Biography of Thomas P. Nelms, Craighead Co, AR *********************************************************** Submitted by: Jim Nelms Date: 15 Jun 2008 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.org/copyright.htm *********************************************************** Thomas P. Nelms was born and raised in Gwinnett County, Georgia in the community of Pickneyville which is now a part of the Greater Metropolian Atlanta Areas. The County Seat is Lawrenceville. There were many Scots and Irish, mostly farmers, that immigrated to the United States and settled in Georgia because of the vast farm lands and government land grants that were available at the time. Thomas saw military service with the the Confederate Army as a Private with Georgia's 3rd Battalion Company "C" (also known as the Georgia Sharpshooters) was wounded twice, once on May 6, 1864 near Wilderness, Va. It should be noted that the battle at Wilderness was considered a major battle as over 260,000 Union and Confederate Troops were engaged. There were over 47,000 casualties. The principal Commanders at that battle were General (s) Grant and Lee. There was no decisive winner. When Thomas left the Army at the end of the War he was a First Sergeant. It might have been while serving with the Confederate Army that he spent some time in Arkansas and became familiar with the farmlands of the Mississippi Delta. It should also be noted that farming in Georgia after the War was extremely difficult, with Georgia literally having been burned to the ground and land had been taken over by the Carpetbaggers. Thomas moved his family, wife Rachael, sons Newman Estus and William E., Daughter Rebecca to Brookland, Arkansas sometime around 1878. Thomas' first wife Rachael died in 1884. Thomas remarried to Evaline Murphy and raised another family. He died in 1901 and is buried in Pine Log Cemetery, just north of Brookland, Arkansas. He is buried next to Rachael and Evaline. Jim Nelms Great-Grandson of Thomas