Emeline . . .

First, a quick summary.  .  . Last week’s discovery of the Widow’s Pension File (WC 102860) for George J. Mathews revealed that two women, Emeline Watt and Charlotte Shuler, filed pension applications (121912 and 10738) seeking federal compensation as his widow. Additionally, George J.  and Charlotte’s son, George W. Mathews, filed a pension application (268656) which was abandoned due to a lack of records adequately proving his paternity. Compensation was awarded to Emeline and two of her children, Mary and Amanda. There is no record of what became of Charlotte’s application, only that she did not receive a pension award.

I spent part of the week searching for a quick answer to my basic research questions. No luck. The file mentions nothing of his grave, or parents; although, I suspect he is buried at Ft. Leavenworth. Can’t prove it yet, can’t disprove it either. Nevertheless, let us consider the contents of the file in greater detail.

A copy of Emeline’s marriage certificate is in the file and declares that she was married to George J. on 24 December 1845 in DeWitt County, Illinois. 

Supporting documents appended to her application clarify George J.’s  full name, his actual death date; amend Emeline’s pension claim to add a second child, and collect back pension from the date of George J.’s death (18 May 1862); and include statements from her sister, Elizabeth, regarding her presence at the birth of Amanda Mathews.

Using this information, I searched for Emeline Mathews on Ancestry.com, hoping to confirm her statements, and got immediate results. The 1850 US Federal census documents George and Emeline living in DeWitt County, Illinois with children Albert and Sarah.

Sarah is mentioned as a daughter in the widow’s pension. I looked further, this time at the 1860 census, hoping to find them in Kansas. Here, the story takes a strange twist.

The 1860 census lists “Emelia Matthews” living in DeWitt County, Illinois along with children Sarah, Mary, Amanda, and Lewis Matthews. No George or Albert. Mary and Amanda are mentioned as daughters multiple times in the widow’s pension. However, most strangely, the census records Emelia’s marital status as, “widow.” You’ll recall that George died in 1862. What does that mean?  What could it mean?

The second half of the file contains an application for pension filed by attorney Thomas H. Kennedy of Kansas City on behalf of the son of George and Charlotte, George W. Mathews. The claim would ultimately be abandoned. Still, he did have his aunt, and sister of George J., Mary Baldwin (nee’ Mathews), and her daughter Martha McKinster (nee’ Baldwin), state that they knew George and Charlotte Mathews, and were present at George W.’s birth. They also stated that George J.  Mathews was not previously married, which fully contradicts Emeline’s and all of her witnesses’ claims.

 

Somebody was lying, or terribly misinformed. Attorney Kennedy’s notes make reference to, “a certified copy of soldier divorce from Emeline,” as well as, “Divorce former wife Emeline,” and finally, “. . . Attys. Divorce from Emeline W.” So it seems that they had sworn affidavits stating that George J. was never married, while at the same time they were seeking documentation of a divorce from Emeline. The file contains no documentation of a divorce between Emeline and George J. Mathews. 

Among the questions bouncing around in my head . . . . Did George abandon his family sometime after 1850, and head west from Illinois to Kansas?  Did George and Emeline divorce, or was that a plot by George W.’s attorney to help him win his pension claim? Did Emeline truly believe she was a widow in 1860, or did she only claim to be a widow for some reason? Was Emeline’s pension claiming a case of mistaken identity? Was her husband, George J. Mathews, different from the George J. Mathews that Charlotte Shuler claimed as her husband, and as her son’s father? Was my great, great, great grandfather guilty of polygamy? Did Emeline commit fraud?