Canute R. Matson (April 9, 1843 – January 12, 1903) became

Cook County Sheriff The Cook County Sheriff is the sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, heading the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Office description Terms are currently four-years in length. Officeholders Recent election results , - , colspan=16 style="text-al ...

in the aftermath of the 1886 Haymarket Square Riot in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Background

Knut Rognald Matson was born on the Opkvitne farm at Voss Parish in

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was the youngest child of Rognald Madson and Gjertrud Jonsdatter. He came to the United States with his parents and siblings in 1849 when he was 6 years old. The Matson family settled in

Walworth County, Wisconsin Walworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478. Its county seat is Elkhorn. The county was created in 1836 from Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1839. It is named for R ...

. Matson received his education at

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Inter ...

and later studied law at

Milton College Milton College was a private college located in Milton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1844 as the Milton Academy, it closed in 1982. Its campus is now part of the Milton Historic District. History The college was founded as the Milton Academy (high scho ...

Civil War

On October 7, 1861, he enlisted as a soldier in the

13th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 13th Wisconsin was raised at Janesville, Wisconsin, and mustered into federal service October 17, 1861. The re ...

, Company K, at Janesville, Wisconsin. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, he was promoted to sergeant and at the close of the war he was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant at

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Political career

Starting during 1869, Matson took a leading part in the councils of the

Illinois Republican Party The Illinois Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Illinois founded in May 29, 1856. It is run by the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, which consists of 18 members, one representing each of ...

. As a member of the state governor's staff and the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy ( U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, I ...

, he was promoted first to major and later to colonel. He served as clerk of the Harrison Street Police Department and subsequently as a Justice of the Peace. He was elected

Cook County Coroner The Cook County Medical Examiner is the coroner of Cook County, Illinois. Occupants are credential medical examiners, appointed by president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, subject to confirmation by the Cook County Board of Commissio ...

in 1880 as the nominee of the Republican Party. In 1882, at the Cook County Republican convention, Seth Hanchett won the Republican nomination for

Cook County sheriff The Cook County Sheriff is the sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, heading the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Office description Terms are currently four-years in length. Officeholders Recent election results , - , colspan=16 style="text-al ...

over Matson, who was vying for the position. Hanchett would go on to win the general election. During May 1886, while Matson was Deputy Sheriff of Cook County, the

Haymarket Riot The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square i ...

resulted in the death of several policemen. A number of arrests were made and charges were brought against eight men who were incarcerated in the

Cook County Jail The Cook County Jail, located on in South Lawndale, Chicago, Illinois, is operated by the Sheriff of Cook County. A city jail has existed on this site since after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but major County prisoners were not generally coll ...

supervised by Matson. Later in 1886, he succeeded Seth Hanchett as Sheriff of Cook County. He was a delegate from Illinois to

1888 Republican National Convention The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for pre ...

. In 1899, Matson was appointed superintendent of the

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

postal station, succeeding

Hermann Lieb Hermann Lieb (also known as Herman Lieb;Eicher p.348 May 23, 1826 – March 5, 1908) was a Swiss immigrant to the United States who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He is best remembered as the commander of the Union for ...

. At the time of his death, Matson was the senior member of the law firm of Matson & Edwards in Chicago.''A History of The Norwegians of Illinois''
(A. E. Strand. Chicago, Illinois: John Anderson Publishing Company. 1905)

References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100505172435/http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/visuals/29V0930.htm Canute R. Matson, portrait photograph {{DEFAULTSORT:Matson, Canute R. 1843 births 1903 deaths Norwegian emigrants to the United States People from Voss Politicians from Chicago Milton College alumni Albion College alumni People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union Army officers Sheriffs of Cook County, Illinois Illinois lawyers Illinois Republicans Cook County Coroners Grand Army of the Republic officials Military personnel from Illinois