NELSON. NELSON. 435 Mr. Needham has been a member of the school board and town treasurer of Groton many years. He was on the staff of Governor Boutwell, i85i-'52; chairman of the Democratic state committee of Massachusetts, 1853 -'54; and organized the coalition movement which resulted in the election of Governor Boutwell. He removed to Vermont, and was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1856 to '59, anil a member of the Vermont Senate from 1859 to '63. Returning to Massachusetts, he was elected to the House of Representa- tives from Groton in 1867, and to the state Senate 1S68 and '69. While in Ver- mont, he was appointed Vermont commis- sioner to the Hamburg International Ex- position, 1863. He has been president of the Middlesex North Unitarian Associa- tion, and president of the Institute of Heredity since its organization, president of Groton Farmers' Club, and master of the Grange, president of the Middlesex County Milk Producers' Union, president and founder of the Middlesex Club, trustee of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, etc. He is a director in the Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company ; for ten years was the owner and manager of the Montello Woolen & Grain Mills, Montello, Wis., the woolen mill having been built originally by him ; and has been a trustee of the Massachusetts Agricultural College from its organization. He was secretary of the New England Agricultural Society twenty-five years ; secretary of the Ver- mont Agricultural Society six years, and superintendent of schools, Hartford, Vt. He was for years managing director of the Peterborough & Shirley Railroad, and in 1847, in connection with the associate directors, made himself liable for the debts of the corporation. He made over all his property to the banks holding the endorsed paper. He ultimately paid every obliga- tion, and perfected arrangements whereby he became reimbursed by the corporation. Many of his public addresses have had a large circulation in newspaper and pam- phlet form — notably one on the "National Bank," and one on the " Evolution of Labor." NELSON, Thomas Leverett, son of John and Lois Burnham (Leverett) Nelson, was born in Haverhill, Grafton county, N. H., March 4, 1S27. He fitted for college at Haverhill Acad- emy, and the Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, N. H. ; entered Dartmouth in 1S42 ; in 1844 was transferred to the Uni- versity of Vermont, Burlington, from which institution he was graduated in the class of 1 S46. He received the degree of LL. D. from his alma mater in 1879. From his graduation till 1S53 he worked as a civil engineer. He then began the study of law at his native place, but later removed to Worcester, where he read law during the years 1854 and '55. He was admitted to the bar at Worcester in 1855, where he has since resided. He was elected city solicitor, and served 1870 to '73, and has been called to serve on the school board and in various munici- pal and county offices. He was represen- tative from Worcester to the Legislature in 1869, and served as chairman of the judici- ary committee. In 1879 he was appointed judge of the United States district court for the district of Massachusetts, and is the present incumbent. He is a member of the American Antiquarian Society. Judge Nelson was married in Mendon, October 29, 1857, to Anna H., daughter of Caleb and Mary Moore (Hastings) Hayward. His second marriage occurred March 23, 1865, with Louisa A., daughter of Samuel E. and Hannah A. (Matterson) Slocum, of Millbury. He has five children : Harry L., John, Louisa Burnham, William, and Thomas L. Nelson. Judge Nelson, when he was appointed to the bench, had become one of the leaders of the bar of Worcester county. Probably no member of it was more frequently con- sulted by his associates in difficult cases. He had a special knowledge of equity and bankruptcy. Always modest and diffident in judging his own capacity, in the earlier part of his practice he w-as thought by his friends to make less impression on the court than he deserved, by the diffident and quiet manner with which he presented his views. But the supreme court soon dis- covered that everything he had to say was of value, and listened with interest for his contribution to the decision of important and perplexing questions. Few Massachusetts lawyers, whether on the bench or off, have contributed so much as he to the building up of our admirable and simple system of equity practice. He was appointed by the supreme court a member of the committee to revise its rules in equity. The present system is very largely his work. He was frequently em- ployed as referee and master in complicated questions, especially those relating to water rights, for dealing with which he seemed to have a natural aptitude, which was improved by his early training as a civil engineer.
