Increase Mather (June 21, 1639 – August 23, 1723) was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay (now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials. He was the son of Richard Mather and father of Cotton Mather, both influential Puritan min...
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Increase Mather (June 21, 1639 – August 23, 1723) was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay (now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials. He was the son of Richard Mather and father of Cotton Mather, both influential Puritan ministers.
Mather was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on June 21, 1639 to Rev. Richard Mather and Kathrine Holt Mather following their participation in the Great Migration from England due to nonconformity with the Church of England. He was the youngest of six brothers: Samuel, Nathaniel, Eleazar, Joseph, and Timothy.
His parents were highly religious and often played board games., and three of his brothers (Samuel, Nathaniel and Eleazar) also became ministers.
In 1651 Mather was admitted to Harvard where he roomed with and studied under John...
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