THE MATHER CEMETERY
Pg. 172
Prof. W. W. Mather
was appointed to begin the geological survey of Ohio in 1837.
This work brought him to Jackson county, and after the work on the
survey was discontinued in 1838, he settled in Jackson. The
family boarded at first with Mr. Jacob Westfall. Mather
soon purchased the land of Rev. David C. Bolles on Salt
Creek, and erected a fine residence for those times. The
mansion stood on a slope overlooking Salt Creek valley, and not farm
from the top of the hill where the cemetery is now. It was a
picturesque spot then, when the virgin forest had not yet been
touched, but it must have been a very lonesome place for a family
that had lived in cities. The house was removed years ago by
W. W. Pierce, who purchased the land from Prof. Mather,
but the cellar and well still remain. The cellar seems to have
been under the whole house. The well is about one hundred feet
deep and no water was found. Later, water gathered in it, and
now stands at about sixty feet. The survivors of the old
orchard are scattered about, and all goes to show that Prof.
Mather endeavored to secure for his family all the comforts of
those times.
Here the family lived for about ten years. Then
death came and Mrs. Mather was taken. Upon her death
Prof. Mather laid out a cemetery upon the point overlooking the
mansion and deeded it to the township. In a year or two
afterward, he removed to live in Columbus, where he died in 1859 of
heart disease. The inscription on Mrs. Mather's
tombstone is as follows:
"Here lie the earthly remains of Emily
Maria Mather, wife of William W. Mather, who died
November 19, 1850, aged 40 years. A triumphant death in the
firm unwavering faith and Christian hope of eternal life in heaven.
She was a good wife, a kind neighbor, a tender mother and a faithful
Christian."
On the earth side of her grave lie the
remains of her infants. The inscriptions on the stones are as
follows:
"Cotton Mather, infant son of W.
W. and E. M. Mather, died 1849."
"Increase Mather, infant son of W. W. and E.
M. Mather, died 1840."
Among the other graves is that of
Jonathan Walden, who died January 13, 1857, aged 51
years, 1 month and 25 days;
that of
Mrs. Jane Milliken, who died November 23, 1868,
aged 80 years, 4 months and 20 days,
and that of
John Finn, who died October 13, 1864.
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