Great John Mathis

Great John Mathis Mathis Family of Bass River
The following is a genealogy of the Mathis family as provided by historian Major E. M. Woodard in his History of Burlington County. , unless stated otherwise for a specific individual. I believe, as he did elsewhere in his book, he relied heavily on the work of Leah Blackman, who wrote a history of Little Egg Harbor. There are known errors in that volume, and as such some may have migrated into Woodard's work.

John Mathis, "Great John Mathis" as he came to be known, is said to be the first white settler of Bass River. He arrived from Long Island about 1713 and purchased land shortly thereafter from proprietor Daniel Leeds, along with Moses Forman and William Birdsall. The 250 acre plot was at the time known as Biddle's Island; by the 1880s it would be known as Daniel Mathis' Island.

In 1716, John married Alice Higbee, widow of John Higbee, and eldest daughter of Edward Andrews ( a founder of Tuckerton). Alice had two children from her first marriage:
.........................Abigail Higbee, born May 5 1713; she married Robert Leeds and had:
...............................................Solomon Leeds
...............................................Rebecca Leeds
...............................................Mary Leeds
........................Edward Higbee, born June 4th, 1714. He lived in Atlantic County, NJ with his wife.

The children of John Mathis and Alice Higbee were:

Micajah Mathis, father of:
- John Mathis, buried in the cemtery at Chestnut Neck. He married Martha Cramer, daughter of Caleb S. and (unk. first name) Baker Cramer. They were the parents of:
  - Caleb Mathis
  - Reuben Mathis, b. 1790
  - Beriah Mathis, b. 1792
  - Elizabeth Mathis
  - Jennings Mathis, b. 1800
  - John Shreve Mathis, whose wife, Louiza, is buried at Chestnut Neck. John later remarried Sarah Ann Giberson, sold his Galloway Township farm in 1866, and moved to Camden where he opened a grocery store. He and Louisa had 11 children. [thanks to Pete from Bass River Historic Society for the info on John Shreve Mathis]
  - Chalkley Mathis
  - Charlotte Mathis
  - Mary Mathis
  - Sarah Mathis
Job Mathis
Daniel Mathis
Jeremiah Mathis
Nehemiah Mathis
Sarah Mathis
Eli Mathis. [note: info on Eli and his descendants was provided to me by another visitor to this site. Some of this info has citations, some does not. If you need a specific you can e-mail me.]
Eli Mathis, son of John and Alice, b. 4 June 1730 on Davis Island; died 14 Apr 1793 Burlington Co. He married Phoebe Devinney and had:
- Maja Mathis, Esq., died 22 Sep 1845. He married Mabel Bartlett, sister of Rachel Bartlett and had:
  - Mary Mathis
  - Maria Mathis, who married Michael Micks.
  - John Bartlett Mathis, who married Mary Ann Potts and had:
    - Charles B. Mathis, who married Amelia A. Syles and had:
      - Henry Harry C. Mathis
- Hannah B. Mathis, b. 21 Nov 1793, d. 1 Sep 1851. She married George Washington Leek (5 Sep 1793-7 Jun 1880) and had:
  - Maja Leek, who married Sarah Louisa Cavileer and had:
    - George W. Leek (b. 14 Nov 1856, d. 2 Sep 1925 in Greenbank). He married Anna Belle Crowley
  - Catherine Leek, who married William Sears Cramer
  - William Hammond Leek
  - Mary W. Leek
  - Charles Loveland Leek (2 Oct 1816-d. bef 1916)
  - George T. Leek
- Ann Mathis, who married John Bogan 1st and married Jesse Mathis 2nd. Jesse was the son of Eli Mathis, and the grandson of Jeremiah Mathis and Hannah Andrews. Ann and Jesse were the parents of:
  - Timothy W. Mathis
  - John Mathis
  - Job Mathis
  - Mabel Mathis
  - Beaulah Mathis
- Jeremiah Mathis, who married Hester Darnell and had:
  - Esther L. Mathis, who married Daniel T. Sooy and had:
    - Daniel Towers Sooy (1832-1909), who married Mary Maude Maxwell.
- David W. Mathis, who married Mary Ann Gaskill and had:
  - Sarah A. Mathis
  - Samuel Mathis
  - Eli Mathis
  - Phoebe Mathis
  - Timothy Mathis
  - Charles Mathis
  - William B. Mathis
  - John A. Mathis

After John Mathis had got his island farm into successful operation, he purchased 813 acres of land from a John Budd. The land he cleared would in Woodard's time be known as French's Fram, on the east side of the Bass River. Next he purchased what would be known as the Enoch Mathis farm, on the west side of the river. Unfortunately, Mr. Mathis reputation is tarnished by the fact that he was an extensive slaveholder; most of the clearing of these lands was apparently done by slave labor.

John Mathis had, by the time of the Revolution, four farms in Bass River in operation. He lent the government a great deal of money during that war, and was repaid in Continental paper which was nearly worthless and consequently ruined the Mathis fortune, although their extensive landholdings were unaffected at least.

For a further description of the family of Great John Mathis, go here to read a 1955 letter from a member of a Mathis genealogy society.

There is a good website for Mathis genealogy located here also.