Samuel Livingston Mather was born in Middletown, Connecticut, on July 1, 1817, the son of Samuel Mather and Catherine Livingston. After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1835, he went into business with his father in New York City. In 1843, Mather moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to represent the Connecticut Land Company, which purchased and re-sold lands in the former Western Reserve. Shortly after his arrival in Ohio, Mather began to invest in mine development in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He was a founder of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, and served the company's president from 1860-1890; he also held leadership positions for other mining companies and for the Merchants National Bank (later the Mercantile National Bank). On September 24, 1850, he married his first wife, Georgiana Pomeroy Woolson (d. 1853). They had two children: Samuel (1851-1931) and Katherine. Mather married his second wife, Elizabeth Gwinn, on June 11, 1856; they had one son, William Gwinn (1857-1951). Samuel Livingston Mather died in Cleveland on October 8, 1890.
From the guide to the Samuel Livingston Mather daybook, Mather, Samuel Livingston daybook, 1843-1848, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
