Claunch and Stewart Families - Thomas, Nancy Elizabeth Ann

Events

Event	Date	Place	Description
Birth	March 18, 1840	Morgan County, Alabama, United States	Alabama

Death	September 14, 1937	McGregor, McLennan County, Texas, USA	Texas

Burial	1937	Sulphur Springs, Hopkins County, Texas USA	Old Tarrant Cemetery

Relation to the center person (Claunch, William Nathan) : second great grandaunt

Parents

Relation to main person	Name	Birth date	Death date
Father	Thomas, Laban Gilbert	October 26, 1816	August 4, 1902
Mother	Maples, Rachel Helen	September 14, 1818	July 30, 1888
Brother	Thomas, Laban Henry	July 14, 1853	January 5, 1933
Brother	Thomas, John Laban	1838	1862
Brother	Thomas, William E.	1843	September 30, 1862
	Thomas, Nancy Elizabeth Ann	March 18, 1840	September 14, 1937
Brother	Thomas, James F.	1842
Brother	Thomas, Benjamin K.	1844	September 10, 1882
Sister	Thomas, Emmarille Jane	1847	1920
Sister	Thomas, Rachel Francis	February 1, 1849	December 4, 1922
Sister	Thomas, Sarah Matilda Angeline	March 8, 1851	November 22, 1937
Brother	Thomas, James Burton	1857	November 12, 1917
Sister	Thomas, Martha Custus	October 26, 1860	February 27, 1947
Sister	Thomas, Bertha	1838	1845

Families

Family of Mathews, John C. and Thomas, Nancy Elizabeth Ann

Married

Husband

Mathews, John C. ( * + ... )

Event	Date	Place	Description	Sources
Marriage	July 4, 1867

Media

Nancy Elizabeth Ann Thomas Grave

Narrative

Biographical Note

Born in Morgan County, Alabama to Laban Gilbert and Rachel Helen Maples Thomas.

Married John C. Mathews, July 4, 1867.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22427762/nancy-elizabeth_ann-mathews

Narrative

PROFILE OF AN EARLY SCHOOL AND ITS TEACHER
Ruth M. Higdon

The location, Hopkins County, Texas - the time, 1875 - the building, a crude plank structure used for church services and chapel for a nearby cemetery. The teacher - Nancy Elizabeth (Thomas) Matthews.

Nancy had taught as early as 1858 in Northern Mississippi after having attended The Female Academy in Vicksburg. After the War Between The States was over, nancy married John Mathews and started raising her family, consequently, she abandoned her chosen profession for the time being.

Conditions in Northern Mississippi being what they were and the lure of the many wagon trains leaving for Texas enticed Nancy and John to board their ox wagon and join the throngs. They settled in Hopkins County.

John died in 1874 leaving Nancy with three small children so it became necessary for her to resume her teaching career. There was no public school building near her home but being an enterprising young woman, Nancy soon thought of the only available building, the church, in which she might teach a subscription school. She set about soliciting pupils from among the families of the community who wished to have their children taught and who were willing to buy Blueback Spellers, Davies Arithmetic and Eclectic Readers. They also had to be willing to pay $15.00 per child per term of school which lasted three months.

The meager facilities of the school were split log benches, slates in the absence of blackboards adn the nearby timber was utilized for restrooms. Water was supplied from a well by pulley and chain and if a child did not bring his own drinking cup, he was obliged to drink from a common dipper which was likely to be a gord [sic].

Despite the inconveniences and the inaccessibility of this early day school, children were taught to read, write and work arithmetic. Many grew up to revere their early teacher who lived most of her life in this community, and when she was lain to rest at age 97 1/2, her Pallbearers were former students, some of whom had by this time become tottery.

I knew Nancy Thomas Matthews well, she was my grandmother.

Included among research notes from Mary Louise Claunch