Nelson, A. J.

NELSON, A. J., Jefferson, then Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Mike Miller, Apr. 1998.

Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged
in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 321-322. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914,
by Century Historical Association.

Nelson, A. J., 428 Lowerline street, New Orleans, was born in Jefferson parish, La., Sept. 17,
1866; son of John M. and Eliza Jane (Edwards) Nelson, the former of whom was born in the city
of Carlisle, Cumberland county, England, and the latter at Cincinnati, O. John M. Nelson, the
father, was an English architect, and a descendant of the noted Nelson family of England, whose
history is too well known to be repeated here. The mother is a descendant of the Edwards family
of Wales. From a volume published in 1795 by an ancestor, the following extract is made: "My
son may boast of being 25th in descent from Tudor Trevor, Earl of Hereford, A. D., 924,'' where,
for brevity's sake, it is said, the pedigree is taken up, as otherwise it might reach to the renowned Kourda Wledig, after having passed through 5 most celebrated descents.

Tudor Trevor was grandson of Karadoc Vreichvras, of the time of Prince Arthur, and one of the Knights of the Round Table. "It is from Tudor Trevor that the Tudor family of England descended." ''The Trevors were the pater faimilias, or head of the whole line.'' In 1644, a member of the Edwards family was Knighted by Charles the First, and his descendant, Sir Herbert Edwards, was one of England's famous general in the 19th century. In 1679 an Edwards was Lord Mayor of London.

Daniel Edwards was a member of the King's Council for the Colony of Connecticut. Timothy
Edwards, born 1679, was chaplain of the troops in the Canadian expedition of 1709. Capt. James
Edwards served with the Pennsylvania troops in the Revolutionary army, and entertained the
greatest affection for Gen. George Washington, saying on his deathbed: ''I shall soon meet my
dear old general, Washington." Ninian, son of Chief Justice Ninian Edwards, the first and only
territorial governor of Illinois, married a sister of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. The most famous
member of the family was Jonathan Edwards. Mary, his daughter, married Timothy Dwight, and
became the mother of a president of Yale college, and her daughter, Sarah Edwards, was the
mother of Aaron Burr. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Daniel Edwards,
married Ann Green, in Everton, parish of Walton-on-the-Hill, England, in the year 1831, and,
coming to America, lived in Pittsburg, Pa., for a time, removing thence to Cincinnati, O., where
his mother was born. Col. James Daniel Edwards, an uncle of the subject of this sketch, served
with the Washington artillery of New Orleans throughout the Civil war, that command forming a
part of the Confederate army.

Mrs. Nelson, wife of J. Nelson, is descended on her mother's side from the Camerons and Pinneys of Scotland, and on her father's side from the Landers, of Portsmouth, N. H. The following extract is taken from "Rambles About Portsmouth:" "In 1640, 17 years after the first settling of Portsmouth, John Lander, with 19 others, the principal inhabitants of Portsmouth, made a deed of 50 acres of land in Portsmouth for a glebe, or parsonage. In 1693 the Selectmen drew up a set of rules to regulate the seating, and by name mentioning Iithe location of each member of the Meeting House. The Hon. Judge Hill, of South Berwick, Me., was one of this family, and later, we find, a Chief Justice." The arms of the Nelson family are described: "He Beareth, argent between three boars' heads, a cheveron sable, with 'Hwy Perry Clod Na Cyfoeth' as the motto. ('Fame Lasts Longer Than Riches.') Crest: A Boar's head impaled, tusks, or with dagger argent."

A. J. Nelson received his early education from private tutors, followed by attendance at the public schools, after which he entered Tulane university, taking an engineering course, and after having completed his term there again took up his studies under private tutors. Beginning his career in his grandfather Edwards' foundry, he later became interested in orange culture and was for a while engaged in that industry, afterward going into sugar planting and manufacture. He finally returned to New Orleans and to his profession of civil engineering. It was at this time that he erected a number of buildings in various cities of the South and became interested in architecture, and while successfully managing some large manufacturing plants, he began studying architecture, in connection with managing his various interests, and when he had advanced to a satisfactory degree in this science, began his professional career as an architect.

Mr. Nelson enlisted as a private in Company C, Washington artillery, Nov. 16, 1892; became captain of Battery "B" May 27, 1907; adjutant of the battalion May 9, 1908, and is now on the retired officers' list. He is a member of the Louisiana Engineering society, and affiliates with the Episcopal church. March 19, 1902, Mr. Nelson was married to Miss Ethel Hill Lander, daughter of Col. Charles H. and Glendora Cameron (Pinney) Lander, of Columbus, O.  To them 2 children have been born, viz.: Aline Glendora and Eleanor Lander.