page_title: Sampson Mathews
hierarchical_section_title: Sampson Mathews
caption_attribution_description: English: silhouette of Sampson Mathews (c. 1737-1807)
context_page_description: Sampson Mathews was an American merchant, soldier, and legislator in the colony of Virginia.
  A son of John and Ann Mathews, Mathews was an early merchant in the Shenandoah Valley region, where he and his brother George Mathews ran a series of mercantile outposts that extended to Atlantic trade networks. Mathews also took part in the Indian Wars and colonial revolutionary efforts. He was a member of the Augusta County Committee of Safety that drafted the Augusta Resolves, a precursor to the Declaration of Independence, and the Augusta Declaration, a precursor to the Model Treaty, and the Articles of Confederation.
  Mathews was elected to the inaugural Virginia State Senate in 1776. During the American Revolution, he toured the western frontier to fortify the colonial border from Indian attacks, and oversaw sail manufacture for the Continental Navy's Virginia fleet. When turncoat Benedict Arnold enacted a surprise raid on Richmond in January 1781, Mathews lead Virginia militia forces in defense.
  Mathews was an original trustee of Liberty Hall, when it was made into a college in 1776. This is the nation's ninth-oldest institution of higher education.
context_section_description: Sampson Mathews (c. 1737 – January 20, 1807) was an American merchant, soldier, and legislator in the colony (and later U.S. state) of Virginia.
  A son of John and Ann (Archer) Mathews, Mathews was an early merchant in the Shenandoah Valley region, where he and his brother George Mathews ran a series of mercantile outposts that extended to Atlantic trade networks. Mathews also took part in the Indian Wars and colonial revolutionary efforts. He was a member of the Augusta County Committee of Safety that drafted the Augusta Resolves, a precursor to the Declaration of Independence, and the Augusta Declaration, a precursor to the Model Treaty (foreign policy), and the Articles of Confederation (the first U.S. constitution). 
  Mathews was elected to the inaugural Virginia State Senate in 1776. During the American Revolution, he toured the western frontier to fortify the colonial border from Indian attacks, and oversaw sail manufacture for the Continental Navy's Virginia fleet. When turncoat Benedict Arnold enacted a surprise raid on Richmond in January 1781, Mathews lead Virginia militia forces in defense.
  Mathews was an original trustee of Liberty Hall (later Washington and Lee University), when it was made into a college in 1776. This is the nation's ninth-oldest institution of higher education. Mathews was a member of the Mathews political family, which saw numerous members take part in state and national affairs over successive generations.
caption: Silhouette of Sampson Mathews, 1756 [1]
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