South Carolina has produced many men of quality and distinction and Henry Carrington Nelson, Jr. was one of them. He came from the distinctive Indiantown Community of Williamsburg County. Henry Nelson’s forebears were pioneers of Indiantown; his religious affiliation was Scotch-Irish Presbyterian. His roots in South Carolina stretched back to the American Revolution.
His early years were lived in Indiantown, and upon completing his high school work he attended Newark College of Engineering. World War II saw him in the vanguard of military operations, having served in the European Theater of Operations. Upon his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army he entered the University of South Carolina and graduated from the Law School in June 1957.
Perhaps it should have been no surprise that upon entering the practice of law in Columbia, his specialty was in the real estate field, in which he handled scores of transactions, small, medium and large-and he excelled in all areas. His activities in all of those fields were accurate and superior and he and his work were both appreciated and respected by the members of the Bar and the community at large.
Henry Nelson’s varied activities included serving as President of the Richland County Bar Association and as a member of the House of Delegates of the South Carolina Bar Association. When the First Presbyterian Church of Columbia’s sanctuary was devastated by fire in 1982 he chaired a committee, as a Deacon, that planned and supervised the restoration of that building. He also served as an Elder of his church.
Henry Nelson’s presence was the embodiment of gentility and kindness. His legal acumen was ever present and apparent, but never tiring or abrasive. He always had time for people.
Mr. Nelson married Miss Eleanor Ruthven Dickson on November 15, 1958 and of this union there was one daughter, Tracy E. Nelson, now of Atlanta, both of whom survive him.