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James Monroe Nelson  Biographical Souvenir of the State of Texas Contains Biographical Sketches of the Representative Public and Many Early Settled Families. Chicago: F. A. Battey & Company 1889 pg.635 JAMES
MONROE
NELSON CALLED HOME AFTER ILLNESS OF MANY YEARS The
old landmarks of a community disappear. One by one they crumble into
dust as
the calendar marks the passing of this era and the coming of another. It
is the same with the old and beloved characters of a town. The truth of
the
assertion is found more in the smaller places than the large. We see
certain
men in their primes today. They are with us in business and are making
their
names as we work toward our own ends. Then comes tomorrow. We see them
fade and
wither. Their vitality wanes and the hand of senility is upon them.
Then they
pass away like summer’s breath and are gone. A
good example of this outline is enacted in the life of J. M. Nelson who
answered
the call to the Great Life this morning at 5 o’clock, and his passing
marks the
close of a very busy and active life which was cut down in later years
by the
firm hand of age. Mr.
Nelson passed away after an illness of a couple of weeks, and his death
was
hastened by his falling last week and throwing his hip out of joint. But the beginning of the
end came three years
ago, when bound for Seattle to visit his son, Oliver, he suffered a
stroke of
paralysis and had to be taken off the train at Marced, California. He never was the same
after that. It
seemed to undermine the strong character
and pitifully weaken it insomuch that his later years were a terrible
burden to
him. J. M. Nelson was born in Jackson, Miss. (1860 Census indicated he was born in Illinois), where he spent most of his childhood days, growing in that influence conducive to gentlemanly traits and habits. When still small he moved with his family to Cairo, Ill., the family home until he was 18 years of age.
On
the threshold of manhood, Mr. Nelson heard the call of the great open
west and
answering it made his way to Sherman, Texas, where he lived until 1902,
when he
moved to the Pecos Valley. His
life in
the Lone Star state was the life everyone had to live on the plains and
it
brought that inborn manhood and character to the front so that it stood
out
boldly and prominently in his daily life.
He was a man whose manhood was forever unchanged. You found him tomorrow as
you saw him
yesterday. Mr.
Nelson was married in Texas and there came into the home two sons and
two
daughters. Oliver
C. Nelson is at
present in Tacoma, Wash., while the other son Harry, who is well known
here,
lives in New South Wales, where he has recently moved from Australia. He is a wireless operator
at one of the large
stations. Mrs W. H.
Artley of Savannah,
Ga. and Mrs. J. D. Hudgins of Carlsbad are his two daughters. Mr. Nelson also leaves a
wife to mourn his
loss. The
name of this man comes as one very familiar to nearly every person who
has
lived in Roswell for a number of years.
As an architect he had few peers.
He seemed to have that indefinable quality of seeing
in his own mind the
finished building in mortar and stone.
He figures out carefully every detail of the
structure and built it
first himself. As
his best monument
stand the buildings he conceived.
There
are some fifteen or twenty courthouses and schools in Texas, the
products of
his study, while the Baptist Church, St. Mary’s Hospital, the Oklahoma
block
and other buildings scattered all over the valley call his name to mind. St.
Peter’s Church was his last work and the beauty of the building is not
passed
by. The Baptist
Church is an edifice
that reveals his artwork more than anything else probably. The silent awe-inspiring
front view is a
consolation and a joy. By
moonlight
there is almost a divine air about it.
The soft flood of silver from the clear New Mexico
heavens transforms
the lines into mystic and fairy creations.
The long shadows fall onto the lighted entrance and
there is a touching
element that cannot be forgotten. Of
Mr. Nelson himself, there is little that may be said.
He lived a quiet and rather secluded life,
mostly to himself but not for himself.
He was a gentleman of the highest type with all the
attributes of that
name. It is enough. High
Mass will be held tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock at St. Peter’s Church
and
burial will follow in South Park cemetery.  Biography Index Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any links inoperable, please send me a message. |
