Nate Saint. (Credit: Lansdale Historical Society)
A daily feature from our surrounding historical societies.
A few weeks ago, one of our readers mentioned in a comment the name of Nate Saint, a missionary to Ecuador who along with four others was killed by Auca (now called Huaorani) Indians in 1956. We did a little research and found that Nate’s story, while tragic, is also a story of incredible courage and faith.
Nathanael (Nate) Saint (1923-1956) grew up in Lower Moreland, PA. His father was Lawrence B. Saint, an accomplished stained glass artist who designed 15 of the stained-glass windows in the Washington National Cathedral.
Marjorie and Nate Saint. (Credit: Lansdale Historical Society)Nate learned to fly an airplane at an early age, and he became a commercial pilot for American Airlines. After serving in the US Army, he married Marjorie Farris in 1948. The couple moved to Ecuador to begin their service in the mission field. They had 3 children.
Nate and other missionaries tried to make friendly overtures to hostile Auca Indians for months before he landed a plane on a remote beach near the Auca village on January 3, 1956.
The first face-to-face meeting between the missionaries and the villagers was friendly, but five days later the four missionaries were killed by the Indians with spears. They were buried on the banks of the Curaray River in Ecuador.
The events that followed the slayings were remarkable. Following the murders, Nate’s widow and the widow of another of the slain missionaries, as well as Nate’s sister, Rachel and their young children went to live among the Indians.
They are credited with bringing a stop to the violent killings for which the tribe was notorious. Amazingly, Steve Saint, son of Nate and Marjorie, eventually became a friend of Mincaye, the man who killed his father.
(Credit: Lansdale Historical Society)Nate Saint’s brother, Stephen, and his wife, Gladys, were residents of Lansdale in their later years.
Lansdale Historical Society was founded in 1971, and its purpose is to preserve the history of the Borough of Lansdale and the greater North Penn area, and to share its collection of material and resources with the greater community, particularly the youth. It has its headquarters in a two-building complex, located on Jenkins Avenue in the center of Lansdale, Montgomery County, PA. The buildings are owned by the Borough of Lansdale.
Volunteer for or donate to the Society here. Follow them on Facebook.
