Courtland Cushing Matson (April 25, 1841 – September 4, 1915) was an American lawyer and

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 ...

veteran who served four terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

from 1881 to 1889.

Early life

Courtland Cushing Matson was born on April 25, 1841, in

Brookville, Indiana Brookville is a town in Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,596 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of and the largest community entirely within Franklin County. History Brookville was ...

. Matson graduated from Indiana Asbury University (now

De Pauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

) in 1862. He later studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Career

During the

, Matson enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers. After one year's service entered the Sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Cavalry (Seventy-first Volunteers), and served until October 1865, and was subsequently promoted to the rank of colonel. After the war, Matson studied law and commenced practice in

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsyl ...

. He was three times elected prosecuting attorney of

Putnam County, Indiana Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 37,963. The county seat is Greencastle. The county was named for Israel Putnam, a hero in the French and Indian War a ...

. He served as chairman of the Democratic State central committee in 1878.

Congress

Matson was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-seventh and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1889). He served as chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions ( Forty-eighth through Fiftieth Congresses). He was not a candidate for renomination. He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor of Indiana in 1888.

Later career

He resumed the practice of law in

. He served as member of the board of tax commissioners 1909–1913.

Personal life

Matson died on September 4, 1915, in

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

. He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Greencastle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matson, Courtland Cushing 1841 births 1915 deaths DePauw University alumni People from Brookville, Indiana Union Army colonels People of Indiana in the American Civil War Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana 19th-century American politicians