Mathews County was formed in 1790 from Gloucester County.
Virginia Act of Assembly passed January 25, 1898, required the commissioners of the revenue in the counties and cities to list on a form provided by the auditor of public accounts all ex-Confederate soldiers and sailors living in their jurisdictions. The completed listings were to be filed with the clerks of court of the localities for permanent retention.
Most records were burned in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.
From the guide to the Mathews County (Va.) Roster of Ex-Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Living in the County of Mathews, Virginia, made by J. Frank Billups, Commissioner of the Revenue, 1898, (The Library of Virginia)
