Increase Mather (senior)

Increase Mather (senior)
Name	Increase Mather
Birth date	January 21, 1639
Birth place	Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony
Death date	August 23, 1723
Death place	Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Occupation	Congregational minister, author, administrator
Known for	Presidency of Harvard College, role in Salem witch trials, Puritan theology

Increase Mather (senior) was a prominent New England Puritan clergyman, writer, and civic leader in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He served as a minister in Boston, as president of Harvard College, and as an influential figure in colonial politics and theology. Mather's interventions in controversies from the Salem witch trials to the negotiation of the Province of Massachusetts Bay charter shaped New England religious and civic life.

Early life and education

Increase Mather was born in Dorchester to a family long involved in Puritan settlement and clerical networks tied to figures like John Cotton and Richard Mather. He studied under local ministers and apprenticed with Cambridge-area tutors before attending Harvard College, where he graduated and later became a prominent alumnus connected to successive generations of Harvard Presidents. Mather undertook further study in England during the 1660s, encountering clergy and theologians associated with Church of England debates and meeting influential personalities linked to the Restoration of Charles II and later the Glorious Revolution milieu.

Ministry in Boston and Salem

Mather's ministerial career began with pastoral duties in Salem and culminated in a long pastorate at North Church in Boston. He developed pastoral networks with other colonial ministers such as John Davenport, Thomas Hooker, and contemporaries in the New England clergy. His preaching addressed crises like famine, epidemics, and the aftermath of King Philip's War, engaging civic leaders including members of the Massachusetts General Court and magistrates of Boston. Mather's ministerial style combined exegetical learning influenced by Reformation sources and polemical engagement with opponents like Samuel Willard and William Hubbard.

Role in the Salem witch trials

During the 1692–1693 witchcraft crisis in Salem Village, Mather intervened both pastorally and intellectually. He corresponded with magistrates and consulted with ministers including Samuel Parris, John Hale, and Thomas Brattle. Mather's writings and sermons, such as communications with officials in Boston and publications distributed in London, engaged legal authorities tied to the Superior Court of Judicature and provoked responses from advocates like Robert Calef. Although Mather opposed some evidentiary practices, his support for the admissibility of spectral evidence and his published defenses influenced judges such as William Stoughton and colonial jurists involved in the trials.

Writings and theological influence

Mather was a prolific author whose publications addressed theology, providence, conversion, and public calamities. His works entered print alongside those of John Cotton, Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Rutherford, and Richard Baxter, and were disseminated via printing networks in Boston and London. He wrote about subjects related to Puritan covenant theology and pastoral care, interacting with pamphleteers like Cotton Mather, Samuel Sewall, and critics including Thomas Brattle and Robert Calef. Mather's theological positions show indebtedness to John Calvin-influenced traditions and engagement with Anglican divines such as George Fox-era opponents and broader transatlantic debates involving figures like John Owen and Jeremy Taylor.

Political activity and relations with colonial government

Increase Mather played a central role in negotiations between the colony and the English crown, acting as envoy to London during the crisis that led to the 1691 Charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. He negotiated with officials connected to William III of England, advisors in the Privy Council, and colonial administrators like those associated with the Dominion of New England. Mather collaborated with political actors such as members of the Massachusetts General Court, colonial governors including Sir William Phips and Joseph Dudley, and English statesmen involved in colonial administration. His influence extended into issues of church-state relations, the appointment of ministers, and the legal frameworks that shaped institutions like Harvard College.

Family, including Cotton Mather and descendants

Mather belonged to a prominent clerical dynasty that included his father Richard Mather's lineage and his son Cotton Mather, who became a leading minister and author. His family network connected to other notable New England families and figures such as Samuel Mather, Samuel Sewall, Increase Mather (son) (namesake variations in records), and marriages linking the Mathers to families involved in Boston civic life. The Mathers' descendants held roles in the ministry, academia, and colonial administration, interacting with institutions like Harvard College, colonial courts, and merchant networks active in ports such as Salem and Newport.

Legacy and historical assessment

Increase Mather's legacy is contested: praised by contemporaries and later historians for scholarship and leadership in crises, criticized by others for his role in the Salem witch trials and for positions that aligned with controversial judicial practices. Historians situate him alongside figures like Cotton Mather, Samuel Sewall, Robert Calef, and Charles Chauncy in debates about Puritanism's evolution, the transition from colonial autonomy to imperial oversight, and the shaping of New England religious culture. His impact on institutions such as Harvard University, legal precedent in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and transatlantic religious discourse ensures his continued presence in studies of early American history, including scholarship referencing American Revolution-era antecedents and the intellectual history traced to the First Great Awakening.

Category:People of colonial Massachusetts Category:Clergy from Boston