Fiske, N. W. (Nathan Welby), 1798-1847

Nathan Welby Fiske, the father of Helen Hunt Jackson, was born on April 17, 1798 in Weston, Mass. He graduated with high honors from Dartmouth College in 1817. From there he went to New Castle, Maine where he had charge of the Academy there for one year. After this he returned to Dartmouth where he tutored for two years. He entered the Theological Seminary at Andover in the autumn of 1820, where he spent three years, and closed his preparatory studies for the ministry in the fall of 1823. He accepted the appointment of Professor of Languages at Amherst College and began his duties in 1824. He was successively Professor of Latin and Greek Languages, 1824-25; Professor of Greek Language and Literature and Belles Letters, 1833-36; Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics, 1836-47. He died of dysentery in 1847 in Jerusalem.

From the description of Fiske papers, 1824-1847. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 51547006

Nathan Welby Fiske, the father of Helen Hunt Jackson, was born on April 17, 1798 in Weston, Mass. He graduated with high honors from Dartmouth College in 1817. From there he went to New Castle, Maine where he had charge of the Academy there for one year. After this he returned to Dartmouth where he tutored for two years. He entered the Theological Seminary at Andover in the autumn of 1820, where he spent three years, and closed his preparatory studies for the ministry in the fall of 1823. His was not a career in the ministry, however. He spent only one year preaching in Savannah, Ga., among seamen and others not connected to any organized Christian congregations. After turning down an invitation from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to do missionary work in China, he accepted the appointment of Professor of Languages at Amherst College and began his duties in 1824. He was successively Professor of Latin and Greek Languages, 1824-25; Professor of Greek Language and Literature and Belles Letters, 1833-36; Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics, 1836-47. He died of dysentery in 1847 in Jerusalem, where he had gone for his health.

From the guide to the Fiske Papers, 1824-1847, (Amherst College Archives and Special Collections)

Nathan Welby Fiske, clergyman, was born in Weston, Mass. in 1798.

After attending the theological seminary at Andover, Fiske was ordained an evangelist and went to Savannah, Ga. in 1823 to preach among the seamen and other non-church members. He remained in Savannah until the summer of 1824 when he accepted a professorship in classics at Amherst College. Failing in health, Fiske visited Palestine in 1846 and died there the following year.

From the description of Notes : Savannah, Ga., 1824. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 37191537