𝙷𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚊 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚠𝚜

Hosea Matthews was born around 1844 in the Appalachian Mountains, where he spent most of his youth. Of English descent, he came from a family with farming roots — his grandfather had been a turnip farmer in Lincolnshire. Hosea’s father was a notorious three-time bigamist and a man who lived a life of excess and immorality, once described as so debauched it could “make an emperor blush.” Despite spending only three months with him, Hosea developed a strong bond with his father, who died at the age of seventy-five.

Hosea lost both of his parents around 1861, when he was about seventeen. Not long after, he was caught stealing a chicken in Appalachia by a local sheriff who sentenced him to hang. During the execution, however, a riot broke out as townsfolk considered the punishment unjust. An unknown man fired a shot that severed the rope, sparing Hosea’s life. The sheriff was ultimately hanged instead, leaving Hosea with nothing more than a sore neck and a harrowing memory.

As a youth, Hosea once dreamed of becoming a priest, not realizing Catholicism was a requirement for such a path. He also tried his hand at comedy, performing slapstick routines in theaters and on the street, and had a deep love for drama. He even attempted to stage a play but struggled with the material. Sneaking onto the set of Cyril Tourneur’s The Revenger’s Tragedy, he bungled a line and was booed off stage. Humiliated, he abandoned the dream of acting altogether.

Eventually, Hosea embraced crime, honing his skills as a seasoned conman. He grew ruthless and practical, willing to lie, cheat, steal, and even kill when necessary, targeting anyone he thought he could take advantage of. In the mid-1870s, he crossed paths with Dutch van der Linde at a campfire on the road to Chicago. Posing as the son of the French ambassador, Hosea tried to swindle him, only to discover that Dutch had already lifted his money and gun. Amused by each other’s cunning, the two laughed and agreed to work together. From then on, they traveled the country as partners, scamming people they deemed deserving of it.

By early 1877, they were operating in Kettering, Ohio, conning locals by posing as international traders. They persuaded a dozen townsfolk to invest $300 in a fake Portuguese shipping company. Eventually exposed, they were arrested by Sheriff Carmichael. On March 8, 1877, however, they broke free, tied up the sheriff, and robbed him on their way out. That same year, they encountered a fourteen-year-old delinquent named Arthur Morgan. Taking him in, they became his mentors, teaching him literacy, hunting, fighting, shooting, and riding. Dutch also began a relationship with Susan Grimshaw at this time, and together this small group laid the foundations of what would become the Van der Linde gang.

At some point, Hosea fell in love with and married a woman named Bessie. He left the gang temporarily to be with her, though over time he drifted back into its orbit. Bessie accepted Hosea for who he was, but she passed away sometime before 1899. Her death devastated him, and he admitted to being “drunk for a year” in his grief.

In 1887, Hosea joined Dutch and Arthur in the gang’s first major bank robbery, targeting the bank of Lee and Hoyt. They escaped with $5,000 in gold and then distributed money to orphanages and the poor. In its early days, the gang genuinely tried to live by Dutch’s ideals of helping the needy. Over time, however, Hosea grew disillusioned as their actions became more violent and self-serving, focusing less on others and more on survival. Despite these doubts, he remained steadfastly loyal to Dutch and the gang.

By 1899, Hosea was the oldest member of the Van der Linde gang and Dutch’s most trusted lieutenant. Wise, thoughtful, and pragmatic, he often counseled Dutch and was valued for his level-headed advice. Though he shared Dutch’s ideals, Hosea preferred peaceful schemes and understood with clear eyes the uncertain future awaiting the gang.