These guides to the microfilms entitled "The Mather papers" cover the filming of the papers of Cotton Mather (1663-1728), and the papers of his father, Increase Mather (1639-1823). The guides give summaries of the contents of each reel. Cotton Mather is famous as a clergyman involved with the witch trials in Massachusetts; he was also an intellectual, author, and scholar. His father, Increase Mather, was also a famous clergyman who served as president of Harvard College between 1685 and 1702. The microfilms of both sets of papers serve as original sources for genealogical and family history research, and also serve "... to disseminate widely important source material for the study of early New England history ..."--Introduction, pt. 2.