Aaron and Margery Kirkbride Mathis Portraits

A few weeks ago Elaine Allen loaned me a Mathis Family photo album that was compiled some years ago by Howard Ware's late wife, Sara Allen Ware who was Bennie Allen's sister. We met Howard in the Lee Brothers cranberry bogs on our Thanksgiving Day Blog.

Howard and Sara Allen Ware in 1945. Sara was interested in her family geneology which included the Mathis family. She compiled a scrapbook of some of the Mathis family members in her family line. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

When I turned to the first page in Sara's Mathis Family scrapbook, I found a pleasant surprise. I found myself staring at color photos of oil paintings of Aaron Mathis, Sr. and his wife, Margery Kirkbride Mathis. These paintings were done before the use of cameras and preserved the earliest likenesses of Bass River area residents that I have seen. Actually, they predated Bass River Township by more than 14 years, as Bass River Township was not formed from Little Egg Harbor Township until March 30, 1864. Both Aaron and Margery died in 1851 at the age of 61. The date of the oil paintings are unknown, but they would appear to have been painted late in Aaron and Margery's lives.

What a find! I have no idea who took the photos or where the oil paintings hung, but I'm indebted to Sara for preserving them in her Mathis Family album. Many Blog readers are somehow related to the Mathis family and may be in the same line as Aaron. He was the great grandson of Great John Mathis through Great John's second son, Job.

Aaron Mathis, Sr, (1790-1851) the great grandson of the Great John Mathis through the line of Job Mathis. (Photo of an oil painting from Sara Allen Ware's Mathis Family photo album.)

Margery Kirkbride Mathis (1790-1851), the daughter of Phineas and Martha Rogers Kirkbride, and wife of Aaron Mathis, Sr. (Photo of an oil painting from Sara Allen Ware's Mathis Family photo album.)

Below, I've included the genealogy from Murray and Jean Harris' book, "The Mathis Family of Little Egg Harbor" showing the line from Aaron Mathis, Sr. back to the Great John Mathis. The numbers preceding some names are reference numbers used by Murray and Jean related to navigating through their book. The line continues forward to Sara Allen Ware who was Aaron Mathis Sr.'s great great grandaughter. Perhaps we will include that in a future Blog entry.

Aaron Mathis, Sr. to Great John Mathis Line

2007. Aaron Mathis, son of Daniel (2002) and Phoebe (Smith) Mathis, born 1790, died June 28, 1851, married May 19, 1814 Margery Kirkbride, daughter of Phineas and Martha (Rogers) Kirkbride, born 1790, died January 28, 1851. They are buried in Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. Children:

2015 i Daniel M., married Rachel W.Gifford

2016 ii Phineas Kirkbride, married Mary Ann Cramer

____ iii Enoch, born October 3, 1826, died November 5 1895, unmarried, buried Miller Cemetery.

2017 iv Phoebe, married (a) Thomas Cartright and (b) John P.Leek

2018 v John O., married Elizabeth O.Sears

2019 vi George W., married Abigail Mathis (1008)

2020 vii Aaron Jr., married (a) Zelphy Anderson and (b) Esther A.Rake

2021 viii Marjorie, married Lemuel R.Adams

____ ix Martha Kirkbride, born December 15, 1815, died December 29, 1872, married Jauary 18, 1840 Samuel Oliphant Shinn, born January 27, 1804

x Leah

xi Esther married Joseph Church, no children

xii Elizabeth married Jerry Church

2002. Daniel Mathis, son of Job (2001) and Phoebe (Leek) Mathis, born July 21, 1761, died March 10, 1836, married 1786, Phoebe Smith, daughter of Micajah and Sara (Owen) Smith of Port Republic, born June 30, 1764, died September 1, 1836. They are buried in the Methodist Cemetery, Tuckerton. Children:

____ i Owen Mary, married Jonas Miller

2006 iii Sarah, married James Downs

2007 iv Aaron, married Margery Kirkbride

2008 v Leah

2009 vi Micajah Smith, married Nancy (Gamage) Mathis

2010 vii Daniel Jr., married Elizabeth White

2011 viii Phoebe S., married Captain William French

2012 ix Anna Maria, married Francis French

2001. Job Mathis, son of John and Alice (Andrews) Mathis, born May 13, 1719, died 1771, married May 15, 1760 Phoebe Leek, daughter of John and Phoebe (Deviney) Leek. He is buried at the Tuckerton Friends Meeting House with no stone. Children:

2002 i Daniel, married Phoebe Smith

2003 ii Enoch, married Nancy Gamage

2004 iii Phoebe, married John Forman

____ iv Mary

1000 John Mathis, or Mathews, is said to have emigrated from Wales to Oyster Bay, Long Island around 1700. According to one family tradition his birthplace in Wales was Merthyr Tydfil. There are early colonial deeds to show that he accumulated property near the village of New Gretna. By 1714 he had moved to an island along the Bass River. In 1716 John married Alice (Andrews) Higbee, the daughter of Mordecai and Mary Andrews, and the widow of John Higbee. Some sources list Edward Andrews as her father, but reference to the will of Mordecai Andrews shows that she was, in fact, the daughter of Edward's elder brother Mordecai. John Mathis died October 23, 1779 and is buried beside the Friends Meeting at Tuckerton. John and Alice had seven children, as follows:

1001 i Micajah, married Mercy Shreve

2001 ii Job, married Phoebe Leek

3001 iii Sarah, married (a) Marmaduke Coate (b)John Leeds

4001 iv Daniel, married Sophia Gauntt

5001 v Jeremiah, married Hannah Andrews

6001 vi Nehemiah, married Elizabeth Cramer

7001 vii Eli, married Phoebe Devinney

I would encourage anyone who is a descendant of Aaron Mathis, Sr. to drop a comment below and let us know. You may find out that you have a previously unknown aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. somewhere out in the Blog-O-Sphere. There may even be some Kirkbrides out there who can trace their roots back to Aaron's wife, Margery Kirkbride. I would love to hear from them, too.

Pete S