Lauritz C Nelson

Lauritz was born in Norway on the 26th of March 1860, and according to The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation, he was a passenger on board the Colombia when he arrived on the 31st of May 1892. Once he passed through Ellis Island at the age of 32, he joined the US Navy and was deployed to Cuba in support of the Spanish-American War. It was his actions there that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Nashville during the operation of cutting the cable leading from Cienfuegos, Cuba, 11 May 1898. Facing the heavy fire of the enemy, Nelson displayed extraordinary bravery and coolness throughout this action.

After participating in the severing of the underwater communications cable, Lauritz received the Medal of Honor on the 7th of July 1899. Now, most places I looked for information all said that he had joined the Navy in 1885 and remained in until 1905. However, once I found his passenger information through Ellis Island, I tend to believe that he hadn’t enlisted until after arriving in America. I was able to confirm that he continued to live in Hempstead, New York, and married the American daughter of Irish immigrants, Anna McGreevy, but I saw no record of children, though Anna had two children from two previous marriages. Lauritz C Nelson died on the 16th of September 1941, at the age of 81. He is buried with his wife in the Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale, New York: Distinguished Service Section, Site 2.