Charles Williams Nash - Early Life

Early Life

Nash was born to a farming family in Cortland, Illinois on what is now Route 38 — Lincoln Highway. His mother was Anna E. "Annie" Cadwell (b. 1829 NY - d. 1909 MI) who married David L. Nash. Other Nash siblings included Mazovia (b. 1862), George C. (b. 1866) and Laura W. (b. 1868). After Charles' parent's separation, at age 6, Charles worked as a farm-hand in Michigan as an indentured servant. He later became a shepherd to the owner of hay-bailing machinery. On April 23, 1884 he married Jessie Halleck whom he had met while pressing hay on her father's farm. They then moved to Flint, Michigan in 1890 where he was noticed by William C. Durant of The Durant-Dort Carriage Co. Durant hired him in 1890, and Nash became a supervisor.

In 1897, Nash had a chance to drive an early electric automobile in New York City, and became very interested in the commercial potential of this newly developed contraption.

Read more about this topic:  Charles Williams Nash

Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:

    An early dew woos the half-opened flowers
    —Unknown. The Thousand and One Nights.

    AWP. Anthology of World Poetry, An. Mark Van Doren, ed. (Rev. and enl. Ed., 1936)

    I have heard a good many pretend that they are going to die; or that they have died, for aught that I know. Nonsense! I’ll defy them to do it. They have n’t got life enough in them.... Only half a dozen or so have died since the world began.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)