b. August 2, 1809, near Watertown, New York; d. January 31, 1873, in Chicago, Illinois. Matteson married Mary Fish on October 7, 1832. In 1834, he moved to Illinois and was a contractor on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. In 1850, Matteson was elected to the state senate and became the finance chairman. He was elected governor in 1852, and took office on January 10, 1853. While he was governor, Illinois enacted a common school law, and constructed a prison in Joliet. Matteson also convinced the legislature to fund the construction of the Executive Mansion, which he and his family occupied in late 1855. Just after Matteson’s inauguration, he came across a trunk that contained both redeemed and unissued scrip which had been used to pay contractors when the Illinois and Michigan Canal temporarily ran out of money. In 1856, just before he left office, Matteson began redeeming the canal scrip. This went unnoticed until 1859 when Jacob Fry, a former canal official, heard about the circulation and warned of possible fraud. Matteson was implicated and evidence (some of which was circumstantial) proved that he had received over $220,000 in state bonds. Despite the evidence and what the public regarded as a confession of guilt from the former governor, Matteson never went to jail for the fraud.