Religious Figure. He was a Puritan minister at St. Botolph’s Church in Lincolnshire, England, before leaving for America in 1633. His daughter Maria later wedded to Increase Mather and borne son, Cotton Mather. John Cotton became a minister at the First Church of Boston in Massachusetts, forming the basis for Congregationalism. He figured prominently in the Antinomian Controversy and the trial of Anne Hutchinson and the Cambridge Synod, which led to the adoption of the Half-way Covenant. (bio by: K)  Family links:  Spouse:  Sarah Hawkred Mather (1601 – 1676)*  Children:  Seaborn Cotton (1633 – 1686)*  John Cotton (1639 – 1699)*  Maria Cotton Mather (1642 – 1714)* *Calculated relationship