Misplaced Pages

#808191

35-400: The record-book suggests Charles Morton and Cotton Mather were the two important founding members of the group. Together with the bylaws, the two men's names give the appearance of sharing the same ink, and at the first (or second) organizational pre-meeting, on October 13, 1690, Cotton Mather is listed as the one who will tell Harvard that the group will have their first official meeting in

70-711: A Letter on the Education of Dissenters,’ 1704, and Palmer retorted with ‘A Vindication of the Learning, Loyalty, Morals of the Dissenters. In answer to Mr. Wesley,’ 1705. Legal actions from the bishop's court made Morton decide to emigrate. He arrived in New England in July 1686 with his wife, his pupil, Samuel Penhallow , and his nephew, Charles Morton, M.D. Another nephew had preceded them in 1685. It had been proposed that Morton should become

105-491: A position that is nearly the opposite of presumed innocence. The question was discussed at the next meeting August 1, and in Increase Mather's handwriting the conclusion was recorded, "All did agree to the affirmative... [that false accusations can happen]... but that such things are rare and extraordinary especially when such matters come before civil judicature." Numerous executions of accused persons followed this go-ahead to

140-465: A system of propagating Christianity among the Native Americans , and his was the senior signature to an association for mutual assistance among the ministers of New England. He acted with those who urged the prosecutions for witchcraft at Salem, Massachusetts . About 1694 Morton's health began to fail. He died at Charlestown on 11 April 1698, and was buried on 14 April, his funeral being attended by

175-481: A village north of London, the leading school for Dissenters , "probably on the site of the current Unitarian church ". The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography judges Morton's "probably the most impressive of the dissenting academies [prior to 1685], enrolling as many as fifty pupils at a time". The ODNB goes on to describe its advanced and varied curriculum (religion, classics, history, geography, mathematics, natural science, politics, and modern languages) and

210-484: A well-equipped laboratory, and even "a bowling green for recreation". Lectures were given in English, not Latin, and Daniel Defoe , one of Morton's students, praised its attention to the mother tongue. Many dissenting ministers, including John Shower , Samuel Lawrence , Thomas Reynolds , and William Hocker , were educated by Morton. Another of his pupils was Samuel Shute . Such schools were both controversial and outside

245-799: Is also first noted as present on August 1, 1692. Others joined later, sometimes years later, and they seem to have eventually begun to sign the designated page of the book in a jumbled order, where space permitted, including: Jabez Fox and John Fox, James Sherman, Benjamin Woodbridge, Benjamin Wadsworth (H.U. 1690 and future President), Benjamin Colman (HU 1692), William Brattle (HU 1680), Ebenezer Pemberton (HU 1691), Samuel Angier (HU 1673), John Fox, Henry Gibbs, and Thomas Bridge. Although some these men worked at Harvard as tutors, fellows, and library-keepers, and thus may have been present in some capacity at meetings in

280-549: Is from such persons, when indeed it is not." In contrast to the Mather's "rare and extraordinary," Parris has increased the frequency to "sometimes." Parris' use of the word "delude" is also notable because this was a term long associated with skepticism and the Calvinistic doctrinal view opposed to a belief in the validity of acts of witchcraft. The group met mid-morning on Mondays “...once in six weeks, or oftener if need shall be.” At

315-543: Is now considered to be semi-scientific, and although the work contains then-modern references to Galileo , Torricelli , and gravity , his ancient / medieval Aristotelian approach was eventually replaced by Newtonian mechanics ( Principia was also published in 1687). He was born at Pendavy , Egloshayle , in Cornwall , and baptised there on 15 February 1627, the eldest son of Nicholas Morton, who married, on 11 May 1616, Frances, only daughter of Thomas Kestell of Pendavy. He

350-458: Is reprinted in the ‘Harleian Miscellany,’ 1744 ii. 558–567, 1809 ii. 578–88. Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society ( MHS ) is a major historical archive specializing in early American , Massachusetts , and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Boston , Massachusetts, and

385-657: Is the oldest historical society in the United States. The society's building was constructed in 1899 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. In 2016, the Boston Landmarks Commission designated it a Boston Landmark . The society was founded on January 24, 1791, by Reverend Jeremy Belknap to collect, preserve, and document items of American history. He and the nine other founding members donated family papers, books, and artifacts to

SECTION 10

#1732851248809

420-600: The Colonial Society of Massachusetts" vol. 67 (Boston: 1995). John Dunton praised him in his Life and Errors . He published many small volumes on social and theological questions. A paper by him on ‘The Improvement of Cornwall by Seasand’ is in the Philosophical Transactions , x. 293–6, and his ‘Enquiry into the Physical and Literal Sense of Jeremiah viii. 7—the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times,’

455-663: The attic of Faneuil Hall ; afterwards rooms were occupied in Hamilton Place, and then in Franklin Street . In 1833 ... quarters on Tremont Street were occupied" in the building of the Provident bank through the 1890s. The society's current building in the Back Bay was built in 1899; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 in recognition of the society's distinctive contribution to historic preservation. Today

490-470: The court. In 1694, when apologizing to his congregation, Rev. Parris seems to refer to the same Mather question, but by this time Parris comes down definitively on the side of presumed innocence. Parris writes, "I question not but God sometimes suffers the Devil, as of late, to afflict in shape of not only innocent, but pious persons, or so to delude the senses of the afflicted, that they strongly conceit their hurt

525-524: The end of each meeting the date of the next was chosen. A moderator was also chosen to keep the minutes at the next meeting and he also chose the next question for the group to ponder and discuss. "Our work at the said meetings shall be 1) to debate any matter relating to ourselves. 2) To hear and consider any cases which shall be proposed to us from any other associations or private persons. 3) To answer any letters directed to us from any other associations or persons. 4) To discourse of any question proposed at

560-656: The first formal association of Congregational ministers in America. Between 1700 and 1745, some members of the original association divided into the "Associated Ministers of Boston and Charlestown" and the "Association in and about Cambridge." In 1960, these two groups reunited as the Greater Boston Association of Unitarian Ministers . 42°31′05″N 70°54′32″W  /  42.518°N 70.909°W  / 42.518; -70.909 Charles Morton (educator) Charles Morton (15 February 1627 – 11 April 1698)

595-750: The former meeting. The Massachusetts Historical Society acquired the record book in 1850 and have traced it back to original member Charles Morton who had also taken part in similar group in England called the Cornwall Association 1655-1659. The records of the Cornwall association immediately precede those of the Cambridge Association. The Rules and Regulations are similar for both associations and are believed to be in Morton's handwriting. Morton likely brought

630-460: The governing body. Morton was also inducted as minister of the first church in Charlestown, New England , on 5 November 1686, and was the first clergyman of the town who solemnised marriages. He was prosecuted for alleged seditious expressions in a sermon preached on 2 September 1687, but was acquitted. His name is the second of the petitioners to the council on 2 October 1693 for some encouragement to

665-475: The letter of the law. Samuel Wesley the elder , a contemporary of Defoe's, described his teacher "as universal in his learning", but in 1703 attacked the dissenting academies, including Morton's, in his ‘Letter from a Country Divine'. A pamphlet war ensued, with the academies defended by the Rev. Samuel Palmer in ‘A Defence of the Dissenters' Education in their Private Academies,’ to which Wesley replied in ‘A Defence of

700-586: The library a week later, on October 20. Charles Morton was the most senior and placed his name at the top and Cotton Mather signed lower, perhaps leaving space in between for other designated members to sign in order of seniority, including James Allen (Boston First Church), Michael Wigglesworth (HU 1651), Joshua Moodey (H.U. 1653), Samuel Willard (HU 1659, Boston South Church), John Bailey, and Nathaniel Gookin (HU 1675, d. Aug 15, 1692). Four of these men -- Morton, Allen, Moodey, and Willard-- had also signed an introduction to Cotton Mather's book Memorable Providences

735-523: The library, it is unlikely any joined officially before being ordained as a minister. One of the first orders of business taken up by the new group of ministers was to discuss a letter from Rev. Samuel Parris in Salem Village concerning his troubles there. Parris visited the Harvard Library for another meeting scheduled only one week later on October 20, 1690. On June 27 1692, during the height of

SECTION 20

#1732851248809

770-515: The officers of Harvard College and its students. By his will, dated November 1697, he left money to Harvard; his houses and lands at Charlestown and in Cornwall with the rest of his property passed to his two nephews, Charles and John Morton, and his niece in equal shares. An epitaph was written for him by the Rev. Simon Bradstreet , his successor in the ministry. He was the author of the English language Compendium Physicae (1687), an early American textbook on astronomy and physics . The textbook

805-513: The principal of Harvard College, but another person was appointed before his arrival. He was, however, made a member of the corporation of the college and its first vice-president, and he drew up a system of logic and a compendium of physics, which were for many years two of its text-books. Lectures on philosophy which he read in his own rooms were attended by several students from the college, and one or two discontented scholars desired to become inmates of his house, but these proceedings gave offence to

840-405: The record book to New England when he emigrated. Despite its availability in the archives, important Salem historians Charles W. Upham and George Lincoln Burr do not seem to have been aware of it, perhaps because it was filed under Morton's name and begins in Cornwall, England. Neither historian cites the record book though it would have supported their arguments. The group has been claimed as

875-606: The society claims to have been the only historical collection in the United States until establishment of the New-York Historical Society (1804) and the American Antiquarian Society (1812), after which time the society's collecting activities began to focus primarily on Boston and New England . In 1849, Frances Manwaring Caulkins became the first woman elected to the society's membership. "The society, for several years after its organization, met in

910-641: The society continues to collect, preserve, and communicate historical information about Massachusetts and the United States. It is now organized in five departments: Library, Publications, Education and Public Programs, Research Programs, the Adams Family Papers, and Administration. Major collections include: The society continues to produce scholarly books, but now augments these publications with digital editions available through its website and other online resources. The Massachusetts Historical Review has been published annually since 1999. The fellows of

945-732: The society to form its initial collection. Its first manuscript was published in 1792, becoming the first historical society publication in the United States. The society incorporated in 1794; signatories included William Baylies , Jeremy Belknap , Alden Bradford , Peleg Coffin , Manasseh Cutler , John Davis, Daniel Davis, Aaron Dexter, John Eliot, Nathaniel Freeman , James Freeman , Thaddeus Mason Harris , Isaac Lothrop, George Richards Minot, John Mellen Jr., Thomas Pemberton, William Dandridge Peck , John Prince, Ezekiel Price, James Sullivan , David Sewall , Peter Thacher , William Tudor , Samuel Turell, Dudley Atkins Tyng, James Winthrop , Thomas Wallcut, Redford Webster , and William Wetmore. Indeed,

980-512: The witchcraft trials, Cotton Mather scribed the question for the group to ponder and discuss at their next meeting in early August. The question proposed was chosen by his father, Increase Mather: "Whether the devils may not sometimes have permission to represent an innocent person as tormenting such as are under diabolical molestations?" In other words, the Mathers are contemplating whether it is possible for someone accused of witchcraft to be innocent,

1015-401: The year before in 1689. Increase Mather did not return from London until May, 1692, and likely signed the book, next to James Allen's name, soon after his return and he is first listed as definitely present on June 27, 1692. Nehemiah Walter (HU 1684) was Increase Mather's son-in-law and doesn't seem to have been present until around the time Increase Mather joined. Jonathan Pierpont (HU 1685)

1050-732: Was a British nonconformist minister and founder of an early dissenting academy , later in life associated in New England with Harvard College . Morton was raised with strong Puritan influences in England and attended Oxford (1649-1652). As a result of the English Revolution , he was arrested and excommunicated for promoting progressive education (he was the teacher of Daniel Defoe ), forcing his immigration to relative safety in Massachusetts Bay Colony (1685-1686), although he

1085-413: Was also known as [A] System of Physicks , and was among the most important texts in natural philosophy in early America, used to teach science and the scientific method to students at both Harvard and Yale from the late 1680s through the late 1720s. Morton's later treatise, which posited that birds migrated to the moon, was the earliest treatise on bird migration in England. Compendium Physicae

Cambridge Association - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-621: Was appointed to the rectory of Blisland in Cornwall, but he was ejected after the 1662 Act of Uniformity , whereupon he retired to a small tenement, his own property, in St Ive . He lost property through the Great Fire of London , and went to London to support himself. Morton was probably the ‘Charles Morton, presbyterian,’ who in 1672 was licensed for a room in his dwelling-house in Kennington . A few years later he ran at Newington Green , in those days

1155-425: Was probably completed prior to his immigration to America (around 1680), and all extant original copies (roughly 20) are traced to Harvard or Yale. Samuel Eliot Morison's transcription of 'Compendium Physicae' is published in "Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts" vol. 33 (Boston: 1940). A Logick System is transcribed by Rick Kennedy in "Aristotelian and Cartesian Logic at Harvard," "Publications of

1190-482: Was probably the Charles Morton, undergraduate of New Inn Hall, Oxford , who submitted on 4 May 1648 to the jurisdiction of the parliamentary visitors. On 7 September 1649 he was elected a scholar of Wadham College , and he graduated B.A. 6 November 1649, M.A. 24 June 1652, being also incorporated at Cambridge in 1653. At Oxford he was known as a mathematician and highly thought of by John Wilkins . In 1655 Morton

1225-427: Was soon arrested for sedition (and then acquitted) in Boston . His system of vernacular teaching at Harvard was basically Scholastic / Aristotelian with modern flavors of John Wallis , Robert Hooke , Robert Boyle , and even René Descartes . His works include discussions of astrology and alchemy , and (as a minister ) he was known to have some interest in witchcraft . As a result, Compendium Physicae

#808191