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Historical records matching Pvt. Thomas Finley Nelson, CSA
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About Pvt. Thomas Finley Nelson, CSA
Thomas Finley Nelson was the sixth of ten children born to John Nelson and and his wife Elizabeth Pendley. On both sides of his family he descended from early settlers in the upper Yadkin River of Caldwell Co. He grew up on his father's farm. During the Civil War, Thomas served as a private in the 1st North Carolina Cavalry attached to the Army of Northern Virginia. Returning from the war, Thomas was called to the ministry. He studied at Wake Forest College and was ordained a minister the gospel in the Baptist church. He served as pastor to several churches in Caldwell, Watauga and Wilkes Counties, while maintaining a farm in the upper Yadkin River valley near Patterson. At some point Thomas veered away from strict Baptist theology and embraced the teachings of the Adventist church. His strong preaching was often reported in the local papers.
On December 12, 1870 Thomas married Mary Elizabeth Greer (1853-1916) of Caldwell Co. The couple had eight children: Ada Virginia (b. 1872), Thomas Graves (b. 1873), Rose Lee (b. 1875), Horace Liman (b. 1877), William Milton (b. 1879), John Franklin (b. 1881), Samuel Hudson (b. 1883), and George Stanley (b. 1887).
By the mid-1880s Thomas was considering a move west. He made a trip to Kansas in 1885. In April 1886 he and his family joined a group of other Caldwell families in moving out to the Idaho Territory. He acquired a farm in Moscow, Idaho, and pastored the First (and only) Baptist Church. Opposition to the growing power of the Mormon Church led Thomas into politics. Barely two years after arriving in Idaho he was elected as a Democrat/Populist to the Territorial Council, the upper house of the legislature. When Idaho gained statehood in 1890, Thomas ran several times for the state senate and was successful twice (1897-98). In 1897 he failed in a bid for election to the U.S. Senate.
Suffering from rheumatism and perhaps faced with a stalled political career, Thomas and his wife left Idaho for California in 1898. They settled on a fruit-growing ranch in the Pejaro Valley near Corralitos in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains. The last years of their lives were spent in Watsonville, CA in the home of their son William. Thomas died at the age of seventy. His wife died less than seven months later.
Nelson, Thomas F. BATTLE UNIT NAME: 1st Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry SIDE: Confederacy COMPANY: E D SOLDIER'S RANK IN: Private SOLDIER'S RANK OUT: Private ALTERNATE NAME: Thomas R./Nelson FILM NUMBER: M230 ROLL 29 PLAQUE NUMBER: NOTES: General Note - Original filed under Thomas R./Nelson
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Pvt. Thomas Finley Nelson, CSA's Timeline
| 1845 |
March 28, 1845
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Blowing Rock, Wautaga, Caldwell, North Carolina, United States
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| 1871 |
November 19, 1871
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Blowing Rock, Watauga, North Carolina, United States
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| 1873 |
March 26, 1873
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Blowing Rock, Watauga, North Carolina, United States
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| 1875 |
July 24, 1875
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Blowing Rock, Wautaga, North Carolina, United States
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| 1877 |
1877
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Blowing Rock, Watauga County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1881 |
August 21, 1881
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| 1887 |
May 24, 1887
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Cottonwood, Idaho, Idaho, United States
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May 24, 1887
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Cottonwood, Idaho County, Idaho, United States
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