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John Matson |
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No parents conclusively identified |
John
Matson was
of Merion in Philadelphia County (now Montgomery County), Pennsylvania, and he
was the father of Hannah Matson US11, DA9. In 1712, a man named John Matson,
who may have been Hannah’s father, purchased a large tract of land of
approximately eight hundred acres on the Schuylkill River in Ammasland, which
is now called Upper Merion, and this land was positioned next to Lower Merion
Township BU1.
John
Matson was probably the father John Matson, who was of Edgmond (Edgmont)
Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and married Hannah Norbury, the daughter of Jacob Norbury, late of
“Midletown”, deceased, on the 5th
day of the 9th month, 1741, according to the
Chester Monthly Meeting records US11. The witnesses to
this marriage, who each signed below the marriage record, did not include
anyone with the “Davies” surname, nor did it include a female member of the
Matson family, but did include John Matson and Morris Matson US11. Because no female
Matson witnessed the wedding, it seems reasonable to assume that if this young
John Matson was the brother of Hannah (Matson) Davies, their mother had already
died. This younger John Matson was probably the John Matson who received an
application for a certificate to the Goshen Monthly Meeting on the 29th
day of the 1st month, 1742, because this record
stated that John’s wife was Hannah Matson US11. Perhaps he was
Hannah (Matson) Davies’ brother, because on the 21st day
of the 11th month, 1739, Hannah’s husband, Charles Davies, was
received at Goshen US11; it was typical for family members to flock
to the same area and church or meeting house. The Goshen Monthly Meeting in Chester County,
Pennsylvania recorded that John and Hannah Matson were the parents of Richard,
born on the 30th day of the 5th month, 1742, Jacob, born on the 8th day of the 1st month, 1744, Joseph, born on the 24th day of the 4th month, 1745, and Alice, born on the 13th day of the 8th month, 1747 US11. John Matson, who was perhaps the brother of
Hannah (Matson) Davies, was buried on on the 3rd day
of the 3rd month, 1748, and Alice, the daughter of John
Matson, was buried ten days afterward US11. This John (who was
probably the brother of Hannah (Matson) Davies) was described as a husbandman
of Easttown in Chester County when the inventory of his estate was conducted on
May 23, 1748 by Joseph
Pratt and Edward Farr, and the administration of his estate was granted to
Hannah Matson on July 16, 1748 PE7. His widow later
remarried to George Smedley, Jr. on December 22, 1757 US11. It is unclear if the Jacob Matson who
married Mary Roberts (as shown below) was related to or the same Jacob Matson
who was the son of John and Hannah (Norbury) Matson. The Darby Monthly Meeting
in Delaware County, Pennsylvania recorded that Jacob Matson married Mary
Roberts on 9th day of the 5th month, 1771 US11. Jacob Matson of “Blockly” (Blockley
Township), Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, was called the “son of John
Matson and Catherine his wife Late of merion in the County and Province
Aforesaid both Deceased” when he married Mary Roberts, the daughter of Jacob
and Jane Roberts of Whitp… (this word is partially unintelligible because it
was written into the edge of the page) in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania US11.
Returning
to the father of Hannah (Matson) Davies, his sociocultural background and
parentage are unknown, and there is a dearth of information regarding his life,
but it might be reasonable to assert that he was probably a Quaker, because his
daughter and his probable son were Quakers. John may have been related to
Peter, John, or Nils Matson, who were each enumerated in 1693 BU1, but these
individuals were Lutheran CR1. If John Matson or his parents were from the
New Sweden settlement, his surname may actually have
been fashioned from a patronymic, such as Mattsson. The 1693 census of the
inhabitants of New Sweden along the Delaware River valley included the names of
Petter Dalboe (“Peter Mattsson Dalbo”), John Matzson (“John Mattsson Dalbo”)
and Niels Matzson (“Nils Mattsson”), who were members of the Swedish Lutheran
church at Wicaco, a location which, if it existed now, would fall under the
bounds of Philadelphia CR1. A few basic
details about these individuals have been included, but it seems somewhat
doubtful that John, the father of Hannah Matson, was a relation of these men.
Peter
and John Mattsson were the sons of Matts Hansson and Elizabeth CR1. Matts Hansson was a
gunner who sailed to New Sweden from Stockholm in 1641 on the Charitas with his brother, Anders
Hansson, and his wife, Elizabeth CR1. After the death of
Matts, Elizabeth remarried to Anders Larsson Dalbo and resided in Kingsessing,
where she died at the age of seventy-eight in 1700 CR1.
Peter
Mattsson, or Peter Dalbo, was born in 1647 in New Sweden, and married Catharine
Rambo, the daughter of Peter Rambo, on February 16, 1674 CR1. They were the
parents of Brigitta, Elisabeth, Catharine, Maria, Peter, Matthias, Margaret,
John, and Jacob, and in 1684 he was granted two hundred acres of land on Little
Mantua Creek, in Gloucester County, New Jersey CR1. Peter died in 1699 CR1.
Sometime
before 1672, John Mattsson, also called John Dalbo, married Maria Lom, the
daughter of Måns Svensson Lom, and they were the parents of Matthias, Måns,
Anders, Anna, Gertrude, Maria, and perhaps other children CR1. He resided in
Moyamensing CR1 or “Moyamensynck”, where he and Lasse Andrews, William
Stille, and Andrew Bankson were granted a parcel of 588 acres of land, which
was to be divided into four equal shares, on July 21, 1684 EG2. Later, this John
Mattson (Dalbo) lived on Great Mantaes Creek (Mantua Creek) and died in 1701 CR1.
Nils
Mattsson was born about 1614, as he died at the age of eighty-seven in March
1701 CR1. His son was named Anthony Nilsson or Anthony Long CR1, and it is likely
that any additional sons of Nils also took the patronymic of Nilsson.