Mather Family
Mather-00-FamilyPhotoc1902-Cr.JPG 829KB
Dan Mather Jr., Dan W. Mather, Amanda Hawkinson Mather, Caroline Olsen Hawkinson, John S. Hawkinson
![311 WATER ST.: WHO PLANTED THIS TREE? -submitted by Chris Yoder Feb. 2009
How many trees are there in town for which it can be said "so-and-so planted this tree". Perhaps in private yards, people may know who planted a tree 10, 20 or 30 years ago. But what about a tree which has been growing at curbside on Water Street in Saugatuck for over 100 years?
Thanks to Stanley Mather of St. Joe, Michigan, we know that about 1907, his father Dan Willard Mather, dug up a sapling on the side of Mount Baldy, came down the hill and rowed back across the river to plant it in front of what had been his grandfather's feed store (now the Boardwalk Cafe at 311 Water St.).
Dan W.'s grandfather Dan (1817-1905) arrived in Saugatuck on Apr. 12, 1884 on the steamer Taylor, and that same day made his first sale from the feed store of 100 pounds of oil meal to Joseph P. Shea. Dan was an active member of the Congregational Church and served for many years as Saugatuck Village Clerk.
The Mathers are direct descendants of the Rev. Richard Mather (1596-1669) of Massachusetts who came to this country in 1638. Thru the marriage of Dan Mather (1817-1905) and Anna Cushman (1819-1901), a Mayflower descendant, Stanley is now a member of the General Society of Mayflower descendants.
Although the Mather family moved from Saugatuck many years ago, they still make an annual visit to decorate the four generations of graves in the family plot at Riverside Cemetery and to "check on Dad's tree."
Source: http://sdhistoricalsociety.net/research/SDHSWeb/Stories/WHO-PLANTED-THIS-TREE.htm
[Tree was cut down prior to 2017. See organization profile for 311 Water street for larger photos of the tree and property.]](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/4124/d0306d60-afff-11ee-ba86-ffcba0c3d76c-vUU10kc.lg@2x.jpg)
Name/Title
Mather FamilyEntry/Object ID
2022.27.01Scope and Content
Photocopies of documents, photos and digital files about the Mather family. All digital items were from Jack Sheridan's hard drive [2021.72.02] or from Chris Yoder's family research. Information about Dan Mather Jr., a miller/feed store operator; his son Dr. Willis Willard Mather, Dr. Mather's spouse Amanda (Hawkinson) Mather, their son Dan Willard Mather, and Dan's sons Howard and Stanley. Photocopy of Saugatuck High School diploma from 1908 2007 and 1884 photos of the Mather Feed Store/W.A. Woodworth home at the northeast corner of Water and Hoffman, 311 Water Street. Commercial Record clippings including September 17, 1937 letter to the editor in which WW Mather suggests some insightful ideas about developing Saugatuck as a resort including plan for more parks and open spaces and keeping the chain ferry as an attraction. Scanned photos of family members, a SDHS newsletter article about the tree in front of 311 Water Street, photos of the pages of Howard Mather's WWII diaries. See catalog Person Profiles for more photos about individual Mather family members. A 56 MB zip file of scans the Howard Mather diaries from 1904, 1906, 1907 and 1918 is available for download. See the blue web link at the bottom of this entry.Collection
Family History, Buildings: Commercial, Military, wars and veteransCataloged By
Winthers, SallyAcquisition
Accession
2022.27Source or Donor
Sheridan, John "Jack" O. 1938-Acquisition Method
DonationLocation
Digital data in CatalogIt
Files Family History