Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson
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| Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson | |
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| In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 Prisoner of War during 37th U.S. Congress |
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| Preceded by | Albert Galiton Watkins William Brickly Stokes |
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| Succeeded by | George Washington Bridges Edmund Cooper |
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| Born | March 19, 1812 Kingston, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | August 24, 1873 (aged 61) Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Political party | Opposition Party National Union Party Democratic Party |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer, Judge |
Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson (March 19, 1812 – August 24, 1873) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee. He was born in Kingston, Tennessee in Roane County. He completed preparatory studies and graduated from East Tennessee College (now the University of Tennessee at Knoxville) in 1828. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1852, and commenced practice in Washington County, Tennessee.
He served two terms as attorney general of the first judicial circuit. He was appointed commissioner (diplomatic) to China on March 6, 1851. He resigned on July 2, 1851. He was elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-sixth Congress and served from March 4, 1859 to March 3, 1861. He was re-elected to the Thirty-seventh Congress, but while en route to Washington to take his seat, during the Civil War, he was arrested by Confederate scouts. He was conveyed to Richmond as a prisoner, paroled, and allowed to return to his home.
Upon the advent of the Union Army into East Tennessee in 1863, he moved to Knoxville. He was a delegate to the National Union Convention held at Philadelphia in 1866 and to the Democratic National Convention in 1868. He was one of the counsel that defended President Andrew Johnson in his impeachment trial in 1868. He was elected a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1870 and served until his resignation in 1871. He died in Knoxville, Tennessee and was interned there at Old Gray Cemetery next to his second wife in an unmarked grave.
On Sept 27, 1871 his son shot and killed ex-CSA Brigadier General James Holt Clanton[1]in Knoxville, Tennessee.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Nelson, at Find A Grave
| Preceded by Albert Galiton Watkins |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st congressional district March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 |
Succeeded by George Washington Bridges |
| Preceded by William Brickly Stokes |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 4th congressional district never served (1) |
Succeeded by Edmund Cooper(2) |
| Notes and references | ||
| 1. Nelson was captured by Confederate scouts and was imprisoned before he could take the seat. 2. Because of Tennessee's secession, the House seat was vacant for four years before Cooper succeeded Nelson. |
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