University of Virginia Library

WILLIAM NELSON.

The progenitor of the Nelson family in Virginia was Thomas (distinguished
in the traditions of the family as "Scotch Tom"), the son of
Hugh and Sarah Nelson, of Penrith, Cumberland County, England, who
was born February 20, 1677, and emigrated to the Colony in early manhood.
He settled as an importing merchant at Yorktown, then the chief
seaport of Virginia. Here he died, October 7, 1745. He married
twice; first, Margaret Reed, and secondly, Mrs. Francis Tucker nee Courteney.
He had issue by his first wife, two sons and a daughter, and by
the last a daughter. Some notice of each of his sons may here be appropriately

given in virtue of their important association with the history
of Virginia and because the second has been conflicted in the minds of
some with his more eminent nephew of the same name. William Nelson,
the eldest son of the emigrant "Scotch Tom," was born in 1711, and
died November 19, 1772. He followed in the respected career of his
father as a merchant, adding largely by his honest gains to the ample
estate which he inherited. It is claimed in evidence of his enterprise
that he imported goods to supply the then incipient marts of Baltimore
and Philadelphia, as well as for Virginia consumption. He was long a
member of the Council of Virginia and often its presiding officer. Hence
the designation of President Nelson, by which he was commonly called.
On the death of Lord Botetourt, October 15, 1770, President Nelson, in
virtue of his office, was invested with the Government of the Colony,
which he administered until the arrival of the Earl of Dunmore, early in
1772. He married in February, 1737, Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel
and Elizabeth (Carter) Burwell, and had issue five sons and one
daughter. Three of these sons, one of whom was General Thomas
Nelson, Jr., distinguished themselves in the American Revolution. The
tombs of both, Thomas Nelson, the emigrant, and of his son President
William Nelson, with elaborately wrought marble slabs with the arms of
the family, are in the old church-yard at Yorktown. This epitaph of
the last is a glowing recitation of public service and personal worth:

The second son of "Scotch Tom," the emigrant, Thomas Nelson, Jr.,
as he subscribed himself, was born in 1716, and died at Yorktown in
1786. He occupied a seat in the Virginia Council for thirty years,
during which protracted period he also acted as its Secretary. This was
an office of important trust and of emolument, it being charged with the
preservation of the records of all public acts, and of the land office.

Secretary Nelson, as he was known in virtue of his office, married
Lucy, daughter of John and Martha (Burwell) Armstead, by whom he
had issue ten children, among whom were three sons who served with
distinction in the army of the Revolution.

The noted Nelson House, which attracted so much attention in the Centennial
observances at Yorktown in 1881, is a large two-storied brick
structure with corners of hewn stone, "built on the old English model,"
and stands on the main street of Yorktown, fronting the river. The
time of its erection, according to the gentle annalist Bishop Meade, may
be fixed at 1712, since he narrates that "the corner stone of it was laid
by old president Nelson (born 1711), when an infant, as it was designed
for him. He was held by his nurse, and the brick in his apron, was
passed through his little hand." The good bishop whose ancestors were
among the occupants of its spacious halls, thus enthusiastically apostrophizes
the old mansion: "It was long the abode of love, friendship,
and hospitality.

As one said of modern Italy, "Our memory sees more than our eyes in
this place." What Paulding said of Virginia, may emphatically be said
of York:

The Nelson mansion descended to the eldest son of President Nelson,
the glorious patriot, General Thomas Nelson, Jr., and was his residence
until the threatened dangers of the prospective siege of York prompted
the removal of his family to "Offley," in Hanover county. The head-quarters
of Lord Cornwallis during the siege were first in the mansion
of Secretary Thomas Nelson, which was destroyed by the fire of the
patriot army. The Nelson House, described, and still standing, was also
occupied by Cornwallis or portions of his staff subsequent to the destruction
of the mansion of Secretary Nelson, and while thus the shelter
of the foe, General Nelson loftily exemplified his patriotism. Having
command of the first battery which opened upon Yorktown, he

LORD DUNMORE

Last Royal Governor of Virginia.

pointed the first gun against his own dwelling, and offered to the gunner
a reward of five guineas for every bombshell that should be fired into it.
The marks of their effects are visible to this day.

Among the illustrations of our work is a delineation of the commemorative
Yorktown monument proposed to be erected by the nation.