Roger Nelson (1759 – June 7, 1815) was an American soldier and politician who represented the fourth district of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1804 to 1810.

Early life

Nelson was born on "Point of Rocks" plantation, near

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

. He was the son of Arthur Nelson (d. 1792). He completed preparatory studies, and attended the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

Career

He served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and was wounded at the

Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General ...

and again at the

Battle of Guilford Court House The Battle of Guilford Court House was on March 15, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War, at a site that is now in Greensboro, the seat of Guilford County, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General ...

. Nelson was admitted as an original member of The

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

in the state of Maryland and later attained the rank of brigadier general. After the War, Nelson studied law, was admitted to the bar about 1785, and practiced in

Taneytown Taneytown ( , locally also ) is a city in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,728 at the 2010 census. Taneytown was founded in 1754. Of the city, George Washington once wrote, "Tan-nee town is but a small place with only ...

and Frederick. He held several local offices, including serving as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

in 1795, 1801, and 1802. He also served in the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

from November 1803 to November 1804. Nelson was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the Eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Daniel Hiester Daniel Hiester (June 25, 1747 – March 7, 1804) was an American political and military leader from the Revolutionary War period to the early 19th Century. Born in Berks County in the Province of Pennsylvania, he was a member of the Hiester ...

, and was reelected to the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Congresses, serving from November 6, 1804, until his resignation on May 14, 1810. He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1804 to prosecute the case in the impeachment trial of

Samuel Chase Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, a signatory to the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and an Associate Justice of th ...

, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was elected associate justice of the fifth (later sixth) judicial circuit of Maryland in 1810.

Personal life

Nelson was married to Mary Brooke Sim (d. 1794). Together, they were the parents of: * Catherine Murdoch Nelson (1790–1851) * John Nelson (1794–1860), another Maryland congressman who also served as the

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

. After the death of Mary in 1794, he remarried to Elizabeth "Eliza" Harrison (1771–1855). Together, they were the parents of: * Frederick Stembel Nelson (1803–1823) *

Madison Nelson Madison Nelson (1803 – January 1, 1870)"The Death of Judge Nelson—Action of the Court of Appeals", ''The Baltimore Sun'' (January 5, 1870), p. 2.''Portrait and Biographical Record of the Sixth Congressional District, Maryland'' (1898), p305

(1803–1870) * Sarah Nelson (1807–1880) Nelson died in Frederick, and is interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Society of the Cincinnati

The American Revolution Institute
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Roger 1759 births 1815 deaths American militia generals Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Maryland state senators Maryland state court judges People of Maryland in the American Revolution College of William & Mary alumni People from Frederick County, Maryland Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland People from Taneytown, Maryland Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Frederick, Maryland)