AN AMERICAN DYNASTY

Thursday, July 6, 2017

New Pictures and Information on Eric Mattson our Cousin with the Golden Voice. Star of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Musicals Carousel and Oklahoma

More Information on Our Cousin Rudolph Eric Mattson, Actor, Who Sang on Broadway. Mattson Line.

From the Fortress of Solitude

Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
Welcome to another digital family reunion.

I recently received an email from Gloria Matson. Her husband, Eric Matson, is a great-grandchild of Emil Mattson, twin brother to Edward Mattson and my 3rd cousin. Our great-grandfather John Albert Mattson was another brother to Emil and Edward. It was a large Swedish family for sure.
Gloria sent a few pictures of our opera singing, actor cousin Rudolf Eric Mattson (who went by Eric) that I didn't have. I'm posting them today with additional information you may find interesting.
In addition to the new pictures and information, I'm reposting a blog post I did back in February 2014 detail more on the life of our somewhat famous cousin.
Let's begin with a few new pictures of cousin Eric Mattson and a reminder that Eric sang in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Carousel when it first debuted on Broadway. On a side note, I believe he chose to go by Eric because Rudolf sounded too German. Rudolf served in World War I with his brother Oscar. Both he and Oscar took in a dangerous amount of mustard gas while fighting in the trenches.

Rudolf Eric Mattson (Eric Mattson)

Eric Mattson at the height of his career. It is dedicated to his cousin Walter Mattson (not our Walter). Walter was Eric's first cousin, son of Emil Mattson. Eric was also our Walter Mattson's first cousin.

This is Walter Mattson's Baptismal Certificate. You'll see his father listed as Emil.
Walter was born in California in 1905. The family was attending a Swedish Lutheran Church in California at the time.

There is another bit if interesting news to share. I found this record of Eric Mattson (Rudolph) leaving New York for a 6-month stay in England in 1950.

And this showing his arrival in England.

Notice this record of arrival lists his address in London as the Drury Lane Theatre. With a bit more research, I found this advertisement for the musical Carousel which played at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1950. You'll see that cousin Eric is listed in the cast. Isn't family history fun? It's detective work!

I also found this 1940 census entry for Rudolph and his family. I think it will enlarge if you click on it.

So there you have it. New information and pictures of our famous cousin with the golden voice.

Below is a repost of the blog posting giving more history on Rudolph Eric Mattson I wrote in February 2014.

Enjoy,
Victor

Our Cousin Rudolph Eric Mattson, Actor, Who Sang on Broadway. Mattson Line.

February 2014

Hello,

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.

I'm hoping you share these stories and photos with your children. Instill 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 Premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel and Oklahoma. Went by his middle name, Eric.

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

The Cast and Creative Team of Carousel.

Newspaper Clippings On Eric Mattson

Rudolph Eric Mattson and Mary Margaret Mueller

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Ancestry.Com DNA Results: Charles and Luella Williamson

Luella and Charles. The Results are In. They are 98% Human. The Mysterious Remainder Explains Their Children

My sister Kim purchased DNA kits as Christmas gifts for our parents. I spent the better part of an hour and two day's worth of patience one evening after the new year harvesting their DNA by getting them to spit into tiny vials. It wasn't an easy task for either of them. The first few attempts resulted in dust; Charles is 80. Luella is 77. I think the problem they had generating enough saliva for the test can be attributed to the drying out process associated with advanced age. It gives a new meaning to old and leathery :)

Watching Luella was particularly amusing. She pulled every available ounce of moisture from her lungs without the aide of her false teeth (kept on the snack stand beside her chair for when company drops by). Without that scaffolding, a dribble or two would make it into the container, the rest down her blouse. The effort would be followed by her saying she just couldn't do any more. It was asking for too much. A look of complete exhaustion followed every particle of spittle making it seem like she was bleeding out.

Getting dad's sample was just as exhausting. I was grateful Luella had the volumn on her TV at full blast (yet she claims her hearing is just fine). It masked the guttural sounds they were making - the same sounds made by kids as they dredge up enough snot for a good sized loogie.

One the harvesting of DNA was complete, I sealed the samples for dad to take to the post office for mailing. It was then a just a matter of waiting for the results.

Great Grandpa and Grandma Ug. Was it what you expected? Too bad Great Grandma's considerable chompers didn't get passed down the DNA Line. It would have saved Luella a fortune in dentures.

A month or two later, the results came in. I was expecting to see a large percentage of Neanderthal DNA is their samples but that wasn't the case. Instead, their DNA closely matches the genealogy I've been doing. Here are the results:

Charles Williamson

Luella Mattson Williamson

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Christmas Eve. Photos From less Wrinkled Times and Videos. Merry Christmas!

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
Christmas Eve and everyone is out doing their last minute shopping for that one person who slipped between the cracks in an overtaxed memory. The person most likely to be the one left behind at church a half dozen times when they were younger; or the one who relies on Facebook to know who is pregnant or out of work or depressed or dead because he or she tends to blend into the foggy background haze of life.
Most of the family will gather at Jilane and Kevin's home this evening for the traditional Christmas gorge in the trough of sugary goo. Considering so many of us teach in some form or another, Jilane's counters and table will sag under the weight of goodies gifted to us from our students.
It's always of interest to see who shows up with the biggest haul - always a sign of that year's most loved teacher. I didn't do too well last year. This year I did better. I attribute my success to a few extra A's given at strategic times preceding progress reports; along with the additional spent listening and laughing at jokes only an 11 year old would find funny. Then there were those painstakingly rehearsed looks of sympathy and thoughtfulness I gave to any student telling a tale of lost homework, a bumped knee, or hurt feelings; all done in a shameless quest to score big. The extra effort paid off. I should take the award for biggest haul of 2016. Sorry Jilane, but you'll have to give it up for this year's biggest suck up.

Signed,
This year's most decorated teacher,
Victor

Photo's from the Williamson Backyard:
July 1998