AMITE COUNTY FAMILY MEMORIES
About the year1847 when James Benjamin Nelson was about 21 years old, he and his brother William Winfield Nelson came to Amite County from Europe . They had relatives in this area but relations (Neilsons or Nelsons) have been forgotten. At any rate the John F. Collinsworth family "took them in" and used him in his business, as he wrote a beautiful hand and was well educated for that time. Within two years, John F Collinsworth died leaving a widow, children, and a large estate. On December 18, 1849, James B. married John F. Collinsworth's widow, Lavisa Cassels Collinsworth, the daughter of Rueben Cassell and Mary Sojourner. Two sons were born to this marriage - Winfield and Benjamin Drake Nelson. Lavisa died in August 1858 after being thrown from a horse. Following her death, James B. made the decision to leave his son Benjamin (Winfield was deceased) with his two unmarried stepdaughters, Amazon and Antoinette Collinsworth and attend medical school. About the time he received his medical license to practice medicine and had returned to the county, the Civil War "broke out". Soon thereafter, he joined Capt. William L. Huff's company for the duration of the war, serving as a physician to the troops as they moved into Kentucky and Georgia. Before returning to the county after the war, he married one of his nurses with a son about 12 years old, the age of James B.'s son Benjamin. As they began to settle into life in Amite County, the new wife seemed to play favorites with the boys; the unresolved conflicts led to her returning to her people.
About the year1867 when his last stepdaughter married, the Collinsworth estate was sold and James B. moved to Cedar Grove community (O'Neil). There he built a medical office, practiced medicine, and served as the O’Neil postmaster from 1874 until his death on 18 Oct 1891. (The post office was removed to William Whittington's store at his death.)
In later life, he married Sarah E Jackson on January 5, 1881, the daughter of Thomas Jackson, Jr. and Elizabeth Van Norman. Elizabeth was a sister of Hyram Van Norman.
This staunch Methodist established the Cedargrove Methodist Church and public school with the help of Rev. Martin Luther White, his first wife's cousin. The church was removed after his death and renamed the New hope Methodist Church. With the consolidation of the county schools, the school at Cedargrove was merged with the Oxford school and became Oxford school.
The 1850's were difficult times for immigrants. The "Know-Nothing" party born of that era was anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant. James B., a recent emigrant to the county, was harassed and threatened by the group. When chosen for jury duty in Liberty during this period, necessitating his having to spend the week in Liberty with few rooms available, his only choice was to sleep on the benches in the courthouse. Fearing for his safety, he hired a bodyguard to stay with him day and night while the court was in session. Nothing happened.
His son, Benjamin Drake Nelson, grew up with the Collinsworths as his family. Showing his affection for the family, Benjamin named his second, third, and fourth sons respectively, Fletcher Collinsworth, Edmund Garrett, and Hamilton Burton. Joe’s mother, "Nettie", was named for Antoinette, one of the younger sisters.
Benjamin Drake was very proud of his Methodist kin, the Whites and Lewises, despite his wife's strong Baptist family. He was a master builder, building at least ten churches in Amite County, including the Berwick Baptist Church and remodeling the Ebenezer Baptist and Woodland Methodist churches; the latter are standing in 2004.
James B. Nelson and his first wife, Lavicy Cassels, are buried in the Cedar Grove (Hollingsworth) Cemetery, located about 1.2 miles north of Mount Pleasant church in Amite County..
Joseph “Joe” Hoff’s family rememberance of his great-grandfather, compiled and submitted by Eva Frances Phares August 6, 2004
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