Born Matej Vrbos Muskovac (compound surname) on 3 Sept 1888 in Konjarić Vrh. In the USA, he was known as Matt Vrbos Muskovac, where Vrbos was his middle name.

His parents were Gjuro Vrbos Muskovac and Agneta Galinac. Gjuro's parents were Jacob Vrbos and Helena (Jela) Muskovac. If a couple lived in the ancestral home of the wife, they would sometimes use a compound surname. In Croatia, most documents use "Vrbos" or "Vrbos Muskovac". In the USA, he always used "Muskovac", as did most of his relatives.

His earliest known trip to the USA was 1905. He worked in the coal mines near Uniontown, Pennsylvania as a timberman. 

Family stories say that he wanted to find a wife in the USA, but couldn't. So, he returned to Croatia in 1927 and married Agnes Bogović, a marriage arranged by their parents. They were married on 5 November 1927 in Croatia and moved to the USA shortly after.

One of Matt’s favorite pastimes was playing cards at the local Coal Miners Club. He loved to play the card game pinochle. He was also a sports fan and loved to listen to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the radio. 

By the early 1930s, he had saved enough money to buy a small one-bedroom house in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania. He passed away on 5 May 1952. His wife lived in the house until she passed on 18 August 1981.