The Passing of a Pioneer Parson
Rev. A. S. Nicholson, an early missionary who built up Episcopal parishes across Western Washington, dies at his home near Hillhurst.
The story, cleaned up
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Rev. A. S. Nicholson died at his home near Hillhurst yesterday. He was president of the standing committee of the Episcopal diocese of Western Washington. He was one of the first, if not the first, Episcopal minister in the state. His funeral will occur tomorrow from his late home at Hillhurst. Rev. A. S. Nicholson was 66 years of age. His early life was spent in Wisconsin, in the vicinity of Milwaukee. When a young man he studied theology at Nashotah Theological seminary, and was ordained. He came west and located in Vancouver, Wash., as a missionary. There he remained for eighteen years, building up an excellent parish and erecting a handsome church and rectory. In 1887 Mr. Nicholson removed to Tacoma and engaged in the missionary work under Bishop Paddock. He was for a time rector of St. Peter's, in Old Tacoma, and was also superintendent of the Fannie Paddock hospital prior to its removal to new quarters from old Tacoma.
“He was one of the first, if not the first, Episcopal minister in the state.”
Nicholson’s life highlights the role of institutional religion in organizing the frontier society of the 19th-century Pacific Northwest, often building the first schools, hospitals, and social welfare institutions before the government stepped in.
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