top of page
FRESH OFF THE PRESS!
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 from 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!
The Many Deeds of Deacon Joseph Mather: The Growth of the Homestead from 1783 to 1827
On tours we often tell visitors that Deacon Mather built the house on land that was inherited by his mother, Hannah Bell. Until now...
Mather Homestead Foundation
Feb 20, 20232 min read
Tea for two, or nine, or maybe once for twelve.The tea set and silver of Rana Mather.
If you look at the Darien map from 1867, you will see in the upper area the home of the “Misses Mather.” In 1840, Deacon Mather left...
Donn Smith
Feb 9, 20231 min read
The well…the Tories…and Jesse Raymond’s £10 State Notes.
In tours of the Homestead, guides unfailingly tell visitors about the March 1781 raid on the Homestead when a party of Tories descended...
Donn Smith
Feb 9, 20231 min read
Here’s my card…a treasury of Stephen Mather’s business and calling cards.
In a pocket of an accordion folder found in the Mather Homestead safe, we discovered Stephen Mather’s business cards from his time at the...
Donn Smith
Feb 9, 20231 min read
“You say tomato, I say…”The dedication of Stephen Mather High School, Chicago, Illinois
In the Homestead attic, a large manila envelope contains “Material Relative to Stephen Tyng Mather High School…” Among the materials...
Donn Smith
Feb 9, 20232 min read
“My darling wife…”A Letter from Stephen Mather to Jeanie Floy Mather
In a large trunk in the recesses of the Homestead attic is an envelope marked: “Letters Concerning Wedding and Wedding Trip of S.T.M &...
Donn Smith
Feb 9, 20231 min read
More than words alone…Treasures from the golden age of illustration.
And not just Treasure Island, but of course that’s there. In the book-case on the second floor of the Mather Homestead are six hardcover...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
Where there’s a will…The contested estate of Stephen Mather’s maternal grandfather
Edward Walker was a prosperous bookbinder in New York City (See “The Tie That Binds” blog). Edward was the father of Stephen’s mother,...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20233 min read
The price of success…The two wills of Stephen Tyng Mather’s mother-in-law.
Stephen Mather’s mother-in-law, Sarah Hoole Floy was widowed in 1895. In 1916, Henry, one of her two sons, died. When she wrote her...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
Oh to be in England…A letter to Family written from Bristol in 1858.
A recent blog looked at a letter mailed from Paris in 1869. Recently discovered is a letter mailed from Bristol England on August 27,...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20233 min read
Hey, we’re still here…Not to forget the chests and trunks in the Homestead attic.
In blogs we’ve often featured items discovered in the chests and trunks found throughout the three rooms of the Mather Homestead attic. ...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
Safekeeping indeed! A first look at documentsin the Mather Homestead basement safe.
Recently we opened a safe in the Homestead basement. Its contents will fuel several blogs. We begin with added information on the...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
So, what’s for dessert? The evening dinner when the ceiling came crashing down.
A note on Bertha McPherson’s yellow legal pad begins, “A large piece of the plaster ceiling of the parlor fell at dinner time on the...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
“No man was earlier in his seat at church than he…
”More about Joseph Mather Jr., Stephen Mather’s grandfather The title of this blog comes from an obituary for Joseph Mather, Jr. as it...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
From silk hats to horse manure…The voluminous paid bill files of Joseph Wakeman Mather
In the Homestead attic was an alphabet-tabbed accordion file containing invoices paid by Joseph Wakeman Mather (Stephen Tyng Mather’s...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
Bad enough Loyalists raid your house… Deacon Mather and his pursuit of a Revolutionary War Pension
On June 7, 1832, Congress enacted pension legislation extending benefits more universally than under any previous legislation. Men who...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
“What shall we name the baby?" From family suggestions to a 21st birthday letter from dad.
We recently found a little booklet titled “Baby Days.” The printed heading of one of the first pages is the title of this blog. Bertha...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
“Whose garden was this? It must have been lovely…”
From Chicago to Connecticut to Canberra…An appreciation of Walter Burley Griffin, landscape architect for Stephen T. Mather Looking to...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
Enigmas in the attic…two 175-year old documents
How did these documents make their way to the Homestead attic—and why were they saved and sequestered for so long? It is unlikely that...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
Vests of interest: the latest attic discovery.
Two waistcoats of belonging to Joseph Mather (1789-1864) Carefully wrapped and stored in a chest of drawers in the attic were two...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
bottom of page