Mattson History

A researcher of early Mattson history, Ella Matson Lindsay (1919-1996) has published strong circumstantial evidence (see Note) that John Matson (1686-1753) is the father of our documented ancestor, Morris Mattson (1716?-1776). John Matson lived in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, PA. There is some question as to whether our Mattsons are of Swedish or Welsh origin. John Matson is buried in the Friends Cemetery of the Merion Meetinghouse, an area settled by Welsh Quakers. The Swedes used the patronymic "son of"; thus Anthony, the only son of Nils Matson, became Anthony Nilsson or Nelson. A published researcher on the early Swedes on the Delaware, Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig, states that the patronymic "was common not only among Swedes but also among other immigrant groups to Pennsylvania, notably the Welsh. Thus in the 1734 tax list for Philadelphia County, one finds as the first entry in Lower Merion Township, the name of 'John Roberts, Mats son' This was a Welsh area and this John may well have chosen his patronymic, Mattson, as his own surname." Dr. Craig also feels it extremely doubtful that Morris Mattson had any connection with the Swedish Mattson families, noting among other reasons, that Morris was not a name used by the Swedes. He further observes that the names of Morris' brothers were not names used by the Swedes: Aaron, Levi, Nehemiah, and Enoch. More research is demanded on this dilemma, since oral history opts for the Swedish origins.

Ella Matson Lindsay asserts that Morris Mattson , a son of John Matson, moved to Easttown, near Willistown, [now in Delaware County, PA] in 1748. Morris' first documented (tax records) place of residence is Tredyffrin, Chester County, PA, not far from Easttown. Morris' first wife (our ancestor) was Mary ? (c.1714-1759). Both are buried in the graveyard at St. David's Church, near Devon, Delaware County, PA.

Aaron Mattson Diary

Our ancestor, Levi Mattson I (1749-1835) was the fifth child and third son of this couple. Morris' will of 21 May 1776 names his children and gives to his son, Levi Mattson, "all this farm plantation or tract of land, whereon I now dwell...." This property was in Aston Township, Delaware County, PA. Levi Mattson I (1749-1835) married Sarah Worrall (1760-1810), an itinerant Quaker minister, in 1778 and moved to Concord Township, Delaware County, PA, where he pursued farming. The farm is located on Mattson Road and the house, with a datestone of c. 1803, is well preserved to its original period.

Levi Mattson II (1788-1839), inherited his father's farm on Mattson Road in Concord Township, Delaware County, PA. He married Rebecca Hewes (1789-1837) of Salem County, New Jersey. Rebecca was a cousin twice removed of Joseph Hewes, a signer of the Declaration of Independence from North Carolina.
They had the following children:
William Mattson (1811-1812); Peter Worrall Mattson (1813-1881), who married Evalina Hannum (1815-1911); Samuel Hewes Mattson (1814-1893), who married Tacy Roberts (1820-1886); Hannah Mattson (1816-1894), who married John Jackson Woodward (1812-1875); Sarah Mattson (1817-1881), who married William Penn Thatcher (1817-1867); Rebecca Mattson (1819-1894); Levi Mattson III (1821-1915), who married Anna Leonard (1814-1904); and Charles Henry Mattson (1824-1863), who married Catherine Hill Simmons (abt. 1825-1867); and Elizabeth Ann Mattson (1830-1830).

The Mattsons were members of Concord Friends Meeting. One of their children, Hannah Mattson (1816-1894), married John Jackson Woodward (1812-1875) of Kennett Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1838.

All family photos compliments of Rick Page (Morris Mattson-Levi I-Levi II-Levi III-Frank Mattson-Dorothy Page-John N. Page, Sr.)

Note : Consult 5-vol. Mattson History by Ella Matson Lindsay in any of following libraries: LDS Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT; Cincinnati, OH Public Library, Gen section; Chester County Historical Society Library, West Chester, PA; LDS Branch Library, Lincoln, NE; and the Allen Genealogical Library, Ft. Wayne, IN.

The enormous notebook of Mattson charts with the descendants of Levi Mattson II and his wife, Rachel Hewes Mattson, was donated to the Delaware County, PA Historical Society in Chester, PA in summer 2007.

Margaret Woodward Ostrom was lucky to meet the President of the Concord Township, PA Historical Society, who revealed she grew up on the Levi Mattson I farm in Aston Township, PA. Ginny De Nenno graciously spent a day in October 2007 showing Margaret the exact location of the farm as well as the residence of veterinarian Dr. William H. Mattson (Levi Mattson II-Peter W. Mattson) of Chester Heights, PA.