BYLES, MATHER (1706-88), American clergyman, was born in Boston (Mass.), March 26 1706, and was descended, on his mother's side, from John Cotton and Richard Mather. He was graduated at Harvard in 1725, and in 1733 became pastor of the Hollis Street church (Congregational), Boston. He was noted for his scholarly sermons and his ready wit, and he and his friend Joseph Green were prominent figures in what was one of the most barren periods in American poetry. A Tory during the Revolu tion, he was tried by his church and in 1777 by the civil author ities, who sentenced him to deportation. This sentence was later changed to imprisonment in his own house. He was soon released, but never resumed his pastorate. He died in Boston July 5 1788. Besides many sermons, he published various short pieces, such as "The Conflagration" (1729) and a collection of verse, Poems on Several Occasions (1744).
See A. W. H. Eaton, The Famous Mather Byles (1914).