Thomas Nelson of Yorktown, Virginia

Largely ignored by scholars, Thomas Nelson Jr. of Yorktown, Virginia, was among the patriots who dared all when he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was well known to the wealthy and powerful of the era as a member of the Virginia gentry which held vast political and economic sway within the colony. Nelson filled many roles in his short fifty years of life—merchant, legislator, patriot, soldier, governor, slaveholder, and flawed founder.

Born on December 26, 1738, Thomas Nelson was the eldest son of William Nelson, a wealthy second-generation Virginian, merchant, and landowner. To separate himself from his famous uncle with the same name, it is believed Thomas added the “junior.” Educated in England, he studied at Christ College, Cambridge,[1] returned to Yorktown in 1762, and was immediately elected to the Virginia colonial legislature, the House of Burgesses. He was appointed a member of the York County Court, and colonel of the militia. His marriage resulted in a large family with eleven children. Upon the death of his father in 1772, he inherited the heavily indebted family business.

There is little evidence that Nelson was a prominent member of House of Burgesses for most of the fifteen years he was a delegate. Much of his work was routine, often mundane, such as being ordered, along with George Washington, “to bring in a Bill for laying a Tax upon Dogs.”[2] On May 6, 1774, he was assigned to the Committee on Religion, along with more than twenty others, to consider “all matters and things relating to Religion and Morality.”[3]

As tensions with England grew over taxation, specifically with the 1765 implementation of the Stamp Act, the House of Burgesses became an important body in shaping America’s movement towards independence. For example, on May 29, 1765, Patrick Henry, a new member, introduced five controversial resolutions criticizing British policy, supported by Thomas Nelson. As viewed by some of his contemporaries, Henry’s speech criticizing King George III was scandalous and radical, as were some of his proposed resolutions. Specifically, the fifth proposed resolution, which was rejected, included the statement that only the general assembly had the exclusive right to tax and that no other individual or body could do so without “destroy[ing] British as well as American Freedom.”[4]