William Colson (1805–1835)

James M. Colson Family William Nelson Colson was born in 1805 in Petersburg and was the son of James Colson, a barber, and either his first wife, whose name is not known, or his second, whose given name was Eliza. Colson’s father was one of about fifteen free African Americans who owned real estate in the city early in the nineteenth century. Read more about: William Colson (1805–1835)