Isabella Howard Taylor Mathews concentrated most of her efforts on the post Civil War campaign to eliminate the liquor trade in Akron.
Isabella was the second wife of James Mathews, a prominent insurance agent in Akron who went on to serve on the town council and the Board of Education. He was also the city’s mayor from 1865 to 1866. Mathews’ first wife Agnes Grant of Vermont had left her mark on the city through her work with the Soldiers Aid Society.
The second Mrs. Mathews concentrated on temperance. She was there at the beginning of the temperance crusade in Akron. Indeed, she signed the call for the rally at the First Methodist Church which started it all. Soon after, small bands of women were “visiting” the saloons in the city, attempting to get the drinkers to end their evil ways and urging the owners to close their bars. It is unknown if Mathews joined these women, who were never identified in the newspaper accounts of the crusade. She did, however, go to Cincinnati as one of Akron’s delegates to the convention of the Women’s Temperance Leagues of Ohio – the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union had not yet been organized. She also served as the corresponding secretary for the Temperance County convention of 1874. She also was on the committee that organized the Friendly Inn, a temperance and industrial union.
Mathews never forgot her commitment to the church. In 1875 she was working with the Dorcas Society, collecting clothing and other materials for Akron families in need.
Mathews remained active in the Akron area for many years. Following the death of her husband, Mathews moved to California.
–Angela Abel