Rev. Richard Mather^[1]

1596 - 1669  (73 years)

• Name	Richard Mather
  Prefix	Rev.
  Birth	1596	Lowton, Winwick Parish, Lancashire, England
  Gender	Male
  Color	1
  Death	22 Apr 1669	Boston, Suffolk Co., MA
  Notes	The son of Thomas Mather and Margarite Abrams of Lowton, England, Richard was fortunate enough to go to grammar school at his parents insistence, even though he didn't think so at the time. His education was harsh and included daily beatings by the school master. In spite of that he developed a love of learning and became largely self educated after grammar school, a fact that set him apart from his peers. Upon completing his course of study at age 15, he took a position as school teacher in Toxteth. After 3 years of teaching he started studying at Oxford, but dropped out to take a position as a preacher at Toxteth. At this time in England, the Anglican church was the absolute governing authority, and preachers were expected to conform in every way. The puritan ethic was beginning to take hold, however, and Richard embraced it. Desiring not to engage in the puritan "sin of conformity" Richard refused to wear the "Surplice", a papal robe. For 15 years he preached as he saw fit, until he was finally silenced in 1633 by the ecclesiastical authorities for "non-conformity". He was briefly reinstated, then silenced again, permanently, in 1634. At this time he decided to bring his young family to New England. The journey took a total of six weeks, three of which were spent at sea. Richard kept a log of the journey in which he describes the hardships and storms at sea which they endured to get here. Less than a week after his arrival on August 17, 1636, he accepted the ministry of the North Church in Dorchester, MA and remained there for 50 years. Upon their arrival, Richard and Katherine were given more than 100 acres of land in Dorchester to support themselves and their family. Katherine managed the household, making the decisions about hiring farmhands, buying and selling cattle, and the planting and harvesting, as well as schooling the children, although Richard took over the children's education once they had learned to read. It was customary for boys to leave home at an early age in those days. Thus, four of Richard's five sons went to board at Harvard between the ages of 12 and 16. Timothy was apprenticed out as a farmer. The religious battle Richard waged was as much a political war as a revolution in belief. He wrote four books & sent them to London to be published in an effort to explain and recommend the Congregation form of church. Two of his sons moved back to England to continue the effort there.
  Person ID	I40	Everyone
  Last Modified	16 Nov 2021

  
  

  Father	Thomas Mather,   b. 1570, Lowton, Winwick Parish, Lancashire, England d. 1633, Lowton, Winwick Parish, Lancashire, England (Age 63 years)
  Mother	Marguerite Abrams,   b. 29 Mar 1568, Lowton, Winwick Parish, Lancashire, England d. 6 Apr 1621, Lancashire, England (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	30 Sep 1591	Lowton, Winwick Parish, Lancashire, England
  Family ID	F30	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Katharine Hoult,   b. 1598, Bury, Lancaster, England d. Mar 1655, Dorchester, Suffolk Co., MA (Age 57 years)
  Marriage	29 Sep 1624	Bury, Lancaster, England
  	Free UK Genealogy, “Register of unspecified type, St Mary the Virgin Church, Bury, Lancashire” database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5817f3c9e93790eb7fe6ff8c) Free UK Genealogy, “Register of unspecified type, St Mary the Virgin Church, Bury, Lancashire” database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5817f3c9e93790eb7fe6ff8c)
  Children	1. Rev. Samuel Mather,   b. 13 May 1626, Lowton, Winwick Parish, Lancashire, England d. 29 Oct 1671, Dublin, Ireland (Age 45 years) + 2. Timothy Mather,   b. 1628, Liverpool, England d. 14 Jan 1684, Dorchester, Suffolk Co., MA (Age 56 years)   3. Rev. Nathaniel Mather,   b. 20 Mar 1630, Liverpool, England d. 26 Jul 1697, London, England (Age 67 years)   4. Joseph Mather,   b. 1634, Liverpool, England d. 1636 (Age 2 years) + 5. Rev. Eleazer Mather,   b. 13 May 1637, Dorchester, Suffolk Co., MA d. 24 Jul 1669, Northampton, Hampshire Co., MA (Age 32 years) + 6. Rev. Dr. Increase Mather,   b. 21 Jun 1639, Dorchester, Suffolk Co., MA d. 23 Aug 1723, Boston, Suffolk Co., MA (Age 84 years)
  Family ID	F28	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Apr 2024

  
  

  Family 2	Sarah Hawkridge,   b. 1601, England d. 27 May 1676, Dorchester, Suffolk Co., MA (Age 75 years)
  Marriage	26 Aug 1656	Dorchester, Suffolk Co., MA
  Family ID	F29	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Apr 2024

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1596 - Lowton, Winwick Parish, Lancashire, England Marriage - 29 Sep 1624 - Bury, Lancaster, England Marriage - 26 Aug 1656 - Dorchester, Suffolk Co., MA Death - 22 Apr 1669 - Boston, Suffolk Co., MA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S6] Lineage of Rev. Richard Mather. Except where otherwise noted, all of the first eight generations of Rev. Richard Mather are taken from this source, supplemented when possible by LDS records.