Matthew Addison Scarborough Family Photographs
In 1847, Noah Scarborough (c1808 – 1881) and his wife Samantha Fowler
Scarborough (1819 – 1905) moved their family from near Snow Hill,
Wilcox County Alabama to eastern Union Parish Louisiana. They settled a
short distance north of the Ward's Chapel Road, about eight miles east
of Farmerville. They had a family of nine children, eight daughters and
one son. With the exception of one daughter who moved to Texas with her family
following the conclusion of the War Between the States, all the Scarborough
daughters married and lived their entire lives near Noah and Manthy in eastern Union Parish.
Noah and Manthy's only son was Matthew Addison Scarborough (4 June 1850 – 19 March 1931);
he married Clarenda Jane Ham (25 Oct 1854 – 23 July 1902) on 16 June 1873 in Union Parish.
Janie Ham Scarborough was the granddaughter of the early Union Parish pioneer William
Ham (c1801 – 1867) and his wife Clarenda Seale (c1811 – 1897). Matt and Janie had a
total of twelve children, six of whom perished as infants or toddlers. Most of the other children
who survived childhood suffered from poor health their entire lives. In fact, only one of their
twelve children married.
Beginning sometime in the 1890s, Janie Scarborough Ham contracted consumption or tuberculosis.
By early 1902, she had become bedridden with this disease. On 1 April 1902, Matt & Janie's
eighteen year-old daughter Mattie Jane Scarborough was keeping biting insects off the family's
cattle by fanning the flames of a fire to force smoke towards the livestock. Her dress caught
fire, and her mother jumped out of her bed to rush help smother the flames. Both mother and
daughter were severely burned. Mattie's injuries led to her death the next day. Janie Ham
Scarborough died several months later of both consumption and the burns.
Matthew and his surviving son and four daughters continued to live on their family farm east
of Farmerville for another twenty years. Together with numerous relatives, they attended services
at the Liberty Hill Primitive Baptist Church nearby. They remained especially close to the
families of Matthew's sisters, including Betty Scarborough Ward's children. Betty's two youngest
daughters, Cynthia Jane Ward Brantley and Nancy Theodosia Ward Hudson, lived on farms very near
Matthew's, and all of the cousins had close bonds.
Matthew's daughter Linnie Scarborough (31 Jan 1887 – 7 July 1969) married Ambrous B. Cole
(1 Feb 1883 – 16 Dec 1931) in 1905. However, none of the remaining Scarborough children even
married. After years of suffering poor health, in 1920 two of Matthew's surviving four daughters
had severe cases of consumption (tuberculosis). Doctors told him the humid weather of north Louisiana
had contributed to their suffering, and that dry desert air would offer improvement. Thus, in March
1921 he sent his daughters by train west to El Paso briefly, then on to Carlsbad, New Mexico to the
St. Francis Hospital, where nuns cared for them. When it appeared that their conditions improved
somewhat, Matthew and his daughter Linnie Scarborough Cole sold their farms near Farmerville and
moved their families to Eddy County New Mexico. They did not travel by wagon, but rather by train.
Their farm animals, equipment, seeds, and furniture took eight railroad cars, and the family arrived
in their new desert home on 21 December 1921. Despite their initial improvement, the desert climate
did not relieve the health problems of Matthew Scarborough's two daughters for long. Lillian
(31 Mar 1889 – 25 Nov 1922) and Semantha Ethel (17 Feb 1885 – 3 Feb 1925) both died
within a few years of moving to New Mexico.
Matthew Scarborough's daughters kept a close relationship with their Union Parish cousins until late
in their lives, sharing visits, letters, and pictures until at least the 1960s. Photographs indicate
that one of Matthew's great-nephews visited them in New Mexico in 1922, the year after their arrival
there. Other photographs document numerous visits later in the 1940s and 1950s.
For more information on this family, read these biographies:
Noah Lewis & Samantha Fowler Scarborough
Richard and Sarah Fowler
Matthew & Janie Ham Scarborough
Family Photographs
1902 Family Picture
Samantha E. Scarborough
Lillian Scarborough
Lillian & Girls #1
Lillian & Girls #2
Scarborough Siblings
Simeon C. Scarborough
Timothy D. Hudson submitted this photograph for the Union Parish Louisiana USGenWeb Archives in April 2004
In 1847, Noah Scarborough (c1808 – 1881) and his wife Samantha Fowler Scarborough (1819 – 1905) moved their family from near Snow Hill, Wilcox County Alabama to eastern Union Parish Louisiana. They settled a short distance north of the Ward's Chapel Road, about eight miles east of Farmerville. They had a family of nine children, eight daughters and one son. With the exception of one daughter who moved to Texas with her family following the conclusion of the War Between the States, all the Scarborough daughters married and lived their entire lives near Noah and Manthy in eastern Union Parish.Noah and Manthy's only son was Matthew Addison Scarborough (4 June 1850 – 19 March 1931); he married Clarenda Jane Ham (25 Oct 1854 – 23 July 1902) on 16 June 1873 in Union Parish. Janie Ham Scarborough was the granddaughter of the early Union Parish pioneer William Ham (c1801 – 1867) and his wife Clarenda Seale (c1811 – 1897). Matt and Janie had a total of twelve children, six of whom perished as infants or toddlers. Most of the other children who survived childhood suffered from poor health their entire lives. In fact, only one of their twelve children married.
Beginning sometime in the 1890s, Janie Scarborough Ham contracted consumption or tuberculosis. By early 1902, she had become bedridden with this disease. On 1 April 1902, Matt & Janie's eighteen year-old daughter Mattie Jane Scarborough was keeping biting insects off the family's cattle by fanning the flames of a fire to force smoke towards the livestock. Her dress caught fire, and her mother jumped out of her bed to rush help smother the flames. Both mother and daughter were severely burned. Mattie's injuries led to her death the next day. Janie Ham Scarborough died several months later of both consumption and the burns.
Matthew and his surviving son and four daughters continued to live on their family farm east of Farmerville for another twenty years. Together with numerous relatives, they attended services at the Liberty Hill Primitive Baptist Church nearby. They remained especially close to the families of Matthew's sisters, including Betty Scarborough Ward's children. Betty's two youngest daughters, Cynthia Jane Ward Brantley and Nancy Theodosia Ward Hudson, lived on farms very near Matthew's, and all of the cousins had close bonds.
Matthew's daughter Linnie Scarborough (31 Jan 1887 – 7 July 1969) married Ambrous B. Cole (1 Feb 1883 – 16 Dec 1931) in 1905. However, none of the remaining Scarborough children even married. After years of suffering poor health, in 1920 two of Matthew's surviving four daughters had severe cases of consumption (tuberculosis). Doctors told him the humid weather of north Louisiana had contributed to their suffering, and that dry desert air would offer improvement. Thus, in March 1921 he sent his daughters by train west to El Paso briefly, then on to Carlsbad, New Mexico to the St. Francis Hospital, where nuns cared for them. When it appeared that their conditions improved somewhat, Matthew and his daughter Linnie Scarborough Cole sold their farms near Farmerville and moved their families to Eddy County New Mexico. They did not travel by wagon, but rather by train. Their farm animals, equipment, seeds, and furniture took eight railroad cars, and the family arrived in their new desert home on 21 December 1921. Despite their initial improvement, the desert climate did not relieve the health problems of Matthew Scarborough's two daughters for long. Lillian (31 Mar 1889 – 25 Nov 1922) and Semantha Ethel (17 Feb 1885 – 3 Feb 1925) both died within a few years of moving to New Mexico.
Matthew Scarborough's daughters kept a close relationship with their Union Parish cousins until late in their lives, sharing visits, letters, and pictures until at least the 1960s. Photographs indicate that one of Matthew's great-nephews visited them in New Mexico in 1922, the year after their arrival there. Other photographs document numerous visits later in the 1940s and 1950s.
For more information on this family, read these biographies:
Noah Lewis & Samantha Fowler Scarborough
Family Photographs
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