. When an upstanding man
like Frank Nelson, whose background was well-known and whose
intellectual gifts and social graces were obvious, entered this
environment, it was inevitable that he should immediately take a leading
place in the undergraduate body. His tall, commanding figure naturally
attracted notice, and within a few days he was elected president of his
class. There was magnetism in his personality, and he was soon welcomed
among the socially distinguished in both seminary and city. His
fellow-students at General, when speculating about the future, as
students do, always considered him destined for the highest office of
the church; throughout those now remote years he clearly revealed the
qualities of the born leader. His class was a notable one, and through
the passing years gave a good account of itself, listing four bishops
and ten honorary degrees, Frank Nelson himself receiving the degree of
Doctor of Sacred Theology from the General Seminary in 1934.

As a student he excelled in Pastoral Theology, Biblical Learning and
Evidences, subjects which in their nature give some indication of his
intensely human interest in all aspects of life. Like many theological
students, he was groping and feeling his way through the multiple
problems that center upon man in the light of God. One of his classmates
says that the curriculum and the methods of instruction in that day bear
poor comparison to modern standards, but Nelson, unlike many students,
was never in a state of open or even tacit rebellion. He did his work
faithfully and well. He was graduated in 1894, but for some reason was
not present at Commencement to receive the degree of Bachelor of Sacred
Theology, which is the mark of scholastic distinction at General. On May
19, 1894, he was made a deacon in his father's church in Geneva, New
York by the Right Reverend Arthur Cleveland Coxe, the Bishop of Western
New York. During his senior year he had assumed work on the staff of St.
George's Church, New York City, and after his ordination was quickly
absorbed into the work of that great parish. Because he did not feel
ready, Frank Nelson, at his own request, was not advanced to the
priesthood until November 14, 1897, when he was so ordered in St.
George's Church by Bishop Henry Codman Potter of the Diocese of New
York.

Another important element in Mr. Nelson's preparation for his unique
ministry in Cincinnati was this experience on the staff of St. George's
C