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Thomas Nelson, Jun

THOMAS NELSON was born at York, in Virginia, on the 26th of December, 1738. At the age of fourteen, he was sent to England, and placed at a private school in the neighborhood of London. He was afterwards removed to the University of Cambridge, where he enjoyed the instruction of the eminent Doctor Porteus, subsequently Bishop of London. About the close of 1761, he returned to his native country, and, in the following year, married the daughter of Philip Grymes, Esq., of Brandon. His ample fortune enabled him to indulge his spirit of hospitality to its fullest extent, and to live in a style of unusual elegance.

It is not determined with certainty at what period the political career of Mr. Nelson commenced. He was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1774, and during the same year was deputed to the first General Convention of the province, which met at Williamsburg on the 1st of August. The next year he was again returned a member to the General Convention, and introduced a resolution for organizing a military force in the province.

In July, 1775, Mr. Nelson was appointed a delegate from Virginia to the General Congress about to assemble at Philadelphia. He retained his seat in this body until 1777. In May of that year, he was obliged to resign all serious occupation, in consequence of a disease in the head. When relieved from this malady, his energies were again called into action, and he was appointed Brigadier General and Commander in Chief of the forces of the commonwealth. In this office, he rendered the most important service to his country, and in times of emergency often advanced money, to carry forward the military operations. In 1779, he was again chosen to Congress; but a close application to business produced a recurrence of his former complaint, and he was again compelled to return home.

Soon after his recovery, General Nelson entered with animation into several military expeditions against the British, who, at that time, were making the Southern States the chief theatre of war. It was owing to his measures that the army was kept together, until the capture of Yorktown terminated the war. For this service, Governor Nelson had the pleasure of receiving the acknowledgments of Washington, who, in his general orders of the 20th of October, 1781, thus spoke of him : "The General would be guilty of the highest ingratitude, a crime of which he hopes he shall never be accused, if he forgot to return his sincere acknowledgments to his Excellency Governor Nelson, for the succors which he received from him, and the militia under his command to whose activity, emulation, and bravery, the highest praises are due.' A month subsequent to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, Governor Nelson resigned his station, in consequence of ill health, and immediately afterwards was accused by his enemies, of having transcended his powers, in acting without the consent of his council : but he was honorably acquitted by the Legislature, before whom the charge was preferred. He died on the 4th of January, 1789, just after he had completed his fiftieth year.