James Neilson (1784-1862)

James Neilson (1784-1862)
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This white person has 14 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.

This person is related to Rutgers University history. See our research guide Rutgers University & Slavery for more information about finding university affiliates and archival sources in our database.
Identifier
NJS-PER-00009
Given Name
James
Family Name
Neilson
Birth Date
December 3, 1784
Death Date
February 21, 1862
Sex
Male
Occupation
Marketing, Retail, and Trading
Military and Militia
Biographical Description
James Neilson was a prominent New Brunswick businessman and a benefactor of Rutgers College. He served on the Rutgers Board of Trustees from 1834 until his death in 1862. He supported Rutgers with regular monetary contributions and donated land for the college campus.

James Neilson was colonel of the New Jersey State Militia and served in the War of 1812; thus he is often called Colonel James Neilson in historical sources (not to be confused with his father Colonel John Neilson, who served in the Revolutionary War).

In 1830, James Neilson built a mansion called Wood Lawn that would serve as the family home for the Neilsons for over a hundred years, until it was bequeathed to Rutgers University upon the death of Neilson's son James Neilson Jr. in 1937. Neilson enslaved several African Americans throughout his life, with the last known records of slaveholding dating to the 1830s when the Neilson family resided at Wood Lawn mansion.
Keywords
white person
enslaver
Rutgers University history
Places
Wood Lawn Mansion, New Brunswick
Franklin (Somerset County)
New Brunswick
Organization
Rutgers University
Relationship to Rutgers
Trustee (1834-1862)
Benefactor
Enslaver of
Elizabeth
Mark Harris Jr. (b. 1818)
Mark Harris Sr. (b. 1791)
Teunis (b. 1788)
Child of
John Neilson (1745-1833)
Parent of
James Neilson Jr. (1844-1937)
Sibling of
John Neilson (1775-1857)
Abraham Schuyler Neilson (1792-1861)
Gertrude Neilson Woodhull
Spouse of
Catharine Bleecker Neilson (1809-1893)
Rivina Forman
References

Boyd, Kendra, Miya Carey, and Christopher Blakley. "Old Money: Rutgers University and the Political Economy of Slavery in New Jersey." In Scarlet and Black: Vol. 1, Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History, edited by Marisa J. Fuentes and Deborah Gray White, 43–57. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1k3s9r0.6

Robert Thompson, Colonel James Neilson: A Business Man of the Early Machine Age in New Jersey, 1784-1862 (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1940).

This person is represented on the following page(s):
Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q97460867
WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Neilson-1362
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
Linked Sources

Author:

  • Bill of sale for Mark, sold by James Neilson to Abraham Veghte (Bill of sale for Mark, sold by James Neilson to Abraham Veghte, December 16, 1838. Archival location: Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. Neilson Family Papers, 1768-1908 (MC 933). Box 4, Folder 45: J & J Neilson - Papers relating to purchase of slaves.)
  • Permission slip for Mark Harris to join the African Association, by James Neilson (Permission slip for Mark Harris to join the African Association, by James Neilson, January 21, 1817. Archival location: Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. African Association of New Brunswick (N.J.). Minute Book, 1817-1824 (MC 50). Unmarked folder with loose slips.)
Linked Events

Additional Participant in:
Resource class
Agent