Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Mattson, Matt
Date(s)
- 1982-02-09 (Creation)
Extent
2 file folder
1 sound cassette
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The interview was conducted with Matt Mattson on February 9, 1982 in Tacoma, Washington. It contains information about family background, emigration, fishing, marriage and family, and Norwegian heritage. The interview was conducted in Norwegian.
Also see Emma Mattson.
Folder Contents
Box 6, File 15 Personal and Family History
Tape Archive Sheet, Family Background, and Tape Index
Box 6, File 15A Correspondence and Forms
Checklist and Release Form
Letters from Janet Rasmussen to Mr. and Mrs. Mattson’s regarding their participation.
Handwritten Tape Archive Sheet and Family Background
System of arrangement
Interviewed by Morrene Nesvig
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Biographical Note
Matt Mattson was born Matt Wæsbotten on October 11, 1903 in Sunnfjord, Norway, which is located twenty-three miles southeast of Bergen. Matt's parents were Kristoffer and Henrikke Wæsbotten, and he had three older siblings: Henrik, Mads, and Susanne. Kristoffer was a farmer and Henrikke was a homemaker.
Matt began fishing in Norway when he was sixteen years old, but in April 1926, he immigrated to America, where he hoped to make a better living. Matt went to South Dakota, where he had two uncles. They were the ones who convinced him to change his name from Wæsbotten to Mattson, which came from the place they lived and was the name they used. Matt had studied carpentry in Norway and worked on a farm as carpenter in South Dakota. Displeased with the cold weather in South Dakota, Matt went to Tacoma, Washington, where a friend of his lived, in December.
In Tacoma, he worked in a sawmill and then began fishing in 1928. A lot of Norwegians fished in the Seattle-Tacoma area, and Matt got the job through his friends. He fished for halibut seven months out of the year. In 1938, Matt married Emma Bratten, who was from Bergen, Norway. They had three children: Shirley, Kenneth, and Dennis. In between fishing, Matt built docks around Tacoma and worked on the Narrows Bridge during the winter of 1939-40.
Matt was not very active in Tacoma's Scandinavian community but was a member of the Sons of Norway. Matt returned to Norway for the first time in 1947 and has made four trips since then. He remains in contact with his family there and continues to speak Norwegian. Nevertheless, Matt is glad he emigrated and feels he is an American.
Lineage
Full Name: Matt Andreas Mattson
Former Name: Matt Andreas Wæsbotten
Father: Kristoffer Wæsbotten
Mother: Henrikke Wæsbotten
Paternal Grandfather: Mads Hele
Brothers and Sisters: Henrik Wæsbotten, Mads Wæsbotten, Susanne Wæsbotten
Spouse: Emma Severine Bratten Mattson
Children: Shirley E. Day, Kenneth M. Mattson, Dennis E. Mattson
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Digital object metadata
Filename
UA0205_t142MattMattson.mp3
Latitude
Longitude
Media type
Audio
Mime-type
audio/mpeg