Our Grand Uncle, Walter LeRoy Pierce. Baby Photo. Mattson Lines

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Grand Uncle Walter LeRoy Pierce

Hello All,
     A short post today.  This is a newly found picture of our Grand Uncle (Great Uncle), brother to Grandma Violet Mattson taken at Scottsbluff, Nebraska when he was 8 months old.  May of 1917.   He died on July 3, 1987. 
     When Walter LeRoy Pierce was born on September 7, 1916, in Nebraska, his father, Walter Edwin Pierce was 31 and his mother, Vesta Althea Dennis, was 24.  He had one child, Diana, with wife Vivian Eldee Withrow.  He died on July 3, 1987, in Santa Clara, California, at the age of 70.

Great Grandmother Vesta with her two children, Walter LeRoy and Violet May

More on the Twelve Mattson Children, our Great Grand Uncles and Aunts. Anna Caroline Mattson Sand

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
This week I continue posting what I find on our Mattson Great Grand Uncles, Aunts and their children.  We start with the Relationship Chart

      Today we learn a little about our Great Grand Aunt Anna Carolena Mattson.   Aunt Anna was the fifth child of Emanuel and Helena Mattson of Sweden.  She, along with most of her siblings, immigrated to the United States. 

      Great Aunt Anna Carolena Mattson was born on October 26, 1867, in Rossared, Sweden, her father, Emanuel, was 28 and her mother, Helena, was 29.  

     We have a record of Anna Mattson immigrating to the United States through Hull, England on May 14, 1886.

   
     Great Grand Aunt Anna married Harry (Herman) Sand on July 28, 1889 in San Fransico, California. They had eight children in fifteen years.
     Her husband died on April 25, 1906 while the family was living in Lead, South Dakota near her sister Josefina and brother John Albert (our Great Grandfather).

Information from the 1910 US Census

     The 1920 US Census has Anna and her children living in Seattle, Washington.  She is listed as head of household.  Living with her are three of her sons and her daughter Emily (who married a Glennen) and Emily's five year old son Edward.

     The 1930 US Census has Anna listed as living in Oakland, California.  She never remarried.  This census record is interesting.  It lists Anna as the mother to the head of house's mother.  His last name is Martin, hers is Sand.  There is no record of her having a daughter named Hettie.  This mystery will remain unsolved for the time being until I dig up more information.

     Great Grand Aunt Anna died on November 24, 1939 in San Francisco, California

Great Grand Aunt Anna's Funeral Record

      There is another mystery.  Anna's father is listed as Carl Mattson and her mother Beatrice which is different from the records we have.  We know this is the right Anna by the names of her children listed on the funeral record.
     The only pictures we have of the Sands are below.

     This is Sidney "Sid" Sands taken on his 22nd birthday in 1918.  The photo was taken in Scranton, PA.  He was visiting his Uncle Edward Mattson.   Sid was Anna's 3rd born child and served in the navy during WWI.   Sid is our 1st cousin, twice removed.  He was buried at sea.
 Sid wrote a letter to his first cousin, our Grandpa Walter Mattson telling a bit about the family.  The letter is below.  In in he refers to our Gypsy Great Great Grandmother in Sweden, the mother of the many Mattsons descended from her 12 children.
   

     Anna's two youngest children, our first cousins, twice removed. On the left is William Sands. On the right is Herman Sands.  William was born in 1905.  Herman was born in 1903.

    

       

    

Photos of our Great Grand Mattson Uncles and Aunts.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
     Today I'll post the few pictures we have our our Great Grand Uncles and Aunts, brothers and sisters of our Great Grandfather John Albert Mattson, father of our Grandpa Walter Mattson.

Relationship Chart

Josephine Mattson

Josephine Mattson was the eldest in the family.  She married Charles Lidman.  The Lidmans lived in Lead, South Dakota and are buried in the Lead cemetery.  

Charles Lidman. Husband to Great Grand Aunt Josephine Mattson

Great Grand Uncle Carl Mattson

 Carl Mattson was the next eldest right under Josephine.  He died at the age of 19 in San Francisco California.  

Great Grand Uncles Edward (Edvard) and Emil were twins.  Edward is pictured above with his wife Nellie in Scranton, Pennsylvania where he worked as a policeman.

Great Grand Uncle Emil

     Edward's twin brother Emil is pictured above.  He lived in San Francisco for a time.  I'm still on the hunt for more information on Emil.  The picture below is of Uncle Emil and his wife Anna take later in life. 

We know that Uncle Emil lived with Aunt Josephine in Lead, South Dakota in the year 1900.  The 1900 census records he was 32 years old, unmarried and worked at the Homestake Mine. 

Great Grand Uncle Emil and his wife Anna Friis

Finally, the only other photo I have of the eleven or twelve Mattson siblings is our Great Grandfather John Albert  

John Albert Mattson

The search will continue for the stories of the other siblings.  If you are reading this post and have information on the Mattson brothers and sisters, please contact me:  spacecamputah@gmail.com

Simply,

Victor

On a Side Note

I found a couple pictures of Edward Mattson's sons, our first cousins, twice removed.  I'll move these pictures to the post highlighting their lives from a few weeks back after you've had a chance to see them.  

  

Edward Mattson on the left, Oscar Mattson on the right. Both served in France during WWI.

Both were injured separate gas attacks.  Here they are in their military uniforms.  Edward returned home to become a Lutheran pastor in Scranton, Penn.  Oscar became a Scranton police officer.

Oscar Mattson as a boy.

Our Cousin Rudolph Eric Mattson Sang on Broadway. Mattson Line.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
     Welcome to another digital family reunion.  My goal is to post one article per week here on the family history blog during the school year, and more in the summer.
     Our family truly represents the best of America.  We are a slice of what made this nation great. Our ancestors played an active role in every major historical event.  Because of that, is important the next generations know and appreciate their ancestor's accomplishments, victories, and defeats.  They need to know the sacrifices made for them so they could live in the land of the free and home of the brave.
     I'm hoping you share these stories and photos with your children. Install in them the pride they should have for who they are and the family from which they descend.

The Life of Rudolf Eric Mattson, Our First Cousin Twice Removed. 

Rudolph E. Mattson was born on January 8, 1908, in Pennsylvania, his father, Edvard, was 42 and his mother, Nellie, was 35. He had two brothers and two sisters. He died on March 24, 1989, in Flushing, New York, at the age of 81, and was buried in St Marys, Ohio.

Rudolph married Mary Margaret Mueller.  They had two children, Mary Ann and Judith Christine.

     

     Rudolf Eric Mattson was born to our Great Grand Uncle Edward (Edvard) Mattson and his wife, Nellie Johnson.  He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on January 8, 1908.  Please refer to the Relationship Chart below. 

     Rudolph loved to sing, as evident in the many newspapers articles I posted in last Sunday's blog post.  He grew up in Scranton and started and taught music and vocal lessons.  

Rudolph Strikes it Big on Broadway, Staring in the Broadway Premier of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel and Oklahoma. Went by his middle name, Eric.

Eric Mattson singing in Broadway Premier of Rodgers and Hammersteins's Carousel. 

 The Cast and Creative Team of Carousel.

 Newspaper Clippings On Eric Mattson

Rudolph Eric Mattson and Mary Margaret Mueller