Georgia and Georgians - the Digital Library of Georgia

GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 2891Matthews to a position among the leading members of the bench of EasternGeorgia, and the length of .his public services, his prestige as a judge andhis thorough mastery of the-law in all its perplexities and complexities, connect his name with the best traditions of the Upson County judiciary.Judge Matthews was born on a farm in Upson County, Georgia, September 13, 1852, -and is a son of F. F. and Antoinette (Lindsay) Matthews.Judge Matthews belongs to an old honored family of the South, the American founder of which, his great-great-grandfather, Isaac Matthews, locatedin the colony of Virginia during early colonial times. According to therecords the family settled in Georgia about the year 1770, and here, inWilkes County, the grandfather of Judge Matthews, Robert Matthews, wasborn, April 7, 1777. He passed his life as a resident of Georgia, and diedApril 24, 1832. On the maternal side, Judge Matthews belongs to the oldand distinguished Lindsay family, which was founded in Georgia by JohnJjindsay, who migrated to this state from Pennsylvania in 1776 and subsequently enlisted in the American army, in which he fought during the winning of American independence, his rank being that of major. For hisvaliant services he received a grant of government land in Georgia, in 1784,and this property is still in the family possession.Julius E. F. Matthews passed his boyhood and youth on his father's farmand was brought up to agricultural pursuits, but was not inclined to followfarming as a vocation, preferring a professional career. He secured hisearly education in the public schools of Athens, Georgia, and after two yearsspent at Charlottesville, Virginia, began the study of law under the preceptorshipof a firm of attorneys, being admitted to the bar February 7,1874. He did not, however, enter immediately upon professional duties, butfor a term of nine months taught English and mathematics at Nashville,Tennessee, then returning to Upson and beginning practice. Through abilityand talent, energy and fidelity, he built up a successful law practice, andbrought himself favorably before the people, and was elected clerk of theSuperior Court of Upson County, an office in which he served efficiently foreight years. In 1897 he became the candidate of his party for ordinary ofUpson County, and, being elected in that year, has continued to hold thisoffice and to discharge its duties in a dignified, capable and conscientiousmanner. He is highly esteemed by both bench and bar and well deservesthe high position which he holds in the confidence of the people.Judge Matthews has been a lifelong Democrat, and since the ChicagoNational Convention of 1884, to which he was a delegate, has been one ofthe strong and influential members of his party in Upson County. Fraternally, he is identified with the Masons, in which he has attained the KnightTemplar degree, the Lodge and Encampment of the Independent Order ofOdd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias, and for many years he has beena member of the Georgia Bar Association. A fluent and polished speaker,he is frequently called upon to deliver speeches and orations, and on theoccasion of the unveiling of the Confederate Monument, at Thomaston, inMay, 1908, gave the dedicatory address.GEORGE WASHINGTON JULIAN, M. D. By experience, ability and otherassociations Dr. George Washington Julian is recognized as the leading physician and surgeon of Tift County. He has had nearly thirty years of activeexperience in medicine, and has worthily earned and deserves all the prominence that has come to him in a professional way and also in the accumulation of a sufficient material prosperity. Dr. Julian worked hard to preparehimself for a professional career, and he used school teaching as a means tothat end.He was born in Forsyth County, Georgia, December 10, 1857, a son ofBailey F. and Stella (Clement) Julian. His father was a native of North