George A. Mathews

George Arthur Mathews (June 4, 1852 – April 19, 1941) was an American lawyer of Brookings, South Dakota. He was active in the government of the Dakota Territory, and was a territorial delegate to the United States House of Representatives.

Early life
George A. Mathews was born in Potsdam, New York on June 4, 1852, the son of Amos Mathews and Silence A. (Folsom) Mathews. He was raised and educated in Potsdam until he was 13, when his family moved to Fayette, Iowa. After completing his early education in Fayette, Mathews studied at Upper Iowa University in Fayette, from which he graduated in 1874. He then studied law at the University of Iowa, from which he graduated in 1878. He was admitted to the bar in 1878 and commenced practice in Corning, Iowa.

Career
Mathews moved to Brookings, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota) in 1879. In 1881, he was elected to Brookings' first city council. He served as mayor of Brookings from 1883 to 1884. In 1883, Mathews served on the commission that considered relocation of the territorial from Yankton. He proposed Huron as the most suitable site, but the majority voted for Bismarck. In 1884 he became prosecuting attorney of the fifth judicial circuit for the Territory of Dakota. In 1884, he was also elected to the Territorial council, and he was the council's president in 1887 and 1888. He was mayor of Brookings again from 1887 to 1889.

In 1888, Mathews was elected as a Republican to be the Territorial delegate to the U.S. House. He served from March 4, 1889 until November 2, 1889, when North and South Dakota were admitted into the Union. Because terms started in March, but congressional sessions began in November or December, Mathews did not travel to Washington, D.C. According to Francis Case, who eulogized Mathews in the U.S. House, because a change in presidential administrations occurred while Mathews was Dakota's delegate, he was flooded with applications for the territory's numerous federal patronage positions, including U.S. Marshal. Mathews and his law firm staff processed these applications and made hiring recommendations at Mathews' personal expense.

Retirement and death
In 1890, Mathews' political supporters proposed him as a candidate for one of the new state's U.S. Senate seats, but he declined to run. Mathews resumed practicing law, and served again as mayor of Brookings from 1897 to 1903. In 1910 he retired and moved to Los Angeles, California. He died in Los Angeles on April 19, 1941 and was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brookings.