John Richard Mather was born in Port
Jefferson on November 20, 1814. He was undoubtedly the oldest shipbuilder on
Long Island. With but two exceptions, the vessels were all two and three masted
schooners. Mr. Mather was born in Port Jefferson at a time when it was known as
Drowned Meadow. He was known by the locals as “Boss Mather.”
After learning the trade in
Bridgeport, his step-father, William Jones gave him an opening in a shipyard.
This continued for seven years, when Boss Mather become his own boss, continuing
the building of vessels inside the millbridge until the seventies, when he
moved to the location now occupied by the Mather marine railway plant.
Mr. Mather retired in 1885 and the business
was carried on by his only son, John T. Mather. He died in 1899 at the age of
84. Mr. Mather was postmaster in 1840. He
also was involved in the lumber business with William Jones under the style of
Mather & Jones. The Boss was instrumental in creating Jones street, and
built the old wharf that had an L at the outer end many years ago. After his
death, the firm built the Martha E.
Wallace, the last large sailing vessel built in Port Jefferson.
John Titus Mather was born on June
27, 1854. His family was well known for its shipbuilding, which dated back to
1797. John T. Mather had other large businesses related to shipping. During
World War I, Mather retired from active business life. For many years, he made
careful study of how best to use the proceeds of his success to the benefit of
those less fortunate. As early as 1916, Mather had made provisions in his will
for setting aside a substantial sum to erect and maintain a non-sectarian
charitable hospital to give people the advantage of the best in hospital
facilities at a reasonable cost. A year after his death, the Mather Hospital
opened its doors.
The Mather house is now part of the
home of the Port Jefferson Historical Society.
Sources:
Cohen,
Lon. “This Day in History: John T. Mather Is Born in 1854.” Port
Jefferson, NY Patch, Patch, 27 June 2011, https://patch.com/new-york/portjefferson/this-day-in-history-john-t-mather-is-born-in-1854
Genealogy,
Long Island. The Mather Family of Long Island,
http://longislandgenealogy.com/Surname_Pages/mather.htm
“John
Richard Mather (1814-1899) - Find A Grave...” Find A Grave,
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38235254/john-r-mather
“John T.
Mather.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Dec. 2018,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T._Mather
