Matt Hanson was born April 4, 1871 at River Falls, Wisconsin. He was the fifth child of Vielek and Anna Hanson. Vielek had come from Norway in 1866. Other children of Vielek and Anna were: Helen (Foss); Tollef; Andres; Christ; Hans; William and Ellen Marie. The family settled in Griggs County in 1883 where the children grew up.

Matt Hanson learned the trade of blacksmithing and upon the settlement of Wimbledon, opened his shop there in 1893 at the age of twenty-two. In later years he married Agnes Nix, a widow with six children. Matt passed away on November 26, 1952. William and Christ Hanson, brothers of Matt, also lived in the Wimbledon area.

Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 94