Carole, I stand corrected on the original in Scituate. I have seen it spelled Matteson at the Scituate library. The theory of the Scottish immigrant interests me. I have taken part in a Taylor surname y-dna study and didn't match any Taylor's. I did match four other surnames, one of them Anderson in Scotland and another of obvious Scottish origin, MacQuarrie in Australia. The difference in surnames could be explained by a common ancestor in Scotland before the general use of surnames. There were several Taylor's brought to Saugus. My John, b. ca. 1675 married Naomi Jordan at Milton, Ma. and then settled at Scituate, R.I. Naomi's sister married David Sprague who became a Baptist preacher and also settled at Scituate, R.I. There was also a Jordan man brought to Saugus Iron Works. I have wondered if they were both descended from Scottish immigrants and the families knew each other down to their generation. All speculation until some missing connections can be found, if ever. Could the Mathewson and Taylor families have been known or related to each other and that's why John placed his nine year old son Benjamin with the Mathewson/Matteson couple? Could David Sprague have met John Taylor in Scituate and introduced him to his sister-in-law Naomi Jordan? If I live long enough I may find the answers, so I keep looking and theorizing. Don Taylor >From: "mathewson1933@therim" <mathewson1933@therim.com> >Reply-To: RIPROVID-L@rootsweb.com >To: RIPROVID-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: Re: [RIPROVID] Re: [RIPROVIDMathewson/Matteson >Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 10:08:57 -0700 Don: The first white settler of Scituate was John Mathewson, son of the immigrant James. John settled on the shore of Moswansicut Pond and first lived in a cave. In that setting, he fought off wolves. (Information from the funeral sermon of United States Senator Elisha Mathewson, great-grandson of John. The funeral sermon was handed down in my family.) John Mathewson was followed in Scituate by his brother, Thomas Mathewson (my forebear), who took up land across the pond from his brother. In 1985, I wrote a carefully researched one-woman play concerning the early Mathewsons, early Providence and "the outlands." If you wish information about obtaining a copy of the play, please write to me at the below e-mail address. The immigrant James Mathewson arrived in Providence in the year 1657. He served as deputy to the assembly in 1680, and died two years later. In early Providence records, the name is variously spelled "Matheson" and "Mathewson." We can only speculate concerning his origin, however, the spelling of the name minus the "w" is Scottish. A distant cousin has recently shared with me his theory that James might have been captured by Cromwell's men at the Battle of Dunbar in Scotland and brought to the Saugus Iron Mine in Massachusetts as an indentured slave. He further theorizes that, having served the required time at Saugus, he then went to Providence. I would be interested in hearing the thoughts of others on the theory. My books are in storage as I prepare to move to another town the latter part of September. When I become settled, I can refer you to books concerning Scituate and concerning the Mattesons. Sincerely, Carole Emma Mathewson mathewson1933@therim.com (e-mail address will probably change the end of August)

Don: I find your forebear connection to the Saugus Iron Works interesting, along with the fact that your forebears who were at Saugus later went to the Providence (Scituate) area. They perhaps could no longer endure Puritans and chose to try the Roger Williams way of life. It's fun to speculate as to what happened long ago, and why. Was the historic David Sprague, who you mentioned, a forebear of William Sprague who organized and outfitted Rhode Island troops during the Civil War? Sincerely, Carole Emma Mathewson ----- Original Message ----- From: "DON TAYLOR" <directinstallationsinc@msn.com> To: <RIPROVID-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2005 9:59 AM Subject: Re: [RIPROVID] Re: [RIPROVIDMathewson/Matteson > Carole, > I stand corrected on the original in Scituate. I have seen it spelled > Matteson at the Scituate library. The theory of the Scottish immigrant > interests me. I have taken part in a Taylor surname y-dna study and didn't > match any Taylor's. I did match four other surnames, one of them Anderson in > Scotland and another of obvious Scottish origin, MacQuarrie in Australia. > The difference in surnames could be explained by a common ancestor in > Scotland before the general use of surnames. There were several Taylor's > brought to Saugus. My John, b. ca. 1675 married Naomi Jordan at Milton, Ma. > and then settled at Scituate, R.I. Naomi's sister married David Sprague who > became a Baptist preacher and also settled at Scituate, R.I. There was also > a Jordan man brought to Saugus Iron Works. I have wondered if they were both > descended from Scottish immigrants and the families knew each other down to > their generation. All speculation until some missing connections can be > found, if ever. Could the Mathewson and Taylor families have been known or > related to each other and that's why John placed his nine year old son > Benjamin with the Mathewson/Matteson couple? Could David Sprague have met > John Taylor in Scituate and introduced him to his sister-in-law Naomi > Jordan? If I live long enough I may find the answers, so I keep looking and > theorizing. > Don Taylor > > > >From: "mathewson1933@therim" <mathewson1933@therim.com> > >Reply-To: RIPROVID-L@rootsweb.com > >To: RIPROVID-L@rootsweb.com > >Subject: Re: [RIPROVID] Re: [RIPROVIDMathewson/Matteson > >Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 10:08:57 -0700 > Don: > The first white settler of Scituate was John Mathewson, son of the > immigrant James. John settled on the shore of Moswansicut Pond and first > lived in a cave. In that setting, he fought off wolves. (Information from > the funeral sermon of United States Senator Elisha Mathewson, great-grandson > of John. The funeral sermon was handed down in my family.) John Mathewson > was followed in Scituate by his brother, Thomas Mathewson (my forebear), who > took up land across the pond from his brother. In 1985, I wrote a carefully > researched one-woman play concerning the early Mathewsons, early Providence > and "the outlands." If you wish information about obtaining a copy of the > play, please write to me at the below > e-mail address. > The immigrant James Mathewson arrived in Providence in the year 1657. > He served as deputy to the assembly in 1680, and died two years later. In > early Providence records, the name is variously spelled > "Matheson" and "Mathewson." We can only speculate concerning his origin, > however, the spelling of the name minus the "w" is Scottish. > A distant cousin has recently shared with me his theory that James might > have been captured by Cromwell's men at the Battle of Dunbar in Scotland and > brought to the Saugus Iron Mine in Massachusetts as an indentured slave. He > further theorizes that, having served the required time at Saugus, he then > went to Providence. I would be interested in hearing the thoughts of others > on the theory. > My books are in storage as I prepare to move to another town the latter > part of September. When I become settled, I can refer you to books > concerning Scituate and concerning the Mattesons. > Sincerely, > Carole Emma Mathewson > mathewson1933@therim.com > (e-mail address will probably change the end of August) > > > > ==== RIPROVID Mailing List ==== > Please do not FLAME this list - We are here to help each other and we all had to start somewhere. Flames just scare off good people...People who might someday be able to help you. > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > > --- > > > ---