Mather, Richard an Episcopal and later a Puritan minister, was born at Lowtown, Lancashire, Eng., in 1596; was converted when a young man; spent two years at Oxford; entered the ministry in 1618, near Liverpool, and at the end of fifteen years of devoted and successful labor was suspended for nonconformity. He then emigrated to Massachusetts, and became pastor of a congregation at Dorchester. There he died, April 22, 1669. He was a sound and earnest preacher, not captivating, but solid, pious, and very useful. He was an active theologian, and a member of every synod in New England after his arrival. He was studious, a good scholar, and a very able and valuable man. Richard Mather assistd Elliot in the New England version of the Psalms, and furnished the synod of 1648 a model of Church Discipline. He published a discourse on the Church Covenant (1639), a treatise on Jusfictication (1652), and an elaborate defense of the churches of New England. See Increase Mather, Life and Death of Robert Mather (1670, 4to); Drake, Cyclop. of Amer. Biog. s.v.; Allibone, Dict. of Brit. and Amer. Auth. vol. 2, s.v.; Roger, New England Divines; Sherman, New England Divines, p. 26.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More