Matthew Laflin, Successful Businessman and Philanthropist Matthew Laflin Matthew Laflin was born in Southwick, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1803. He worked with his brothers on his family's farm and attended school whenever possible. The Laflin family had deep roots in gunpowder; Matthew's grandfather manufactured saltpeter (sodium/potassium nitrate) for the Massachusetts militia during the Revolutionary War, and he built a gunpowder mill in Southwick. Matthew's father also owned a gunpowder mill. When his father purchased a woolen textile mill, Matthew learned that business, too. (Following his grandfather's death in 1810, the Laflin Powder Company was greatly expanded, eventually becoming the Laflin & Rand Powder Company, later acquired by DuPont.) Matthew took a strong interest in the family's gunpowder business, becoming a traveling salesman and earning a good amount of money, despite his first year in business ending with $800 in debt after his cargo exp...