Aaron Nelson was the son of James and Sarah Alcock Nelson in a family of twelve children. He was born March 5, 1823 in Lambley, Nottinghamshire, England and married Mary Standiforth on January 16, 1844 in the Lambley Church. William, their only child, was born in Lambley on April 5, 1844. The family were stocking knitters by trade and Lambley was the home of the hosiery industry.

Nelson learned boot making in England and taught it to his son, William. They also worked in the coal pits near Lambley and sometimes weeks passed without their seeing the sunshine, having gone into the pits before sun up and coming out after sundown.

Nelson and his family sailed from England on April 21, 1862, on the ship, John J Boyd. They were a company of emigrant Latter-day Saints over which he was steward until reaching Florence. They arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 3, 1862, and settled at Millcreek until 1867. During this time, he farmed and taught school. He made molasses in the fall, and made shoes in the winter. He played the hornpipe for Millcreek dances, while William played the flute. Elder Wilford Woodruff officiated Nelson's marriage to his second wife, Selina Palfreyman, on March 19, 1864. They had eleven children.

In 1867, Nelson served in the Black Hawk Indian War, and the same year was called by the LDS church to go to the Muddy River Valley, Nevada. When he arrived in St. George en route to Nevada, he was told by Elder Erastus Snow to remain in St. George. He moved his family to St. George, Utah October 1, 1868. Aaron and William operated a shoe shop and tanning company; his wife, Selina, helped make the wooden pegs for the shoes at night. The family had a string orchestra where Nelson played the bass violin and cello, and William played the flute and violin.

Nelson was also the City Marshal and Sexton of the St. George Cemetery. He was a member of the High Priests Quorum for several years during his life. When he died, October 3, 1908, it was forty-six years to the day since he entered the Salt Lake valley. He had twelve children, thirty grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren.

"Bless Their Memory - A History of the Family of Aaron Nelson and Rosa Lorena Rencher" © 2002 by Family members - Completed for distribution July 15, 2002 - 100 years after they were married: July 15, 1902

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