MATHER: From Welsh Madur, a benevolent man; Maduer, a reaper; Mattair, in Gaelic, is a mother
Our first Mather ancestor in the new world was Reverend Richard Mather, my 10x great grandfather. He was born in 1596, in Lowton, Winwick Parish, Lancashire, England and came to New England in about 1635.. He was well thought of in his parish, but apparently he did not see eye to eye with the powers that be of the church. He decided to come to New England in the hope that he could preach the gospel as he saw fit. He settled in Dorchester, MA. with his wife and probably about four children, born in England. He later had about three more children.
Our family descends from his son Timothy and Timothy's first wife, his mother was Richard Mather's first wife, Katherine Hault/Holt, he was born in England in 1628. Timothy's first wife was Elizabeth Catherine Atherton, daughter of Humphrey Atherton.
According to the history books, Timothy Mather was the only son of Reverend Richard Mather, who lived to adulthood, that did not follow his father's path to become a preacher.
Timothy Mather and his wife, Elizabeth Catherine Atherton, had at least five sons. Our family descends from the second born son, Richard Mather, born in 1653 and his wife, Catherine Weeks. It appears most of the children were born in Massachusetts, but the family did move to Lyme, CT, where most of them lived when they passed on.
We went through a couple more generations of Timothys, until 1751 when Timothy and Sarah Mather had a son they named Asaph. The family was still living in Lyme, CT. at this time.
At some point, Asaph Mather moved his family to Herkimer County, New York where he died in 1815. His wife was Mary Austin or Gustin, and on 3/15/1779 she gave birth to Asaph Mather, Jr. who married Huldah Spencer on 3/22/1801 in West Schulyer, Herkimer Co., New York. Huldah and Asaph Mather had many children. On 8/11/1817 Huldah gave birth to my 3rd great grandmother, Mary Ellinor Mather.
In 1838 Hubbard McKee and Mary Ellinor Mather were married. This is how my McKee ancestors brought the Mather ancestors into my family tree.