Contents [hide]

Mather History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

Mather History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Early Origins of the Mather family

The surname Mather was first found in Kincardineshire (Gaelic: A' Mhaoirne), a former county on the northeast coast of the Grampian region of Scotland, and part of the Aberdeenshire Council Area since 1996, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Mather family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mather research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1556, 1596, 1631, 1639, 1663, 1666, 1669, 1697, 1723, 1728 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Mather History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mather Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mather, Maider, Maddir, Mador, Madeer, Mathers and many more.

Early Notables of the Mather family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

Richard Mather (1596-1669), a Puritan clergyman in colonial Boston, Massachusetts
Increase Mather (1639-1723), a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trial...

Mather Ranking

In the United States, the name Mather is the 5,737^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Mather is ranked the 806^th most popular surname with an estimated 8,357 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Mather family to Ireland

Some of the Mather family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mather migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mather Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Mather, (Mathers), who arrived in Maine in 1635 aboard the ship "Angel Gabriel"
Rev. Richard Mather, who landed in Boston aboard the ship "James", bound for Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1635 3
Mrs. Katherine Mather, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 aboard the ship "James" 4
Samuel Mather, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 aboard the ship "James" 4
Timothy Mather, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 aboard the ship "James" 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mather Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Mather, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1808 3
Andrew Mather, who landed in New York in 1840 3
Samuel Mather, who arrived in Mississippi in 1842 3
Caspar Mather, aged 32, who arrived in New York in 1854 3
Johann Mather, aged 19, who arrived in New York in 1854 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mather migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Mather Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

John Mather, English convict from Nottingham, who was transported aboard the "Adamant" on March 16, 1821, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
William Mather, a brass-founder, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. James Mather, (b. 1816), aged 15, English weaver who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. James Mather, British Convict who was convicted in Chatham, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 25th April 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
John Mather, English convict from York, who was transported aboard the "Anson" on September 23, 1843, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mather migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Mather Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Mather, aged 34, a wright, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arab" in 1841
Mary G. Mather, aged 33, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arab" in 1841
Miss Mary E Mather, (b. 1858), aged 10 months, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th January 1860 9
Mrs. Sarah Mather, (b. 1829), aged 30, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th January 1860 9
Mr. Benjamin Mather, (b. 1833), aged 26, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th January 1860 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mather migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Mather Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Jo Mather, aged 21, who landed in Barbados in 1635 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Mather (post 1700) +

Stephen Tyng Mather (1867-1930), American industrialist and conservationist, President and owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company, 1st Director of the National Park Service (1917-1929)
John Norman Mather (1942-2017), American mathematician at Princeton University
Barry Mather (1909-1982), Canadian journalist, columnist, and politician
Stephen Tyng Mather (1867-1930), American industrialist and conservationist
Kirtley Mather (1888-1978), American geologist
John Cromwell Mather (b. 1946), American astrophysicist and cosmologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006
Frederick E. Mather, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County, 1845 11
E. J. Mather, American politician, Member of South Dakota State Senate 35th District, 1913-14 11
Charles H. Mather, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Mercer County, 1909-11 11
Charles D. Mather, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Vermont, 1908 11
... (Another 30 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Mather family +

Hillsborough disaster

David William Mather (1969-1989), English office clerk who was attending the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough Stadium, in Sheffield, Yorkshire when the stand allocated area became overcrowded and 96 people were crushed in what became known as the Hillsborough disaster and he died from his injuries 12

Hindenburg LZ-129

Miss. Margaret Mather (1877-1937), Italian Heiress from Rome, Italy, who was a passenger on board the Hindenburg LZ-129 and survived the Airship Fire 13

HMS Royal Oak

George Mather (1920-1939), British Assistant Cook (S) with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 14

The Mather Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Fortiter et celeriter
Motto Translation: Boldly and quickly.

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Adamant voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1821 with 144 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adamant/1821
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1840
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anson voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1843 with 499 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anson/1843
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Hillsborough Victims (retreived 21st March 2021). Retreived from https://metro.co.uk/2019/04/15/remembering-96-victims-hillsborough-disaster-30-years-9206566/
Hindenburg Disaster Passenger List | Airships.net. (Retrieved 2014, April 11) . Retrieved from http://www.airships.net/hindenburg/disaster/hindenburg-passenger-list/
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html