| Birth: | 21 JUN 1639 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts 1 |
| Death: | 28 AUG 1723 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts 2 |
| Sex: | M |
| Father: | Richard Mather b. 1596 in Lowton, Lancashire, England |
| Mother: | Catherine Hoult (Holt?) |
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Burial: Copp's Hill, Boston
| Maria Cotton (Wife) b. 15 FEB 1641 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts |
| Marriage: 16 MAR 1662 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts? 3 |
| Children: | |
 Cotton Mather b. 12 FEB 1663 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
- Maria Mather b. 7 MAR 1665 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
- Elizabeth Mather b. 6 JAN 1667 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
- Nathaniel Mather b. 6 JUL 1669 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
- Sarah Mather b. 9 NOV 1671 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
- Samuel Mather b. 28 AUG 1674 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
- Abigail Mather
- Hannah Mather b. 30 MAY 1680 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
- Catherine Mather b. 14 SEP 1682 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
- Jerusa Mather b. 16 APR 1684 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
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Text:
16391723, American Puritan clergyman, b. Dorchester, Mass.; son ofRichard Mather. After graduation (1656) from Harvard, he studied atTrinity College, Dublin (M.A., 1658), and preached in England andGuernsey until the Restoration. After returning to Massachusetts (1661),he became (1664) pastor of North Church, Boston, and retained thatposition through his life. Cotton Mather, his son and colleague,cooperated with him in many of the affairs that occupied their busylives. They were outstanding upholders of the old Puritan theocracy andof the established order in church and state. This conservatism led totrouble with the government during the Restoration period, and IncreaseMather was a particularly bitter opponent of Edward Randolph and SirEdmund Andros over the withdrawal of the Massachusetts charter and theconduct of the royal government. In 1688 he went to England to presentthe grievances of Massachusetts, and, after the Glorious Revolution of1688 and the subsequent revolt in Massachusetts against Andros, heobtained a new charter that united Plymouth Colony with MassachusettsBay Colony. Increase Mather looked with favor on the government of SirWilliam Phips. After 1692 his influence declined somewhat, but heremained powerful to the end. He was president of Harvard College(16851701), but he was inactive and spent little time in Cambridge. Hiswriting reflected the concerns of his career. Cases of ConscienceConcerning Evil Spirits (1693), appearing soon after the Salem witchfuror, denounced spectral evidence in witch trials. He also wrote abiography of his father (1670); A History of the War with the Indians(1676), written just after King Philip's War; and Remarkable Providences(1684), based on an earlier work by other writers
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He graduated from Harvard College in 1656 with a Doctor of Divinity. Hewas
ordained at Boston the 27th of May 1669 and was President of Harvardfrom
1685 to 1701. He was also the agent of the colony in England. A copyof his
will can be found [MatB2].
3 PAGE 496
- Title: CotB2, MatE1
- Title: CotB2
- Title: MatB4
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