Nelson Family papers, 1868-2021 (bulk: 1940-2008)

The Nelson family was a family of Wyoming educators, who attended the University of Wyoming. Hortense Abia Booth Nelson (1918-1987) was a Wyoming educator. Born in Evanston and raised in Lovell, Wyoming, she attended the University of Wyoming from 1936 to 1940, earning a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, and later completed her master’s degree in 1958. She married Osea Charles Nelson in 1941, and early in her career taught English and history in Hanna during World War II, later teaching in Elk Mountain from 1952 to 1956 and serving as a high school librarian, accompanist, and English teacher in Hanna from 1956 to 1958. After moving to Laramie, she taught English at Laramie High School for 31 years and was the first state president of the Wyoming Association of Teachers of English. Nelson was also active in the Laramie community, volunteering with the Plains Museum, Heart Fund, Easter Seal Committee, CARES, and Friends of the Albany County Library. She passed away in 1987 at the age of sixty-nine.

Daniel A. Nelson was a Wyoming educator and museum director, known for his teaching and community involvement in Laramie. He was the son of Hortense Nelson and attended the University of Wyoming from 1955 to 1969, earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Nelson taught in the Albany County School District, where he incorporated Bicentennial celebrations into his junior high school lessons. In addition to his teaching career, he served as director of the Laramie Plains Museum and was active in local planning and celebrations for the Bicentennial.