NELSON.
Solomon Nelson in 1759 bought from John Grills two
hundred acres on Moore's Creek, and built the first mill that
occupied the site of that now owned by Hartman. This
tract he sold in 1764 to John Moore, and bought from Edward
Carter a parcel of land in the Ragged Mountains, not far
from Batesville. He sold this place in 1773, and no doubt
removed from the county.
The large tracts in North and South Garden, patented in
the name of Mildred Meriwether, were sold by her and her
husband, John Syme, to President William Nelson, of Yorktown,
and by him devised to his son Robert. Robert and
his wife Susan sold them in course of time to different parties.
In reference to these interests in North and South Garden,
Samuel Murrell acted as Mr. Nelson's agent. He was also
the owner of a tract of upwards of two thousand acres on
Mechunk, which was patented by Thomas Darsie in 1733,
descended to his son Thomas, and by him sold in 1748 to
James Power. How, or when, it came into the hands of
Robert Nelson, is not known, but in 1778 he sold it to John
Clark.
Hugh Nelson, son of Governor Thomas, and grandson of
President William, became a citizen of Albemarle in 1802.
In that year he was admitted a member of its bar. He
married Eliza, daughter of Francis Kinloch, of South Carolina,
and Mildred, only daughter of John Walker, eldest son
of Dr. Thomas Walker. His home was at Belvoir, on the
east side of the South West Mountain. In 1803 he purchased
from Lilburn Lewis his plantation of nearly nine hundred
acres on the north side of the Rivanna, which in 1815 he sold
to John R. Campbell, and which is now in part the property
of David Hancock's heirs. He represented the county in the
House of Delegates, of which he was Speaker, and was a
member of Congress from 1811 to 1823, when he resigned to
accept the appointment of Minister to Spain. In 1819 he
became a magistrate of the county. He died in 1836. His
children were Francis K., Mildred, the wife of Thomas Nelson,
of Clark, Ann, the wife of Dr. Thomas Meriwether, Dr.
Thomas, of Elk Hill, Rev. Cleland K., Keating, and Dr.
Robert W., who still lives to represent the name in Albemarle.
