Matheny, Charles R.

Born: 1786-03-06 Loudoun County, Virginia

Died: 1839-10-10 Springfield, Illinois

Matheny traveled to Crab Orchard, Kentucky, when he was very young and received his minister's license from the Methodist Church. He preached in Harrodsburg until 1805, when the church sent him to the Illinois Territory as a missionary. Matheny settled in Lebanon, where he also studied law. In 1806, he married Jemima Ogle, with whom he had eleven children. In 1817, Matheny won election to the territorial legislature and served for one year. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1820, representing St. Clair County. The following year, Matheny moved to Springfield to help establish Sangamon County. He served as the County Court clerk for the rest of his life, as clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1820 to 1821, and briefly as circuit court clerk. Matheny frequently encountered Abraham Lincoln in this capacity and as president of the Springfield Board of Trustees from 1832 to 1839, excepting 1834. His sons included Lorenzo D. Matheny, Noah W. Matheny, James H. Matheny, Charles W. Matheny, and Elijah C. Matheny.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 479-81; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Sangamon County (Chicago: Munsell, 1912), 2:1421-22; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.