George E. Matthews

George E. Matthews
George E. Matthews in 1898
Born	March 17, 1855 Westfield, New York
Died	June 11, 1911(1911-06-11) (aged 56) Grand Island, New York
Residence	Falconwood
Alma mater	Yale University (BA, 1877)
Occupation	President of Buffalo Courier-Express
Spouse(s)	Mary E. (Burrows) Matthews
Children	George E. Matthews, Jr. Harriet W. (Matthews) Williams Burrows Matthews

George E. Matthews (1855-1911) was president of the "J. N. Matthews Co.," which published the Buffalo Courier-Express. At the time of his death, Matthews owned the Falconwood Club in Grand Island, New York.

Matthews was born on March 17, 1855 in Westfield, New York, the son of Harriet (Wells) Matthews (1830-1888) and James N. Matthews (1828-1888), an English born printer and publisher who moved to Buffalo in his youth. Matthews residence, however, was in Buffalo for most of life. He graduated from private schools at 16. He was too young to enter college, so he started working in the office of the Commercial to understand the practical knowledge of typography. He spent two years at the Commercial, as well as traveling. He entered Yale University at the age of eighteen, with the class of 1877. While at Yale, he was a member of the Delta Kappa Freshman Society, Delta Beta Xi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, and at Commencement, he received a colloquy appointment.

In 1878, a year after his graduation, his father, J. N. Matthews, bought the Buffalo Express (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, had been the co-editor of the Express from 1869–1871). Matthews started working in the business office to learn the methods of the business department. He began as clerk and climbed the various steps to business manager. He also took a post graduate course in the editorial department, from telegraph editor and city editor to literary editor. Ultimately, he became treasurer of the "Matthews-Northrup Co.," printers and publishers of the Express, of which his father, J. N. Matthews, was the sole owner.