Biographical Note

Hugh Mortimer Nelson (Sr.) married Adelaide Holker (b. 1816) of Boston in 1836. They settled in Baltimore for a short time, where Hugh began his career as a lawyer. In 1842, Hugh moved back to Virginia with his wife and three-year old daughter Nannie and purchased a struggling Long Branch from his uncle Philip Nelson. The correspondence between Adelaide and daughter Nannie while the latter was attending a New York school in 1857 comprises another significant portion of this collection. Son Hugh Nelson, Jr. was born in 1847. Another daughter, Lucy, was born in 1842, but died as an infant. Hugh Mortimer Nelson, Sr. represented Clarke County at the Virginia (Secession) Convention of 1861, where he initially maintained his support for the Union. Following the events at Ft. Sumter and Virginia's decision to secede, he raised a cavalry company from Clarke County and served under J.E.B. Stuart's command for a time before attaining the rank of Major under General Richard S. Ewell. Wounded at the Battle of Gaines Mill/Seven Days Battles on 26 June 1862, he died in Albemarle County on 6 August 1862. Adelaide was left in charge of Long Branch. She died in 1875 of pneumonia after a long struggle to keep the property in the family.

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