Born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 28, 1854, son of Nathan and Albertine (Bunker) Matthews. Nathan Matthews Jr. was a lawyer-turned-politician who served as the mayor of Boston from 1891 to 1894. He was a member of the
Democratic Party. Matthews earned an A.B. from Harvard College in 1875 and a LL.B. from
Harvard Law School in 1880. They had two children, Ellen Natalie Matthews and Sullivan Amory Matthews. ==Mayoralty==