The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-09-20
TETGH0F NE. MATHEWS
INTERESTING CAREER OF DEMO-
CRATIC NOMINEE FOR CONGRESS
IN SECOND DISTRICT
RECOGNIZED LEADER AT HOME
From Obscure but Honorable Par
entage He Forged His Way
Through Grave Difficulties
to High Position.

a gentleman OF peculiarly modest char
acteristics. 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. 12ut like al distinctive
and useful lives. Mr.. Mathews career
possesses many valuable and interesting
epGchs, and a brief exposition OF it is
instructive, if not pleasant to himself.
Personally Mr.. Mathews is very pop
rlar 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 Mime
Sofa Both in his private life as citi-
zen and his public career as a 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, 1S4s. His grand
parents, Caleb and Margaret CVan Sails
bury Mathews, were natives of Vermont
and Pennsylvania respectively. His
grandfather's death occurred near James
| town, n. Y, when he was eighty years
! of age, and his grandmother died at the
I age of seventy-five. The parents of our
subject were Joseph and Clarissa Chip
| NAM Mathews, the latter 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
| Tracy, MINI. His wife lied in Murray
| county, Mimi, at the age Of sixtyfour
| 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
III the spring Of 1855 and settled on a farm
near Rochester. At that time the In
dams 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 established in that
| country. At length, when this wa
comphshed, 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-
| ply and arithmetic were the only
branches taught in those schools, and
consequently those desiring a further
| 661IP9 fi0n war 70 fol- - h1,
! 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 English
| language, and is considered good author
1ty as grammar1an and In many of the
| 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 the
month, chopped wood in the forest
| through the coolest winter weather later
taught school, and thus made his way in
the world unaided. pushing forward to
the goal of success with an ambition that
| nothing could daunt
He studied law in the office Of Hon
! r. A. Jones, at Rochester, and in 1872
he went to New iUlm, 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.
| kaufman until the fall of 1873, at which
| time he opened a law office and practfced
! 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
ment Of the University of Michigan, at
| Ann Arbor, in 1881, and has since been
one Of the foremost practitioners Of tho
! state and connected wit bo i'm
portant litigations in this region. He has
| an analytical mind which enables him
| to see and handle all the details of
case, giving to each It's proper weight.
| and, at the same time his comprehensive
! grasp Of affairs enables him to master
| a subject in it's entirety. His argument
is clear, forcible and logical, and his de-
auctions 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 representative
clentage from which he receives a lucra-
| tive income.
Mr.. Mathews was married in New Ulm,
Mimi, Aug. q, 1875. to Miss Minnie
Bosch, who was born IN Brown county,
a daughter of Werner Bosch. She was
educated in New Ulm and st. Paul, and
is a lady of culture and refinement. -Four
CnllQr6n nave De6n Dorm 10 NIL. StHu MIS-
| Mathews: Werner B., Logan B., Sidonia
| A., and Roland M.
Mr.. Mathews is a lifelong Democrat,
is a recognized leader in political circles,
and is now 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 member Of the
Knights of Pythias fraternity, the indie
pendent Order of Odd Fellows the Mod
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 inviolable,
| home sacred and family devotion nSt SIM
ply duty, but the best inspiration and
happiness Of his life. His home is one
Of the finest in Southwestern Mime
sofa. 1t is handsome enthusiastically, and
is surrounded by a large and beautiful
lawn. But the charm of his residence is
the true hospitality which abounds there
In. Mr. Mathews is one of the most pop
ular men in this part of the state. His
friends are limited in number only by
the circle Of his acquafntances, and he
has the happy faculty of holding them
closer to his heart as the years roll by.
WINONA. Mimi, Sept. 1s-(special.)-
H. M Lamberton, Of this city, formerly
| a Gold Democrat, delivered a rousing
speech last evening at the meeting of the
Bryan and Stevenson club. In his speech
he pictured the power Of the trusts, and
| showed that all the people pay tribute