Matson Project
Matson/Mattson Line
By Don Taylor

When Lars Mattson was born in 1859 in Järna, Dalarna, Sweden, his father, Lars, was 35 and his mother, Margareta, was 28. He married Christine Ericson on February 4, 1881. They had 13 children in 20 years. He died on October 13, 1926, in French Lake, Minnesota, at 67, and was buried in French Lake.

Lars Mattson is found in 68 Ancestry Public Trees and is Family Search profile LDQL-2YD.

Matson Project – Ancestor #08 – Lars Mattson (1826-1899)

List of Grandparents

• Grandfather: MK-04 – Edward “Eddie” William Mattson [aka Matson] (1898-1977)
• 1^st Great-grandfather: MK-08 – Lars Mattson (1859-1926)
• 2^nd Great-grandfather: MK-16 – Lars Mattison (1925-1899)
• 3^rd Great-grandfather: MK-32 – Mats Olsson (___-___)

As is often the case, names are different in different records. In the case of Lars, he is found as Lars Matson, Lars Mattison, Lars Mattsen, and even mistranscribed as Lais Mattson. I’ve settled on Lars Mattson as the preferred name because that is the name entered on his burial memorial and marker. Additionally, more records use that name than the other names.

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Birth

Lars was born on 16 or 17 December 1859 in Järna, Kopparberg, Sweden. A great Swedish famine during 1867-1869 led to the migration of 60,000 Swedes[i]. Lars’ parents were among those to emigrate to the United States.

Childhood

1870

His family apparently went directly to French Lake, Wright County, Minnesota, about 1869 and appeared in the 1870 US Census there. The household consisted of Lars; his parents, Lars and “Gretta;” and a brother, Andrew. They lived in the same house as Lars Hoogland, his wife, and his daughter.

1880

I have not been successful in finding Lars in the 1880 Census.

Marriage

Lars married Christine Ericson in 1881. Some researchers suggest they married in Albion, Maine. I have not found the source document for that assertation. I’d love to see it. I’ve seen nothing in Lars’ life indicating he went to Maine. With 20 different places named Albion in the United States, I suspect another Albion is more likely[ii].

Thirteen Children of Lars and Christine Mattson

Name	Born	Married	Died
Carl August	1882	Gina Tonette Syverson	1962
Gertie Caroline	1883	(FNU) Guintire	1965
Emma Christine	1885	Desire Gerard	1967
John Emil	1886	Annie Theresia Utterberg	1962
David Lauretsius	1888	Unk.	1963
Minnie Sofia	1890	O. August Nyholm	1942
Hannah Elizabeth	1892	Unk.	1938
Anna Maria Mary	1894	Chell Levi Peterson	1962
Louis Osker	1896	Unk.	1962
Edward William	1898	Hildur Christina Krafve	1977
Edith Elvina Emelia	1900	No.	1902
Rudolph Martin	1902	Florence Bringen	1982
Baby	Bef 1902	No.	1902

The baby died on the same day as Rudolph was born. So, it is quite possible that Rudolph and the unnamed baby were twins and the unnamed child died at birth.  

Adulthood

The 1885 Minnesota Census shows Lars and his wife, “Stina,” living next door to his parents. With him are his two oldest children, August and “Lina.” Lars was a farmer and owned his farm. In 1909 he was a trustee when the Swedish Free Church of North Crow River was incorporated. Although he and Christine lived in French Lake Township, their mailing address was Route 3, Box 41, Cokato, Minn.

Death & Burial

Lars lived in French Lake until his death on 13 October 1926. He was buried at the North Crow River Free Cemetery, now the Elim Birch Lake Cemetery. Lars, his wife Christine, and six of his 13 children are buried in this small (51 memorials) cemetery.

Events by Location

• Sweden, Kopparberg, Järna              Birth (1859) until 1869.
• Minnesota, Wright, French Lake      1870 until his death in 1926

Further Actions / Follow-up

• Research the exact date and place of Lars’ immigration/arrival.
• Confirm the date and place of Lars and Christine’s marriage
• Determine the first name of Gertie’s husband.
• Determine if David, Hanna, or Louis ever married.

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Sources

• Terri’s Tales: Views to the Past, (www.territales.com), #5 John Emil Matson (1886-1962).
• 1870 Census (NARA), Lars Mattison – Franklin, Wright, Minnesota.
• 1900 Census, Family Search, 1900 – Lars Matson – French Lake Township, Wright, Minnesota. “United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9QC-4WP : accessed 8 September 2021), Lars Matson, French Lake Township, Wright, Minnesota, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 226, sheet 8B, family 152, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,798.
• 1910 Census, 1910 – Lars Matson – French Lake, Wright, Minnesota.
• 1920 Census, 1920 – Lais (Lars) Matson – French Lake, Wright, Minnesota.
• Annandale Online, Account: Swedish Free Church of North Crow River (No image). Accessed 15 Sep 2021
• Find a Grave, Find-a-Grave, Lars Mattson (1859-1926). Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61784028/lars-mattson: accessed 07 July 2023), memorial page for Lars Mattson (1859–1926), Find a Grave Memorial ID 61784028, citing Crow River Cemetery, French Lake, Wright County, Minnesota, USA; Maintained by Wendelina (contributor 47649301).
• Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002, Family Search, Lars Mattson, Death – 13 Oct 1926 (No image). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V4ZS-29X : 4 December 2014),
• Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990, Family Search, Lars Mattson – (1860-1926) – French Lake, Wright, Minnesota – Image unavailable. “Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDQD-6LJ : 16 January 2020), Lars Mattson, 1926.
• Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001, Family Search, Christina Matson – Death 17 Jan 1942 (No Image). (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZX95-FV3Z : 15 May 2023), Christina Matson, 17 Jan 1942; citing Death, Minnesota State Department of Health, St. Paul.
• Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001, Family Search, Hannah Mattson (1892-1938) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CG84-F72M : 15 May 2023), Hannah Mattson, 28 Dec 1938; citing Death, Minnesota State Department of Health, St. Paul.
• Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001, Family Search, Lars Mattson – 13 Oct 1926 – French Lake, Wright, Minnesota. “Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CT3B-392M : 15 May 2023), Lars Mattson, 13 Oct 1926; citing Death, Minnesota State Department of Health, St. Paul.
• Minnesota, Death Records and Certificates, 1900-1955, Family Search, Elmina Mattsen – Death 3 Jul 1902 (No image). Lars Mattsen in the entry for Elmina Mattsen, “Minnesota, Death Records and Certificates, 1900-1955” (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDM6-3SH : 4 May 2023), Elmina Mattsen, 1902.
• Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905, Ancestry.com, 1885 Minnesota Census – Lars Mattson & Lars Mattson – French Lake, Wright County, Minnesota, Page 15 (340).
• Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905, Ancestry.com, 1895 Minnesota Census – Lars Mattson – French Lake, Wright County, MN. Source Information
• Ancestry.com. Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
• Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905, Ancestry.com, 1905 Minnesota Census – Lars Mattson – French Lake, Wright County, MN.
• Sweden Baptisms, 1611-1920, Family Search, Lars Matsson – 16 Dec 1859 – Järna, Dalarna, Sweden (Image Unavailable). “Sweden Baptisms, 1611-1920”, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FK8B-M78 : 23 June 2020), Lars, 1859.
• United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Eddie William Mattson (b. 1 Apr 1898). FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8W9-3B8 : 23 February 2021), Eddie William Mattson, 1917-1918.

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Endnotes

[i] Wikipedia: Swedish emigration to the United States.
[ii] Wikipedia: Albion (disambiguation).