Nathaniel Hastings (I) 1661-169

   Less in known about Nathaniel than any of the other children of Thomas and Margaret Hastings, except for William.  This may be due in large part to the fact that Nathaniel died young, being just thirty-three years old when he died.  According to the Watertown Records he was born in Watertown on July 25, 1661.  Unlike his brothers John and Samuel, he does not appear to have held any town offices.  In this regard, he is similar to his brother Joseph (see Chapter 5).  In 1685, upon the death of his father Deacon Thomas Hastings, he inherited £40 like his brothers.

     Nathaniel was 24 when his father died.  His younger brother Samuel was only twenty years old, and was thus placed under the supervision of a guardian.  This guardian was John Nevinson.  The latter is dealt with in Chapter 9 in more detail.  What should be noted here is that Nevinson was not only Samuel's guardian, but on April 24, 1694, he also became his father-in-law when Samuel married his daughter Elizabeth.  Nathaniel also married a daughter of John Nevinson, Elizabeth's sister Mary.  The date of this marriage is unknown, not appearing in the Watertown Records.  In addition, only the baptism dates for his two sons is known.  Since the baptisms took place four years after Nathaniel's death, it is difficult to even estimate the time of his marriage. 

     Nathaniel appears only once in the affairs of the Watertown community.   He appears in a list of townsmen who agreed to contribute money for repairs to the meetinghouse.  He pledged 4 shillings, as did his brother Samuel, whereas Joseph contributed 5 shillings.  This particular paragraph is not dated in the Watertown Records.  However, it has been positioned in relation to events dating to the spring of 1694, roughly 8 months before his death. 

     The next event that is known is Nathaniel's death on December 25, 1694.  His estate was settled on April 1, 1695, by his widow Mary and his brother Samuel.  It is interesting to note that Samuel and his wife Sarah, along with Nathaniel's widow Mary, are all buried in the Arlington Street Cemetery.  However, there is no record of Nathaniel being buried there.  The reason for this is not known, but it could be speculated that Nathaniel did not die in Watertown.  It is worth noting that his son Nathaniel II was a mariner, who also died young, and while on a voyage.  Perhaps Nathaniel I was also a seaman, who died in similar circumstances to his son. 

     On January 8, 1698, Mary was admitted to full communion in the East Congregational Church.  The two sons of Nathaniel and Mary, John and Nathaniel, were both baptized by Henry Gibbs on July 10, 1698.  This is interesting in that this date is roughly three and one-half years after the death of their father.  On August 20, 1708, the Board of Selectmen laid out a road which ran by the land owned by Mary.  The seat assignments in the meeting-house dated April 24, 1732, includes Nathaniel's widow Mary, who sat in the third seat.  Mary (Nevinson) Hastings never remarried.  She died October 14, 1732, and is buried in the Arlington Street Cemetery in Watertown with her brother and sister-in-law.  Her epitaph reads:

         "Here Lyes ye Body of Mrs. Mary HASTINGS, Wife to Mr. Nathaniel
HASTINGS; Who Died Octo'br ye 14th 1732, in ye 64th Year of her Age."