From "Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana," 1903, pp. 162-165.

SOLOMON B. NELSON.

Recurrences to the past, with the recollections and associations which cause it to pass in lifelike review before our mental vision, will continue to be, as of yore, a source of satisfaction, especially when they connect themselves with facts and incidents reflected from our own experience. These reminders remain with the life of the participants when no landmarks remain to save us the pictures faintly delineated on the tablets of memory. To preserve from forgetfulness the leading facts in the lives of the pioneers and older citizens of our country is the work devolved upon the writers of this work. Biography fails in its mission when it fails to preserve these valuable facts committed to its care. More than any other form of history, it commands the most interested attention for the reason that it is largely a record of our own experiences as seen reflected from the careers of others who have traveled the rugged pathway of life as our companions, acquaintances and friends. In the life of the gentleman whose name introduces this article the reader will find much that is interesting and instructive. An honored resident of Wells County for over a half century and a gallant soldier in one of the greatest wars of history, he has borne well his part in life and now, when the shadows have deepened, he looks back over his long and useful career, finding in the retrospect little to condemn and much to commend. Solomon B. Nelson is a native of Ohio and the son of James and Sarah (Beals) Nelson, both parents born in Pennsylvania. James Nelson was taken to Wayne county, Ohio, when a small boy, and there grew to maturity and married. Shortly after taking to himself a helpmeet he removed to the county of Stark, where he owned a farm, and for some years lived in that section of the state, engaging in agriculture and blacksmithing. About 1844 he disposed of his place and moved his family to Adams county, Indiana, where he purchased a quarter section of timber land, thirty-five acres of which were cleared and reduced to cultivation during the five years that followed. In 1849 Mr. Nelson sold this place at a good figure and came to Wells County, locating in the township of Lancaster, where he bought an eighty-acre farm on which the remainder of his life was spent. In connection with agriculture he worked at blacksmithing and by industry and successful management succeeded in accumulating a sufficiency of this world's goods to place himself in comfortable circumstances. James Nelson was a man of excellent parts, honest and industrious and the embodiment of all that was honorable and upright in citizenship. For many years he served as class leader in the Methodist church and he always tried to measure his life according to the high standard of excellence as found in the life and teachings of the man of Nazareth. In politics he was a Democrat and as such was elected to various local offices, among which was that of township trustee. James and Sarah Nelson were the parents of twelve children, all but one reaching the years of maturity, four sons, Solomon B., William, Silas and Sanford P., serving their country faithfully during the great Rebellion.

Solomon B. Nelson was born in Wayne county, Ohio, July 30, 1837, and was a lad of about eleven when his parents moved to the county of Wells. Aside from the daily routine of labor on the farm, varied of winter seasons by attending the common schools, his early life was marked by no striking incident or fact worthy of note. He grew up to the full requirement that man should earn his bread by honest toil and from his excellent parents learned those lessons of duty and correct living which redounded so greatly to his advantage in after years. After completing the public school course he taught one term, but not caring to devote his attention exclusively to educational work soon exchanged that calling for the vocation of farming.

In April, 1860, Mr. Nelson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Clark, a native of Ohio who came to Wells County with her parents as early as the year 1839. Her father, Allen Clark, a native of Pennsylvania, was of Irish descent and her mother, who bore the maiden name of Florinda Marquis, was born and reared in Ohio. The childhood and youthful years of Mrs. Nelson were spent on the home farm in Lancaster and after receiving a good common school education she taught for some time in the village of Eaglesville. Immediately following his marriage Mr. Nelson turned his attention to farming, but was not very long permitted to pursue that vocation undisturbed. The President's call for volunteers to crush the rebellion in the southern states so appealed to his patriotism that he at once tendered his services to his country in its time of need. In September, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry, Captain William Swain, and after spending a short time at Anderson, Indiana, proceeded to the front, meeting the enemy for the first time at New Madrid, Missouri. Subsequently the regiment was sent to Memphis, Tennessee, thence up White river to meet the force under General Curtis and later to Port Gibson, on the Mississippi, where the subject took part in one of the hard fought battles of the war. Mr. Nelson shared with his comrades the vicissitudes and fortunes of war in a number of campaigns in different states and proved his bravery and loyalty under many trying circumstances. He participated in the bloody engagement at Champion Hill, Mississippi, where his colonel was severely wounded, and some time thereafter was obliged to take hospital treatment for disability brought on by exposure and over-exertion. At the expiration of his period of enlistment, December, 1863, he was discharged, but the following year reenlisted and served until the close of the war, being mustered out the second time at New York City on the 26th of June, 1865. While in the service Mr. Nelson's eyes became seriously affected and at one time it was feared his sight would be lost. He has never recovered from this ailment, his vision being very greatly impaired at the present time, so much so in fact that it is impossible for him to perceive any but very large and distinct objects. For this misfortune he is partially reimbursed by a pension of seventy-two dollars per month, which, though quite liberal, by no means compensates him for the loss of vision. After the war Mr. Nelson took up his residence at Eagleville, where he supported his family by various kinds of manual labor until his diminishing eyesight compelled him to retire from active life. When it became impossible for him to work, he moved to Bluffton and here he has resided since 1883, honored and respected by all who know him. He purchased a beautiful and comfortable home and, barring his disability, is well situated to enjoy the many blessings of life by which he is surrounded.

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have had five children, namely: Florence E., born January 16, 1861, died at the age of twenty months; Rachel E., born January 15, 1865, married J. Z. Brickley and departed this life some years ago; Marion F. was born September 22, 1866, married Irene B. Cobbins and is now in the United States mail service, having charge of Rural Route No. 6; Martha J., born January 1, 1869, died when seven years old; the youngest of the family, Allen C., whose birth occurred on the 6th day of May, 1878, is a compositor in the office of the Bluffton Chronicle and News.

Prior to the Rebellion Mr. Nelson was a Democrat, but after the war he joined the Republican party and has been one of its earnest supporters ever since, though not a partisan in the sense the term is generally understood. He belongs to the Grand Army post at Bluffton and takes an active interest in all of its deliberations. His religious creed is represented by the Presbyterian church, of which body he has been an earnest and consistent member for many years; Mrs. Nelson also belongs to the same denomination. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are among the oldest and best known residents of Wells County and all who are favored with their acquaintance speak in the highest terms of their many sterling qualities of head and heart. They have lived long and well, have done their duty without fear or favor and the future awaits them with abundant rewards.