Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Thayer, Lancaster, Massachusetts

A lineal descendant of John Cotton, Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Thayer, was the sixth pastor of the First Church of Christ on the Lancaster Town Green. Renowned for his eloquence in the pulpit, Thayer was influential in town affairs and the last minister to serve before the separation of church and state in the mid-1830s. His 47-year pastorate ended when he died suddenly in Rochester, New York, on June 23, 1840, at the age of 71. He is buried in the Middle Cemetery.
Courtesy of Lancaster Historical Society