Thomas H. Nelson

Hon. Thomas H. Nelson, circa 1894.

Thomas Henry Nelson(October 24, 1821 – March 14, 1896)was aU.S.diplomat and politician fromIndiana.

Nelson was born inMinerva,Mason County,Kentuckyto Dr. Thomas W. Nelson and Frances Doniphan Nelson. On Dec 11, 1843 in Aberdeen, Ohio, Thomas married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Key, the daughter of Marshall Key and Harriet Sellman Key. She was a student ofHarriet Beecher Stowe.

The Nelsons moved toRockville, Indiana,where he set up a law practice. A few years later, the couple moved toTerre Haute, Indiana.In 1852 he was on the Board of Commissioners for the construction of theSpringfield and Terre Haute Railroad.During the 1850s, he was tasked with organizing theRepublican Partyin Indiana. In 1860, he unsuccessfully ran for theUnited States Congress.He was appointed U.S. Envoy toChilein 1861 byAbraham Lincoln.On December 8, 1863, he organized rescue operations during the catastrophicChurch of the Company FireinSantiagoand was called "a true hero of Chile" for doing so.

He was made U.S. Envoy toMexicofrom 1869 to 1873 byUlysses S. Grant.Nelson died in Terre Haute, on March 14, 1896, and is buried there in Woodlawn Cemetery.