Founder of the M.A. Gedney Co., Minneapolis (1880) - operating since 2012 as Gedney Foods Company, Chaska, Minnesota.

"Matthias Anderson Gedney was long a familiar figure in Minneapolis and his name is inseparably associated with the pioneer development and upbuilding of the city. He believed in doing, not seeming; in actions, not words; and his initiative spirit led him into new and untried fields where precedent did not exist to guide, and where the resourcefulness and strength of the leader were called upon to erect the signpost of progress and success. He was born at Paterson, New Jersey, October 24, 1832[sic], the second in order of birth in the family of Absalom and Sarah Gedney, of Scotch and English origin. He was a direct descendant of an old colonial family and was named in honor of his maternal grandfather, receiving as his heritage a high sense of right and a strong love of adventure. When Matthias A. Gedney was very young his parents removed to New York city, and during his boyhood he had the privilege of seeing General Lafayette on the occasion of his last visit to the United States. Mr. Gedney attended the public schools of New York city until he reached his fourteenth year and then went to sea, serving first under Captain Gedney, a relative. At sixteen we find him upon a man-o-war, the Ohio, a ship of the Mediterranean squadron, commanded by Commodore Hull. He remained in the United States service until 1842 and was on the brig Somers at the time of the so-called mutiny, which resulted in the hanging of Philip Spencer and two other men. . . . . In 1849 Mr. Gedney started for the gold fields of California, making the dangerous voyage around Cape Horn in a sloop. He was successful in his quest for the yellow metal and returned to New York, where he engaged in business. He was married in that city on the 13th of October, 1852, to Miss Calista Jane Bailey, second daughter of Stephen D. and Eliza (Dingee) Bailey of New York city, and purchased a home near Central Park, where two daughters were born to them. In 1856 he removed with his little family to La Crosse, Wisconsin, making the latter part of the journey up the Mississippi by boat, as no railroads had as yet been constructed in that part of the country. In 1863, in order that his children might have better educational advan­tages, he went to Illinois, settling near Evanston. The point just north of the town is considered one of the most dangerous on Lake Michigan and today a lighthouse and lifesaving crew render effective aid to seamen in distress. But at that time a disabled vessel at the mercy of the wind was no very unusual sight and Mr. Gedney never failed to accompany those who went to its rescue. In 1864 Mr. Gedney became identified with the Northwestern Pickle Works, one of the first companies to engage in this business in the west, and in 1876 he became a member of the firm of S. M. Dingee & Company. Being convinced that Minneapolis afforded better opportunities for the development of his business, he came to this city in 1881 and founded the M. A. Gedney Pickling Company, of which he served as president until his last illness. He was one of the pioneers in this field, in which he ever maintained a position of leadership, and with the passing years the undertaking steadily developed, owing to his administrative powers and untiring labors. The business has become one of extensive proportions and is continued by his son [Isadore Valiere Gedney] under the name of the M. A. Gedney Company, of which he is the president.

Source: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical.

Note: Common and published reports of his birth location (NJ) such as that above conflict with several contemporary documents and vital records citing Clarkstown, NY - including his first and second marriage registrations, both occurring in New York City (Calista Jane Bailey and Ann Sherwood Kirk, who was also his 1st cousin, 1x removed).