William David Mathews

Updated 6/11/2023 (CLM):http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11479384William David as far as I (CLM) knows was a handy man/migrant farm worker. In the last decade of his life he came to live with the family, yet never spoke of his family. I made a mistake because in the 1880U.S. Census his Grandfather was listed as Levi Mathis(1818-1901), but this was incorrect. Levi may have been a Cousin of G.W. He had been an absent father for W.W.Mathews at age 16 and came in and out of WW's life( What I(CLM) call the lost years) .W.D. may have had other wives and he nearly killed one with an ax to the head. The woman survived and was able to track W.D. to Eloise . W.W. intercepted her and told her he had a family and that she should go back home because W.D. might finish the job. The woman returned home. Another story, I was told by Grannie once W.D needed to go to the hospital and had trouble before, so W.D had Grannie call a friend who was a Polk County Commissioner, and meet them at the hospital and help in get a room before the day was through. W.D. was Pentecostal by upbringing ,and once built a church out of scrap wood from the saw mill he worked at. I was told by family members that W.D was not religious and lived with various women. After some research and E-Mails . I have found out that W.D. first came to Winter Haven in 1896. W.D also came from a family of 12 and he was the second child. He is buried without a marker in Eagle Lake Church of Christ Cemetery behind W.W and Grannies Grave.