David Nelson (Presbyterian)

David Nelson (September 24, 1793 - October 17, 1844)[1] was a Tennessee-native and former War of 1812 medical surgeon[2], Presbyterian minister, and anti-slavery advocate who was the first president of Marion College, the first institution of higher learning chartered by the state of Missouri. Two other co-founders of this school included William Muldrow and Dr. David Clark.

History and career

David Nelson moved to Missouri in 1830 and settled in the Palmyra area in the same county as Hannibal. The first building for Marion College was a log cabin. Marion College became the first chartered college in Missouri and the second educational institution in Missouri to grant degrees.

In the mid-1930s, he resigned as school president and left the state of Missouri.[3] The outspoken abolitionist had been forced to flee the area for Quincy, Illinois, where he helped with the Underground Railroad.[4]

The murdered journalist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was influenced by Nelson.

References

  1. "David Nelson". Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  2. Harriet C. Frazier (2004). Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves and Those who Helped Them, 1763-1865. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 174.
  3. Bob Piddy (1982). Across Our Wide Missouri: Volume I, January through June. Independence, MO: Independence Press. pp. 40–41.
  4. "Register of the First Presbyterian Church of Marion College". Retrieved 2018-05-14.
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