Hale Had A FIrst-class Education

Deacon Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong, a lineal descendant of Elder John Strong, welcomed Nathan Hale into the world in Coventry, Connecticut, in 1755. He was the great-grandson of Reverend John Hale, who played a significant role in the 1692 Salem witch trials. He was also Edward Everett Hale's granduncle, a Unitarian pastor, author, and activist known for his support of abolitionism and other social issues. He was journalist Nathan Hale's uncle and helped launch the North American Review and the Boston Daily Advertiser.

Nathan Hale, a Connecticut native, received an excellent education while growing up. At the age of fourteen, he and his brother Enoch were sent to Yale College, where they came to know other revolutionary souls like Benjamin Tallmadge, who would later work as a Patriot snitch. Hale and his brother both became members of the restricted Yale organization known as the Linonian Society, where they had the chance to participate in discussions on subjects including mathematics, literature, astronomy, as well as the morality of slavery. Nathan, who was 18 years old when he graduated with first-class honors, went on to teach in East Haddam and New London.