Elijah G. Matheny & Family - Wayne Twnp PA

Elijah Gad Matheny (1821-1904) was born on the family homestead in what was then Beaver County. His father was Moses Matheny (1780-1841), of French Huguenot heritage, who was born in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia and came to western Pennsylvania as a young boy. In 1806 Moses married Hannah Nye (1787-1854) and together they had about fourteen children. Moses Matheny is well known for erecting the Matheny Tavern near Rock Point just before this death. Elijah, who was only seventeen when his father died, was married in 1846 and started his own family. I believe this photo shows the old Nye homestead, owned by Elijah’s wife Sarah Nye, on the Ellwood-Wampum Road near Rock Point. I believe Elijah and his family resided here since the early 1870’s. Elijah later sold his own family farm (rich in coal) in early 1892. (c1910) Full Size

This old photo depicts the Matheny family of Wayne Township. Seated in the middle of this photo is Elijah Gad Matheny (1821-1904), the son of Moses Matheny, and his wife Sarah (Nye) Matheny (1824-1910), the granddaughter of early settler Andrew Ross Nye. Elijah and Sarah were married in 1846 and had seven children together. Elijah, a farmer by trade, also served as a Justice of the Peace and in other official posts in Ellwood City. Seated at left end is Dr. Sherman M. Matheny (1862-1931), a popular New Castle dentist. Seated at the bottom center is Charles S. Davis (1887-1984), a longtime P&LE employee and resident of Wampum. Seated at bottom in the white dress is Charles’ mother Alice (Matheny) Davis (1852-1932), who married Francis M. Davis – who later served as a County Commissioner from 1920-1928. (c1894) (Courtesy of Beth Hennon Peters) Full Size

Another old photo of the Matheny family, probably taken after the February 1904 death of family patriarch Elijah G. Matheny. Family matriarch Sarah (Nye) Matheny, who later passed away at the age of eighty-five in April 1910, is seen seated in dark dress. (c1907) (Courtesy of Beth Hennon Peters) Full Size