Mathew and Mary Coudy
Compiled
By Great-Great-Grandson Edward K. Hine, Jr. ("Ted") - March, 2005
Mathew Coudy Not a lot is known about Mathew Coudy but what is known about him and his brothers is quite interesting. Note that I've come across his name spelled as both Mathew and Matthew. Since his gravestone reads "Mathew" and hand written instructions to Bellefontaine Cemetery (St. Louis) regarding the Coudy family plot there were signed by him also using the spelling "Mathew", I assume that this was his preferred spelling. Until a few years ago when I was checking U.S. census records for my great-grandfather, Horace R. Coudy, I didn't know the name of his father. 1880 census records showed that Horace's father's name was Mathew Coudy, that he lived in St. Louis, and that he was a "retired builder". This was all I knew about my great-great grandfather Mathew till I discovered several letters written to my mother by her grandfather, Horace R. Coudy (son of Mathew), in the mid 1940's. These letters are priceless and in them Horace talks about a number of his ancestors. Regarding his father Mathew he wrote on April 19, 1946:
Mathew's Birth Place Horace clearly indicates that Mathew was born in Hancock, MD however other information more convincingly indicates that Mathew was in fact born in Ireland. Census records for Mathew as head-of-household (1850, 1860, and 1880) consistently indicate that he was born in Ireland while such records for Horace as head-of-household are inconsistent about where his father was born with the 1900 census showing Illinois and the 1930 census showing Pennsylvania. Finally and most convincingly, the 1827 Maryland naturalization (citizenship) record for Mathew's brother James Coudy indicates that the family arrived in this country from Ireland in 1817. Mathew would have been about 4 years old at the time. About Mathew's Parents, Siblings, and the Family's Emigration to the United States Horace's letter makes reference to the fact that, after emigrating from Ireland, his father's family settled in Hancock, MD which is located only a mile or two south of the Pennsylvania border in Washington County, Maryland. As indicated above, James Coudy's 1827 naturalization record (which indicates that he was born in County Down, Ireland) shows that the family came to the U.S. in 1817. It also contains a note which reads "Was 13 years old when arrived with his father and family. Went first to Dauphin Co., PA. Moved to Washington Co. 7 years ago." This places James, and most likely all of his family, in the Hancock area starting about 1820 or more-or-less 3 years after they arrived from Ireland. Recent research shows that Mathew's father was John Coudy. There is an 1820 census record for the John Coudy family in Bethel, Bedford County, Pennsylvania where John is shown as being a farmer. Bedford County, PA is located only about 9 miles across the border from Hancock, MD (though "Bethel" is not shown on any current maps). This is certainly the census record of Mathew's father and his family due, in addition to the geographic connection, to the fact that the age brackets indicated for John's 3 shown male children (no names are given) are consistent with the approximate known and/or calculated dates of birth for the Coudy brothers mentioned in Horace's letter (Mathew, Oliver, and James). This census record also shows 2 females living in the household, one in the same age bracket as John and thus presumably his wife, and one around the same age as the 3 brothers and presumably a daughter. There are also records which show that a John Coudy paid taxes in Bethel, Bedford, Co. PA in 1820 and in January of 1821. On page 665 of a book titled the "History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania" (published in 1884) text reads "The first school in Buck Valley was taught by Mrs. Isabella Cowdey, of Ireland, about 1824." Buck Valley, PA appears on current maps and is only about 6 miles from Hancock, MD. It is highly likely that Isabella was John Coudy's wife. (Cowdey and Cowdy are common misspellings of Coudy in census records and elsewhere.) A record shows that a John Cowdy, now believed to be the eldest of 4 sons of John and Isabella, married Catharine Bradley in 1819 in Allegany County, Maryland which starts only about 7 miles west of Hancock. Almost nothing is known about John (Jr.) but an 1830 census records places him, Catharine, and several children living several hundred miles away from Hancock in western Pennsylvania. (Catharine would later move with some her children to Butler/Hillsboro, IL in the mid-to-late 1850's where her husband's brothers Mathew and Oliver had come in the mid 1830's.) Text on page 1253 of a book titled "History of Western Maryland" Vol. II by J. Thomas Scharf (originally published in 1882) reads in a partial list of those buried in early Hancock cemeteries: "John Coudy, native of Ireland, died Sept. 8, 1823 in his 48th year."
John Coudy (Sr.) is buried along with his son James and members of James' family in a Coudy plot in the historic St. Thomas Episcopal Church cemetery in Hancock, Maryland. John's 1823 death is consistent with Horace's letter regarding Mathew which reads "His parents died and he was raised by relatives......". Mathew would have been about 10 years old when his father died. But Horace was apparently not correct when he referred to "parents" as plural. An 1830 census record for Washington County MD (where Hancock is located) shows a "Widow Coudy" family unit of 3 with sexes and age brackets consistent with Isabella, son Mathew, and the un-named daughter all of who were shown in John Coudy's 1820 census record (the other children being old enough to have left home by 1830). Isabella is not buried with her husband John in Hancock. An 1840 census record for Montgomery County, Illinois (where Butler and Hillsboro are located) show a woman of Isabella's age living with her son Oliver and his wife suggesting that Isabella likely followed him and son Mathew west sometime in the later 1830's. A findagrave.com record shows she died on August 16, 1846 and is buried in the Bluff Cemetery (Methodist Cemetery) in Hillsboro.
I've been unable to uncover any ship records which would confirm that the John Coudy family emigrated from Ireland in 1817 or might indicate whether the family traveled with other relatives. Regarding Horace's mention that his ancestors were French Huguenots who spent "a short time" in Ireland before coming to the U.S.: A quick look at French Huguenot history suggests that the Huguenots spent centuries of hardship in France and that the most active period of the "Huguenot Wars" took place throughout the 1500's which ended roughly 200 years before the John Coudy family emigrated to the U.S. in 1817. It's therefore hard to know exactly when the Coudy family came to Ireland from France. Horace's letter suggests that it may have been not long before the family's emigration to the U.S. in which case the family would have been primarily French in origin. On the other hand, history books suggest the possibility that the Coudys came to Ireland generations before they emigrated to the U.S. in which case the family would have been likely much more genetically Irish. There is evidence that there have been, and currently are, Coudys in France which confirms the possible French origin of the name. I came upon a book titled "The Huguenot Wars" edited/written by French writer Julien Coudy (and translated into English in 1969 by Julie Kernan). I obtained a copy but it unfortunately doesn't mention how, if at all, the editor/author was connected to the Huguenots.
Mathew and
Oliver Coudy in Illinois About Hillsboro Academy Horace's choice of words in the above letter regarding the construction of "Wyman Academy" in Hillsboro, IL ("they decided to go for the contract", "they built the academy") combined with the arduous trip to get there and the fact that Mathew is later shown in census records as a "builder" suggests that the Coudy brothers (Mathew and Oliver) were more likely involved in the project as perhaps general contractors of some sort than as laborers or craftsman such as carpenters.
In December of 2004 I visited Hillsboro and obtained historical information on the town as related to my ancestors there. I've learned that the building which Horace refers to as "Wyman Academy" was in fact known as Hillsboro Academy which for a time was headed by a fellow named Edward Wyman. Hillsboro Academy was for many years a focus of great pride for the citizens of Hillsboro as it apparently provided some of the first and best advanced education in early Illinois and attracted students from all over Illinois and neighboring states. The construction of Hillsboro Academy took place in 1835 and 1836. This places the timing of Mathew and Oliver Coudy's arrival there to about 1835. Mathew would have arrived in Hillsboro when he was about 22 years old and he is assumed to have spent about 13 years in or around Hillsboro before marrying Mary Seward in her home village of Butler (2 miles from Hillsboro) in 1848. I would assume that Mathew and Oliver (who is believed to have been older than Mathew) were involved in other building projects in the area during this period. In his letter Horace indicates that the Hillsboro Academy building was still standing when he visited Hillsboro in 1938 (it would have been over 100 years old at the time). When I visited Hillsboro in December of 2004 the building was no longer around and I could find no information on when it was torn down.
Land Records Government land grant records show that both Mathew and Oliver owned land in the Butler/Hillsboro area of Illinois (Butler being a small village a few miles from Hillsboro). Oliver obtained two 40 acre tracts on January 1, 1840 and Mathew obtained one 40 acre tract on March 3, 1843. It's possible that both brothers had additional land holdings for which records are not available. It is not known what each did with their land though they presumably lived on it and perhaps farmed it.
More About Mathew's Brother Oliver An 1840 Montgomery Co., IL census record indicates that Oliver was born between 1810 and 1820. The 1820 census record for his father John indicates that Oliver was born between 1804 and 1810. It is thus likely that Oliver was born abt. 1810 and therefore in Ireland prior to his family's 1817 arrival in the U.S. Horace's letter indicates that Oliver married "a Hillsboro girl" and that when Oliver passed away his widow married "Judge Rice". Census and other records show that Oliver's wife's maiden name was Susan R. Allen, that they were married on May 09, 1839 in Montgomery County, IL (probably in Hillsboro), and that they had one child, Isabella Olive Coudy, who was born in 1847. Susan married Judge Edward Young Rice in 1849, suggesting that Oliver passed away prior to this date. Oliver's daughter Isabella Coudy would thus have been raised from about the age of about 2 by her mother and step-father Judge Rice. Isabella would marry Festus Cone Bolton in 1865 and have two children, Mary Cone Bolton born in 1867 and Edward Rice Bolton born in 1877. (Susan and Edward Rice are buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery, Hillsboro, IL.)
A internet genealogy message board indicates that Oliver Coudy signed marriage licenses as the Montgomery County, Ill clerk (or perhaps the Hillsboro city clerk) in 1840. Local records show that he was the postmaster of Hillsboro from 1845 till perhaps 1847. The "Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac" at the
Illinois State Library shows that Oliver Coudy served one term in the Illinois Senate
(15th General Assembly) from 1846-1848. He represented Bond, Christian,
and Montgomery Counties (Montgomery being the location of Butler and Hillsboro.)
A publication titled "Illinois Election Returns 1818-1848" shows that Oliver ran
in the 1846 election as a Democrat and that his opponent was a Whig candidate.
Oliver won by 21 votes out of the 1995 votes cast in the 3 counties and
thus squeaked by with 50.5% of the vote.
Oliver's service in the state legislature tends to corroborate Horace's mention that Oliver died "in the coach on his way from Springfield where he was a legislator from his district" and his dates of service suggest that he probably passed away in 1848 at around the age of 38. I would expect Oliver to be buried in or near Hillsboro, most probably in the Oak Grove Cemetery, but I've been unable to find his grave site. Oliver's 1840 Montgomery county census record show an unidentified older woman in the household of an age that could be his mother Isabella (who thus may have followed Oliver and Mathew to Illinois in the 1930's). It is thus possible that she is also buried in the area, perhaps with Oliver. (I note that the Oak Grove Cemetery contains some gravestones in it's older section which are no longer readable and which could therefore possibly be Oliver's and/or his mother's. Oak Grove Cemetery interment records unfortunately don't go back this far.) More About Mathew's Brother James (in Hancock, Maryland) According to James' naturalization record he was born in County Down, Ireland. Both Horace's letter and James' naturalization record agree that James Coudy was born abt. 1804 (though his gravestone reads 1803). On the other hand, multiple Maryland census records and his obituary suggest that he was born between 1806 and 1808. As mentioned above, James arrived in the U.S. from Ireland in 1817 (when he would have been about 13 years old assuming an 1804 birth). He was naturalized and became a U.S. citizen on Nov. 27, 1827. As implied in Horace's letter, all records confirm that James stayed in Hancock, MD where his father John had brought the family by about 1820. I've uncovered some information about his life there and he apparently became a well respected and prominent citizen. An 1850 census record for
Washington County, MD shows that James was married to a woman named Mahala and
that the couple had an 18 year old daughter named Catherine. Then on May
23, 1864 James married Susan Stilwell (b. 1829) who was
around 25 years younger than he (depending on his assumed age)
Numerous mentions of the Coudy name appeared in "The Herald and Torch Light" newspaper (Hagerstown, MD, not far from Hancock) between the 1860's and the 1890's. They provide some information about the family in Hancock. Most of the mentions are short and somewhat non-consequential but the most telling is James' obituary which appeared in the January 3, 1884 edition and reads:
In 2005 I asked Jim Kuttler (a Seward family researcher) if he could find anything regarding James. He came up with the following in the Maryland State Archives:
Jim then indicated:
Jim Kuttler's suspicion that James Coudy was possibly a Southern sympathizer is probably supported by records which show that James was a slave owner at the time of the 1850 and 1860 censuses. In 1860 he owned 1 slave in Hancock (as apparently did many of his neighbors).
Local Hancock, MD census records (obtained from the Hancock Historical Society) show that in 1870, the first census after the Civil War, James and his family had 2 black employees apparently living with them. By the 1880 local Hancock census there are no employees shown.
After James passed away at the very end of 1883, ongoing newspaper mentions suggest that Susan and the Coudy children continued to live in Hancock into at least the early to mid 1890's. Susan was the "executrix" of her husband's estate and short newspaper mentions suggest that it took till 1895 (over 11 years) to finally settle the estate though there is no indication that it involved anything out of the ordinary. During this period Susan sold several pieces of real-estate including a "house and lot in Hancock" in 1890 and "the Coudy homestead, in Hancock" in 1893. In 1889 and 1890 Ella Coudy, presumably James' daughter Isabel, is shown as a local school teacher.
By 1900 however, Susan and her family had moved to Baltimore, MD as indicated by a Baltimore census record which shows Susan living there with all of her children. Belle (Isabel E.) is single at age 34, Edward M. is single at age 33, Mary A. is single at age 28, and Ellen M. is married to Walter L. Alexander (b. June 1869) who is living with his wife at the Coudy home. (Mary Agnes Coudy would marry Robert S. Moffitt around 1902 and the couple would have one child that I'm aware of, Ellen Marie Moffitt. Ellen Moffitt is the only grandchild of James and Susan Coudy that my research has found.) A newspaper obituary for Susan Coudy
indicates that she passed away in Baltimore in late February of 1905 and was to
be buried in Hancock, MD.
Another Hancock Coudy Relative? Hancock cemetery records obtained from the local historical society for the name Coudy (and likely derived after-the-fact from tombstone inscriptions and not interment records) show a record that reads: "Memory of Hatie adopted daughter of Samuel ? Coudy who died Sept. 4, 1856 age 23 years". The record suggests that the monument is in the Public Cemetery in town as opposed to the St. Thomas church cemetery which contains all the other Coudys (in the photos above). This suggests the possibility that there was also a Samuel Coudy in the area at some point in time and this is the only area Coudy mention that I have been unable to place on the family tree. If it is assumed that Samuel adopted Hatie when she was born about 1833 and that he was about 25 to 35 years old at the time of the adoption, Samuel would have been born between about 1798 and 1808, an approximate age range which would could be consistent with him being another sibling of John, Mathew, Oliver, and James Coudy. This is of course pure speculation and, this record being the only evidence currently available, I have not placed Samuel on my Coudy family tree.
Mathew Coudy in St. Louis I can only wonder if the loss of his brother Oliver in Hillsboro, Illinois may have played a roll in Mathew's decision to move to St. Louis soon after his marriage in 1848. Mathew and Mary Coudy would spend the rest of their lives in St. Louis where all of their 8 children were born (the first 3 would die in infancy).
1860 St. Louis census records indicate that Mathew Coudy's occupation was "builder" and the 1880 St. Louis census shows him as a "retired builder". A newspaper story following Mathew's death described him as "an old and esteemed resident of the northern part of the city" and that he "was quite a well-known contractor and carpenter". His son Horace indicates in his above quoted letter that Mathew retired when Horace was 12 years old. A little quick math indicates that Mathew therefore retired in about 1874 at the age of about 61. Mathew would have then spent 9 or 10 years in retirement before he passed away December 31, 1883 at the age of 70.
The only mention of Mathew's death that could be found in the St. Louis newspapers was a death notice which appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on January 1, 1884 and read simply: "Coudy - On December 31, at 1 o'clock, at his late residence, Mathew Coudy, aged 70 years. Due notice of funeral will be given."
However, an article was recently discovered on the internet which appeared in the New York Times on January 7, 1884 and which had apparently been picked up by them from a St. Louis paper (who's back issues are currently unavailable) as a human interest story. The article (at left) tells the same story about Mathew and his brother James passing away on the same day that Mathew's son Horace told in his 1946 letter to his granddaughter. (This article indicates that Mathew was born in Maryland but evidence elsewhere more convincingly suggests that he was born in Ireland 4 years before coming to the Untied States.) Mary Caroline Seward-Coudy Among Horace Coudy's surviving artifacts (which were kept by my mother) is a small bound 32 page booklet written and published by Horace's brother, Upton Seward Coudy to honor the passing of their mother shortly after her death in October of 1923. The booklet provides a wealth of information regarding Mary Seward-Coudy and reads in part:
Final Resting Place Mathew and Mary Coudy are buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri in a plot purchased by "Mathew and Charles Coudy" in, or prior to, 1858. Also buried in this plot are many of Mathew and Mary's descendents including their son Horace R. Coudy and several grandchildren, as well as Charles Coudy and some of his descendents (see below). The "Lillie & Jimmie" recognized on the grave marker (see photo below) are children of Mathew and Mary who died in infancy and were interred in or prior to 1855 and subsequently moved to the Coudy plot in 1860. Mathew and Mary had another daughter who died in infancy, Cornelia (1856-1857), who is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Hillsboro, IL right behind the graves of Mary Coudy's parents Israel and Margaret Seward. Why Cornelia is buried with her grandparents and not in St. Louis with her younger and older siblings is a mystery. Her Hillsboro gravestone appears to read "Cornelia - daughter of Matthew and Mary Coudy - born in St. Louis, Mo. May 27 1856 - Died April 25, 1857". Perhaps Cornelia died while visiting the Sewards and it was simply more convenient to bury her there.
In December of 2004 I visited the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, photographed the Coudy plot there (plot 727, block 117) , and obtained interment records for it. I noted that in spite of 22 interments having taken place on the plot between about 1858 and 1949, only one grave marker is present: that of Mathew and Mary Coudy. I find this a little strange but have come up with no explanation for it. For more information on this Coudy plot and to view the interment records, follow this link:
Who was Charles Coudy When I wrote the first edition of this biography in 2005 I was confronted with a couple of mysteries. First, 1860 St. Louis census records show that Mathew and Mary Coudy lived right next door to Charles and Jane Coudy (along with their respective families). In addition, Bellefontaine Cemetery records show that the Coudy plot was purchased jointly by "Mathew and Charles Coudy", presumably sometime in or before 1858 when the first interment took place on the plot. Charles Coudy was clearly related to Mathew Coudy but I had been unable to uncover any records which indicated how. Charles was apparently not Mathew's brother so I suspected he may have been Mathew's first cousin. Second, I'd found a Coudy gravestone marking the final resting place of Catharina Coudy and Alexander Coudy near my Seward ancestor's plot in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Hillsboro, IL. I couldn't connect either to the family tree but suspected that they were likely connected due to the rarity of the name and the fact that brothers Mathew and Oliver Coudy first settled in the Butler/Hillsboro area of Illinois. In early 2007 I ran into 2 descendents of Charles Coudy (my 4th cousins twice removed) on the Internet and, with their considerable help, put together a pretty complete family tree of Charles Coudy's descendents (along with his mother and siblings) which included the formerly unconnected Coudys in Hillsboro, IL. In addition, we were able to make the connection between Mathew and Charles Coudy. Charles turned out to be Mathew's nephew, the son of Mathew's previously unknown brother John Coudy. For a more complete discussion of what I've learned and information on Charles and his descendents click on the following link:
Miscellaneous Information Coudy Descendents List Click below for a list of known Coudy descendents as I show them as of April, 2012.
Census and Other Records A number of the original census and other records I've accumulated regarding the Coudys are included on this CD/DVD but you will need to use your own photo viewing software to access and properly size them. Point your photo viewing software at the following folder in the disk file directory structure of this biographical web site: ........\HulburdsCoudys\HoraceHarrietCoudy\CoudyCensusAndOtherRecords The contents of the records found in this folder are generally described in the file names (which are stored mostly in date order).
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