Francis Mathew
Francis Mathew (1831-1885)
Married(1) to Rowena Frances Braham and had one son
Married(2) to Margaret (?) and had two sons and a daughter
Followed John Pitt Kennedy (1824-1897) as engineer of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway
1885 September 30th. Died at 103 St. George's Square, Belgravia. Probate to Anna Maria Mathew, a sister.
1886 Obituary [1]
FRANCIS MATHEW was the son of Mr. Francis James Mathew of Rock View House, Co. Tipperary, and nephew of the celebrated Father Mathew.
He commenced his career in 1847 as a pupil under Mr. Joseph Burke, senior District Engineer, on the establishment of Sir John Macneill, M.Inst.C.E.
After four years with Mr. Burke, during which time he was engaged in the construction of the Dundalk and Enniskillen and the Waterford and Kilkenny Railways, Mr. Mathew became an assistant engineer on the establishment of Mr. William Dargan, the well-known railway-contractor. He remained in this service for six years, during which time he held the position of Engineer on the Limerick and Foynes, and the Limerick and Ennis Railways, and was subsequently for two years and a half Manager-in-Chief of the Cork Tunnel-works of the Great Southern and Western Railway. These works he brought to a successful completion in 1857.
In January 1858 he left England for India, under a covenant with the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway Company, by whom he was engaged as an assistant engineer.
In June 1860 he was promoted to the rank of Resident Engineer, and in the following month Acting Deputy-Chief-Engineer, in which appointment he was confirmed on the 1st of January, 1861.
In May 1864 he was appointed Chief Resident Engineer of the entire Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway, and on the 14th of March, 1876, he became Agent of the line, still retaining his position of Chief Engineer. Mr. Mathew had previously officiated as Agent on two occasions, for six and eighteen months respectively.
In 1866 he was a Justice of the Peace for the town of Bombay, and was a representative of the Justices on the Municipal Corporation.
In 1874 he was appointed one of the Trustees of the Port of Bombay by the Government, and on the reconstruction of that Board was re-elected by the Chamber of Commerce. He was also elected Chairman of the Committee, and Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, and in 1874 a Fellow of the University of Bombay. He was a member of the Committee of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Colaba Company, and President of the Sassoon and Parell Mechanics’ Institutes.
In 1879 he was chosen to succeed Colonel J. Pitt-Kennedy as Consulting Engineer to the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway Company in England, but he did not take up the appointment till 1882. He continued to act in that capacity until his death on the 30th of September, 1885.
Mr. Mathew was elected a Member of the Institution on the 7th of December, 1869.