Frank N. (Frank Nash) Westcott

Frank N. Westcott, also known as Frank Nash Westcott, was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1858 and became an Episcopal clergyman as well as an author. Sources consistently describe him as a reverend or priest who served for many years at St. James in Skaneateles, New York, before later being called to Milwaukee.

Alongside his church work, he wrote several books on Catholic thought and church life, including Catholic Principles and The Heart of Catholicity. He is now most often remembered for his novels Hepsey Burke and Dabney Todd, stories connected to small-town American life; Dabney Todd later helped inspire the 1920 film Down Home.

Westcott also had a literary family connection: his half-brother Edward Noyes Westcott wrote the well-known novel David Harum. Frank N. Westcott died in 1915, leaving behind a body of work that blends pastoral concerns, regional storytelling, and a close eye for human nature.