MATHER
MATHER
mission station at Cold Spring Harbor, Long
Island, 1883-95 ; and inaugurated the hatching
of codfish, lobsters and other marine forms. He
had charge of the American exhibit at the Fish-
eries Exhibition, Berlin, Germany, in 1880. He
was twice married : first, in 1854, to Elizabeth
MacDonald,who died Dec. 20, 1861 ; and secondly,
in 1877, to Adelaide Fairchild. His surviving
child, Sophia, became the wife of Bleecker
Sanders of Albany, N.Y. He had medals and
testimonials from many scientific societies of
Europe and a personal gift from the crown prince
of Germany (" Unser Fritz "), of a medal, a gold
medallion with the royal portrait. He was
widely known by liis lectures on " Fish and Fish-
eries" and " The Army of the Potomac,*' and is
the author of : Ichthyology of the Adirovdacks
(1886); Modern Fish Culture (1900); Men I have
Fished xoith (1897); In the Louisiana Lowlands
(1900); My Angling Friends (1902). He died at
Lake Nebagomain, Wis., Feb. 14, 1900.
MATHER, Increase, educator, was born in Dorchester, Mass., June 21, 1639; son of the Rev. Richard and Katharine (Holt) Mather. He pursued his studies under the Rev. John Norton of Boston, and was graduated from Harvard in
1656. He at once be- gan preaching and delivered sermons in Dorchester, at his father's church. In 1657 he joined his brother Nathaniel in England. He was graduated from Trin- ity college, Dublin, A.M., 1658, and preached until his return to Boston, 1661. He married, in ^^fnOttoA T^^X^^^^ 1663, Maria, daughter a ' of the Rev. John
Cotton of Boston. On May 27, 1664, he became pastor of the North church, Boston, of which his brother Samuel (1626-71) had been the first pastor. During his pastorate the discussion arose as to the right of non-communicants to bring their children to bap- tism, and Mr. Mather united with President Chauncy and John Davenport in opposing the " half-way covenant " established by the general synod, but he subsequently consented to it in a modified form. He was the prime mover of the " Reforming Synod " called by the general court Sept. 10, 1678, to consider " what are the evils that have provoked the Lord to bring his judgment on New England." The judgments were : King Philip's war ; the small-pox ; the fires of 1676 and 1679, and a general falling away from the strict
notions and habits of the first settlers. In 1681,
upon the death of President Cakes of Harvard, he
was offered and declined the presidency. H©
officiated, however, until the election of John
Rogers in 1649, and upon Rogers's death, in 1685,
he was requested by the overseers to act as pres-
ident until further settlement could be made.
In 1683, upon the threatened withdrawal of the
charter of Massachusetts, he was foremost in ad-
vocating its retention. The agents of the general
court consequently became Mather's bitter ene-
mies. He was selected as agent to lay the griev-
ances of the colony before the king upon the an-
nulment of the charter, and remained abroad as
colonial agent, 1688-92. His expenses meanwhile
greatly exceeded his compensation and he was
obliged to pledge his property. The result of his
labors was a charter uniting Plymouth, Massa-
chusetts Bay, Maine, and the territory from Sag-
adahoc to the eastern extremity of Nova Scotia.
Sir William Phips was nominated governor, and
he with Mather returned to Boston, May 14, 1692.
A vote of thanks was tendered him by the lower
house for his faithful endeavors to serve his
country. He was instrumental in promoting the
union between the Presbyterians and Congrega-
tionalists ; obtained a confirmation of thecliarter
of Harvard college in 1685,
and in 1692 he obtained from
the general assembly an act
incorporating the college. By
this act, wherein Mather was
made president, the college
was enabled to confer degrees,
particularly those of bachelor
and doctor of theology. In 1701 he withdrew from
the office and was succeeded by Samuel Willard.
He devoted the remainder of his life to philan-
thropy and to literature. In April, 1715, he received a unanimous invitation from the ministers-
of the province to represent them at the corona-
tion of King George I., but advancing years led
him to decline. "He had great faith in signs,
and prodigies," and delivered discourses concerning earthquakes, inundations, wars and other
calamitous events. He was also a firm believer
in witchcraft, and assisted his son Cotton in pub-
lishing his books on the subject. He was married,
secondly, in 1715, to Ann, daughter of Tiionms
Lake and widow of the Rev. John Cotton of
Hampton. She died at Brookline, Mass., March
29, 1737. The honorary degree of D.D. was con-
ferred on him by Harvard in 1692, it being the
first degree of the kind conferred in America.
He is the author of : Life and Death of Rev.
Richard Mather (\Q70) ; Important Truths about
Conversion (1674); A Discourse Concerning Bap-
tism and the Consecration of Churches (1675);
A History of the War with the Indians (1676, new
