A friend tells me I have “triple first name syndrome,” and that’s not wrong. There are tons of people around with the name Thomas Mason, Thomas Nelson, or Mason Nelson. But there aren’t many people named Thomas Mason Nelson, and most are from my family. (The only exception I’ve found is a 1925 geology researcher and later business professor, and possibly also a man from Richmond, Va. referenced in his brother’s obituary.)
My namesake, Thomas Nelson, Jr., was instrumental in the founding of the United States. A planter from Virginia, he twice represented Virginia in the Continental Congress before, during, and after the American Revolution. He signed the Declaration of Independence on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and was elected governor in 1781.
Since then, the name Thomas Mason Nelson has been passed down for many generations. The last Thomas Mason Nelson died at birth in the 1940’s, and before him was my great great uncle, so I have no numeric suffix.