John Cotton Mather (November 30, 1813 in Deposit,

Delaware County, New York Delaware County is a county located in the US state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 44,308. The county seat is Delhi. The county is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas West, 3 ...

– August 13, 1882 in

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

Jefferson County, New York Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United St ...

) was an American politician. In 1853, he was the first person tried by the

New York Court for the Trial of Impeachments The Court for the Trial of Impeachments, and the Correction of Errors was established by the New York State Constitution of 1777. It consisted then of the Lieutenant Governor of New York (who is ''ex officio'' President of the State Senate), the Cha ...

Life

He was the son of Dr. Thaddeus Mather (1778–1854) and Sarah (Parker) Mather. In 1837, he married Alva Porter. At the

New York state election, 1847 The 1847 New York state election was held on November 2, 1847, to elect the lieutenant governor, the secretary state, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer, the state engineer, three Canal Commissioners and three In ...

, he ran for

Canal Commissioner The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...

on the Democratic and Anti-Rent tickets, but was defeated. At the

New York state election, 1850 The 1850 New York state election was held tuesday on November 5, 1850, to elect the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Canal Commissioner, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the ...

, he ran again, on the Democratic ticket, and was elected, remaining in office from 1851 to 1853. In July 1853, he was impeached by the New York State Assembly, but was acquitted by the Court for the Trial of Impeachments. At the

New York state election, 1853 The 1853 New York state election was held on November 8, 1853, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, two Judges of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commis ...

, he ran for re-election on the

Hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...

ticket, but was defeated by Whig Cornelius Gardinier. He was a member of the New York State Senate (4th D.) in

1858 Events January–March * January – ** Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. ** William I of Prussia becomes regen ...

and

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final ...

. In 1869, he married Helen Goulding. State Senator Francis M. Bixby (born 1828) was his nephew.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (page 42 and 435; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) *The impeachment proceedings i
''Journal of the Assembly of the State of New York''
(1853)

His father's obit in NYT on October 19, 1854

Obit of his brother Calvin Edson Mather, in NYT on July 11, 1853 *''Lineage of Rev.

Richard Mather Richard Mather (1596 – 22 April 1669) was a New England Puritan minister in colonial Boston. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston theologians. Biography Mather was born in Lowton in the p ...

'' by Horace E. Mather (1890)
Hon. John Cotton Mather
at Mather Clan {{DEFAULTSORT:Mather, John Cotton 1813 births 1882 deaths People from Delaware County, New York Erie Canal Commissioners New York (state) state senators 19th-century American politicians