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David C. Mathews' SA history columns published in book
D. C. Mathews' "Early Sketches of Southwest Alabama" will be available for the first time, appropriately, at the Sunday dedication of Mathews' great-grandfather's restored 1830s log cabin on the grounds of the Clarke County Museum in Grove Hill. Mathews (1886-1980)- "Mr. Dave" to many- was a Clarke County teacher, legislator and superintendent of education. He was also a historian and probably knew the history of the county and region better than anyone. In 1962 his grandson, Bill Hearn, was editor of The South Alabamian. In the book's introduction, Hearn writes how he and his cousin, David Mathews (D.C. Mathews' son) persuaded the then 76-year-old Mathews to put into writing some of the history and old stories he knew. "Papa agreed, after some slight arm-twisting, to begin writing, hopefully on a weekly basis, but with the clear understanding not necessarily every week. He would select the topics he was willing to write about, and no young editor was to pressure him. He would sit at his table desk with his old manual Smith Corona typewriter and using his own hunt and peck system put into words on canary paper those sketches which we value so much today. As I attempted to remember those days of beginning and commit them to paper, I sat typing on my computer which rests on that table desk from long ago," Hearn wrote.
Mathews' son, David Mathews collected and revised the columns in 2004 as did members of the Clarke County Historical Society in 2008 in preparation for their republication. Mathews was a great storyteller and he wrote in a storytelling, conservational fashion. Mathews had specific and strong opinions about the history he wrote about and included those opinions. Combining all of those elements made for stories that read more like novels than boring textbook history. For instance, one of his earliest columns was about the Spanish explorer Hernado DeSoto's visit to the area in 1540 and the fierce battle he fought with the Indians at Mauvilla, which many believe to be in Clarke County. He wasn't complimentary of DeSoto. "It's a favorite text of mine that individuals and even nations reap as they sow. DeSoto sowed murder, robbery and destruction, and his harvest was death in the mighty river he discovered [the Mississippi River] and a grave in its muddy waters." He writes of the Creek Indian War of 1813-1814 and the attack on Fort Sinquefield, near present day Grove Hill. He described settler Stephen Lacey, who was in the fort and a "crackshot" who zeroed in on the Indians outside the fort from the second floor of a blockhouse. "…[He] fired more than once…and finally saw one of the Indians pitch on his face, and he knew that his bullet had found its mark. He turned and so informed some of his friends standing nearby but in so doing incautiously failed to step aside from the port hole through which a bullet came and struck him in the neck, severing the large artery. He was dead by the time he hit the floor. The Indians behind the pine had located that fatal loophole, and they had some good shots among their number, also." He later writes of Suggsville, a town of culture and sophistication, where a Dr. Denny was a resident in the early 1800s. "Dr. Denny was a peculiar man. He evidently dreamed dreams and saw visions. For several years he kept in his employ a skilled workman, and spent about $8,000 trying to perfect an airplane or flying machine. The Wright Brothers were preceded by Dr. Denny by more than 100 years. Dr. Denny's machine never got off the ground. However, he deserves recognition for his dreams and efforts." He writes of the roads that served the area. "The road from Jackson to Grove Hill was cut out in 1823, but wolves were so common those days that a benighted traveler on that road just where the home of Joe Wiggins now sits suddenly heard the yelp of a wolf pack on his trail a short distance up the road and just had time enough to scamper up a spreading dogwood tree and escape with his life. That man's name was Lundy and I have always heard that particular section of road called 'Lundy's Tavern.'" Such are some of the interesting details of Mathews' stories. Also included are stories about Sam Dale, the Mitcham War, Mathews' long teaching career and more entitled "Reminiscences." The 376-page paperback book has a detailed index. The cost is $25 and a special 10 percent discount will be offered at the log cabin dedication Sunday. It starts at 2:30 p.m.
Afterwards the book will be available at the Clarke County Museum's book store in Grove Hill.
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