Returning to Massachusetts, he settled in Newburyport, edited the Watchtower, became master of the Latin school, and subsequently of the high school, and in 1852 was ordained pastor of the Congregational Church in Natick. He officiated at a church in Needham in 1858-60. During the American Civil War, he served on the Christian Commission, writing and lecturing in support of the Union. From 1865 until his death, he resided in North Billerica, and officiated in adjoining churches. He was a successful lecturer, spoke several languages, was a member of many learned societies, and at one time edited the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (1866 and 1867). He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1865. Works  Songs for the School Room (Boston, 1842)  Chrestomathie Française (1849)  Memoir of Rev. Nathaniel Howe (1851)  Thou Shalt Not Steal (1852)  Strength and Beauty of the Sanctuary (1854)  Congregational Hymn Book (1857)  Congregational Hymn and Tune Book (1858)  Our Obligations to Defend our Country, and Sermons on the War (1861)  Songs for Social and Public Worship (1862)  Eulogy on Edward Everett (1865)  Fountains of Salvation (1865)  Eulogy on Abraham Lincoln (1865)  Life of Sir Charles Henry Frankland (1865)  Memoir of Mrs. Susanna Rowson (1870)  Gazetteer of Massachusetts (1872)  Life of Henry Wilson (1872)  Lives of Moody and Sankey (1872)  History of Middlesex County (1872)  History of the Town of Dunstable, Massachusetts, with George Bailey Loring (1877)   Samuel Adams Drake, compiler, History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, article on Hopkinton (pp. 483–495) in  Volume 1 (A-H), and article on Tyngsborough (pp. 391–399) in Volume 2 (L-W) (1879-1880) He also left in manuscript a “History of Hopkinton” and a “History of the Nason Family.”  Family His cousin Henry Bradford Nason (whose father was also named Elias) was a noted chemist.
Returning to Massachusetts, he settled in Newburyport, edited the Watchtower, became master of the Latin school, and subsequently of the high school, and in 1852 was ordained pastor of the Congregational Church in Natick. He officiated at a church in Needham in 1858-60. During the American Civil War, he served on the Christian Commission, writing and lecturing in support of the Union. From 1865 until his death, he resided in North Billerica, and officiated in adjoining churches. He was a successful lecturer, spoke several languages, was a member of many learned societies, and at one time edited the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (1866 and 1867). He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1865. Works
 Songs for the School Room (Boston, 1842)
 Chrestomathie Française (1849)
 Memoir of Rev. Nathaniel Howe (1851)
 Thou Shalt Not Steal (1852)
 Strength and Beauty of the Sanctuary (1854)
 Congregational Hymn Book (1857)
 Congregational Hymn and Tune Book (1858)
 Our Obligations to Defend our Country, and Sermons on the War (1861)
 Songs for Social and Public Worship (1862)
 Eulogy on Edward Everett (1865)
 Fountains of Salvation (1865)
 Eulogy on Abraham Lincoln (1865)
 Life of Sir Charles Henry Frankland (1865)
 Memoir of Mrs. Susanna Rowson (1870)
 Gazetteer of Massachusetts (1872)
 Life of Henry Wilson (1872)
 Lives of Moody and Sankey (1872)
 History of Middlesex County (1872)
 History of the Town of Dunstable, Massachusetts, with George Bailey Loring (1877)
 Samuel Adams Drake, compiler, History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, article on Hopkinton (pp. 483–495) in Volume 1 (A-H), and article on Tyngsborough (pp. 391–399) in Volume 2 (L-W) (1879-1880)
 He also left in manuscript a “History of Hopkinton” and a “History of the Nason Family.”
 Family
 His cousin Henry Bradford Nason (whose father was also named Elias) was a noted chemist.

