In an earlier blog we looked at Deacon Mather’s efforts to secure his Revolutionary War pension. It was not until 1902 that the Bureau...

In the midst of shaking the Mather family tree for Civil War participants, we were confronted with a most unexpected, offbeat, somewhat whimsical, and apparently, Wikipedia-worthy individual. William Street Hutchings was the son of Jane Street and John Hutchings, and the grandson of Clara Mather and Samuel Street. William was born in Manhattan in 1832. This from Wikipedia… William Street Hutchings, (January 7, 1832 - August 25, 1911) also known as Professor Hutchings

We have recently found two more great-grandsons of Deacon Joseph Mather who served in Union Regiments. Assistant Surgeon Nathan Selleck...

We are all familiar with the Mathers’ commitment to America’s fight for independence during the Revolutionary War. But, recently, the...

Among Stephen Mather correspondence at the Bancroft Library is a note from Edna Pinkley at the Casa Grande Ruins wishing Stephen better health. Who was Edna Pinkley? According to the National Park Service’s Women Who Were There feature, “Edna Townsley Pinkley moved to the Casa Grande ruins when she married Frank “Boss” Pinkley in 1906... As his partner, she… contributed to the running of the monument without pay…She took on a formal role when she was appointed custodian in

Alphabetically, the first item in the Bancroft collection is a Western Union Holiday Greeting from Franklin Pierce Adams. Fittingly,...

We have documented Stephen Mather’s support of fellow Chicagoans’ artistic talents in his selection of Walter Burley Griffin to design...

An earlier blog (“Meet the Press…”) looked at letters from leading magazine and newspaper editors. Among them was George Lorimer, Editor of The Saturday Evening Post who declared that he, Lorimer, had…”always been a Mather man and a great admirer of your devoted work…” Seven years earlier, in 1922, when the Gibson Girl was the iconic image of the American woman, The Saturday Evening Post published a glowing article about Stephen in its “Who’s Who—And Why” sectio

As another Inauguration approaches, here’s a quick look the U.S. Presidents with whom Stephen Mather worked to assure the growth and permanence of the National Park system. Stephen Mather’s dealings with Congress were often contentious as he urged it to loosen the purse strings to increase Park funding. But, by all appearances, his relationship with the Executive branch reflected a shared vision for expanding and protecting the National Parks. Woodrow Wilson. As Robert

Among the Stephen Mather materials in the Bancroft Library collection are three pieces that reflect Stephen’s rooting interest in University of California football. The first two are in anticipation of the 1928 Cal-Stanford Big Game… The first is a November 23, 1928 telegram that reads in full…THE FOLLOWING EIGHTY SEVEN MEN AT THE ANNUAL FOOTBALL DINNER SEND YOU THEIR WARMEST PERSONAL REGARDS EXPRESS THEIR GREAT PLEASURE AT THE GOOD NEWS OF THE IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR CONDITIO

In February 1929, Stephen Mather received a letter from Charles L. Ellis, District Superin-tendent, Department of the Interior, Office of...

Each first floor room of the Homestead is graced by an antique clock imbued with history and the patina of timeless craftsmanship. In the Keeping Room is a Tall Case Clock made by Samuel Sturgeon who worked in Shippensburg PA from 1815-1825. It has an eight-day striking clock movement and stands 88-1/4” high. We know Martha McNair of Shippensburg married a Samuel Sturgeon “a clock and watchmaker.” The provenance of the clock is from the McPherson Family. In the dining

In his biography of Stephen Mather, Robert Shankland explores the advent of the transportation system in Glacier National Park: “To run a...

Among the many samplers on display at Mather Homestead, one stands out for its detail, exceptional needlework, choice of verse, and its...

According to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, “Samplers depicting alphabets and numeral were worked by young women to...

In the attic, we have found everything from an antique spinning wheel to a Civil War sword…from centuries-old deeds to day-by-day...

“…I shall greatly appreciate if you will autograph one of your photographs and send it to me here. I assure you it will have an honored place in my collection…” From a letter to Stephen Mather from Howard Hays October 1929. Stephen Mather and Howard Hays shared mutual admiration. From Shankland’s Mather biography, “Mather liked him [Hays]…and pushed his application for the permanent-camp franchise.” Years later, Hays wrote of Mather, “I thought of him as my greatest ben

According to Robert Shankland in his biography of Stephen Mather, Mather had to overcome bureaucracy and vested interests to establish...

“Scenery is a hollow enjoyment to the tourist who sets out in the morning after an indigestible breakfast and a fitful night’s sleep on...

Late in 1963, Conrad Wirth, Director of the National Park Service wrote to Bertha Mather McPherson saying in part… ”It will always be a...