Robert Hamill Nassau (1835 – May 6, 1921) was an

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presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

who spent forty years in

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Early life and studies

Nassau was born in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania and went to the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, continuing his education at the College of New Jersey. From 1856 to 1859 he moved on to the

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

and obtained a medical qualification from Pennsylvania Medical School in 1861.

Career

On the instigation of the Presbytery of

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he joined the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as a missionary, with his first posting being to the African island of

Corisco Corisco, Mandj, or Mandyi, is a small island of Equatorial Guinea, located southwest of the Río Muni estuary that defines the border with Gabon. Corisco, whose name derives from the Portuguese word for lightning, has an area of , and its highe ...

. Throughout his career he served as a missionary in many places: Benita; Belambla; Kangwe; Talaguga;

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(Libreville); and Batanga. Nassau established a mission station in

Lambaréné Lambaréné is a town and the capital of Moyen-Ogooué in Gabon. It has a population of 38,775 as of 2013, and is located 75 kilometres south of the equator. Lambaréné is based in the Central African Rainforest at the river Ogooué. This riv ...

. He returned to the USA in 1906 and settled in

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Personal life

Nassau's first wife was Mary Cloyd Latta, a fellow missionary who died on Corisco in 1870. They had three sons William Latta, George Paull and Charles Francis His second wife was Mary Brunette Foster (died 1884), with whom he had a daughter Mary Brunette Foster.

Death

Robert Hamill Nassau died in Ambler, Pennsylvania on May 6, 1921.

Legacy

His papers are kept as part of the

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Archives, held at the

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, New York.

Publications

* ''Where Animals Talk: West Africa Folk Lore Tales'' (1900) * '' Fetichism in West Africa'' (1904) * ''In An Elephant Corral (and Other Tales of West African Experiences)'' (1912)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nassau, Robert Hamill American Presbyterian missionaries 1835 births 1921 deaths Protestant missionaries in Equatorial Guinea Protestant missionaries in Gabon Presbyterian missionaries in Africa