Eldridge and Emily Ann Pierce became husband and wife on March 16, 1853, in McDonough County, Illinois.  Because Eldridge was not yet 21, John Nelson wrote a note to the County Clerk, giving his permission for the marriage.  Eldridge's and Emily's ages lead to conjecture that their marriage was a sure and certain love match from the very beginning.  He was just past his 17th birthday, she was 20.  It was fairly unusual, at least in this part of Illinois in that era, for a young man to marry at 17, especially when the bride was 3 years older.  Marriage Documents

Emily was born February 15, 1833, in Kentucky.  She was the daughter of Thomas and Lucy Pierce, who, by June 1860, had brought their family to Hire Township, McDonough County, Illinois.

Eldridge, Emily and their first son, John Thomas, were living in Hire Township when the Civil War began. Eldridge enlisted in the Union Army on August 12, 1862.  He served for the next three years in Company D, 124th Illinois Infantry.  He was discharged on July 3, 1865, and returned to McDonough County where he resumed farming.  Click on the image at right for a larger view and more information.

Sometime after the 1870 Federal Census was taken, Eldridge, Emily and their two sons, John Thomas and Clyde Elmer, left Illinois and relocated in Jefferson Township, Chautauqua County, Kansas. The obituary of John Thomas Nelson reported the family made this move when he was 18.

Some evidence indicates that Emily's parents and her brother and sister-in-law, William and Christiana (Mort) Pierce, may have made the trek to Kansas at the same time, in the early 1870s. Several years later, more of the Nelson and Mort family members joined them.

After the death of John Thomas Nelson's first wife, Eldridge and Emily took over the upbringing of their grandson, Clarence, who was but an infant when his mother perished.

Chautauqua County, Kansas, circa 1890.
Click on the image to see a cropped enlargement of this photograph.

Eldridge died October 13, 1890, probably in or near Jefferson Township.  With Clarence's help, Emily kept the farm going until she died on February 20, 1906.  Both Eldridge and Emily were buried in North Cedar Creek Cemetery, in adjacent Cowley County.  Tombstones

After leaving Illinois, Emily's parents took up farming in Otter Township, Cowley County.  They, too, were buried in North Cedar Creek Cemetery.  The inscriptions on their tombstone/s indicate that Thomas Pierce was born November 8, 1806, died March 2, 1887, Lucy was born February 14, 1810, died March 24, 1886.

Eldridge and Emily's sons:

Household of John Nelson
Males 0 through 4 - 2    [Eldridge, James]
Males 20 through 29 - 2    [John]
Females 20 through 29 - 1    [Isabell]
Total - 4
Persons employed in agriculture - 1

John Nelson, 38, male, farmer, value of real estate 600, born KY
Isabel, 38, female, born TN, could not read or write
Eldrige, 15, male, born KY, attended school within the year
James, 13, male, born KY, attended school within the year
Dorca [possibly Dorcee], 9, female [sic], born IL, attended school within the year
May, 7, female, born IL, attended school within the year
Matilda, 4, female, born IL
W. S. L, 2, male, born IL

Thomas Pierce, 44, male, farmer, value of real estate 350, born NC
Lucy, 35, female, born KY
Emily A, 14, female, born KY
Margaret, 12, female, born KY
Henry C, 6, male, born KY
William R, 2, male, born KY

Eldridge Nelson, 26, male, farmer, value of real estate 450, value of personal estate 365,
born KY
Emily A, 27, female, born KY, could not read or write
John T, 6, male, born IL

Nelson, Eldridge, 33, male, white, farmer, value of personal estate 1000, born KY, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
Emily A, 34, female, white, keeps house, born KY
John T, 15, male, white, born IL, attended school within the year

Nelson, Eldridge, white, male, 45, married, farmer, unemployed for 3 months during the census year, born KY, father born SC, mother born TN
Emily A, white, female, 46, wife, married, keeping house, born KY, both parents born SC
Thomas J, white, male, 25, son, married within the census year, farmer, born IL, both parents
born KY
Elmer C, white, male, 10, son, single, attending school, attended school within the year, born IL, both parents born KY
Lillian A, white, female, 19, daughter [in-law], married, keeps house, born OH, both parents
born PA

Nelson, Emil_ [illegible last character, middle initial A may be obscured by enumerator's notations], head, white, female, Feb 1833, 67, widow; mother of 2 children, both living; born KY, father born SC, mother born KY, farmer, could read, write and speak English, owned her farm home free of mortgage, farm schedule 171

Clarence, grand son, white, male, June 1884, 16, single, born KS, father born IL, mother born OH, attended school for 3 months, could read, write and speak English