Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 07.djvu/316

 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