Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Mayhew, Jonathan 1720-

Clergyman; born in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., Oct. 8, 1720; graduated at Harvard in 1744, and ordained minister of the West Church, Boston, in 1747, which post he held until his death, July 9, 1766. He was a zealous republican in politics, and his preaching and writing were remarkable for their controversial character. He warmly opposed the operations of the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, for he regarded it as an instrument for the spread of Episcopacy. He became involved in a controversy with Dr. Seeker, Archbishop of Canterbury, because the latter proposed the introduction of bishops into the colonies; co-operated with Otis and others in their resistance to measures of the British Parliament concerning the Americans; and was among the boldest of the Whigs. His death deprived the cause of a stanch champion.