Louisiana’s Name Mystery
Mathias’ Biography
A biography of Mathias Matteer was included in “The History of Lee County, Iowa,” which was published in 1879. It provides the key dates for him and both of his wives. It is important to note that this lists September 24, 1849 as the date of Mary’s death, but her headstone says September 21, 1850. I would tend to agree with the headstone over a biography written nearly thirty years later except that Mary isn’t listed with the family in the 1850 census and is listed in the 1850 mortality schedule , which implies that she had died within the twelve months prior to the 1850 census.
Most importantly, it lists Mathias’ children. First on the list (and I believe the oldest) is Louisianna. This is critical as it directly states that he had a daughter Louisianna. The remainder of the children match the children that were living with him in 1850 in Ohio.
Note: It states that that Mary was born in Perry Co, Tenn. I believe this is likely an error and should be Perry Co, Penn, as Perry County, Tennessee did not exist in 1812. It is possible that she was born in the area that was later Perry County, Tennessee. However, it appears most likely that she was born in Pennsylvania since Perry County, Pennsylvania is near Dauphin County, where Mathias was born