“In twenty-five words or less…”A selection of inscriptions from books in the Homestead
The Mather Homestead contains a wealth of books, from family Bibles to first editions…books from as early as 1684 through to the late...
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FRESH OFF THE PRESS!
Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 1 min
The portrait on the wall…and the silver in the safe.
The presence and presents of Michael Floy in the Mather Homestead. When Michael Floy wrote his last will, he stated “…my portrait I leave...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 1 min
“...gaily and profusely decorated with flags and bunting…”The 100th Anniversary of the Mather Homest
The newspaper report on “the ‘Centennial’ at the old Mather Homestead” continues “…On a nearer approach, merry voices were heard, and...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 1 min
Montague, a 1926 Franklin, Walter Stewart, and more.
Interesting discoveries you won’t find at the Stephen Mather exhibit Later this month (October 2022), an exhibit celebrating Stephen...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 1 min
“…a simple little celebration of the event…”Stephen Mather and the 150th Anniversary of the Homestea
Previous blogs looked at the 175th and 200th anniversary celebrations of the Homestead. From materials in the Homestead safe, we have a...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 1 min
Make that 71…the latest Mather Plaque—Ours!“…There will never come an end to the good that he has d
According to National Park Service History (npshistory.com) seventy Mather plaques have been cast. Almost all can be found in National...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 1 min
Ah, had the Deacon lived another 182 years…A look at the Last Will and the estate of Deacon Joseph
When an 1840 inventory of Deacon Mather’s real estate was made in conjunc-tion with settlement of his will, the land totaled 53+ acres. ...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 2 min
From the Deacon to Stephen…Tracing the ownership of the Homestead from 1840 to 1905.
We recently found transcriptions of the wills of Deacon Mather, Rana Mather, Phebe Mather, and Joseph Wakeman Mather along with summaries...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 1 min
Where does time go?Rediscovering Joseph Wakeman Mather’s pocket watch.
An appraisal of items in the Homestead was conducted prior to the establish- ment of the Mather Homestead Foundation. In that process,...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 1 min
Flower baskets, two cats, and a cockatoo.A pause to look at the doorstops in the Mather Homestead.
Tours of the Homestead always include the highboy in the dining room and perhaps the gateleg table in the Keeping Room or the canopy bed...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 2 min
Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…A brief look at early generation Mather gravesites.
From Deacon Joseph Mather to Stephen Mather and his daughter Bertha Mather McPherson, burials have been at the Mather Cemetery which lies...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 8
- 2 min
The Treasurer, the Mayflower, and a horse and cow. The dazzling distaff genealogy of Stephen Tyng M
From Reverend Richard Mather (1596-1669) to Stephen Mather, the “Mather” line spans nine generations. But that, quite literally, is...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 6
- 2 min
“She rests at last beneath the starry skies…”. The Mather Cemetery and the children of Deacon Mather
A visit to the Homestead should include a walk or drive by The Mather Cemetery (private, not part of the Mather Homestead property),...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 6
- 1 min
A Tree Grows in Darien. Does it still?
Nine months after Stephen T. Mather’s death, the National Life Conservation Society organized a Tree Planting at the Mather Homestead in...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 6
- 2 min
To debut or not debut, that was the question.
On a bookshelf at the far end of the Keeping Room is a hardcover copy of Gift From The Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, a Darien...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 6
- 1 min
Party like it’s 1778…175th Anniversary Celebration at the Mather Homestead September 12, 1953
In the Mather attic is a scrapbook simply titled “175 Reunion Data.” Within the scrapbook, a wealth of materials offer us a glimpse at...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 6
- 1 min
A rare book and the legacy of Moses Mather
The bookshelf at the end of the Keeping Room holds a small hardbound book, “A Systematic View of Divinity; or The Ruin and Recovery of...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 6
- 2 min
The lineage of Hannah Smith Scott, Mother of Sarah Scott, wife of Deacon Joseph Mather
In past blogs we’ve looked at Stephen T. Mather’ wife’s family (Roots and Seeds). We looked at Joseph Wakeman Mather’s wife’s family...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 6
- 2 min
The Rockefeller Letters. Correspondence from John D. Rockefeller Jr.
John D. Rockefeller Jr. was a champion and great benefactor of the National Parks and was an advocate for parks in the Eastern United...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 6
- 1 min
And all before frequent flyer miles…Stephen T. Mather and the Pan Pacific Conference
In April 1927, the First Pan Pacific Conference on Education, Rehabilitation, Reclamation, and Recreation was held in Honolulu, Hawaii. ...
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Docent Donn Smith has been busy poking around the attic of the Mather Homestead and he's found treasures abound! Check out his blogs which document his findings including artifacts fro 250 years of American life - a bible from 1743, a girl's dress from the 1860's, Stephen Mather's camera, a love letter written by Stephen Mather to his wife ❤️ and more. Oh the stories they tell!
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