Roger Nelson (politician)

Nelson was born on "Point of Rocks" plantation, near Frederick, Maryland. He was the son of Arthur Nelson (d. 1792).[1]

He completed preparatory studies, and attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.[1]

He served in the militia during the American Revolutionary War, and was wounded at the Battle of Camden.[2] He later attained the rank of brigadier general.[3]

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 in 1795, 1801, and 1802. He also served in the Maryland Senate from November 1803 to November 1804.[1]

Nelson was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Daniel 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 conduct the impeachment proceedings against Samuel Chase, 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.[1]

Nelson was married to Mary Brooke Sim (d. 1794). Together, they were the parents of:[4]

• Catherine Murdoch Nelson (1790–1851)
• John Nelson (1794–1860), another Maryland congressman who also served as the U.S. Attorney General.[5]

After the death of Mary in 1794, he remarried to Elizabeth "Eliza" Harrison (1771–1855).[6] Together, they were the parents of:

• Frederick Stembel Nelson (1803–1823)[6]
• Madison Nelson (1803–1870)
• Sarah Nelson (1807–1880)

Nelson died in Frederick, and is interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery.[1]

• United States Congress. "Roger Nelson (id: N000041)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Roger Nelson at Find a Grave