[2] Wait began his ministerial career at the Baptist church in Sharon, Massachusetts, in 1816.

[2] In 1851, Wait became president of Oxford Female College, in Ohio, and retired in the role six years later.

[2] Wait married Vermont native Sarah "Sally" Merriam,[3][4] daughter of Jonathan Merriam and Sarah Conant, with whom he had two known children: Anna Eliza (born 1826)[5] and William Carey (born 1829).

[1] After retiring, in 1857, Wait and his wife moved to Forestville, North Carolina, where they remained for the rest of their lives.

Wait Chapel, on today's Wake Forest University campus, is named for him.