For other persons with a similar name, see John Mather.

John Cotton Mather (November 30, 1813 Deposit, Delaware County, New York - August 13, 1882) was an American politician. In 1853, he was the first person tried by the New York Court for the Trial of Impeachments.

Life

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

In 1847, he ran for Canal Commissioner on the Democratic and Anti-Rent tickets, but was defeated. In 1850, 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. Later that year, he ran for re-election on the Hards ticket, but was defeated by Whig Cornelius Gardinier.

He was a member of the New York State Senate (4th District) from 1858 to 1859.

In 1869, he married Helen Goulding.

Sources

• The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (page 42 and 435; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
• The impeachment proceedings in Journal of the Assembly of the State of New York (1853)
• [765164] His father's obit in NYT on October 19, 1854
• [765165] Obit of his brother Calvin Edson Mather, in NYT on July 11, 1853
• Lineage of Rev. Richard Mather by Horace E. Mather (1890)