The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1917-02-16
OLD BOSTON divine
JOHN COTTON FAMOUS AMONG
cLERGYMEN,
Driven From England, He Sought Ref,
uqe in the New World, Where He
Was Received With Honors
and Given High Place.

John Cotton, the Puritan clergyman
who introduced into New England the
custom of keeping the Sabbath from
evening to evening, according to some
historians, died December %, 1862. He
was born in Derby, England, Deem
Der 4, 1855.
John Cotton was minister at Boston,
in Lincolnshire, England, when he fed
to Boston, in New England. He had
been minister in the Boston Of the old
England for more than 20 years, when
he found that his theological views
were about to get him into trouble.
The father of John Cotton was a
lawyer named Roland Cotton. John
entered Trinity college, Cambridge,
when he was only thirteen years old.
and he rapidly distinguished himself
for scholarship.
He was brilliant as we'll as learned,
and he enjoyed great reputation. It
was while he was teaching in Emanuel
college at Cambridge that he imbibed
Puritan views Of theology, observes a
writer in the Washington Post. He
was about twenty-seven years old
when he was appointed minister at
Boston.
In this charge he got into his first
ecclesiastical trouble by refusing to
conform to certain ceremonies of the
established church. He believed that
many of these ceremonials We're I'M
scriptural.
He was suspended by his bishop,
but the majority Of his people stood
by him and he was restored. For more
than 20 years he remained there as
minister, and his influence is said to
have been Of the most salutary ma
ture. A change in the authority of
the church took place and Cotton's
parishioners were divided into fac
tons. 1t was reported to Cotton that
he was about to be summoned before
the high commission court, and he fed
to London, whence after a period of
hiding he sailed for Boston in New
England. He was welcomed cordially
there, and within two weeks after his
arrival was appointed by the magis-
trates teacher in the First church.
Here he remained until his death.
Cotton was a rare scholar. He de-
voted IL hours a day to study, and
before going to sleep at night he loved,
as he said, "to sweeten his mouth with
a piece Of Calvin" With all his pro-
found learning he preached in the sim
plest language. Soon after coming to
Boston he prepared, at the request of
the general court, an abstract Of the
laws of Moses for use in the COL
ony. 1t was not adopted, but a revi-
sion Of 1t, supposed to be the joint work
Of Cotton and Sir Henry Vane, was
afterward used.
Cotton wrote nearly so books, which
were sent to London to be published.
He could discuss fuently In Hebrew,
Greek and Latin.
It is one Of the perplexities Of hu-
man nature that persons who have
suffered from intolerance are so sell
dom taught by that experience to be
tolerant toward others. John Cotton
was an example of this unhappy fact.
He had been prosecuted in old Eng
land and he had to fee for safety to
New England, but once here he showed
the extremities of his views as to the
power Of the civil authority in relig-
ious matters. On this subject he car
ried on a famous controversy with
Roger Williams, who charged him with
holding a bloody tenet Of persecu-
ton
His son, John. and his grandson,
Josiah we're distinguished clergymen.
as was another son, Seaborn. SO named
because born at sea on the passage
of his parents to New England in 1888.