The Diary of Michael Floy, Jr.
In the attic at the Homestead is a copy of the handwritten will of Margaret Floy Washburn. (See Second Cousin. Notable First.) In the...
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FRESH OFF THE PRESS!
Donn Smith
- Feb 5
- 1 min
The fabric (and follies) of their lives…
In the Mather Homestead attic you will find a large chest measuring 22-1/2” x 22-1/2” x 45-1/2” wide. If “dress up” is still a child’s...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 5
- 1 min
Another second cousin. A noble first.An appreciation of Winona Caroline Martin
Winona Caroline Martin was born 21 May 1882. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Floy Davis and William Allan Martin, the granddaughter...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 5
- 1 min
A second cousin. A notable first. An appreciation of Margaret Floy Washburn
Stephen Mather’s wife, Jane Thacker Floy Mather’s second cousin was Margaret Floy Washburn. Their great-grandfather, Michael Floy Sr.,...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 5
- 2 min
Aunt Rana's Shawl
In a lidded two-drawer chest on the west wall of the attic are several wrapped items of clothing, including Jane Floy Mather’s wedding...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 5
- 1 min
It Really Was a Sheepskin!
On the west wall of the Mather Homestead attic, there is a nondescript four-drawer chest. The three lower drawers are lined with old...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 2 min
The tie that binds…An appreciation of Edward Walker
On the east wall of the dining room of the Mather Homestead hangs a portrait of Edward Walker. Edward Walker is the maternal...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 1 min
Sometimes a map leads you to a chest, and at other times…
A large metal-framed chest in the Mather Homestead attic contains an assortment of architectural plans, mortgages and deeds, builders’...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 1 min
Fifty years ago this year…Dedication of the Mather Gorge on the Potomac
At the top of the Homestead attic stairs is a moderately-sized cardboard carton. It contains an assortment of printed materials,...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 2 min
A look back to that middle name … An appreciation of Stephen Higginson Tyng
Visitors to the Homestead know that Stephen Mather’s middle name was Tyng. But who was Tyng and what was the connection? On 27 June...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 1 min
What goes up, must come down, spinnin’ wheel…
The question for anyone who has watched the CBS television series NCIS over the years must be, how do you get the boat out of the...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 1 min
In the days before Fortnite…Delving into a hidden trove of children’s books
Next to a small wooden cradle in the Homestead attic is a large wooden chest with a hinged lid. The chest is empty except for a few...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 2 min
Great-grandson of a preacher man. An appreciation of Reverend Charles Grandison Selleck
Moses Mather’s great-grandson, and Deacon Joseph Mather’s grandson, was Charles G. Selleck. Deacon Joseph’s eldest child (the only one...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 1 min
She wore blue… A remembrance of Ella Maria Mather
In the Homestead attic, in the middle drawer of a wooden chest, wrapped in newspaper and tied with string, is a plain blue, checked dress...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 1 min
Have You Seen this Man?
On the East wall of the Homestead attic is a framed lithograph of a somber, robed man with books and what would seem to be a clerical...
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Donn Smith
- Feb 1
- 1 min
If Wishes Were ... Remembering Joseph W. Mather
In the Homestead attic there is a large, curved-top, hide-covered trunk. Inside, a small blue book with the simple title: “Autographs.” ...
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Benjamin Kelsey
- Jan 31
- 2 min
2023 Essay Contest - 5th grade honorable mention
Why are the National Parks Important for Kids? By Benjamin Kelsey National Parks are full of gifts for children. They are spaces where...
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Juliet Chattaway
- Jan 31
- 2 min
2023 Essay Contest - 6th grade winning essay (tie)
The Mather Homestead Essay Contest: Why are the National Parks important for kids? Submission by: Juliet Chattaway, 6th grade, New Canaan...
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Pavana Attonito
- Jan 31
- 2 min
2023 Essay Contest - 6th grade winning essay (tie)
National Parks: Our Nation's Treasure by Pavana Attonito, grade 6 Filtered sunlight seeps in through a thick canopy of spruce trees and...
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Zoe Younessian
- Jan 31
- 2 min
2023 Essay Contest - 7th grade winning essay!
When I was younger, I was afraid of bears. It wasn’t just a vague unease around the topic. No, I had a debilitating phobia. The woods...
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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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