Individual Details
John W. Nelson
(February 1, 1813 - January 12, 1894)
FAG 187139115
1830 census: Bedford County, Tennessee: John W. NELSON - 1 male, 30 - 40; no females (Is this the right John W. Nelson?)
1840 census: Bedford County, Tennessee: John W. NELSON - 1 male, 20 - 30; 1 female, 20 - 30.
1850 Bedford County, Tennessee census, page 39 (288), family/house #66/66: John W. NELSON, 37, Tenn; Rebecca B. NELSON, 38, Tenn; Adelia F. G. A. M. NELSON, 7, Tenn; Rebecca A. NELSON, 1, Tenn.
1870 Rusk County, Texas census, page 235, taken 9 September 1870, Dwelling/Family #583/584: John W. NELSON, 58, male, white, retail dry goods merchant, real estate - $500, personal estate - $100, Tennessee; Rebecca B. NELSON, 59, female, white, keeping house, Tennessee; John A. NELSON, 19, male, white, at home, Tennessee.
1880 Comanche County, Texas census, Dwelling/Family 296/310, taken 19 June 1880: John W. NELSON, male 67, married, grocerer, Tennessee, North Carolina, North Carolina; Rebeca B. NELSON, female, 69, wife, keeping house, Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee; John A. NELSON, male, 26, son, widowed, grocer, Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee; Dasy A. NELSON, female, 7, granddaughter, single, at home, Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee. (NOTE FROM RALPH TERRY: John W. Nelson was living next door to his daughter and her husband, John W. Terry.)
"John W. Nelson and Rebecca Nelson were cousins. He was in the Civil War and was blinded in the war. He was called "Blind" John Nelson. He raised two nieces and was a shoe salesman. One niece was a trained nurse. One niece was called "Lady Bountiful." She married a man who owned a big sawmill at Hemphill (Texas). She killed her husband and her mother-in-law. "Blind" John Nelson begged on the streets, and the little girls led him around. He went from Rusk County to Marshall, Texas. Some Wilsons were kin. They lived at Pine Hill and moved to West Texas." (Maggie (Little) Stephen as told to Mary Frank Dunn - Edna Haden married a Wilson, but may not be the same family ... note from Mary Frank Dunn.) (NOTE FROM RALPH TERRY ... some of the above is correct, as John W. Nelson was blind according to the 1870 Rusk County census, but the part about his nieces seems to have him confused with John W. Nelson's son, John A. Nelson, who had grandaughters, one of which was referred to as "Lady Bountiful" and was also a nurse. See Lilly M. (Marshall) for details.)
Rusk County, Texas Deed Records: Book O, page 385 --- John W. - Elizabeth Nelson; Book T, page 485 --- Rebecca B. - John W. Nelson - Power of Attorney; Book P, page 272 --- John W. Nelson, 1865 - land at New London, Texas (John W. Nelson of Claiborne Parish, Louisana) ; Book L, page 617 --- John W. Nelson and wife, Rebecca Nelson (signed with a mark) to Chas. Smith, May 6, 1858 - land in Henry Howith Survey on Shreveport - Douglas Road (Pine Hill).
John W. Nelson was a Mason, Sharon Lodge # 95 (Pine Hill, Texas ?). He and his wife, Rebecca B. Nelson, are probably buried in an old cemetery near the John W. Terry homeplace south of DeLeon, Texas.
Information about the family of John W. and Rebecca Nelson was taken from the Nelson Bible, copies of which are in the Terry Archive; the original is in the possession of Opal McDaniel, Big Spring, Texas, 1977.
1830 census: Bedford County, Tennessee: John W. NELSON - 1 male, 30 - 40; no females (Is this the right John W. Nelson?)
1840 census: Bedford County, Tennessee: John W. NELSON - 1 male, 20 - 30; 1 female, 20 - 30.
1850 Bedford County, Tennessee census, page 39 (288), family/house #66/66: John W. NELSON, 37, Tenn; Rebecca B. NELSON, 38, Tenn; Adelia F. G. A. M. NELSON, 7, Tenn; Rebecca A. NELSON, 1, Tenn.
1870 Rusk County, Texas census, page 235, taken 9 September 1870, Dwelling/Family #583/584: John W. NELSON, 58, male, white, retail dry goods merchant, real estate - $500, personal estate - $100, Tennessee; Rebecca B. NELSON, 59, female, white, keeping house, Tennessee; John A. NELSON, 19, male, white, at home, Tennessee.
1880 Comanche County, Texas census, Dwelling/Family 296/310, taken 19 June 1880: John W. NELSON, male 67, married, grocerer, Tennessee, North Carolina, North Carolina; Rebeca B. NELSON, female, 69, wife, keeping house, Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee; John A. NELSON, male, 26, son, widowed, grocer, Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee; Dasy A. NELSON, female, 7, granddaughter, single, at home, Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee. (NOTE FROM RALPH TERRY: John W. Nelson was living next door to his daughter and her husband, John W. Terry.)
"John W. Nelson and Rebecca Nelson were cousins. He was in the Civil War and was blinded in the war. He was called "Blind" John Nelson. He raised two nieces and was a shoe salesman. One niece was a trained nurse. One niece was called "Lady Bountiful." She married a man who owned a big sawmill at Hemphill (Texas). She killed her husband and her mother-in-law. "Blind" John Nelson begged on the streets, and the little girls led him around. He went from Rusk County to Marshall, Texas. Some Wilsons were kin. They lived at Pine Hill and moved to West Texas." (Maggie (Little) Stephen as told to Mary Frank Dunn - Edna Haden married a Wilson, but may not be the same family ... note from Mary Frank Dunn.) (NOTE FROM RALPH TERRY ... some of the above is correct, as John W. Nelson was blind according to the 1870 Rusk County census, but the part about his nieces seems to have him confused with John W. Nelson's son, John A. Nelson, who had grandaughters, one of which was referred to as "Lady Bountiful" and was also a nurse. See Lilly M. (Marshall) for details.)
Rusk County, Texas Deed Records: Book O, page 385 --- John W. - Elizabeth Nelson; Book T, page 485 --- Rebecca B. - John W. Nelson - Power of Attorney; Book P, page 272 --- John W. Nelson, 1865 - land at New London, Texas (John W. Nelson of Claiborne Parish, Louisana) ; Book L, page 617 --- John W. Nelson and wife, Rebecca Nelson (signed with a mark) to Chas. Smith, May 6, 1858 - land in Henry Howith Survey on Shreveport - Douglas Road (Pine Hill).
John W. Nelson was a Mason, Sharon Lodge # 95 (Pine Hill, Texas ?). He and his wife, Rebecca B. Nelson, are probably buried in an old cemetery near the John W. Terry homeplace south of DeLeon, Texas.
Information about the family of John W. and Rebecca Nelson was taken from the Nelson Bible, copies of which are in the Terry Archive; the original is in the possession of Opal McDaniel, Big Spring, Texas, 1977.
Events
| Birth | February 1, 1813 | Cold Spring, Bedford County, Tennessee | |||
| Marriage | November 25, 1830 | Bedford County, Tennessee - Rebecca Brown Nelson | |||
| Death | January 12, 1894 | near DeLeon, Comanche County, Texas | |||
| Burial | near DeLeon, Comanche County, Texas |
Families
| Spouse | Rebecca Brown Nelson (1810 - 1886) |
| Child | Infant Nelson (1842 - 1842) |
| Child | Adelia Fitzgerald Allen Amore Nelson (1843 - 1859) |
| Child | Benjamin Franklin Nelson (1844 - 1846) |
| Child | Fredonia Existance Nelson (1846 - 1847) |
| Child | Infant Nelson (1848 - 1848) |
| Child | Rebecca Alice Nelson (1849 - 1932) |
| Child | John Alexander Nelson (1851 - 1910) |
| Father | Moses Andrew Nelson (1780 - 1864) |
| Mother | Elizabeth "Betsy" "Eliza Y." McFarland (1780 - 1864) |
| Sibling | Benjamin Asbury Nelson (1818 - 1887) |