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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!
Under the watchful eye… Bertha Mather McPherson upbraids Professor Joseph Lawrence Sax
Professor Joseph Lawrence Sax (1936-2014) widely known as the “father of environmental law” was author of the first environmental law...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
“…to take up my new duties at Washington…” Letters from Stephen Mather to George C. Purdy
Although much of Stephen Tyng Mather’s correspondence is now at the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, we are fortunate to have a few...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
Travels of the little lost sheet.How a woven heirloom made its way back to the Mather Homestead.
A closet shelf on the western side of the Homestead attic holds a simple red cardboard box. Within the box is a flaxen sheet...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
The French Connection. An 1869 Letter from Samuel McPherson to his brother Theodore
When letters and printed materials were removed from the attic and sorted, one letter defied categorizing. It did not relate to the...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20233 min read
“Come down and see my etchings…”A discovery on the Homestead basement floor
In the far reaches of the Homestead basement, a keen-eyed observer recently noticed a carved circle in which the following had been...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
“…and bequeath my watch, piano and books to my son Stephen Tyng Mather…”
On June 27th 1864, at St. George’s Church in New York City, the Reverend Stephen Tyng married Stephen Mather’s parents. At that time,...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
In the days before Kindle… Three centuries of books and four selected first editions
The Homestead preserves and presents not merely a single moment in time, but captures and reflects the lives and pursuits of six...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
Stephen T. Mather, cub reporter Stephen Mather, The New York Sun, and James G. Blaine
We know much about Stephen Mather’s time in the borax business and certainly his time in the Interior Department and the National Park...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20233 min read
Another Yule Blog from the Mather Bookshelf
The Poems of Fanny deGroot Hastings Whoever takes the Christmas Star To be his chosen guide Shall come where Heaven’s treasures are And...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
A Yule Blog from the Mather Bookshelf
“Christmas Stories About Santa Claus” On the shelf at the far end of the Keeping Room are two copies of “Christmas Stories About Santa...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 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 8, 20232 min read
The Horace Albright Letters
Correspondence with Bertha Mather McPherson We have found several letters from 1953-1986 from Horace Albright to Stephen Mather’s...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
“How was your birthday?” “It was a blast!” A look at the Many Glacier Sawmill “episode”
Horace M. Albright was Assistant Director of the National Park Service under Stephen Mather and became Director himself in 1929. He kept...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
All in the Families: A genealogical look atfour more Mather family marriages.
As we saw in the last blog (Kissing Cousins) the opportunity for meeting your match was constrained by the limitations of transportation...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
Kissing Cousins: A genealogical look atfour early Mather family marriages.
Kissing Cousins: A genealogical look at four early Mather family marriages. When Darien was founded in 1820, the estimated population was...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
When the 4th of July was Flag Day too! A Birthday Celebration for Stephen Tyng Mather
Within a trunk at the rear of the attic in the Homestead is a small blue box. In the box is a handwritten note from Bertha Mather...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
“I make the following bequests…”A brief look at the Last Will and Testament of Stephen T. Mather
In the classic movie Secondhand Lions, the uncles leave a very short will: “The kid gets it all. Just plant us in the damn garden with...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20233 min read
Lights, Camera...
In 2017, The National Parks Service History Collection prepared a Finding Aid, titled “Stephen Tyng Mather Film Collection 1920-1929...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
“Dear Uncle Joe…I suppose you will be looking for me home tonight but…”
6 letters of Bertha C. Mather to J.W. Mather The guide provided to docents states that Stephen Mather’s father, Joseph Wakeman Mather...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20232 min read
Rabbit or Boar…and wait, there’s more! Discoveries in the Homestead Dining Room
In the dining room of the Homestead, docent-led tours justly focus on the highboy in which silver was successfully hidden from the Tory...
Donn Smith
Feb 8, 20231 min read
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