My Matson line is a bit of a mystery. Matson could be of English or Irish origin or a spelling variation of a Swedish name like Mattison or Matheson. I have also seen the name spelled Mattson. The earliest I can trace my Matson roots back is to John Matson, born about 1758 in Loudon County, VA. He married Nancy Ann Clevenger in 1775 in Frederick County, VA and the family migrated to Clinton County, Ohio in 1817.
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| Mary Ann Matson in 1919 |
My great-great-grandmother Mary Ann Matson was born in Clinton County, Ohio in 1851 to Asa Matson and Dolly Clevenger.They had 13 children and four of the sons served in the Civil War. Thomas Jefferson Matson and Jares Lewis Matson died in the Civil War.
John Franklin Matson was wounded, but survived.
Asa was said to have been a son of John and Nancy Matson, but Nancy would have been 58 years old when Asa was born! I suspect that a generation is somehow missing in the histories that have been passed down.
The 1850 census for Washington Township, Clinton County, Ohio shows Asa and Dolly with nine children.
By 1860, Asa is living with several children in the Union Township of Clinton County. Asa's wife Dolly died due to complications of childbirth after their son Asa was born and their daughter Terissa took over the child rearing duties.
On December 10, 1868, Mary married Timothy Creeden in Clinton County. Timothy was born in 1846 in Ireland and another mystery is a notation on their marriage license indicating that they are
first cousins. If that is true, maybe it ties into the possible missing generation between John and Asa Matson.
I recently acquired some correspondence dating from the late 1800's to early 1900's that recorded research done on the Matson name. They concluded that the family was from Sweden, but said the family lines were a muddled mess. They also noted that one family member was said to have English origins. It was interesting to see that this brick wall goes so far back! Stay tuned for future posts where I will publish the data in the correspondence.
have you come across Juretta Clevenger born about 1790 Frederick County, Va died Pickaway County, Ohio about 1870? She might have married Michael Van Buskirk Ross or Pickaway Co, Ohio 1813. pieone@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteHi, I checked my notes and didn't see a Juretta Clevenger in my lines. I'll let you know if I run across any information on her.
ReplyDeleteKathryn