Nelson, Thomas, 1738-1789

<p>Thomas Nelson Jr. was born into the aristocratic society of Virginia in December of 1738. Like most of the southern Gentleman of his day, he gained a private education in England, culminating in a degree from Cambridge. He returned in 1761 and soon became involved in service to his colony and his country. Elected to the House of Burgesses in 1774, he was one of eighty nine who convened at the Raleigh tavern when that house was dissolved by the royal Governor. He was a member of the Virginia provincial convention in 1775, and there he undertook the creation of the Virginia Militia. He then assumed duty as its first Commander. Shortly thereafter he was elected to the Continental Congress. Nelson began suffering health problems in 1777 and thought best to retire to his native state. He resumed his military service, much to the benefit of both Virginia and his health. He was reelected to Congress in 1779 but his health again declined and he returned to Virginia several months later.</p>

<p>Once again he resumed service, as commanding General of the Lower Virginia Militia, at a time when British forces began aggressive campaigns against the southern colonies. In 1781, Thomas Jefferson declined reelection as Governor due to his inability to serve the needs of a state under siege. General Nelson succeeded Jefferson and served as both Civil Governor and Commander in chief of the Virginia Militia. Under his command Virginia, both civil and Military, became a force to contend with. Both the Continental Army and French forces utilized the skills of the Virginia units in the Siege of Yorktown in the autumn of 1781.</p>

<p>Finally overcome by illness in October of that year, General Nelson retired from public service. He died at one of his estates, in Hanover County, in 1789 at the age of 50.</p>

<p>Thomas Nelson Jr. (December 26, 1738 – January 4, 1789) was an American soldier and statesman from Yorktown, Virginia, and is considered one of the U.S. Founding Fathers. In addition to serving in the Virginia General Assembly for many terms, he twice represented Virginia in the Continental Congress. Fellow Virginia legislators elected him to serve as the commonwealth's governor in 1781.</p>

<p>He signed the Declaration of Independence as a member of the Virginia delegation and fought in the militia during the siege of Yorktown.</p>

<p>Nelson was the grandson of Thomas "Scotch Tom" Nelson, an immigrant from Cumberland, England, who was an early pioneer at Yorktown. Nelson Jr. was born in 1738 at Yorktown; his parents were Elizabeth Carter Burwell (daughter of Robert "King" Carter and widow of Nathaniel Burwell) and William Nelson, who was a leader of the colony and briefly served as governor.</p>

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>06/12/1781 VA Governor Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1778 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1776 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1775 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1774 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>