Peter Nourse (October 10, 1774 – March 25, 1840) was an American clergyman and librarian. Nourse, born October 10, 1774, at

Bolton, Massachusetts Bolton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Bolton is in eastern Massachusetts, located 25 miles west-northwest of downtown Boston. The population was 5,665 at the 2020 census. History The town of Bolton was incorpora ...

, was the son of Jonathan and Ruth (Barret) Nourse. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1802, received the A.M. in course, and was Harvard College Librarian for three years from 1805 to 1808. In 1810, he and his wife Polly, daughter of Rev. Caleb Barnum of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by t ...

, moved to

Ellsworth, Maine Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Maine, United States. The 2020 Census determined it had a population of 8,399. Named after United States Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth, it contains historic buildings ...

, where, 9 September 1812, he was ordained over the newly established Congregational church. The ordination sermon was by Rev. Samuel Kendal and the charge by

Ezra Ripley Ezra Ripley (1 May 1751 – 21 September 1841) was an American minister of Concord's First Parish Unitarian Church. Biography Ripley graduated from Harvard in 1776 where he taught and subsequently studied theology. In 1778 he was ordained to th ...

. Here he lived as pastor and at least part of the time as schoolmaster, until 1835, when he either was dismissed or resigned.Potter & Bolton, 1897 According to Ellsworth church historian Wayne Smith, his "Unitarian, or at least 'liberal', leanings eventually created some controversy among his parishioners", resulting in a decline in membership. His wife had died previously to this, and, as he had no children, he went to live, first with his brother, Dr. Amos Nourse, at Bath, and then with his nephew, Dr. Thomas Childs, at

Phippsburg, Maine Phippsburg is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States, on the west side of the mouth of the Kennebec River. The population was 2,155 at the 2020 census. It is within the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, metropoli ...

. At this place he died at the age of sixty-five, March 25, 1840. He was buried at Ellsworth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nourse, Peter 1774 births 1840 deaths People from Bolton, Massachusetts Harvard University alumni Harvard University librarians American Congregationalist ministers