Polycarpus Nelson
Polycarpus Nelson (July 21, 1680 - December 19, 1738) was a landowner and leading citizen of Colonial New York. He held lands In Dutchess County, where he was involved in the Great Nine Partners Patent. Family and Origins Polycarpus was born to John and Hendrickje Nelson on Long Island, New York. His father was one of the original incorporators of Mamaroneck, where he was elected Constable in 1699 and Town Officer in 1702. Polycarpus was married to Ruth Gedney of the Gedney Family and together, they had 18 children. He came from the same Nelson family in England as Horatio Nelson; However, unlike other branches of the family, the New York Nelsons could not keep an unbroken line. Nelson was an ancestor of New York politician William Nelson. John Nelson, the father of Polycarpus, emigrated from the town of Norfolk between the years 1660 and 1665. The ship in which he sailed was forced, by the weather, to the coast of France, where the passengers were distributed among the French Peasantry until the ship could be repaired. John Nelson was given quarters by a French Physician named Polycarpus. Nelson offered to repay Polycarpus for his kindness, but he refused and