Daniel Nash

Who was Daniel Nash?

The Reverend Daniel Nash was an Episcopal priest and missionary to Native Americans and European settlers on the frontier of central New York.

Nash was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University in Connecticut, became a teacher, and studied for ordination as an Episcopal priest. He moved to New Lebanon, New York during the 1790s. There, he taught school, became a lay leader in the church, and met his wife and missionary partner-to-be, Olive Lusk. Nash was ordained on October 11, 1801.

The Nashes, including their child, move to the newly settled regions of western Otsego County, New York, where they held services in the small settlements at Richfield, Exeter and Morris. Father Nash performed the preaching, while Olive led the singing and responses. He also preached to members of the Oneida tribe. Between 1804 and 1816, he performed 496 baptisms and organized 12 parishes in the area.

In 1800, Nash presided over the funeral of Hannah Cooper, sister of James Fenimore Cooper. He was also the first rector of Christ Church in Cooperstown.