On any given Sunday…Where the Mathers preached and worshiped

We know that Moses Mather was the minister of the Darien Congregational Church for 62 years. His son Joseph was a church deacon, and his son, Joseph Jr., joined the church in 1813. Two of Deacon Joseph Mather’s grandsons (Charles Selleck and Charles Richards) became Presbyterian ministers. And of Charles’ sons, two became Presbyterian ministers, and one became a Congregational minister!

Stephen’s father, Joseph Wakeman Mather, was married to Maria Augusta Mahan at the Rutgers Street Church in lower Manhattan by Reverend J. M. Krebs. It was a Presbyterian Church located just a short walk from the Chrystie Street School where Joseph was principal.

His second marriage, to Bertha Jemima Walker, was at St. George’s Episcopal Church where the minister was Stephen Tyng, after whom Stephen Tyng Mather was named.

When Stephen’s brother, Josie, died, the funeral service was led by Nathan L. Rowell, Pastor of the First Free Baptist Church on Bush Street in San Francisco. Stephen himself was married at St. James Methodist Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His wife, Jane Floy, was the granddaughter of James Floy, a prominent Methodist minister in New York City. The archives hold two Confirmation Cards—one for Stephen and one for Jane—both dated 5 March 1899.

The confirmation took place at the Episcopal Redeemer Church in Chicago. Presiding was John Hazen White, the 4th Bishop of the Diocese of Indiana. It was at this same church that Bertha Floy Mather was baptized 6 October 1906. In his will, Stephen made equal bequests to the

Episcopal Redeemer Church and to the First Darien Congregational Church.