Dr. M. W. Matthews

Mansil Walter Matthews preached for decades without pay. A Restoration Movement history built from his family's papers says that after his conversion in Alabama he never accepted payment for preaching, studied medicine in Kentucky, and practiced both callings all his life. He sat in the first Congress of the Republic for Red River County, resigned, and was elected head of the county's land board in 1838. His family intermarried with Collin McKinney's, and a granddaughter remembered him as tall, straight and white haired. He preached in his home church at Paradise the day before he died in April 1891.

What the plaque says

Dr. M. W. Matthews Dr. M. W. Matthews (December 29, 1806 - April 13, 1891) Pioneer physician and preacher. Born in Kentucky. As army surgeon in Texas Revolution (1836), treated Gen. Sam Houston at Battle of San Jacinto. Served in the 1st and 7th Congresses of the Republic. Took part in Mexican War (1846). A firm Unionist during Civil War (1861-65), he once barely escaped hanging at hands of Southern vigilantes. Founded many churches across state. Was married twice: first to Sarah Gehagan and later to Margaret Spencer. Recorded - 1971

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Wise County Courthouse — 8.5 mi
  J. Riely Gordon's granite Romanesque courthouse of 1895-96 in Decatur, built after fire destroyed the Second Empire courthouse and set off a fight over the county seat.
• Fort Richardson State Park and Historic Site — 26 mi
  The northernmost post of the Texas frontier line, outside Jacksboro, where a stone hospital and six other buildings stand from 1867 and a later Guard unit became the Lost Battalion.
• Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway — 31 mi
  A Cross Timbers park on the old Camp Wolters grounds, built around a 1922 water-supply lake for a spa town, with Penitentiary Hollow's rock climbing and a 20-mile trailway.

More markers nearby

• Site of Old Town Paradise — 0.7 mi
• Hunt, Col. William Hudson — 4.5 mi
• Bridgeport Coal Mines — 5.4 mi
• Republic of Texas' Santa Fe Expedition in Wise County — 5.6 mi