Gary Rust, Southeast Missourian:

“Southeast Missouri State University regent Edward ‘Ned’ Matthews’ book is a wonderful historical read of this Sikeston-based family and Southeast Missouri. It’s rare to find a historical book so readable. The discipline, research and time spent is quite an achievement. I highly recommend it.”

Pioneer America Society:

“The Matthews’ adversities, success and hard work reflect the social and cultural evolution of a unique region of our country. The interplay shown between family, national issues, regional themes and the community building process makes this book worthy of the Kniffen Award.”

Michael J. Carson, The Midwest Book Review:

“A superbly written family history, this is the story of generations of men and women whose ambitions and perseverance were to shape and influence the entire region. Beginning with the settlement of the then newly acquired Louisiana Territory, and continuing with the subsequent growth and development of Southeast Missouri, these are very human stories of Matthews family members complete with the private tragedies, public accomplishments, and diverse personalities. At the core of the story is C.D. Matthews who was born a poor farm boy in the 1840s and who grew up to risk his life supplying corn and wheat to the Confederate forces during the Civil War. Surviving the war, he went on to amass a fortune in the fields of banking, lumber, railroads, and land. Matthews: The Historic Adventures of a Pioneer Family is informative and fascinating reading, and could well serve as a template for others who are thinking of writing their family histories.”

Margaret Cline Harmon, Your View:

         “It was with great interest that I read Matthews: The Historic Adventures of a Pioneer Family. Ned Matthews is to be commended for going beyond the encyclopedia format of most family histories. His book encourages a deeper level of study of southeast Missouri and provides the seeds for doing so. It is a challenge and hard work to convey in word the complexities of an individual, such as C.D. Matthews and his sons and to provide a context for that person's life. This book succeeds in meeting that challenge.

          Ned Matthews wrote on the Little River Drainage District. Current generations fail to understand the importance of this master work to southeast Missouri. The drainage district is, in many people’s opinions, what makes the Missouri Bootheel so unique.

          Mr. Matthews also touched on the Cleo Wright lynching in Sikeston with great detail, as well as the 1939 Sharecropper Roadside Strike. I commend him for his research and dedication to factual history and the courage to address these sensitive issues.  [. . .]

          Everyone in the region is encouraged to read Ned Matthews’ entertaining and educational book, Matthews: The Historic Adventures of a Pioneer Family. You will be glad you took the time to read this worthwhile book.”

Matt Sanders, Southeast Missourian:

 “. . . already being hailed by local scholars as an important work in documenting the history of the region.”

Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University:

“It's important to note it’s more than a family history. It’s not only the family, but it’s the whole region. This is an area that was shaped very much by banking and agriculture and land development. . . . The material inside the book, not available before publicly, now provides an additional dimension of this region’s history.”