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Mather Family Collection
mssMather
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Mather family collection
Creator:
Mather Family : (Massachusetts Miscellaneous information: Mather, Richard, 1596-1669 :.)
Identifier/Call Number: mssMather
Physical Description:
2.40 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1645-1726
Abstract: Papers belonging to the New England Puritan Mather family.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Mather family collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Robert Dodd, George D. Smith, Anderson Galleries, Wilberforce Eames, J.B. Leamont, George P. Marsh, and William
K. Bixby, 1905-1927.
The Mathers were a prominent New England Puritan family. Richard Mather (1596-1669), immigrated to New England in 1635, having
been suspended for non-conformity; he served as a pastor in Dorchester until his death. One of his sons was Increase Mather
(1639-1723), the first Massachusetts- born president of Harvard College and the father of Cotton Mather (1663-1728), pastor
of the Second Church of Boston. Increase and Cotton Mather, known primarily for their role in the Salem witch trials, played
an important role in Massachusetts colonial administration and were prolific and highly influential preachers and theologians.
Collection of letters and manuscripts of Richard, Increase, and Cotton Mather. The collection incorporates various items acquired
between 1905 and 1927 and has been assembled at the Library. The collection includes two manuscripts of Richard Mather: "An
exhortation to our Countrymen of Lancashire, by Richard Mather and William Thompson," and 64th and 65th lectures. Increase
Mather's manuscripts include a notebook containing observations on the matter of Henry Palmer and the church in Haverhill,
Massachusetts, "An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences," a fragment of a sermon, and an address "To the Inhabitants
of Boston at their Publick Meeting," signed by Cotton Mather and Benjamin Colman. Cotton Mather's manuscripts include his
sermon and notes for a sermon, a list of marriages performed, and a presentation inscription to Ebenezer Bradshaw and George
Hughes, apparently cut out from the flyleaf of a volume. There are Increase and Cotton Mather's letters to Sir William Ashurst,
treasurer and governor of the New England Company, the chartered company that established the Massachusetts Bay colony. There
are also five letters by Increase Mather, 1712 to 1718 and 14 letters by Cotton Mather, 1712 to 1718.
Processed by Huntington Library Staff. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
Arranged in the following series: 1. Correspondence and manuscripts; 2. Sermons and notes.
Formerly call number: mssMather family collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sermons, American -- Massachusetts -- Early works to 1800
Puritans -- Massachusetts -- Archives
Congregationalism -- Massachusetts -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Sources
Massachusetts -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Sources
New England -- Church history -- 17th century -- Sources
New England -- Church history -- 18th century -- Sources
United States -- Church history -- To 1775 -- Sources
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 17th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 18th century
Sermons -- United States
Ashurst, William, Sir, 1647-1720
Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728
Mather, Increase, 1639-1723
Mather, Richard, 1596-1669
Second Church (Dorchester, Boston, Mass.)