I’ve spent countless hours combing through census records, military files, and family memories to piece together where we come from. I haven’t done this alone. Others in the family have helped fill in gaps I couldn’t close on my own, and I’m grateful to each of them.
Some of what’s here reads like a bare list of dates. For a family like ours, the historical record thins to almost nothing before 1870, and finding the earliest documents is a real struggle. It takes looking through property rolls or court papers just to find a trace. But sometimes, you find a miracle—like the 1850 Virginia census that named my great-great-grandfather among the “Free People of Color,” or a service record proving he wore a Union uniform in 1864 and 1865. I’ve tried to include only what the records actually say, not what I wish they said.
I’m starting with John Lemon Nelson and Dolly May McNeil, my paternal great-grandparents, and their descendants. Explore their story below, or use the tool to see how you connect.
Living relatives are not published here. That’s deliberate. This site is for honoring those who came before us, and it stays that way by keeping the people still with us private.
If you know something I don’t, or you think I’ve gotten a detail wrong, please tell me. This history isn’t finished, and it never really will be. It grows every time someone remembers one more piece.
Someone you remember
Start with a grandparent, great-aunt, or great-uncle you actually knew.
The founding generation
Children of John Lemon Nelson Sr. and Dolly May McNeill Nelson, born 1857 to 1875.