MATHEWS, ALFRED

MATHEWS, ALFRED (15 Sept. 1852-15 Oct. 1904) moved from a background in local journalism to become a prolific writer of regional histories. Born in Painesville, O., he was the son of Dr. Samual Mathews and former Clevelander Huldah Ford Mathews, and a great-grandson of former Gov. SAMUEL HUNTINGTON, JR. Graduating from high school in Painesville in 1871, Mathews began his writing career on the staff of the Painesville Telegraph. He soon left for Cleveland, where he worked for the CLEVELAND LEADER and published his first book, History of Washington County, Ohio (1880). Moving to the East, he became a free-lance contributor to such publications as the New York Times, Philadelphia Press, and Scribner's Magazine. He joined the Philadelphia publishing house of L. A. Evarts, fror whom he wrote several Pennsylvania county histories himself and edited more of the same. His last book, Ohio and Her Western Reserve, was published by the New York firm of Appleton in 1902. His thesis that Puritan Connecticut stock had laid the basis for Ohio's prosperity was received more favorably in Cleveland than elsewhere in the state. Mathews never married. Survived by his mother, he died in Philadelphia and was returned to Painesville for burial.


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