Quoting Elaine, "Colonel William Nelson was the son of Thomas, Thomas the signer and grand son of Thomas & Frances Courtenay. William was born 6-17-1746 in Hanover. His wife was Mary Chiswell dau of John Chiswell and Elizabeth Randolph. William and Mary had a daughter Lucy that was born in 1771, but their daughter Mary Chiswell Nelson wasn't born until 4-1783." She lost me somewhere in describing Thomas Nelson. Actually, Col. William Nelson was a son of Thomas Nelson known as Secretary Nelson (Capt. Thomas Nelson and Major John Nelson were his siblings. These mentioned three sons were born at Yorktown and participated in the American Revolutionary War. The Thomas, known as "the signer," was a nephew of Secretary Thomas Nelson and therefore first cousins to the three mentioned Nelson siblings. I am unfamiliar with the mentioned Thomas and Frances Courtenay. I wouldn't spend much time in studying The Descendants of Thomas Nelson of Virginia by Carol Hauk. I am unable to reconcile some of her entries. John Nelson (8th generation from Thomas "Scotch Tom" Nelson)