Mather, Cotton
Mather, Cotton( 1663–1728),eldest son of Increase Mather, and grandson of Richard Mather and John Cotton, was so impressed by his heritage that he not only thought of himself as the destined leader of the Massachusetts church and state, but attempted to recapture the spirit of his forefathers in a time when such a spirit was no longer progressive. He entered Harvard at the age of 12, the youngest student ever admitted, and was justifiably considered a prig by his fellows. After some study of medicine, he prepared for the church, received an M.A. (1681), and assisted his father at the Second Church in Boston, where he was co-minister until 1723, and afterward minister. When his father went to England to plead for the restoration of the Massachusetts charter, Cotton conducted the church and worked at home for the same political ends, writing the manifesto against Andros The Declaration of the Gentlemen, Merchants, and Inhabitants of...
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