He was the son of Gibbons Mather (1760–1815) and Hannah (Foote) Mather (1766–1844). He graduated from Yale College in 1813. Then he studied theology at Andover Seminary, but abandoned this after two years, and studied law at Auburn, New York instead. He was admitted to the bar in 1819, and practiced in Elbridge, Onondaga County, New York. On April 8, 1821, he married Sarah Anne Hyde (1800–1824), and they had two children. On November 26, 1831, he married Mary Parsons Cole (1806–1855), and they had eight children. He was an Anti-Masonic member of the New York State Senate (7th D.) from 1829 to 1832, sitting in the 52nd, 53rd, 54th and 55th New York State Legislatures. In 1844, he removed to Niles, Michigan, and in 1853 to Chicago. On October 15, 1857, he married Anna T. Norton. He was buried at the Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles, MI.