The character of most of the Swedish emigrants who allied themselves with the Mormon Church and in consequence of their alliance left their native land to become residents of the Salt Lake County of Utah was strong and admirable, for they were intelligent and independent in thought, people possessed of a good practical and technical education and who added to the wealth of any community where they chose to make their residence.  It is with one of this class that we have to do when we indite the plain, unassuming but practical and useful record of John Matson, now a citizen of La Belle, Fremont County, Idaho.  He was born in Sweden 13 February 1838, a son of Matthias and Christina Anderson, who lived long lives of industry in their native land.  He received a good education in the excellent national schools of Sweden and through long years of apprenticeship and application became thoroughly conversant with all branches of mason work, which he conducted for some time in his native land, coming to America and to Utah with a party of Mormon emigrants in 1884 and locating in Ogden, where he was soon engaged in railroad construction work at which he was prosperously engaged for four years, after which he came to La Belle, arriving there on 5 December 1888.  He at once purchased a town lot for a permanent home and here he has since resided, being a practical element of value in the building up of the town, as he built the foundation under the first building erected in the town and has put the foundation under all other buildings which required stone foundations here from that time to the present writing, among them being the schoolhouse and the church.  Mr. Matson was early of great usefulness in the Mormon Church, joining in Sweden 12 September 1875 in 187[6?] becoming a deacon and later being ordained in succession as a teacher and priest, doing excellent service in these offices in his native land.  He is a Republican in political faith.

Mr. Matson was married in Sweden on 29 December 1861 with Christina E. Abrahamson, one of a family of eleven children whose father was fifty-three years old at the time of his death in 1853, and the mother had accomplished forty-eight years of useful activities when called from earth in 1854.  A brief record of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Matson will suitably close this sketch;  Marten O., born in Sweden on 27 Sept. 1862, married and lives at La Belle, Idaho;  Alma C. born 9 June 1864, died at twenty-five years of age and is buried at Pocatello, Idaho;  Johanna M. born 21 July 1866, married Frank Lundquist;  Emma C., born 5 Oct. 1870, married George Browning;  Carl R., born 18 Feb. 1874, was drowned when twenty-four years old near La Belle;  Axel E. born 18 Dec. 1875, resides at Annis, Idaho, his wife Clara May, having died when twenty-three years old;  John N. born 6 December 1877;  Yerda S. born 12 December 1879;  Siegert W., born 15 February 1882, died 8 May 1883;  Knute R. born 16 February 1884.