Nathan George Shelley

Nathan George Shelley (February 20, 1825 – January 5, 1898) was an American politician, lawyer, and soldier. A Democrat, he was a member of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Attorney General.

Born in Tennessee, Shelley moved to Alabama as a boy and served in its state house of representatives. He was admitted to the bar, later moving to Texas and practicing law there. He was a member of the Texas House for three terms in the 1860s and 1870s. He fought in the Mexican–American War and in the American Civil War.

Early life Shelley was born on February 20, 1825, in Hawkins County, Tennessee, the son of William Parke Shelley and Margaret F. (née Etter) Shelley. He was of English, German, and Irish descent. There, the two worked as brickmasons. He studied at Emory & Henry University through 1841, though dropped out due to being unable to afford tuition, returning to brickmasonry with his father.

Mexican–American War and early career In 1846, Shelley enlisted into the 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment and fought in the Mexican–American War. He served under his uncle, Jacob Davis Shelley, who was at one point a member of the Alabama Senate. In search of warmer weather in order to recover from illness, he moved to Texas in winter 1854, settling in Austin on September 1 of the following year. He was admitted to the bar on December 12.

Politics, Amercian Civil War, and later career Shelley was a Democrat. From 1851 to 1855, he was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives.

While serving in the Texas House, Shelley was chairman of the Committees on Constitutional Amendments; on Finance; on Privileges and Elections; and on Public Buildings. He was a member of the Committees on Comptroller's and Treasurer's Accounts; on Confederate Relations; on Counties and County Boundaries; on Education; on Federal Relations; on Freedmen; on Indian Affairs (and Frontier Protection); on Internal Improvements; on the Judiciary; on the Land Office; on the Lunatic Asylum; on Manufacturing and Commerce; on Militia and Military Affairs; on Retrenchment and Reform; on Rules; and on State Affairs. He was a member of the Joint Committee on Election of U.S. Senators. He was granted amnesty on November 1, 1865, after delivering an oath of surrender. He then formed a law partnership with George F. Moore, and in or after 1874, partnered with John Hancock.

Personal life and death In 1853, Shelley married Sarah F. Shelley, daughter of Jacob Davis Shelley and his cousin. They had six children together. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having had joined in 1847. In 1873, he spoke at the funeral of Thomas F. McKinney. He died on January 5, 1898, aged 72, in Austin, from illness. However, the Birmingham Post-Herald claimed he died on December 15, 1897. An archive of his papers is held by the Barker Texas History Center.