Joseph Hasbrouck Frost (March 25, 1805 – 1866) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Methodist Episcopalian The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

missionary in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

Early life and career

In 1835, Frost began his time with the New York Conference, serving in Windham and Prattsville of

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. The following year he was administered the spiritual needs of Franklin, New York. In 1838 Frost preached at

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

in Bloomville.

Oregon Mission

In 1839, Frost was listed as an Elder in the New York Conference, noted by official records as being additionally appointed as a "Missionary to Oregon". He and his wife Sarah joined other Methodist members under

Jason Lee Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series ''My Name Is Earl'', for which he was nominated for ...

on board the

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

in 1840 and later arrived at

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

Clatsop Mission

Frost was given an appointment to open a new post among the

Clatsop The Clatsop ( Lower Chinook: ) are a Chinookan-speaking Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the early 19th century they inhabited an area of the northwestern coast of present-day Oregon from the mouth of the Co ...

Chinookans, on the

Clatsop Plains The Clatsop Plains are an area of wetlands and sand dunes between the Northern Oregon Coast Range and Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon in the United States. They stretch from near the mouth of the Columbia River south to the vicinity of Tillam ...

. This was near both Fort George and the mouth of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

in 1841. Until a residency was complete, Frost and his wife resided at Fort George as guests of James Birnie. The mission building site was built within the traditional territory of the

Chinookans. Frustrated at his inability to convert the local

and

Nehalem Nehalem may refer to: * Nehalem (people), or Tillamook, a Native American tribe * Nehalem language, or Tillamook language, the language spoken by the Nehalem (Tillamook) tribe Places Oregon, United States * Nehalem Bay, a bay in Tillamook County * ...

people, Frost took his family and left the area on 14 August 1843. Previously in February 1842, Frost concluded that "there never will be anything like a permanent Christian church raised up among he Clatsops and decided the budget of the mission "ought to be expended to better purpose elsewhere." Along with his family, Frost boarded the ''Bhering'' at the

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

port and sailed for the United States. They arrived at

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on 21 March 1844.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Joseph H. 1805 births 1866 deaths American Methodist missionaries Methodist Mission in Oregon Methodist missionaries in the United States Clergy from Oregon Oregon Country Oregon pioneers People from Rochester, New York 19th-century American Christian clergy