Mather was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Trinity College for his undergraduate and MA degrees.

The company's flagship bulk freighter was named in his honor, and today serves as a maritime museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Mather is also known for the palatial estate, Gwinn, he built in Bratenahl, Ohio, a luxury suburb east of Cleveland.

The estate's gardens were designed by Charles A. Platt, Ellen Biddle Shipman, and Warren H.

[2] The gardens, named for Mather's mother Elizabeth Lucy Gwinn, include a mixture of formal and "wild" gardens and extensive statuary and fountains designed by significant sculptors including Paul Manship.