I am hoping someone may be able to help me with regards to my 3rd Great Grandfather, George Mather. I have looked over this many times without much success and I am now thinking that perhaps some fresh eyes would help.
He died in Adelaide, South Australia on 14 February 1904 at the age of 81 (born around 1823) and most of the information I have comes from his obituary (attached). It states that prior to his arrival in Australia he was in the Commissariat Department of the British Army in Cape Colony under Sir George Grey and had apparently travelled in all parts of the world.
I also have a family story told to me by my Great Aunt when I asked her why the family left South Africa.
They first moved from Ireland to South Africa to farm. After staying a while in South Africa, they eventually moved on to South Australia. The reason for the move to South Australia was due to a confrontation between Maria and a South African native. The confrontation occurred in her kitchen and she apparently threw a pot of boiling water over him. Due to this confrontation, it seemed necessary for the family to move and so they chose to move to South Australia where they ran a hotel in Norwood.The running of the hotel in Norwood is correct but I have no idea whether the other part of the story is correct.
As yet I have been unable to confirm whether George and Maria (nee Forestall) originally came from Belfast in Ireland. No documents that I’ve acquired indicate George’s birthplace and I can’t for the life of me find their children’s birth registrations in South Australia which makes me wonder if they were registered at all.
Perhaps giving weight to the South Africa story, I have found a Mr and Mrs Mather and family (two) leaving Mauritius on the Robert Passenger on 21 January 1864 and arriving in Victoria on 24 February 1864. The parents are listed as Mr and Mrs Mather while the children’s names are William Mather and Henry Mather. Given the timeline it seems likely that this could be my family.
Furthermore, I have found a passenger list for the Nipisiquit arriving in Natal in June 1862 (
http://molegenealogy.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/passengers-to-natal-by-nipisiquit-1862.html). This has a George and Maria Mather with their two children Raglan and Henry. Henry matches the Henry above but Raglan is new. Also interesting is that on this ship was a Michael Forestall (a relative of Maria’s?). Though initially I thought that this could be my family, I am now filled with doubt. The eGGSA has the Nipisiquit passenger list transcribed and the ages are quite different to my George and Maria’s ages (attached).
As mentioned, George Mather was married to Maria Forestall (1827-1899). I have not found when they were married or where. They had the following confirmed children:
William Thomas Mather (1859-1901 – said to have been born at sea)
Esther Mary Mather (1865-1928)
Maud Mather (1867-1934)
Gertrude Mather (1874-1952)
The three girls were definitely born in South Australia.
The part in the obituary about his time Victoria is partially correct. He did not however run the All England Eleven Hotel but actually ran the Surrey Hotel in East Collingwood. He applied for the licence in June 1864 but by August 1864 was declared to be insolvent due to losses in a hotel. The family left Victoria and by mid December 1864 he’d taken up the Albion Hotel in Adelaide.
Incidentally, George did very well for himself in South Australia but despite his airs of respectability he once owned Boddington’s Row in Adelaide which was associated with prostitution (
http://ancestrysearch.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/george-mather-and-the-notorious-boddingtons-row/).
I am now hunting for the next clue and (hopefully!) one that will finally give me his place of birth, where he was from or information about his early years (from 1824-1864). I have a lot of newspaper articles and information about his time in South Australia but I’m hoping someone may be able to help me to confirm or deny the South African connection.
To be honest I wasn’t even sure if this post belonged here but, with not a lot to go on, I figured South Africa would be the best place to start.
Thank you in advance.
