Cotton, John, 1584–1652, Puritan clergyman in England and Massachusetts, b. Derbyshire, educated at Cambridge. Imbued with Puritan doctrines, he won many followers during his 20 years as vicar of the rich and influential parish of St. Botolph's Church, Boston, Lincolnshire. He was summoned to appear before the High Court of Commission (1632), but instead of appearing he resigned and fled. Some of his followers sailed (1633) with him to Massachusetts Bay, where the young city of Boston was so named primarily to honor him. He and John Winthrop were the leading figures of the colony, and Cotton was chiefly responsible for the exile of Anne Hutchinson Hutchinson, Anne, c.1591–1643, religious leader in New England, b. Anne Marbury in Lincolnshire, England. She emigrated (1634) with her husband and family to Massachusetts Bay, where her brilliant mind and her kindness won admiration and a following.
..... Click the link for more information. , because of her antinomian doctrines, and for the expulsion of Roger Williams Williams, Roger, c.1603–1683, clergyman, advocate of religious freedom, founder of Rhode Island , b. London. A protégé of Sir Edward Coke, he graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1627 and took Anglican orders.
..... Click the link for more information. . He was one of the molders of the Congregational Church, and his arguments in such treatises as The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (1644), The Way of the Churches of Christ in New England (1645), and The Way of the Congregational Churches Cleared (1648) were influential in his day. He was a firm believer in the right of the Congregational minister to dictate to the faithful, and thus he has been viewed as a strong upholder of theocracy. His Milk for Babes (1646) was a well-known catechism for children. His daughter was the wife of Increase Mather Mather, Increase, 1639–1723, American Puritan clergyman, b. Dorchester, Mass.; son of Richard Mather. After graduation (1656) from Harvard, he studied at Trinity College, Dublin (M.A., 1658), and preached in England and Guernsey until the Restoration.
..... Click the link for more information. and the mother of Cotton Mather Mather, Cotton (măth`ər), 1663–1728, American Puritan clergyman and writer, b. Boston, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1678; M.A.
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Bibliography

See biographies by L. Ziff (1962) and E. Emerson (1965).

Cotton, John

(born Dec. 4, 1585, Derby, Derbyshire, Eng.—died Dec. 23, 1652, Boston, Mass.) Anglo-American Puritan leader. He studied at the University of Cambridge, where he first encountered Puritanism. From 1612 to 1633 he served as a vicar in Lincolnshire. When English church authorities filed charges against him for his Nonconformism, he sailed for New England in 1633. As “teacher” of the First Church of Boston (1633–52), he became an influential leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He wrote a widely used children's catechism and defended Puritan orthodoxy in such books as The Way of the Churches of Christ in New England (1645). He opposed freedom of conscience, as preached by Roger Williams, favoring a national theocratic society.

Cotton, John (1584–1652) Puritan clergyman, author; born in Derby, England. He arrived in Boston, Mass. (1633), and soon became the teacher of the Boston Church. He originally supported Anne Hutchinson, but he joined her persecutors when he discovered that he was alone in support of her. A tireless worker, he wrote Spiritual Milk for Babes (1646), a standard textbook for New England children, and numerous books and pamphlets including The Way of the Congregational Churches Cleared (1648). In later years he became hostile toward religious dissenters and favored the power of civil authorities over the individual.