Inscription
THE MATHERS
Several generations o great 17th and 18th century New England divines are buried here. Increase (1639-1723), the father, Cotton (1663-1728) the son, and Samuel Mather (1706-1785) the grandson, belonged to a remarkable family of ministers. At a time when the church wielded its own power and religious zeal translated into political influence, the Mathers' ecclesiastical attainments assured then secular authority.
Increase was the sixth son of Richard, who was the first of the Mather dynasty and minister in Dorchester. Increase graduated from Harvard in 1656 and within a decade began a 60-year ministry to the 2nd church of Boston. Later, he was named president of Harvard. As a powerful statesman, Increase represented Massachusetts at the British court and tried to secure a new, beneficial charter for the Colony in the early 1690's. This effort and his role as personal advisor to the new Royal Governor, Sir William Phips, attracted much resentment that he was forced to resign as Harvard president and lose his political power. Increase his last days in the North End where he had lived much of his life and had raised his 10 children.
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