Matthew H. Carson

CARSON, DICK, SLOSS, DYAS, SCHAEFFER, CREGO, MITCHELL

Posted By: Peter Gausmann (email)
Date: 1/19/2010 at 04:16:45

MATTHEW H. CARSON

Matthew H. Carson, living on section 32, Newton township, is numbered among the highly respected farmers of Winnebago county, where he owns and cultivates four hundred and forty acres of rich and productive land. His methods are at all times practical and progressive and what he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion. He was born in Cook county, Illinois, August 27, 1853, and is a son of John and Bethia (Dick) Carson, who were natives of Glasgow and of Paisley, Scotland, respectively. The father worked as a laborer in his native land until 1842, when he sailed for America and made his way across the continent to Chicago. There lie learned the wagon maker's trade, which he followed for a time. He also purchased forty acres of land twenty miles northwest of Chicago for a dollar and a quarter per acre and on this paid an interest of seventy-five per cent. Even at that exorbitant rate he managed to meet his indebtedness and later lie purchased more land, which he continued to cultivate and improve, giving his remaining days to the further development of his farm. He became the owner of two hundred acres of fine land in Cook county, which he converted into a valuable property. He died on the 12th of October, 1888, while his widow survived until May 16, 1893. To them were born six children, as follows: Ellen, who married Allen Sloss, of Reinbeck, Iowa; David, deceased; Mary, who married Dr. Webster M. Dyas, of Arlington Heights, Illinois; Matthew H., of this review; John, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; and Anna, who married G. J. Schaeffer, a resident of Winnebago county.

Matthew H. Carson was reared in his native county, remaining with his parents until he attained his majority, although at intervals he worked out as a farm hand. At length he was married and in 1888 he came to Winnebago county, Iowa, where he invested in three hundred and twenty acres on section 32, Newton township. With characteristic energy he began improving the property and in 1900 he extended the boundaries of his place by the additional purchase of eighty acres. In 1906 he secured forty acres more, so that his landed possessions now aggregate four hundred and forty acres. His time and energies have been continuously given to the further development and improvement of the property, which is today regarded as one of the valuable farms of the county. He raises high grade stock, feeding a carload of cattle and a carload of hogs annually. His farm work is conducted according to modern scientific methods. He practices the rotation of crops and does all that will maintain or enhance the productiveness of the soil. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company and in the Cooperative Creamery Company of Thompson and he is a member of the Fair Association of Forest City.

On November 20, 1883, Mr. Carson was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Crego, a daughter of Gibson and Laura (Mitchell) Crego, who were natives of Canada. The father was of Pennsylvania-Dutch lineage, while the mother came of Scotch ancestry. He took up farming in early life but afterward turned his attention to the study of medicine and was engaged in the practice of his profession at the time of his death. About 1824 he removed to New York and resided near Lockport, that state, until called to his final rest on the llth of May, 1859. His wife passed away July 29, 1908, at the age of eighty-six years. To Mr. and Mrs. Carson have been born five children: George M., who is a veterinary surgeon practicing at Lake Mills; Gilbert Bruce, Robert, Rose Anna and Walter Edward, aged respectively thirty, twenty-eight, twenty-six and twenty-three years, all yet at home.

Mr. Carson exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party and is one of the recognized leaders of his party in his locality. For eighteen years he has served as a trustee of Newton township and has made a most excellent record in office, as his repeated elections indicate. He attends the Congregational church, as does the family, and has guided his life according to its teachings. He possesses many sterling traits of character manifest in thoroughly reliable as well as progressive business methods, in loyalty in friendship and in patriotic devotion to his country.

Source: History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II. Pioneer Publishing Company (Chicago), 1917. pp. 457-458.