Increase & Cotton Mather Salem Witch Trials By:Ryan Caprio

Increase Mather: Birth and Death Increase Mather was born June 21, 1639 in Dorchester, Massachusetts Died August 23, 1723, and was buried in Copps Hill Burial ground, Boston MA

Increase Mather's Childhood/Family Life Increase was admitted into Harvard at the age of twelve He did not have much of a childhood because he was getting educated most of his life as a minister He married in 1662 to Maria Cotton, then married Ann Lake in 1715 a year after his first wifes death

Education Was admitted to Harvard at the age of twelve Later he went to Trinity college, Dublin Got his degree at age nineteen Came back to New England and served as a minister of Boston's North Church which became his career

Religious Practice/Career He was a puritan He was also a minister of the North Church in Boston opposed anything that openly contradicted or distracted him from his religious beliefs He also became the president of Harvard

Involvement in Salem Witch Trials He believed that the witches should not of been accused, He argued that it would be better to let ten witches go free than the blood of a single innocent be shed Increase did realize that innocent blood was being shed. Although Increase was one of the few ministers to associate sexual activity with witchcraft.

Cotton Mather Birth and Death Born February 12, 1663 in Boston Massachusetts Died February 13, 1728 in boston MA. buried in Copps Hill Burial ground, Boston MA

Cotton's Childhood and Family life He also entered Harvard at twelve like his father, to become a minister He became a minister of the same church his father was minister of and he became the minister at age twenty-five and ministered the rest of his life.

Education Went to Harvard at age twelve Graduated Harvard at age fifteen Started to read the bible at a very young age

Religious Practices Believed that philosophy and science could work together with religion instead of against it He was a puritan minister of the North Church of Boston, like his father Increase Mather

Involvement in Salem Witch Trials Mather's most fatal influence over the trials was in composing the answer to the question of whether or not to allow Spectral evidence Spectral evidence Mather claims he did not attend the trials in Salem viewed as one of the most influential Puritan ministers of his day

Work Cited "Increase Mather." Increase Mather. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct "Increase Mather." Salem Witch Trials:. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct