[2] His parents died in 1861, and Matthews was raised by Lydia Mott and Phebe Jones, two Albany anti-slavery activists who later worked in support of racial integration.

[9] Most African-Americans of the 1800s who were able to vote and participate in the political process joined the Republican Party, which was viewed favorably as having eliminated slavery during the American Civil War.

[10] In 1885 President Grover Cleveland nominated Matthews to serve as Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, a position previously held by Frederick Douglass.

[11] He held the position by virtue of a recess appointment, but the U.S. Senate, then controlled by Republicans, refused to confirm him, claiming that he had attempted to coerce other African-Americans in Albany to switch their allegiance to the Democratic Party in local elections.

[20] Albany Law School's faculty includes an endowed professorship, the James Campbell Matthews Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence.