He represented the Rock County towns of Bradford and Janesville.
He is a direct descendant of James Atherton,[5] one of the first settlers of New England; who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in the 1630s.
[6] Atherton was on the board of directors of the Madison and Beloit Railroad Company [7] when that board voted to change its name to the Rock River Valley Union Railroad Company in 1850.
[9] He served in the U.S. Army and married Ruthy Bartlett as "Major George F. A. Atherton" in Charlestown, New Hampshire, on October 7, 1818.
His son, George R. Atherton (1824–1910), represented Clinton in the 10th Wisconsin Legislature.