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

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

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, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...

. 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 (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

Career

He served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

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 Kingdom of Great Britain, British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces ...

and again at the

Battle of Guilford Court House The Battle of Guilford Court House was fought on 15 March 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, near Greensboro, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Na ...

. Nelson was admitted as an original member of The

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, 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 milita ...

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 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 Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

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 (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

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 American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War period to the early 19th Century. Born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Berks County in the Pro ...

, 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 Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, signer of the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryla ...

, 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 is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

. 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 (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) 19th-century Maryland politicians Continental Army officers from Maryland

Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives