Matthew Nace: Another Discovery

 I've posted several times about Matthew Harvey Nace, the brother of my great-great grandfather John Christian Nace: "Nace Settlement" when Matthew wasn't around in 1863 to help settle his father's estate, "Matthew Harvey Nace" when I learned about elaborate tomb he'd built for his wife Evaline who died in 1854, "Matthew Nace Mystery, Part I" when I learned he'd absconded with funds from his company and was supposedy sailing to California, and "Matthew Nace Mystery, Part II" when I learned of his further adventures and where he was buried.

Here's a recap: Matthew marries Evaline in Lynchburg, VA, in 1847. They live in Richmond with their three children until Evaline dies following the birth of a daughter in May 1854. Six weeks later the baby dies. Matthew has an elaborate tomb constructed for Evaline in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. Matthew's mother, Hester Fringer Nace, dies in the summer of 1854. Matthew and his children are living in New York by 1855 and Matthew is apparently involved in several businesses, including Nace & Coe. But in 1856, Matthew has robbed the company, swindled others, and absconded. His former partner, Israel Coe, places notices in several newspapers. Here's one:

In April 1856, Matthew writes Coe a letter saying he is sailing to California and sending his children to his father (William Nace in Buchanan, Virginia). However, Matthew doesn't sail and doesn't leave his children with his father. Instead, he marries Ella B. Christian, his late wife's sister, on July 7, 1856, in Vigo, Indiana. By 1857, they are living in Missouri where Matthew is apparently scamming several people.  

The Randolph Citizen, 27 May 1859, page 2

I couldn't find the article in the Fulton Telegraph, so I do not know what his "rascalities" include. But it is likely that he has committed many illegal acts, and thus he leaves the area before he is arrested. No doubt he stops by Lecompton, Kansas, where he leaves his children with relatives. His son William M. appears on the 1860 Kansas census as a member of his uncle William's household. One of the girls ends up with her grandmother.

By the 1860s, Matthew (now James Neyce) and Ella are in Oregon, where they have a daughter Berta Lee (born 1867) and a son James McDowell (born and died in 1868). Apparently they were in Oregon from 1860 to 1868. Then they moved again. See "Matthew Nace Mystery, Part I" and "Matthew Nace Mystery, Part II" for further details of his adventures.

Eventually, Matthew/James does make it to California, where he lives for several years before he is again involved in rascalities and spends some time in Folson Prison. His prison description matches his description in the above newspaper article—right down to the damaged left eye.

Matthew Harvey Nace—"the Expert Scoundrel"—is, no doubt, the black sheep of the Nace family.

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