caption resting_place relations death_date death_place religion birth_place children parents birth_date spouse image article_title education name occupation
reverend john cotton king 's chapel burying ground , boston grandfather of cotton mather 23 december 1652 boston , massachusetts anglican , puritan derby , derbyshire -lrb- , elizabeth , john , maria , rowland all with second wife -rrb- seaborn , sariah mary hurlbert and rowland cotton 4 december 1585 -lrb- -lrb- hawkred -rrb- story 1 -rrb- elizabeth horrocks -lrb- 2 -rrb- sarah john.cotton.cropped.jpg john cotton -lrb- minister -rrb-
 b.a. 1613 emmanuel college 1603 trinity college m.a. 1606 emmanuel college b.d. john cotton clergyman
john cotton -lrb- minister -rrb-

john cotton -lrb- 4 december 1585 -- 23 december 1652 -rrb- was a clergyman in england and the american colonies and , by most accounts , the preeminent minister and theologian of the massachusetts bay colony .
following five years of study at trinity college , cambridge , and another nine years at emmanuel college , cambridge , he had already built a reputation as a scholar and outstanding preacher when he accepted the position of minister at saint botolph 's church in boston , lincolnshire , in 1612 .
as a puritan , he wanted to do away with the ceremony and vestments associated with the established anglican church and preach in a simpler , more consensual manner .
though he felt the english church needed significant reforms , he nevertheless was adamant about not separating from it ; his preference was to change it from within .
while many ministers were removed from their pulpits for their puritan practices , cotton thrived at st. botolph 's for nearly 20 years because of supportive aldermen , lenient bishops , and his very conciliatory and gentle demeanor .
by 1632 , however , the anglican church had greatly increased its pressure on the non-conforming clergy , and cotton was forced to go into hiding .
the following year he and his wife boarded a ship for new england .
cotton was highly sought as a minister in massachusetts and was quickly installed as the second pastor of the boston church , sharing the ministry with john wilson .
he generated more religious conversions in his first six months than had been made the previous year .
while early in his boston tenure , cotton became only peripherally involved in the banishment of roger williams , williams blamed much of his troubles on cotton .
soon thereafter , cotton became embroiled in the colony 's antinomian controversy , when several adherents of his `` free grace '' theology , most notably anne hutchinson , began criticizing other ministers in the colony .
while he tended to support his adherents through much of the controversy , it was not until near its conclusion that he came to realize that many of his followers held theological positions that were well outside the mainstream of puritan orthodoxy , which he did not condone .
following the controversy , cotton was able to mend fences with his fellow ministers ; and he continued to preach in the boston church until his death .
a great part of his effort during his late career was devoted to the governance of the new england churches , and he was the one who gave the name congregationalism to this form of church polity .
in the early 1640s , as the puritans in england gained power on the eve of the english civil war , a new form of polity for the anglican church was being decided , and cotton wrote numerous letters and books in support of the `` new england way '' .
ultimately , presbyterianism was chosen as the form of governance during the westminster assembly in 1643 , though cotton continued to engage in a polemic contest with several prominent presbyterians on this issue .
as cotton became more conservative with age , he not only battled the separatist attitude of roger williams , but also agreed with the severe punishment , including death , of those whom he deemed were heretics such as samuel gorton .
a scholar , avid letter writer , and author of many books , cotton was considered the `` prime mover '' among new england 's ministers .
he died in december 1652 at the age of 67 , following a month-long illness .
his grandson , cotton mather , also became a prominent new england minister and historian .
