Preceded by John Lowell (judge) Name Thomas Nelson | Role Judge Died 1897 | |
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Appointed by President Rutherford Hayes Succeeded by Francis Cabot Lowell (judge) Education Dartmouth College, University of Vermont | ||
Thomas Leverett Nelson (1827–1897) was U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts.
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Early life
Thomas Nelson was born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, March 4, 1827, one of twelve children of John and Lois Leverett Nelson. Nelson attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire and Dartmouth College. After two years at Dartmouth, he enrolled at the University of Vermont in Burlington, and graduated in 1845. After graduation, Nelson became an engineer, involved in railroad construction. Thomas Leverett Nelson died in Worcester, Massachusetts on November 21, 1897.
Career and Civic Interests
After a serious accident, Nelson began studying the law in Worcester with Judge Francis H. Dewey and was admitted to the bar in 1855. After admission Nelson practiced law privately with various partners including William W. Rice, Dwight Foster, and George F. Hoar. Nelson also served as representative to the General Court, City Solicitor in Worcester, and in various other civic positions. He was active in Congregational churches early in his life and then became a member of First Unitarian Church in Worcester and then Central Church. Nelson also served as commissioner of Providence and Worcester Railroad. In 1879, President Rutherford Hayes appointed Nelson to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts where Nelson served until his death.