Thomas Nelson, Jr.

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 so I have no numeric suffix.