[3] His father was a notable member of the early Augusta County community, serving as a militia captain and public officer.
[4][5] Archer Mathews was the youngest of eleven siblings, and was a minor when his father died in 1757.
Mathews purchased a large drove of cattle and hogs for the fort in November 1776 and delivered it through territory under regular attack from Indians.
[10][11] Mathews was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates from Greenbrier County for the sessions of 1780–81 and 1781–82.
[14] Archer Mathews died c. 1790,[9] and was buried at the Old Stone Church in Lewisburg, West Virginia.