Matthew Maher
Place of Birth: (claimed by web, though unclear) Arkabutla, Mississippi, U.S.
Date of Birth: 1971
Ethnicity: English, Irish, distant Welsh and French Huguenot
Matthew Maher is an American actor. His roles include the films Bringing Out the Dead, Dogma, Vulgar, Jersey Girl, Gone Baby Gone, The Killer Inside Me, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, While We’re Young, A Most Violent Year, Live by Night, Captain Marvel, The Mimic (2020), Funny Pages (2022), Air (2023), and The Kill Room, and the shows John From Cincinnati, Mozart in the Jungle, Our Flag Means Death, Outer Range, and Hello Tomorrow! He is also known as Matt Maher.
He was raised in Cambridge, Massachussetts. He has often worked with actors and filmmakers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Their parents all knew each other in Cambridge in the 1960s.
Matthew’s mother is from the prominent upper-class WASP Aldrich family. His great-great-grandfather was politician and turn-of-the-century Republican Party leader Nelson W. Aldrich. Through this line, Matthew is a first cousin, twice removed, of politicians and siblings Nelson Rockefeller, who was Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States, and Winthrop Rockefeller, who was Governor of Arkansas. Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and his wife, Abby Pearce/Pierce Truman Chapman, Matthew’s great-great-grandmother, were the Rockefellers’ maternal grandparents. Matthew’s maternal half-uncle, Nelson W. Aldrich, Jr., was a writer and magazine editor, who satirized upper-class society, and wrote the book Old Money: The Mythology of Wealth in America.
Matthew’s paternal grandfather was John Fielding Maher (the son of John Joseph Maher and Catherine Fuge). Matthew’s grandfather John was born in Louisiana. Matthew’s great-grandfather John was of Irish origin, and was the son of Matthew J. Maher and Cecilia Hogan. Catherine was Irish, the daughter of William Charles Fuge and Catherine French.
Matthew’s paternal grandmother was Lois Lasater (the daughter of Edward/Ed Cunningham Lasater and Mary Gardner Miller). Lois was born in Texas. Edward was the son of Albert Hezekiah Lasater and Sarah Jane Cunningham. Mary was the daughter of Garland Burleigh Miller and Mary Bailey Gardner.
Matthew’s maternal grandfather was Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich (the son of William Truman Aldrich and Dorothea Davenport). Nelson was born in New York City, New York, and was a prominent architect, who was chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. William was the son of Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and Abby Pearce/Pierce Truman Chapman. Matthew’s great-great-grandfather Nelson W. Aldrich was born in Foster, Providence, Rhode Island, and was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island, from March 4, 1879 to October 4, 1881, and a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, from October 5, 1881 to March 3, 1911. Matthew’s great-grandmother Dorothea was the daughter of George Howe Davenport and Camilla Chace.
Matthew’s maternal grandmother was Frances Eustis Turner (the daughter of Howard Moore Turner and Helen Choate Eustis). Frances was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Howard was the son of Samuel Epes Turner and Mary Louise Moore. Helen was the daughter of Frank Izard Eustis and Cora Spelman. Frank was the son of Civil War Union Brigadier General Henry Lawrence Eustis, the grandson of U.S. Army Brevet Brigadier General Abraham Eustis; and the great-great-nephew of physician, politician, and statesman William Eustis, who served as U.S. Secretary of War, U.S. Envoy to the Netherlands, and Governor of Massachusetts. Through his Eustis line, Matthew is a fourth cousin, three times removed, of diplomat, ambassador, and expert on the USSR, Charles E. Bohlen, who was U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, to the Philippines, and to France. Matthew’s great-great-grandmother Cora’s father, Israel Munson Spelman, owned the Boston & Maine Railroad. He was described upon his death as “the last surviving member of the Harvard class of 1836.”
Sources: https://www.cambridgeday.com
Obituary of Matthew’s maternal half-uncle, Nelson W. Aldrich, Jr. – https://www.nytimes.com
Genealogies of Matthew’s maternal grandparents, Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and Frances Eustis (Turner) Aldrich – https://www.findagrave.com
Obituary of Matthew’s maternal grandfather, Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich – https://www.nytimes.com
Genealogy of Matthew’s maternal great-grandfather, William Truman Aldrich (focusing on his own father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Obituary of Matthew’s maternal grandmother, Frances Eustis (Turner) Aldrich – https://www.legacy.com
Marriage record of Matthew’s maternal great-grandparents, Howard Moore Turner and Helen Choate Eustis – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Matthew’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Samuel Epes Turner and Mary Louise Moore – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Matthew’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Henry Lawrence Eustis – https://www.geni.com
Rogers is his 5th cousin, twice removed (Benjamin Eustis+Elizabeth Hill).
He is related to Wayne Rogers through the same Eustis family (that is not less posh than the Aldrich).
There are various known members of Eustis family as: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_E._Bohlen
Abraham Eustis was the nephew of: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Eustis