Hi iateurcrayonz, sorry to hear that. It could be a bug of course. Be sure you checked the proper communal gardens, there are two of them, Matilda is located in the communal gardens of Kilknoloch. First you need to ask Sophia about fishing (in Donensbourgh town). Then find Matilda (in communal gardens of Kilknoloch), pick up the money and buy an axe. Peasants are working during time day and they are sleeping during nights (check at different times during the day, not very early in the morning, not too late in the evening).
Because it's just the first thing to do in game after found your home, you could just try to restart the game, it will take just a few minutes to reach same point if you do that. I hope you will not have the same problem if you restart the game.
Good luck and thank you for trying my game.