Lydia Lee Mather dating history

Details

Lydia (Lee) George Mather (ca. 1670–January 23, 1734) was the English-American wife of wealthy businessman John George and Reverend Cotton Mather. She was the mother of Katherine Howell and stepmother to five of Mather's children. Mather was a rare woman in the 17th century. She was well-informed, wealthy, and independent. She protected her financial assets before her marriage to Cotton by having a nuptial agreement drawn up and signed. Like other Colonial women of her time, she had few choices for improving her lot as a married woman. After a few years of marriage, she had a hard time dealing with the stress of her marriage and began to rage at Cotton, who became humiliated and depressed as a result, but did little to improve the situation. There seemed to be a change that came over Mather after she left Cotton for ten days. She returned after word spread to the family that Cotton's son Increase was lost at sea. She returned to their home and nursed him in his last five weeks of life.