The Matthews Family was from Cherokee Co., Alabama. David Matthews was born in Georgia (ca. 1834). At the time of the 1860 Federal Census, David and his wife, Nancy (b. Georgia ca. 1838), owned a small farm in Cherokee County where they lived with their infant son William. David served variously in Co. C, 6th Georgia Cavalry, the 4th Georgia Cavalry, and Co. C, 13th Alabama Infantry. In 1870 the Matthews Family was still living in Cherokee County, but in 1874 they relocated to Florida.