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Find out about our collections and what's happening at the Library by checking out our blog,
Beacon Street Journal.
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Photographs from
Mather Redux
: New Perspectives on Cotton Mather
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Celebrating Cotton Mather's 350th birthday
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Scholars from seven universities and attendees from as far as Kansas and Georgia and as close as Beacon Hill gathered at the Library over three days in October for Mather Redux: New Perspectives on Cotton Mather. The festivities began on Thursday October 17th with a reception for the Mather scholars and Library supporters, featuring displays of "Mathernalia", including rare eighteenth century publications and Mather's handwritten diary. A spirit of excitement filled the air as we kicked off this memorable series of events.
 | | Professor Reiner Smolinski |
The following day, an audience of grad students, professsors, and history buffs filled our historic reading room, as seven esteemed early American historians presented new discoveries and interpretations of Cotton Mather's life and works. Professor Reiner Smolinski of Georgia State University opened the events by calling into question the common image of Cotton Mather as a stodgy and repressed Puritan moralist. Contrary to popular belief Mather, through his numerous works, such as the mammoth Biblia Americana, revealed himself to be a novel thinker and powerful intellect, who sought to apply new modes of inquiry in his pursuit of understanding the world around him. He stands as an innovator and a precursor to later Americans, who followed him in bringing modern philosophy, science, and theology to America. Following in that trajectory Helen Gelinas of Eberhard-Karls Universität, Tubingen, Germany; Rick Kennedy of Point Loma Linda Nazarene University; Harry Clark Maddux of Appalachian State University; Robert Brown of James Madison University; and Kenneth Minkema of Yale Divinity School all shed new light on our collective understanding of Cotton Mather. Topics ranged from Mather's appreciation of the intellectual capacities of women to his opinion on wig wearing. Ava Chamberlain stepped in to read Francis Bremer's paper on the Boston of Cotton Mather's youth. When video of the presentations given during the Friday symposium becomes available, the Library will send out a notification.
The final day of the Mather festivities featured a tour of Boston's historic North End neighborhood. A large contingent gathered to take advantage of an idyllic sunny autumn morning and the opportunity to stroll through same streets where Cotton Mather once lived and worked. Facilitated by the North End Historical Society, author and tour guide Alex Goldfeld led the group through the old and narrow streets, resurrecting life in early eighteenth century Boston. Stops included the site of Boston's Second Church, also known as the Mather Church, and the Mather tomb in the Copps Hill Burial Ground. At the Mather tomb, Reiner Smolinski led in the laying of wreath in commemoration of the 350th anniversary of Cotton Mather's birth. A reading of a selection of Mather's most memorable words brought a fitting end to the three-day celebration.
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Member Profile: Mike Passmore
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 | | Member Mike Passmore and his wife Alla Ostrovsky at the North End walking tour |
Mike Passmore had been curious about the Congregational Library for some time when he first visited the Library in 2011. He came for a Brown Bag Lunch event and left with a memorable impression. "After walking into the Library and experiencing that first Brown Bag," he writes, "I went home to say I had been in rock-and-roll heaven for the full hour." Since that first visit, Mike has been an enthusiastic supporter and participant in Brown Bag Lunches, which he describes as "unlocking the doors to history, literature, and religion." For Mike, discovering the intricacies of history is not only fascinating, but also a vital part of his approaches to life. As he explains, "the more we learn about "the ancients", the more we learn how modern they were and how much we can learn about being modern from them."
Mike has found many compelling reasons to maintain his membership at the Library. One is the Library's world-class collection of printed and archival materials dating back to the seventeenth century. "The collection is wonderful," he notes. "It is the history of America, the history of the Congregational Church, and really the history of the world over the past several centuries." In conjunction, Mike also mentions the overall mission of the Library and how it guides future development. "The Library is collecting, conserving, and protecting for subsequent generations not only its own collections but the collections of anyone who is not able to house or preserve them alone." Through his membership, Mike is able to support the Library in these endeavors and join the Library's efforts to preserve history and disseminate knowledge for future generations.
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A Great Detective Story - discovering a rare diary from colonial New England
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"To make a fine Drink take 4 pounds of white sugar, one quart of lime juice, four gallons of water and one gallon of rum, put 2 cloves into each bottle cork them well and tie them down keep them cool in sand and in two or three weeks it will be fit for your use."
Recipe for punch taken from the diary of Mehetabel Chandler Coit, with spelling and punctuation slightly altered to make it more readable
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For November's Brown Bag Lunch presentation, the Congregational Library welcomed Michelle Marchetti Coughlin, independent scholar and author of the recently published One Colonial Woman's World: the life and writings of Mehetable Chandler Coit (UMass 2012). Coughlin told attendees two riveting stories: one of the life and times of a remarkable early eighteenth century New England woman named Mehetabel Chandler Coit, and one of her own diligent pursuit of Mehetabel's personal diary, possibly the oldest diary written by a woman in the American colonies. It was while reading letters written by Mehetabel's family members in the archives at Yale University that Coughlin decided to investigate the possibility of any of Mehetabel's descendants who still might have documents that could unravel the story of this family rooted in colonial New England. Clever sleuthing led Coughlin to an over-one-hundred year old descendent and the remarkable two-hundred and fifty year-old diary written in the hand of Mehetabel Chandler Coit, a woman, who lived in New Engalnd from 1633 to 1758.
The significance of this find lies in the fact that documents written by women from colonial America are exceedingly scarce. Although most women learned to read, writing was a skill taught to only a few. Manuscripts, like this diary, offer the rare opportunity to enrich our understanding of colonial life.
Unlike modern diaries, colonial era diaries do not contain the internal reflections of its authors. Mehetabel kept a diary to record notable events in her life, financial transactions, poetry, and recipes for folk medical remedies and popular desserts. Included amongst these brief, but revealing entries are references to new ideas of liberty, which were percolating in pre-Revolutionary New England, and mentions of her own slaves. Mehetabel's writings show her admiration for Cotton Mather - the leading Congregational minister of Boston - as well as a critique of the medical practices of her time. Overall, the diary paints an as yet unseen portrait and provides a more intimate understanding of the lives of colonial women. For those interested in learning more, One Colonial Woman's World is available for members to check-out at the Congregational Library and copies can be purchased through Amazon.
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for a complete list of our resources,
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For more information on the Library, call (617) 523-0470,
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