Nathan George Shelley

Nathan George Shelley
Nathan George Shelley
	Shelley's portrait for the 13th Texas Legislature
Texas Attorney General
	In office; February 3, 1862 – 1864
Preceded by	Malcolm D. Graham
Succeeded by	Benjamin E. Tarver
Member of the Texas Senate
	In office; November 4, 1861 – April 1, 1862
Preceded by	Fletcher Stockdale
Succeeded by	Archibald Woods Moore
Constituency	26th district
	In office; August 6, 1866 – February 7, 1870
Preceded by	Archibald Woods Moore
Succeeded by	Enoch Leach Alford
Constituency	26th district
	In office; January 14, 1873 – January 13, 1874
Preceded by	Marmion Henry Bowers
Succeeded by	William Harrison Westfall
Constituency	28th district
Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
	In office; 1851–1855
Personal details
Born	February 20, 1825; Hawkins County, Tennessee, US
Died	January 5, 1898 (aged 72); Austin, Texas, US
Party	Democratic
Relations	Charles M. Shelley (brother); Jacob Davis Shelley (uncle)
Occupation	Politician, lawyer, soldier
Military service
Allegiance	United States (1846); Confederate States of America (1864–65)
Branch/service	United States Army (1846); Confederate States Army (1864–65)
Years of service	1846; 1861–1865
Rank	Brigadier general
Unit	1st Alabama Infantry Regiment (1846); Texas Militia (1861–65); Army of Tennessee (1864–65)
Battles/wars	Mexican–American War; American Civil War Atlanta campaign; ;

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.^[1] His younger brother was Charles M. Shelley.^[2] He was of English, German, and Irish descent.^[3]

In 1837, Shelley and his father moved to Talladega County, Alabama.^[3] There, the two worked as brickmasons.^[1] He attended the common schools there until age 16.^[4] He studied at Emory & Henry University through 1841, though dropped out due to being unable to afford tuition, returning to brickmasonry with his father.^[1]

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.^[1]^[3]

After the war, Shelley returned to Alabama and worked as a clerk for a grocer and later a court. In his spare time, he read law,^[1] under William Parish Chilton and Samuel Farrow Rice.^[3] He was admitted to the bar in March 1849,^[1] after which he began practicing in Talladega.^[3]

Shelley was editor of the Talladega Alabama Reporter for two years.^[5] In search of warmer weather in order to recover from illness, he moved to Texas in winter 1854,^[6] settling in Austin on September 1 of the following year. He was admitted to the bar on December 12.^[1]

From 1856 until the outbreak of the American Civil War, Shelley was in a partnership with W. H. D. Carrington.^[1]^[5] In 1856, he, alongside Franklin W. Bowdon and John Lingard Hunter, collected funds for paying pro-slavery agitators in Bleeding Kansas.^[7]

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.^[1] He was a member of the Texas Senate, from November 4, 1861, to April 1, 1862, again from August 6, 1866, to February 7, 1870, and finally from January 14, 1873, to January 13, 1874. For his first two terms, he represented the 26th district, and for his final term, the 28th district.^[8]

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.^[8]

On March 31, 1861, Shelley was appointed manager of the Austin State Hospital by Governor Edward Clark. He served as manager until being elected Texas Attorney General, which he served as from February 3, 1862 to 1864.^[1] As Attorney General, he was sent to Richmond, Virginia to balance the Confederate federal budget for Texas to be granted funds to occupy and defend its frontier.^[6]

Returning from Richmond, Shelley contacted his brother, Charles Shelley, and Joseph E. Johnston. He subsequently enlisted into the Army of Tennessee and fought in the Civil War. While serving, he participated in the Atlanta campaign.^[1] From 1861 to 1865, he was brigadier general of the 26th Brigade of the Texas Militia.^[9]^[2] 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.^[1]

Personal life and death

In 1853, Shelley married Sarah F. Shelley, daughter of Jacob Davis Shelley and his cousin. They had six children together.^[1] He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having had joined in 1847.^[3] In 1873, he spoke at the funeral of Thomas F. McKinney.^[1] He died on January 5, 1898, aged 72, in Austin, from illness.^[6] However, the Birmingham Post-Herald claimed he died on December 15, 1897.^[4] An archive of his papers is held by the Barker Texas History Center.^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Thomas W., Cutrer. "Nathan George Shelley: Confederate Officer and Texas Legislator". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
1 2 The Biographical Dictionary of America. American Biographical Society. 1904.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas. Jazzybee Verlag. 1880. pp. 86, 87.
1 2 "Gen. N. G. Shelley Dead At Austin". Birmingham Post-Herald. 13 January 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
1 2 Lynch, James D. (1885). The Bench and Bar of Texas (PDF). Nixon-Jones Printing Co. pp. 440–443.
1 2 3 "Gen. N. G. Shelley Dead". Austin American-Statesman. 6 January 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
↑ Farmer, Randolph (2022-09-13). Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas: How a Secret Society Helped Provoke Civil War. Simon and Schuster. p. 1843. ISBN 978-1-59211-229-6.
1 2 "Member profile for Nathan George Shelley - Texas Legislative Reference Library". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
↑ Allardice, Bruce S. (April 2006). More Generals in Gray. LSU Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-8071-5574-5.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Thomas W., Cutrer. "Nathan George Shelley: Confederate Officer and Texas Legislator". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2026-07-11.

[:3-2] 1 2 The Biographical Dictionary of America. American Biographical Society. 1904.

[:2-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas. Jazzybee Verlag. 1880. pp. 86, 87.

[:6-4] 1 2 "Gen. N. G. Shelley Dead At Austin". Birmingham Post-Herald. 13 January 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-07-12.

[:5-5] 1 2 Lynch, James D. (1885). The Bench and Bar of Texas (PDF). Nixon-Jones Printing Co. pp. 440–443.

[:4-6] 1 2 3 "Gen. N. G. Shelley Dead". Austin American-Statesman. 6 January 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-07-11.

[7] Farmer, Randolph (2022-09-13). Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas: How a Secret Society Helped Provoke Civil War. Simon and Schuster. p. 1843. ISBN 978-1-59211-229-6.

[:1-8] 1 2 "Member profile for Nathan George Shelley - Texas Legislative Reference Library". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved 2026-07-11.

[9] Allardice, Bruce S. (April 2006). More Generals in Gray. LSU Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-8071-5574-5.

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v t e Attorneys general of Texas
	Republic of Texas (1836–45)	Collinsworth Henderson Grayson Birdsall Watrous Webb Morris Terrell Allen Ochiltree
	State of Texas (1846–present)	Howard Harris Brewster Hamilton Allen Jennings Willie Graham Flournoy Shelley Tarver Alexander Walton Turner Alexander Clark Boone McLeary McCormick Templeton Hogg Culberson Crane Smith Bell Davidson Lightfoot Walthall Looney Cureton Keeling Moody Pollard Bobbitt Allred McCraw Mann Sellers Daniel Shepperd Wilson Carr Martin Hill White Mattox Morales Cornyn Abbott Paxton Webster (interim) Scott (interim) Colmenero (interim)