Anson Matthews was born around 1844 in Ellisburg, New York, to Michael and Eleanor Matthews. His father was a farmer who owned $1,200 of real estate by 1850. His father probably died in the 1850s, and by 1860, the family was living in Pipestone, Michigan.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on August 17, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company B of the 6^th Michigan Infantry three days later. The regiment took part in the siege of Port Hudson. He mustered out on August 20, 1865.

 

He settled in Casco, Michigan, after the war, and he probably married a woman named Alice. He moved to Hagar Township, Michigan, in the 1870s, and Alice apparently died sometime before 1880. He married Martha Ann Chamberlain on January 15, 1882, but he allegedly “deserted” her several years later, and the couple divorced on April 11, 1898. He then married Mary Larwood on July 26, 1898, but she apparently died soon afterward. By 1910, he was living in South Haven, Michigan, and working “odd jobs.” He married Augusta Van Every on February 7, 1912. They lived in Geneva, Michigan, and he died sometime after 1920.

SOURCES