Samuel Livingston Mather

Samuel Livingston Mather was born July 1, 1817, to Samuel and Catherine (née Livingston) Mather in Middletown, Connecticut.^[1]

He was descended from Richard Mather, a prominent New England Puritan minister in colonial Boston.^[1] Richard's third son, Increase Mather, was the sixth president of Harvard College.^[2] Increase's son, Cotton Mather, played a prominent role in the Salem witch trials of 1692–1693.^[3][4] Samuel Livingston Mather, however, traced his lineage back to Richard Mather's fourth son, Timothy,^[5] one of the co-founders of Yale University.^[3][6] His grandfather, Samuel Mather, was a member of the Connecticut Land Company and a founder of the city of Cleveland, Ohio.^[1][7]

At the age of 16,^[8] he graduated from Wesleyan University in 1835,^[1] then worked for a time for his father in Middletown.^[7][9] He then relocated to New York City, where he worked as an importer and exporter,^[8] selling goods on commission.^[1] Between 1835 and 1843, he twice traveled to Spain — an "unusual journey" for any American in the early 1800s.^[1] However, this business was not very profitable.^[8]

In 1843, Mather moved to Cleveland to look after the family lands. In doing so, he became the only descendant of an original stockholder in the Connecticut Land Company to have an influence in the new city.^[10] He studied law under local attorney John W. Allen.^[1] He was subsequently admitted to the bar, but never practiced law.^[1][8]

Copper and iron deposit outcroppings were discovered on Upper Peninsula of Michigan in September 1844.^[11] News spread quickly, and Samuel L. Mather was deeply interested in the reports.^[12] In 1845^[13] W.A. Adair, George E. Freeman, and Morgan L. Hewitt of Cleveland formed the Dead River & Ohio Mining Company.^[14][13][a] The company hired Dr. J. Lang Cassels, a chemist and medical botanist and one of Ohio's most prominent scientists at the time, to investigate.^[14][13] Cassels arrived in Michigan in 1846.^[16] On land which is now part of the city of Marquette, he discovered large near-surface deposits of iron ore.^[16][b] Cassels claimed squatter's right to 3,000 acres (1,200 ha)^[17] of land and returned to Cleveland in 1847.^[16]

On November 9, 1847, Adair and 10 others formed the Cleveland Iron Mining Co. Two weeks later, Samuel L. Mather joined the group as a full partner. Shares in the company were first issued on November 27, 1847.^[14] While the company organized, John Mann and Samuel Moody usurped part of the land (which later became known as the Cleveland Mine), while Dr. Edward Rogers usurped title to another portion (which later became known as the Lake Superior Mine).^[18] The Marquette Iron Mining Company then leased the Mann-Moody and Rogers property.^[19][c] In 1849, the three groups fought over the title until the federal government ruled in favor of Cleveland Iron Mining's title to the Cleveland Mine.^[21][d] To help secure its claim during that year, the company erected log houses for miners and a log barn for horses.^[22]

In 1850, the Cleveland Iron Mining Co. obtained a special corporate charter from the Michigan State Legislature.^[23][16] In addition to Samuel L. Mather, the incorporators included John W. Allen, Aaron Barker, Henry F. Brayton, E.M. Clark, Morgan L. Hewitt, John Outhwaite, and Benjamin Strickland.^[17][e]

The company did little except maintain its claim to the land.^[16] Outhwaite visited the site and planted potatoes there as proof the land was being "improved", as required by federal law.^[16] In the winter of 1849-1850, the firm managed to send 20 wagons, each hauling huge boulders of iron ore, to the lake shore.^[24]

In 1853, Cleveland Iron Mining Co. purchased the land and assets of the Marquette Iron Mining Co.^[21]

On March 29, 1853, Samuel L. Mather, Henry F. Brayton, Selah Chamberlain, E.M. Clark, Isaac L. Hewitt, Morgan L. Hewitt, and John Outhwaite reorganized^[1] the merged company and incorporated it as the Cleveland Iron Mining Co. name under the regular laws of Michigan.^[16][f] Morgan Hewitt was named president,^[25] and Mather the secretary and treasurer.^[17][g] It was capitalized at $500,000 (equivalent to $14,832,000 in 2024).^[16][27] The key investors were Mather, chemist Outhwaite, physician Morgan Hewitt,^[27] and Chamberlain.^[25] Chamberlain and Hewitt were good friends of Mather's, and Chamberlain lived next door to him.^[28] Mather often gathered Chamberlain, Hewitt, Outhwaite, and others in his garden, where they talked science,^[12] and it was Mather who got them interested in mining Lake Superior iron ore.^[26]

The Cleveland Iron Mining Co. became the second mining firm, after the pioneering Jackson Iron Co., to risk mining on the Upper Peninsula.^[27] It hauled the iron ore via horse-drawn wagon to the mouth of the Carp River,^[27] and had it turned into pig iron at local forges.^[21][16][27] In the early summer of 1853, it shipped 150 short tons (140 t) of pig iron to Cleveland and Sharon, Pennsylvania,^[11][29] followed by 35 short tons (32 t) in late August to Cleveland.^[29] It was the first company to transport iron ore or pig iron out of the Lake Superior district in any large amount.^[21][h]

The company mined 4,000 short tons (3,600 t) of iron ore in 1854.^[21][16] It mined another 1,449 short tons (1,315 t) in 1955.^[21] In 1856, the Cleveland Iron Mining Co. became the first company to ship iron ore to Lake Erie in raw form, transporting 269 short tons (244 t) of ore on the steamer Ontonagon.^[17][i] By linking Cleveland to the Lake Superior Iron District, Mather, perhaps more than anyone ensured that Cleveland would grow into an industrial powerhouse.^[30]

Mather was the steadying hand behind the Cleveland Iron Mining Co. When setbacks occurred, other investors wanted to shut it down or pull out, but Mather convinced them to invest additional money to push past the obstacles.^[12] When the Panic of 1857 occurred, the company had to use its money to pay off loans rather than pay workers. Mather printed scrip to pay the miners, backed by his own fortune. His reputation was so solid, the scrip did not devalue.^[12] In 1867, Mather convinced the other investors that Cleveland Iron Mining should try to cut costs by transporting ore itself. To this end, the company purchased a half-interest in the bark George Sherman.^[17]

In 1869, Samuel L. Mather was elected president of the Cleveland Iron Mining Co., after Dr. Hewitt retired.^[17] He served as president until his death in 1890.^[26]

Mather made two important decisions regarding the company in the years before his death. In September 1888, he signed contracts to have two steamers built.^[31] This made the firm the first iron mining company in the United States to own its own transport fleet.^[30] The first vessel, the Frontenac, launched in March 1889.^[32] The second, the Pontiac, launched in July 1889.^[33]

In 1890, Cleveland Iron Mining Co. purchased the Iron Cliffs Company, a Michigan firm which owned 55,000 acres (22,000 ha) of iron-bearing land adjacent to their own.^[30][17] The name of the merged company was changed to Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co.^[17]

He was secretary and manager^[26] of the Marquette Iron Company (founded in 1850),^[34] president^[26] of the Cleveland Boiler Plate Company (founded in 1858),^[35] and president^[26] of the American Iron Mining Company (founded in 1864).^[36] All were subsidiaries of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company.^[10]

Along with six others, Mather co-founded the Merchants' National Bank of Cleveland in February 1865.^[37][38] In 1872, Mather, Outhwaite, and Fred A. Morse organized the Cleveland Transportation Co. It had three steamers and three barge consorts.^[39]

Mather also held investments in three other small Michigan iron mining firms. He was a director^[26] of the Bancroft Iron Company^[40] and president^[26] of the McComber Iron Company.^[41] In 1887, he co-founded and was a director of the Michigan Gold Company, which mined gold from Jasper Knob near the city of Ishpeming.^[42]

Beginning in 1880, Mather was an investor in and director of the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad (Nypano), and served until his death.^[43]

Samuel L. Mather was a lifelong Episcopalian,^[38] and one of the denomination's leading laymen in Ohio.^[44] Politically, he was a Republican.^[45][46]

He married Georgiana Pomeroy Woolson, grand-daughter of James Fenimore Cooper and sister of Constance Fenimore Woolson, on September 24, 1850.^[46] The couple had two children: Samuel Livingston II and Katherine.^[47] She died on November 2, 1853.^[48] He then married Elizabeth Gwinn on June 11, 1856.^[46][49] They had one child, William Gwinn.^[50]

In 1870, Mather was honored by shipping businessman Philip Minch, who named his newly-built 538-short-ton (488 t) schooner the Samuel L. Mather. The vessel was 162 feet (49 m) long, had a beam of 32 feet (9.8 m), and drew 14 feet (4.3 m).^[51]

About September 24, 1890, Samuel L. Mather left work feeling ill.^[9] Severe chills developed. He died at his home from inflammation of the lungs on October 8.^[52] His funeral was held at Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, and he was buried at Lake View Cemetery.^[53] He left an estate work $375,000 (equivalent to $11,913,000 in 2024).^[54]