Mather, Cotton (măth`ər), 1663–1728, American Puritan clergyman and writer, b. Boston, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1678; M.A., 1681); son of Increase Mather and grandson of Richard Mather and of John Cotton. He was ordained (1685) and became a colleague of his father at North Church, Boston, serving as pastor in his father's absences and after his father's death (1723). It was principally by his indefatigable writing that he became one of the most celebrated of all New England Puritan ministers. He was a scholar of parts, working industriously to gather a library and volubly setting forth what he learned. Thus his Magnalia Christi Americana (1702) is a miscellany of materials on the ecclesiastical history of New England, vaguely intended to show how the history of Massachusetts demonstrated the working of God's will. His theological writings, now largely forgotten, had great influence in his time. He was a power in the state as well as in the church, was a leader in the revolt against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros Andros, Sir Edmund (ăn`drŏs), 1637–1714, British colonial governor in America, b. Guernsey.
..... Click the link for more information. and an adviser in Sir William Phips's government. Today he is generally pictured unsympathetically as the archetype of the narrow, intolerant, severe Puritan, and his part in the Salem witch trials in 1692 is often recalled. Although he did not approve of all the trials, he had helped to stir up the wave of hysterical fear by his Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions (1689). Later he further pursued his inquiries into satanic possession with Wonders of the Invisible World (1693, new ed. 1956), which was sharply answered by Robert Calef Calef, Robert (kā`ləf), 1648–1719, known primarily as author of More Wonders of the Invisible World (1700).
..... Click the link for more information. . Even Mather's benevolence—expressed in his actions and reflected in his writings, as in Essays to Do Good (1710)—had a core of smugness. Yet he helped to forward learning and education and to make New England a cultural center. He was disappointed in his hopes of being president of Harvard but was one of the moving spirits in the founding of Yale. He was deeply interested in science and was the first native-born American to be a fellow of the Royal Society. He persuaded Zabdiel Boylston to inoculate against smallpox and supported the unpopular inoculation even when his life was threatened.
(born Feb. 12, 1663, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony—died Feb. 13, 1728, Boston) American Puritan leader. The son of Increase Mather, he earned a master's degree from Harvard College and was ordained a Congregational minister in 1685, after which he assisted his father at Boston's North Church (1685–1723). He helped work for the ouster of the unpopular British governor of Massachusetts, Edmund Andros (1689). Though his writings on witchcraft fed the hysteria that resulted in the Salem witch trials, he disapproved of the trials and argued against the use of “spectral evidence.” His best-known writings include Magnalia Christi Americana (1702), a church history of New England, and his Diary (1711–12). His Curiosa Americana (1712–24) won him membership in the Royal Society of London. He was an early supporter of smallpox inoculation. See also Congregationalism; Puritanism.
Mather, Cotton (1663–1728) clergyman, author; born in Boston, Mass. (son of Increase Mather). He entered Harvard at age twelve and graduated when he was fifteen. He was ordained in 1685 and held office at Boston's Second Church for the rest of his life (as his father's colleague until 1723). He advocated rebellion against the unpopular Sir Edmund Andros with his political writings (1689). He supported the new Massachusetts charter (1691) and the new royal governor, Sir William Phips, of whom he wrote a biography, Pietas in Patriam (1697). His writings on witchcraft may have increased the mind-set that led to Salem witch trials (1692), but he believed that fasting and prayer were the proper methods for fighting witchcraft. His political popularity declined after 1692, but his religious leadership remained strong and he began to sponsor Yale, rather than Harvard, as the center for Congregational education. He wrote over 450 books during his lifetime.
..... Click the link for more information. and an adviser in Sir William Phips's government. Today he is generally pictured unsympathetically as the archetype of the narrow, intolerant, severe Puritan, and his part in the Salem witch trials in 1692 is often recalled. Although he did not approve of all the trials, he had helped to stir up the wave of hysterical fear by his Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions (1689). Later he further pursued his inquiries into satanic possession with Wonders of the Invisible World (1693, new ed. 1956), which was sharply answered by Robert Calef Calef, Robert (kā`ləf), 1648–1719, known primarily as author of More Wonders of the Invisible World (1700).
..... Click the link for more information. . Even Mather's benevolence—expressed in his actions and reflected in his writings, as in Essays to Do Good (1710)—had a core of smugness. Yet he helped to forward learning and education and to make New England a cultural center. He was disappointed in his hopes of being president of Harvard but was one of the moving spirits in the founding of Yale. He was deeply interested in science and was the first native-born American to be a fellow of the Royal Society. He persuaded Zabdiel Boylston to inoculate against smallpox and supported the unpopular inoculation even when his life was threatened.
Bibliography
See biographies by B. Wendell (1891, repr. 1963), R. P. Boas and L. Boas (1928, repr. 1964), and K. Silverman (1985); studies by R. Middlekauff (1971) and J. P. Wood (1971); bibliography by T. J. Holmes (3 vol., 1940).
Mather, Cotton
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Cotton Mather, portrait by Peter Pelham; in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, …
(credit: Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.)
Mather, Cotton (1663–1728) clergyman, author; born in Boston, Mass. (son of Increase Mather). He entered Harvard at age twelve and graduated when he was fifteen. He was ordained in 1685 and held office at Boston's Second Church for the rest of his life (as his father's colleague until 1723). He advocated rebellion against the unpopular Sir Edmund Andros with his political writings (1689). He supported the new Massachusetts charter (1691) and the new royal governor, Sir William Phips, of whom he wrote a biography, Pietas in Patriam (1697). His writings on witchcraft may have increased the mind-set that led to Salem witch trials (1692), but he believed that fasting and prayer were the proper methods for fighting witchcraft. His political popularity declined after 1692, but his religious leadership remained strong and he began to sponsor Yale, rather than Harvard, as the center for Congregational education. He wrote over 450 books during his lifetime.
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