New Ulm review., 1900-10-31
SKEICH0F N. {. MATHEWS
INTEREsTING CAREER OF DEMO-
CRATIC NOMINEE FOR CONGRESS
In SECOND DISTRICT
RECOGNIZED LEADER AT HOME
From Obscure but Honorable Par
enthge He Forged His Way
Through Grave Difficulties
to High Position.

Marvin 3. Mathews, Of Marshall, Lyon
county, the Democratic nominee Ter co..
gress in the Second Minnesota district, Is
q gentleman Of peculiarly modest cher
acter1stics. He is averse to publicity OF
any scrt, and is by no means; an easy
man for an interviewer to encounter,
especially if the facts desired relate TO
Mr.. Mathews. 1,ur, like Ill distinctive
and useful lives, Mr.. Mathews career
possesses many valuable and Interesting
epochs, and a brief exposition of it is
Instructive if not pleasant to himself.
Personally Mr.. Mathews is very pop
Clar man. He enjoys wide acquaint-
ance, since he is actually one Of the best
known men, and at the same time one OF
the most prominent Of Southern Minre
sofa. Both in his private life as citi-
zen and his public Career as leading at
torney, he has added to his circle of ac-
Quaintance and degree Of prominence and
popularity.
Mr. Mathews was born near James
town, N. Y. Sept. 25, 1s4e. His grand
parents, Caleb and Margaret Wan Sails
bury Mathews, were natives of Vermont
and Pennsylvania respectively. is
grandfathers death occurred near James
of age, and his grandmother died at the
age Of seventy-five. The parents Of our
subject were Joseph and Clarissa (Chip-
man) Mathews, the latter a daughter OF
James Chapman The former was born
in Albany, N. Y. and when five years
Of age moved with his parents to Gary,
that state. For many years he followed
farming but Is now living retired in
FNr,Co HIM Tic uvifn Ill in,
county, Mimi, ct the age of siXty-Icur.
They had six children, all yet living. Two
are mechanics, three are lawyers, ana
the daughter is married and resides in
Tracy, MINI.
Mr.. Mathews, the subject OF this sketch.
removed with his parents to this state
IN the spring of 1855 and settled on a farm
near Rochester At that time the ln-
dians and wild animals were the sole pos
SCISSORS of this portion Of the country,
except that here and there a small log
cabin marked the coming Of civilization.
There were no school laws, school teach
ers or schools, and it was some years be-
fore a school could be esta blished in that
country. At length, when this wa ac-
complshed the school year was Of only a
few months duration. The schools were
supported by contributions from those
in the neighbzorhood having children to
send, and the school house was some
claim shanty, chosen so as to be as near
the center of the settlement as possible,
and furnished with seats and desks made
by splitting logs into slabs and placing
them on legs at the desired height. The
schoOlroom contained no floor save that
which nature provided. and was heated
by an open fireplace built of stone No
certificate of qualification was required
from the teachers, and very little educa-
ton Reading, writing, spelling geogra-
RI ontj t1,o ,,l,-
branches taught in those schools, and
consequently those desiring a further
education were compelled to obtain It BY
their own unaided exertions. Mr.
Mathews studied grammar and other
branches while working in the fields, and
soon made the contents of such volumes
his own. He is a master of the Eng .i4n
language, and is considered good authU =
ity as a grammarian and in many Of t e
higher branches of education.
After leaving the country school he
continued his studies in the high school
Of Rochester. From seventeen years Of
age he worked as a farm hand by ti,<,
month, chopped wood in the forest
through the coldest winter weather. later
taught school, and thus made his way in
the world unaided, pushing forward to
the goal Of success with an ambition thar
nothing could daunt.
He studied law in the office of Hon.
r. A. Jones, at Rochester, and in 1872
he went to New Ulm. Mimi, where
he accepted the position Of teacher in the
high school. While thus engaged he also
studied law In the office Of George W.
Kuhlman until the fall of 1873, at which
time he opened a law Office and practiced
his profession at that place until 1876,
when he went to Marshall where he
has continued the practice Of law ever
since. He graduated in the law depart
University nf
Ann Arbor, in 1881, and has since been
one of the foremost practitioners of tho
state, and connected with the most i'm
portant litgations In this region. He has
an analytical mind which enables him
to see and handle all the details of !
case, giving to each its proper weight
and, at the same time his comprehensive
grasp of affairs enables him to master
a subject in its entirety. His argument
is clear, forcible and logical and his de-
ductions follow one another in logical
sequence. He has labored earnestly, has
made his clients interests as dear to him
as his own, and has steadily worked his
way upward until he Is today enjoying
a large and distinctively representa- tive
clientage from which he receives lucra.
tive income.
Mr. Mathews was married in New Ulm
Mimi. Aug q, 1875. to Miss Minnie
Boesch who Was born In Brown county,
educated in New Ulm and St. Paul, ana
Is a lady Of culture and refinement. Four
children have been born to Mr.. and Mrs
Mathews: Werner B., Logan B., Sidona
A., and Roland M.
Mr.. Mathews Is a lifelong Democrat.
is a recognized leader in political circles,
and is prominently connected with
the several Democratic organizations OF
the state. He has served as county at
torney and is receiver of public moneys
at the United States land office at Mar
shall, MINI.
Mr.. Mathews is a member Of the
knights of Pythias fraternity, the Indc-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Med
ern Woodmen of America and the East
ern Star, and in Masonry Is connected
with the council, the consistory and with
the Mystic Shrine at MINNEAPOLIS. He Is
irreproachable In business life, and in so.
cial relations he Is also highly honored.
He never regards lightly the duties Of Cit
izenship, for his friendship is inviolab,e,
home sacred and family devotion not SIM
ply duty, but the best inspiration and
happiness of his life. His home Is one
of the finest In Southwestern Mime
I III