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Descriptive Summary

Repository: Harvard University Archives
Call No.: UAI 15.860
Creator: Mather, Increase, 1639-1723.
Title: Papers of Increase Mather, 1683-1717.
Quantity: 0.1 cubic feet, 9 documents (1 folio box)
Abstract: Increase Mather was the sixth president of Harvard College, serving as acting president from 1685 to 1686, as rector from 1686 to 1692, and as president from 1692 to 1701. This collection consists of one letter to Abraham Kick concerning an order of books, five letters to Sir William Ashurst regarding political concerns of the Massachusetts colony and Harvard College, and a letter to Harvard treasurer John Richards regarding College account books. One page of notes cites Mather’s concerns regarding the religious views of the Harvard Corporation.
Note: This document last updated 2010 September 22.

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Related Material

• Records of the Harvard Corporation for the time Increase Mather served as president and rector (1685-1701), including Harvard College Papers and Corporation Papers. Among the records of the Harvard Corporation are the following documents:
  • 1695 August 5 Vote of the Corporation desiring Mr. Mather to continue in the presidency and Mr. Mather's reply.
  • 1697 June 29 Note accepting the "trust reposed in us by the late act for incorporating Harvard College," signed by Increase Mather and Charles Morton.
  • 1697 [August?] Mather's resignation written in his own hand.
  • 1698 December 16 Mather's letter to Lieutenant Governor Stoughton resigning as president.
  • 1700 March 4 Mather's letter to the Lieutenant Governor and Council to be communicated to the General Assembly.
  • 1700 June 30 Draft of a letter to the Lieutenant Governor to be communicated to the General Assembly.
  • 1700 October 17 Extract of a letter from Mather to Lieutenant Governor Stoughton.
  • 1700 [October?] Draft of a letter in Mather's hand to "Mr. Speakr."
  • 1704 January 2 Draft of a letter in Mather's hand to Joseph Dudley, Governor.
  • 1704 June 1 Contemporary copy of a letter to Mather from William Blathwayt regarding a charter for the College.
  • 1704 June 19 Letter from George Willcock of London enclosing a "pacquett" from William Blathwayt.
  • 1704/05 [February?] Draft of a petition in Mather's hand to Joseph Dudley, Governor.
  • 1704/05 February 20 Draft of a letter in Mather's hand concerning the College charter.
  • 1704/05 March 6 Draft of Mather's answer to William Blathwayt of Whitehall.
  • 1707 May 8 William Brattle's letter to Mather concerning College affairs.
• Search HOLLIS (Harvard's online library system) for works by and about Increase Mather.

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Biography

Increase Mather (1639-1723) was the sixth president of Harvard College, serving as acting president from 1685 to 1686, rector from 1686 to 1692, and president from 1692 to 1701.

Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Mather received his A.B. from Harvard in 1656, and an A.M. degree from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1658. Mather preached in England and Guernsey until 1661, when he returned to Massachusetts and was ordained as minister at the North Church in Boston, a position he held for sixty years. While in England, Mather married Maria Cotton (1662-1714), with whom he had ten children. Their eldest child was Cotton Mather (1663-1728), the influential minister notable for his involvement in the Salem witch trials. Shortly after Maria's death in 1714, Mather married Ann Lake Cotton (1663-1737).

A staunch proponent of Puritan religious orthodoxy, Increase Mather defended religious uniformity in New England and supported the enforcement of a strict moral code in Massachusetts.

Mather’s administrative tenure at Harvard lasted sixteen years, beginning with his appointment as acting president in 1685. During this time he retained his ministry in Boston, refusing to live in Cambridge, and spent much of his time in England where he pursued political matters on behalf of the Massachusetts colony. He also sought unsuccessfully to replace the Harvard Charter of 1650 with a royal charter, believing that this would provide a stronger legal foundation for the College.

Although Mather’s influence as president of Harvard was limited, he revised the College curriculum, restoring instruction in Greek and Hebrew and emphasizing the use of Biblical and Christian writings in the teaching of ethics. He also rewrote the College laws to require student residence in dormitories, attendance at meals, and regular attendance at lectures and recitations.

Opposition to Mather’s presidency and his perceived lack of attention to the College eventually grew strong enough to force his resignation from Harvard in 1701. He continued in his Boston ministry for another twenty years. Increase Mather died in 1723.

Footnote on date conventions

Please note that descriptions of documents dated between January 1 and March 25 before 1752 have been cited with the double date convention, e.g., 1649/50 February 27. This convention was used in England and the North American colonies between 1582 and 1752. The first date refers to the year by the Julian calendar, which began on March 25, while the second refers to the year by the Gregorian calendar, which began on January 1.

References:

• Hall, Michael G. "Mather, Increase"; http://www.anb.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/articles/01/01-00581.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot. Harvard College in the Seventeenth Century. Part II. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1936.
• Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts: Documents from the Harvard University Archives, 1638-1750. Volume 49. Boston: The Society, 1975.
• Sibley, John Langdon. Biographical Sketches of Graduates of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Volume I, 1642-1658. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Charles William Sever, University Bookstore, 1873.

Scope of the Papers of Increase Mather

This collection contains letters and one page of notes written by Increase Mather between 1683 and 1717. Most of this material describes Mather's efforts to secure a royal charter for Harvard College and to protect the legacy left to the College by Robert Boyle. Mather's concerns regarding the religious beliefs held by members of the Harvard Corporation are also addressed.

Item List

• Letter from Increase Mather to Abraham Kick, 1683 November 20 UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 1
  
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  Scope and Content: Abraham Kick was an Amsterdam merchant and supporter of English dissenters. Mather's letter concerns an order for books. Published transcription in Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, volume 49, pages 149-150.

• Letter from Increase Mather to John Richards, 1693 June 12 UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 2
  
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  Scope and Content: In this letter, Mather thanks Richards for his service as Harvard treasurer (from 1669 to 1682), and instructs Richards to convey the College accounts and books to his successor, Thomas Brattle. Published transcription in Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, volume 49, page 161.

• Queries worthy of consideration, [1700] UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 3
  
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  Scope and Content: As part of his efforts to secure a royal charter for Harvard College, Mather hoped to insert provisions in the charter that would institutionalize an orthodox puritan religious outlook. These notes describe Mather’s concern regarding the religious views of future members of the Corporation. Published transcription in Harvard in the Seventeenth Century, pages 526-527.

• Queries worthy of consideration, [1700] (undated manuscript copy) UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 4
  
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• Letter from Increase Mather to Sir William Ashurst, 1709 December 5 UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 5
  
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  Scope and Content: Sir William Ashurst was treasurer and governor of the New England Company, which had established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. This letter conveys Mather’s discontent with Governor Joseph Dudley. Published transcription in Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, volume 49, pages 228-229.

• Letter from Increase Mather to Sir William Ashurst, 1709/10 January 19 UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 6
  
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  Scope and Content: In this letter, Mather continues to express disapproval of Governor Dudley. Mather describes the College’s difficulties in receiving a legacy left to Harvard by the scientist Robert Boyle for the benefit of ministers preaching to Native Americans, and suggests that Dudley will oppose a royal charter for the College. Published transcription in Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, volume 49, pages 230-231.

• Letter from Increase Mather to Sir William Ashurst, 1709/10 February 13 UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 7
  
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  Historical note: In this letter, Mather asks Ashurst to use his influence to find a successor to Governor Dudley. Published transcription in Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, volume 49, page 231.

• Letter from Increase Mather to Sir William Ashurst, 1710 November 8 UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 8
  
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  Scope and Content: In this letter, Mather discusses the Boyle legacy to Harvard, his efforts to secure a royal charter for the College, and his reasons for resigning from the Harvard presidency. Published transcription in Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, volume 49, pages 236-237.

• Letter from Increase Mather to Sir William Ashurst, 1717 August 12 UAI 15.860 Box 1, Folder 9
  
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  Scope and Content: In this letter, Mather thanks Ashurst for his efforts on behalf of the New England colonies, including the appointment of Governor Samuel Shute, and describes his own preaching activities. Published transcription in Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, volume 49, pages 264-265.

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