OLIN 
 BX 
 4705 
 ' .N274 
 P67 
 1852 
 
Al 
 
 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924088181833 
 
A PORTRAIT 
 
 OF 
 
 L3 1924 088 181 833 
 
 FATHER NASH 
 
 LATE MISSIONARY IN OTSEGO AND ADJACENT COUNTIES 
 
 IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 WITH 
 
 % .f^to ^ragmeitt^ 
 
 RELATING TO HIS LIFE AND CHARACTER, 
 
 TAICEN CHIEFLY FROM 
 
 Ji)e Seiie^locjy of the If^sl] T^^il(j, 
 
 A WORK LATELY PUBLISHED. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 
 
 The Rev. Daniel NAsh, familiarly known in Otsego county and 
 adjacent parts, in the state of New York, £ts Father Nash, filled a 
 very extensive sphere of usefulness. He was the youngest child of 
 Jonathan Nash, Esq. of Great Barrington, Mass. and the fifth in de- 
 scent from Thomas Nash, of New Haven, Ct. through his youngest 
 son, Lieut. Timothy Nash, of Hadley, Mass. who married Rebecca or 
 Rebehah, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Stone, one of the celebrated 
 pioneers of Hartford, Ct. 
 
 Daniel Nash, the grandfather of our missionary, and after whom he 
 was named, was a younger son of Lieut. Timothy Nash, born in 1676. 
 He married Experience Clark, daughter of John and Mary Clark, of 
 Northampton, Mass. where he at first settled, and where most, if not 
 all his children were born. Jonathan, the father of the Rev. Daniel 
 Nash, was born in Northampton, 3 Dec. 1721, and removed with Ms 
 father, first to South Hadley, Mass. and thence, in 1739, to Upper 
 Housatonick, (now Great Barrington, Mass.) He married Anna 
 Maria Spoor ^ of Taghconic, N. Y. and settled in Great Barrington, 
 where all their children were born. His house is still standing near 
 the corner of the road on the east side of the Housatonick river, about 
 half a mile east of the old burying-ground, and one and a half miles 
 E. N. E. from the present village of Great Barrington. 
 
 Jonathan Nash was a worthy and respectable man, — had much to 
 do with town affairs, — held various offices, and was a magistrate many 
 
 years. 
 
 He had nine children, the youngest of whom, Daniel, the subject 
 of this sketch, was born 28 May, 1763. Nothing is now known of 
 his youthful history, and but little of his ministerial life, beyond the 
 fact that he was a much loved and extensively useful minister of the 
 Gospel. He appears to have been one of those Christians who act as 
 seeing things invisible, with very little concern for earthly things, or 
 human opinions,— claiming no eminence of talent, but having an eye 
 sino-le to the glory of God, and a heart overflowing with love for the 
 
 souls of men. 
 
 The few facts obtained are chiefly from some of his MSS. in the 
 hands of his Grandson, Edward N. Munroe, of Burlington, Otsego 
 
4 
 
 Co. N. Yi and from the recollections of the Rev. and venerilble Dr* 
 D. Burhans, now (1852) 90 years of age. 
 
 He graduated at Yale College, m 1785, in the same class with Noah 
 Webster, and was a member of the Congregational Church, of which 
 there is among his papers a certificate, dated Aug. 15, 1783, signed 
 bj Samuel Wales, Pastor of that church in New Haven. It is said 
 that he was at one time a licensed teacher of that order, and was 
 studying under the supervision of the celebrated Dr. Hopkins. 
 
 The following sketch is from Dr. Burhans : 
 
 " The first of my personal acquaintance with the late Rev. Daniel 
 Nash was at Great Barrington, Mass. in the autumn of 1793. Hav- 
 ing spent two or three years in teaching a select school,* in New 
 Jersey, under the patronage of the late Bishop Groes, he returned to 
 his native place to attend the settlement of his father's estate, who 
 had recently deceased. I was introduced to him by the late Rev. 
 and very venerable Gideon Bostwick, and a lasting friendship then 
 commenced, which I trust, Avill be consummated in heaven. 
 
 Finding him desirous of becoming a candidate for Holy Orders, he 
 was furnished with ample credentials of his early piety and exemplary 
 life. In due time he returned to Swedesboro, and spent the winter 
 with the then Rev. Mr. Croes, as an assistant in his academy, study- 
 ing theology till the spring of 1794, when he obtained testimonials as 
 a candidate for Holy Orders, signed by the Rector, (Rev. Mr. Croes,) 
 and the Vestry of the Church in Swedesboro. He then returned 
 home, desirous of obtaining a grammar school, and completing his 
 theological studies in that region. 
 
 Knowing of a vacancy at New Lebanon Springs, where I had offi- 
 ciated occasionally, and collected a small congregation, I recommend- 
 ed him as a teacher in their academy, and as a lay reader in the 
 church. In this situation he remained three years. In the mean 
 time he became acquainted with an amiable lady, Miss Olive Liisk, 
 of a very respectable family in Richmond, Mass.f Her benignity of 
 mind and placidity of manners, like two elements of congenial matter, 
 melted into each other. They were married in Jan. 1796. A more 
 
 * His son, Dr. Wni C. N<u-b, recolL-cts hearing his father say that he taught 
 an academy nine years, before lie was ordained, first at Pittsgrove, and then at 
 Swedesboro, N. J. He probably incliuled the three years lie taught in Rich- 
 mond, Maes, alter his return. 
 
 j- His son, Dr. Wrn. C. Nash, understands that iheir fathers were intimate 
 friends while members together of the Legislature of Mass. which circumstance 
 led to their union. 
 
':, 
 
 happy couple seldom meet, in this jtirriiig world. There was no dis- 
 cord, but harmony and love prevailed at home and abroad, for they 
 were both highly esteemed, for courtesy, for success as teachers, and 
 for their amiable deportment and Christian example. 
 
 But I found the field was too small for their expansive minds, 
 which glowed with a missionary spirit. I had myself, for two win- 
 ters previously, visited the county of Otsego, N. Y. as a missionary, 
 with a view of finally removing to that field, already white for the 
 harvest ; but finding my wife inclining to consumption, I was obliged 
 to abandon the project, and proposed to brother Nash to take orders 
 and go to Macedonia, which was crying for help. He embraced the 
 offer, — closed his school, — went to New York, and -was ordained, — 
 the first settled Episcopal minister west of Schenectady, in what is 
 now "Western N. Y. And by his zeal and indefatigable labours, sanc- 
 tioning every step by a sober, religious and godly hfe, being instant 
 in season and out of season, — going from house to house, preaching 
 the word, ha^tizmg households, teaching them all things necessary for 
 the hfe that now is and that which is to come, — catechising all, old 
 and young, he did more in thirty-seven years, in establishing and ex- 
 tending the church, than any other clergyman ever did in the United 
 States. 
 
 Most justly did the pubUc bestow upon him the well earned titles 
 of Father Nash, and the Apostle of the West. 
 
 To him may well be applied the couplet, 
 
 ' The sweet remembrance of the juijt, 
 Shall flourish when he sleeps in dust.' 
 
 Daniel Burhans." 
 
 Mr. Nash was ordained Deacon, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Provoostj 
 in Trinity Church, N. Y. 8 Feb. 1797, and, as appears from the fore- 
 going sketch, went immediately to Otsego Co. and commenced his 
 ministerial labours. 
 
 On the 11 Oct. 1801, he was admitted to the priesthood by the Rt. 
 Rev. Benjamin Moore, then Bishop of N. Y. His estimate of Mr. 
 Nash's character may be inferred from the following extract of a let- 
 ter written by him, the day after the ordination, to Gen. Jacob Mor- 
 ris, of Butternuts, Otsego Co. " Yesterday I ordained Mr. Nash' a 
 priest; and it affords me no httle satisfaction to reflect that the first 
 actotmj Episcopal function has been employed in elevating to the 
 priesthood so worthy a man." 
 
(5 
 
 It is known also that he was a special favorite with the late Bishop 
 Hobart. 
 
 A particular account of his life during his protracted ministry in 
 that region, will probably never be given. The following extract 
 from a letter in answer to a brother clergyman, who had desired him 
 to write an account of the churches in those parts, shews that he did 
 not intend his own history should be written. The extract, however, 
 gives us an idea of his manner of life. 
 
 " This evening is the first time I have collected courage enough 
 even to give an answer to your kind letter, — kind, although you urge 
 me to perform a task which I had resolved never to perform. St, 
 Paul looked upon it as a foolish thing for him to boast of his labours 
 and sufferings, — his toils and afflictions. He did it, however, for the 
 sake of affording his friends an opportunity to vindicate his charac- 
 ter. I have no such reason to influence me to write the history of 
 the church in this and the adjacent counties, — to do it, I must of 
 course speak of myself, for I was the principal and only minister for 
 many years,* — happy years indeed, — I never felt discouraged, nei- 
 ther did I feel alone. My wife was then living, — a noble-spirited, 
 sensible woman, who in the room of feeling discouraged, was the first 
 to cheer me on in my arduous labours. 
 
 The country was then comparatively a wilderness — often she gave 
 me a child and then got on the horse behind me with another in her 
 arms, and thus we would go to our public worship for a number of 
 miles. She excelled in music, and I understood it well, — we were 
 never confounded in that part of the service, and when the congrega- 
 
 * The Rev. S. H. Battiu, of Cooperstown, in a late communication, says, 
 " He itinerated so much, — was sucha pioneer, that although tln^ father in real- 
 ity of every parish, and organizer, he was only rector by courtesy. Such was 
 the case in Cooperstown." His first service in that place is thus noticed by Mr. 
 Cooper, in his •• Chronicles of Cooperstown :' " On the 10th day of Sept. ISOO, 
 Miss Cooper, the eldest daughter of Judge Cooper, (and sister of the author,) a 
 young lady in her 23d year, was killed by a fall from a horse. Her funeral ser- 
 mou was preached by the Rev. Daniel Nash, of the Prot. Epis. Church, and she 
 was interred accordmg to the rites of that church, which were now performed 
 for the first time in tliis village. Mr Nash, since so well known in his own 
 church for his apostolic simplicity, under the name of Father Nash, was then 
 a missionary in tlie county. From this time he began to extend his services 
 to Cooperstown, and on the 1st day of .Ian. lyli, u church was legally organ- 
 ized, under the title of Christ's Church, Cooperstown. On the same day, the 
 Rev. Daniel Nash was chosen Rector, which office, through the delicacy of the 
 clergyman who succeeded him in its duties, he informally held, down to ih- 
 day of his death in 1836." 
 
? 
 
 ^lon did not well understand how to make the responses, she always 
 <lid It ni a solemn, dignified manner. Through all kinds of weather, 
 whether the place was near or remote, I was uniformly at the place' 
 a short time before the people b<3gan to assemble. This gave me an 
 opportunity to speak kindly to them, and enquire respecting their 
 families. They judged me to feel interested both for their temporal 
 and spiritual welfare, and they did not judge amiss. Whenever a 
 door was opened to catechise in public or private houses, I did it."* 
 
 Tliat he was useful is a fact of general notoriety. From 1804 to 
 1816, when, to use his own words, "the country was a comparative 
 wilderness," and Episcopalians few and widely dispersed, he reported 
 to Convention, 496 baptisms. In 1817, he was thrown from his car^ 
 nage, and so severely injured as to preclude active duties for most of 
 the year. In 1819, he reported 104 baptisms. In 1825-6, he was 
 sick much of the time, and soon afterwards was called to mourn the 
 loss of his excellent companion, the partner of his toils, who died 
 while on a visit to her brother-in-law, William Crandal, Esq. of Exe- 
 ter, Otsego Co. N. Y. 
 
 In 1831, he had a severe ilhiess at the house of his son-in-law, 
 Hassan Munroe, of Burlington, in the same county, and for several 
 months he was deemed near his end. He never afterwards entirely 
 regamed his health, though he so far recovered by the following 
 spring as to resume his ministerial duties. 
 
 In the spring of 1836, he again called on his daughter, at Burling- 
 ton, complaining of indisposition, which grew continually worse until 
 the fourth of June, when his spirit was released from its eartlily prison 
 to join the company of the redeemed in a world where sorrow and 
 suffering have no place. His disease was termed by the physicians, 
 dropsy of the chest. The following notice of his death appeared in 
 the Gospel Messenger, printed at Auburn, N. Y. 
 
 " The Rev. Daniel Nash, long and well known as a faithful mission- 
 ary in Otsego county, and its vicinity, died suddenly, though not un- 
 expectedly, of dropsy, on the 4th inst. at Burlington, in the county 
 
 * Mr. Battin adds, " One custom of liis, I have heard of repeatedly. Wher- 
 ever he went to visit, be used always to call the children of the household to- 
 gether and question them in their catechisni, making sundry kindly, paterna' 
 remarks, and ' calling down a blcs.^ing upon them, as it is expressed.' " " Often 
 while living and preaching and organizing churches in this county, he went 
 out to visit and preach to the Oneida Indian.-, in that county, and visited, in 
 his way, tlie church families, stopping at their house:s, and catechising their 
 children, according to his invariable custom. Several of tiie ladies of my par- 
 i^^h recollect bein;;' catfohi'-erl by him after tliey were 1 I or J.'') yenrs old." 
 
w 
 
 above mentioned, at the age of 73 years and 7 days. The Rev. Mr. 
 Tiffany, of Cooperstown, we learn, preached a very appropriate ser- 
 mon at the time of his interment, which took place on the 7th. 
 
 We are authorized to say, that early attention will be given to the 
 preparation of a suitable account* of the life and labours of this long 
 loved and untiring servant of the cross." 
 
 He was buried by the side of his deceased wife, in Exeter. But 
 having, in his lifetime, been heard to express a wish that he might be 
 buried in front of the church in Cooperstown, beneath some venerable 
 pines, the bodies were subsequently removed, at the request of the 
 church, and deposited in the chosen spot, where, through the efforts of 
 the ladies, a beautiful monument has been erected, of which a friendf 
 has furnished an accurate wood engraving. 
 
 It is an obelisk of white marble, on a square pedestal of the same 
 material, with a granite base of 4 inches thickness, measuring alto- 
 gether 9^ feet from the ground. It stands directly in front of the 
 church, and but a few rods from it, under the pines, in describing 
 which, on the morning of Dec. 10th, Rev. Mr. Battin says, 
 
 " It has snowed all night, and some of the long branches with their 
 dark evergreen foliage, half hidden by the snow, are weighed down to 
 the ground, as though they would protect the sleepers underneath 
 from the cold blasts of winter." 
 
 Front Inscription. 
 
 FATHER NASH, 
 
 first rector of 
 
 Christ Church, 
 
 DIED 
 
 Jvme 4, 1836, 
 
 aged 73 years, 
 
 and 8 days, 
 
 On the opposite side. 
 
 Mrs. OLIVE, 
 
 ■wife of 
 
 Father Nash, 
 
 DIED 
 
 May 27, 1828, 
 
 aged 56 years, 
 
 and 5 months, 
 
 * The pledge in this last clause was never fulfilled, and it has been supposed 
 the papers were lost, but since the printing of this work commenced, the com- 
 piler has been informed that an unfinished memoir was left by Dr. Rudd, in the 
 hands of another clergyman, who is supposed to have finished it. But it has 
 not been published, nor has the compiler been able, by utmo-^t eflort, to ;(?(.er- 
 tain where the MS. now is. 
 
 t Mr. J. J. Post, of New York.