Mather, Increase (1639-06-21 - 1723-08-23)

GEMMS Person ID
GEMMS-PERSON- 1876
(old series: GEMMS-PERSON-2036)
Name
Increase Mather
Title
Dr
Gender
Male
Denomination
Congregationalist
Lived
b. 1639-06-21 d. 1723-08-23 (old)
Manuscripts
Linked Sermons
Associated Places
Source of Data

ODNB (Article: 18322); Adrian Chastain Weimer; Hannah Yip.

Biographical Sources Consulted

ODNB (Article: 18322)

Other note

Increase Mather was born on 21 June 1639 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. At the age of 12, he attended Harvard College, receiving a bachelor's degree five years later. He preached his first sermon on his eighteenth birthday. Subsequently, Mather entered Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated M.A. Mather moved to England in 1659, preaching at Devon, Guernsey and Gloucester. In 1661, shortly after the Restoration of the monarchy, Mather left for New England, and became minister of North Church, Boston. He married his stepsister, Maria Cotton (1642-1714). His children included Cotton Mather (1663-1728). In 1685, he became president of Harvard. He resigned this post in 1701. Increase Mather died on 23 August 1723, and was buried at Copps Hill, Boston. See also Michael G. Hall, The Last American Puritan: The Life of Increase Mather 1639-1723 (Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 1988).

GEMMS record created
September 10, 2018
GEMMS record last edited
July 15, 2024