Mathew Maratta 1775-1821, MD/PA/KY
Mathew Maratta. the son of James Maratta of Maryland was born about 1775 in Maryland. Before 1780, he moved to the southwestern part of Pennsylvania with his parents where they settled in what later became Cumberland twp., Washington Co., PA. He may have been first recorded as the Mathew "Murato" who signed the "Westsylvania Petition" along with his uncle Caleb Hardesty and his father James "Merato". Mathew is represented as one of the two boys under age 16 in the house of James Maratta in the 1790 census of Cumberland twp., Washington Co., PA along with his father and three females of unknown age. Mathew Maratta is named in the 1800 census of Allegheny Co., PA along with his wife both aged 16-25 and one boy aged 0-10, in a house next door to that of James Maratta. Mathew Maratta is on the tax rolls of Nelson Co., KY from 1807 to 1817 and taxed for one or two horses, but no land holdings. He was listed both as "Mathias" and "Mathew" in the 1810 census of Nelson Co., KY with both him and his wife aged 26 to 45, and with three boys and two girls all under the age of 10. This does not account for the boy recorded in the 1800 census in PA, who was probably aged 13 or 14 and may have been working for neighbors or relatives. It appears that the Maratta family moved to Montgomery Co., KY in 1817. A John Marity bought land and appears on the tax rolls of Montgomery Co., in 1817. In the Montgomery Co., KY census of 1820, John Marity who was unmarried, was the head of a house containing individuals of the proper sex and age to be the Maratta Family as recorded in the 1810 census of Nelson Co.,KY. With the addition of John and an additional younger brother born about 1816, the entire family of Mathew is presented in this 1820 census record. By 1822 the family had moved back to Nelson Co., KY, and in 1823, John Marity sold the Montgomery Co., land and appeared on the Nelson Co., Tax rolls as John B. Maratta.No further records have been found to indicate when or where Mathew Maratta died or to indicate what his profession might have been. He never was recorded as the owner of any land and his sons seemed to work for neighbors or relatives until they were old enough to set out on their own. The appearance of the oldest son as the head of the house suggests tha Mathew might have been chronically ill or disabled during their stay in Montgomery Co., KY. There is some question as to who was Mathew's wife. After 1822, Mathew's children are associated with an older woman named "Mary Maratta" who was aged 70 in the census of Washington Co., KY and is buried on Cemetery Hill at Springfield, Kentucky. Whether she was Mathew's wife and the mother of his children or a guardian and care giver, such as an unmarried aunt, is unknown.Mathew Maratta's Children were:
1. John B. Marity/Moratee/Maratta - married Sarah Ritchie in Nelson Co., KY and lived in Nelson Co., after 1824.
2. James H. Maratta/Marattay - married first Elizabeth Hardesty and second Catherine Gore, both in Nelson Co.,KY and lived in Washington Co., KY after 1837.An older woman named Mary Marattay was a member of his family in 1840 and 1850.
3. Peter H. Maratta/Moraty/Moratty - married Nancy Stonebraker in Bullitt Co., KY and lived in Lincoln Co., MO after 1832.
4. Nancy Maratta/Marrata - married William Davis Ringo in Shelby Co., KY, with the permission of Mary Marrata, and lived in Spencer Co., KY and Scott Co., IN after 1841.
5. Mary Marattay - married Jesse Fox in Spencer Co., KY and lived in Nelson Co., and Washington Co.,KY after 1837. (Bondsman: James H.Marattay)
6. Caleb Moratty/Maratta - married Agnes Newman in Spencer Co.,KY and lived in Washington Co., for three years in the 1840's but returned to Spencer Co., KY before 1850.
7. William Moratty/Maratta - married Elizabeth Hughes in Spencer Co., KY and lived in Clark Co., IN in 1850 and in Sullivan Co., IN after 1855.