[1] His parents were John Matthews, a weaver, and Ann Jones, but Abraham was raised by relatives who were farmers.
[1] He had little formal education but eventually went to Bala College in his twenties, where he was influenced by Michael D. Jones.
[2] In May 1865, Matthews sailed from Liverpool on the Mimosa and was a member of the first party of Welsh settlers to leave for Patagonia.
[1] The settlers had very few resources and Matthews was struck by a serious illness while crossing the prairie between Porth Madryn and the Camwy valley.
[1] He was instrumental in persuading the settlers to remain in Patagonia when several of their number sought to abandon the enterprise.