, wrote his will in March of 1870 he left Mathew's children the land on which they were living, but stipulated that Mathew's brother [James A. Clark] was to control it. The children were also to inherit their father's share of any other assets belonging to James, with the same stipulation. James released Mathew of the notes and accounts he held on him which probably included the indebtedness James incurred when he took over Mathew's land in 1859.3 |
Court Record | | James A. Clark was subsequently appointed trustee of the children's inheritance. His report to the Washington County court in March of 1880 showed payments of $125 to Andrew F. Clark, Mary E. Clark and Robert E. Clark. Andrew F. Clark also received $625 as the guardian of Fountain B., Wm J., James S., Ryburn B. and Rachel Clark who were stated to be the minor children of M.R. Clark.18 |
Widowed | | Mathew was widowed when Isabella died in June 1880. She was about 52. |
Death | 17 Aug 1886 | Mathew died on 17 Aug 1886.6 |
Burial | | He was buried at Old Glade Spring Cemetery in Washington County, Virginia.6 |