1890 -- It was said that he rode the Goodnight Trail as a very young man in the mid to late 1900's.546 If so, he would have been very young. The following is a simple understanding of the Goodnight Ranch and locations.

Here's what I found on the Goodnight Ranch -- Taken from - "The Online Handbook of Texas"

The name Goodnight Ranch is sometimes applied to the JA Ranch, founded by Charles Goodnight and John G. Adair in 1876. The JA was divided after Adair's death in 1887, however, when his widow, Cornelia Wadsworth Adair, qv took the Palo Duro and Tule divisions and Goodnight kept the Quitaque Ranch division. At the same time, Goodnight established a smaller ranch on 160 sections in Armstrong County. This ranch extended north to the Salt Fork of the Red River and centered around the town of Goodnight, then recently founded on the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway. This ranch bore its owner's name after 1887....After selling out his interest in the Goodnight-Thayer enterprise about 1900, he restricted his range activities to sixty sections near the railroad and continued to operate it until 1927.

L.A. Matthews was probably around one or the other locations. Two of his children were born in Armstrong Co., TX and he later settled in Archer City.


1900 - United States Federal Census, Precinct No. 5, Archer County, Texas
MATHEWS, Arthur head w m Feb 1860 40 wd MO TN OH physicial general
MATHEWS, Ora B. daughter w f June 1885 14 s TX MO MS
MATHEWS, Sallie E. daughter w f Nov 1886 13 s TX MO MS
MATHEWS, Arthur July 1889 10 TX MO MS
MATHEWS, Joseph B. son July 1891 8 s TX MO MX
MATHEWS, John G. son June 1893 6 TX MO MS
MATHEWS, Mamie V. daughter w f Mar 1896 4 s TX MO MX547

1907 -- Found in a photo of the Presbyterian Church, Archer City, TX . He is listed as Arthur.548

1909 -- Known as Putts Matthews, he played on the Archer Baseball Team. (photo).549

1910, 15th of April - Archer County, Texas Census
MATHIS, Arthur R. head m w 47 m2 for 2yrs TN MO OH physicial general practice
MATHIS, Annie wife f w 22 m1 for 2yrs TX TN IN none
MATHIS, Arther son m w 25 s TX TX TX jewler own shop
MATHIS, Belton son m w 18 TX TX TX
MATHIS, Grady son m w 16 TX TX TX
MATHIS, Mamie daughter f w 13 s TX TX TX550

1917-1918 - WWI Civilian Draft Registration
Matthews, Lawrence Arthur, birth date 27 Jul 1888, place of birth Applebee, Armstrong County, Texas. He states that he was employed at Washburn, Armstrong County, Texas.551

1920 - 1 May 2007 - I can not find them in the 1920 census

1930 - Precinct 4, Castro County, Texas
MATHEWS, Arthur A. head m w 41 m 27 no yes TX TX TS farmer / general farm no
MATHEWS, Zibbie C. wife f w 41 m 27 no yes TX TX MO none
MATHEWS, Pauline daughter f w 11 s TX TX TX
MATHEWS, Lawrence son m w 8 s TX TX TX
MATHEWS, Leon son m w 7 s TX TX TX
MATHEWS, Merle son m w 5 s no TX TX TX552

1942, US WWII Draft Registration553
In 1942, Lawrence Arthur Matthews completed a Registration Card [for men born on or after April 28, 1877 and before February 16, 1897]. His serial number was 337, his place of residence was 12 1/2 miles N.E. of Dimmit, Castro County, Texas. His mailing address was Rt 3, Hereford, Texas. He didn’t have a telephone, was 55 years old, born in Appleby, Texas on the 27th of July in 1886. He gave his wife’s name as Mrs. Zibba Matthews, Rt 3, Hereford, Texas. His employment was “self”, farm in the Jumbo Community, Castro County, Texas. He signed his name L.A. Matthews.

1951, June 9th - Lawrence Arthur Matthews married Mrs. Oma Hayes in Harmon County, Oklahoma. The certificate states that she was from Happy, Swisher County, Texas, and he was from Matador, Motley County, Texas. The application and license were issued on the same day. He gave his age as 59.

1953 -- On 10 March 1953 he was living in Clinton, OK. This is where he obtained his social security number. He was working at Matthews Motor Company, 710 So. 4, Clinton, OK.554 Aunt Polly said that it was a motor car business that he and his son Red went in together on setting up the business.

1966 -- In the Archer County Pioneers book it says that he was living in Amarillo, Texas in 1966.555

And so we had to bid farewell to one of the remaining Texas pioneers who could recall tending herd for such cattlemen as Charley Goodnight on his spread in the Palo Duro Canyon south of Amarillo. Granddad Matthews’ heritage included a full blooded Cherokee grandmother and a country doctor father. He was a typically tough ole Texan who sat tall in his saddle - weathering many years, but who finally had to give in to time which eventually catches up with all of us.10