A visit to the Homestead should include a walk or drive by The Mather Cemetery (private, not part of the Mather Homestead property), located just a hundred yards away. Like the house itself, in its headstones the Cemetery holds stories and offers opportunity for reflection and a step back into the family’s and the nation’s history.
Just eight years after the Homestead was built in 1778, Deacon Joseph Mather and his wife Sarah suffered the passing of their daughter Clara. Clara Mather (20 July 1786-19 Aug 1786) was the first person to be buried in what is now the Mather Cemetery.
In time she was joined by her parents and all but one of her siblings. Of the Deacon’s eleven children, only the tenth-born, David Scott Mather, is buried elsewhere. The last of Clara’s siblings was buried in the Cemetery more than a century later, in 1891. Of the ten buried in the Cemetery, Clara’s is the only one without a recognizable headstone. In order of burial the others are…
Headstones below:
Hannah Mather Selleck, 2 Jun 1778-20 May 1857
Joseph Mather, 30 Sep 1789-27 Sep 1864
Moses Mather, 21 May 1782-29 Sep 1867
Clara Mather Street, 31 Jul 1787-18 Feb 1869
Nancy Mather Bell, 27 Jan 1792-8 Nov 1869
Sarah Mather Richards, 28 Mar 1780-8 Jun 1873
Rana Mather, 4 May 1784-27 Aug1880
Phebe Mather, 27 Nov 1798-2 Aug 1886
Betsey Mather Lockwood, 23 Mar 1794-26 Dec 1891
David Scott Mather (14 Dec 1795-26 Sep 1845) married Elizabeth Fancher who was born in Poundridge NY. They married in Darien 25 Nov 1819. Thereafter they moved to Tecumseh Michigan and had seven children. David is buried in the Old Centreville Cemetery, Centreville
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