John Mathews (died 1757) was an early American pioneer in the present-day U.S. state of Virginia. Likely born in Ireland, Mathews was among the first residents of Augusta County, Virginia (present-day Rockbridge County), and served as an officer in the county militia, a vestryman, justice, and de facto public officer, tending to local religious, administrative and infrastructural needs. He was the progenitor of the Mathews political family from Virginia and the American South. His sons included George Mathews (1739–1812) and Sampson Mathews (c. 1737–1807). Other descendants include Henry M. Mathews (1834–1884) and Mason Mathews Patrick (1863–1942).