The oldest of ten children born to Thomas A. and Abiah Person, like most of his siblings he was born at his father's old home near Laurel Mill along Sandy Creek.

Matthew Presley/Pressley Person attended school at Midway under Turner Jones, and later enrolled at Wake Forest College but did not remain there long. Like his father, his love was for farming.

Before his family moved to their new home at Louisburg in 1858, he was already farming land his father owned near Bobbitt called the Hayesville Tract. One of his neighbors was his uncle, attorney Jesse Person, who lived nearby at the Patty Person Taylor House.

His uncle advised him not to enter the conflict after the start of the Civil War, but Matt enlisted in May of 1862 as a farrier in the same unit his brother Jesse had previously joined: Co. E, 1st NC Cavalry. As a farrier, his duties would have included not only selecting horses for the unit, but keeping them shod and healthy.

Although at not generally near the front lines like his brother, Matthew still came under fire during troop movements and skirmishes, as well as while scouting for horses and feed in the Virginia countryside. He was in Clarksville, VA when the Battle of Gettysburg began, and was not present when his brother Jesse was killed in that action, but did gather up and care for his brother's possessions until they could be sent home. Matt suffered increasing dangers and hardships during the remainder of the war, but returned home unscathed.

Back in North Carolina, he resumed the life of a farmer, often visiting his family at Louisburg. He later acted as overseer of the the road from Simm's Bridge to his farm in Hayesville Township.

A lifelong bachelor, he died of Bright's Disease at the family home, 'The Person Place,' in Louisburg; which was then owned by his sister Prudence and her husband, Wiley M. Person.∼son of Thomas A Person and Abiah Culpepper Person