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 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. 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 resumed practicing law, and served again as mayor of Brookings from 1897 to 1903.