Harry Nilsson often spoke of his circus family background and revealed that the family name was once “Nelson” and had been recently changed to “Nilsson” — along with a long list of reasons why this had happened. In any case, if true, here is a long-lost rundown of some of Harry’s ancestral circus folks:
NELSON FAMILY CIRCUS
Arthur Nelson, of the Original Nelson Family, after closing the season with the John Robinson Circus, left for his home in Mt. Clemens, Mich. and after a four weeks’ vacation opened in vaudeville with his novelty wire act, The Three Nelson Sisters, comprised of Rosina, Hilda and Oneida Nelson. Mrs. Nelson and the rest of the family are at home in Mt. Clemens. Billboard, December 7, 1918, p. 26.
Bert Nelson, “Snyder,” was a wild animal trainer. He appeared in films and with the Ringling show, Hagenbeck-Wallace and Al G. Barnes. Died June 16 at Ventura, California. Circus Report, June 30, 1975, p. 11.
Della Nelson, wire evolutions, Wallace Shows, 1900. Billboard, June 16, 1900.
Peggy Nelson, Theira Luella Crawford, an all around circus performer, working elephants, a goat act, swingling ladders, a risley kicker and top mounter. One of the original members of the Young Nelsons of the original Nelson Family, an acrobatic-risley act started by Paul Nelson on the Lewis Bros. Circus. Was on the Lewis Bros., Cole Bros, and appeared at parks and fairs. She was a grandaughter of Nora Hathaway, principal resin back rider who trouped with the Ringling show, Hagenbeck-Wallace and Forepaugh & Sells. Worked the sideshow on Lewis Bros. and Hunt Bros., handling the big snakes for the bally. Assisted Harris Reynolds in his tight wire performance with the Nelson Troupe. Born July 7, 1923 and died on September 16, 1979, at Marysville, California, burial at Fremont Township Cemetery. Circus Report, February 18, 1980, p. 17.
Robert Nelson, Nelson Family, acrobats, tumblers, Great Wallace Circus, 1900; 1903: Robert Nelson, head of the Nelson Family of acrobats. Owns property in Mt. Clemens, Michigan; Nelsons, nine in number, Walter L. Main, 1904; Flying Nelsons, aerial, Gollmar Bros, 1908; Nelson Family, acrobats, Sells-Floto, 1909; Flying Nelsons, ten in number, acrobatic company, Hagenbeck-Wallace, 1911. Billboard, August 18, 1900; Ottumwa (IA) Daily Courier, July 27, 1903; Elyria (OH) Reporter, April 26, 1904; Sheboygan (WI) Daily Press, July 15, 1908; Yuma (AZ) Examiner, April 16 & 17, 1909; Lima (OH) Daily News, May 28, 1911; Fort Wayne (IN) Sentinel, May 29, 1911.
Sara Warren Nelson. When Mrs. Sara Warren Nelson, widow of the late Arthur Nelson, retired from the realm of sawdust and spangles to her home in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, in 1936, she had rounded out half a century on the stage and under the big tops. But unlike many retired stars of the circus, Mrs. Nelson had little time for leafing through scrapbooks or reflecting on her long career in show business. For Mrs. Nelson has children and grandchildren carrying on the Nelson family name and traditions, keeping her in close contact with the circus world. Furthermore, the transition from a member of an acrobatic act to the relative quiet of home life, was facilitated by the fact that the Nelsons had maintained their home in Mt. Clemens between seasons for the past 25 years, during which Mrs. Nelson and her husband reared a family of six beautiful daughters and a handsome son, who for years composed “The Nelson Family, Premier Acrobats of the World.” And when little granddaughter, Mary Lou Burkhart, made her debut in the act in the traditional manner – popping out of a carpet bag brought into the ring by the equestrian director – she was of the third generation to make her entry in that manner. Now Mary Lou is the mother of Richard Mader, Jr., which makes Mrs. Nelson a great-grandmother.
Mrs. Nelson was born in London, England, in 1879, and made her first appearance on the stage at the age of six years in an English pantomime. None of her family had been in show business, but Sara Warren progressed to cycling and skating acts, and when she was 17, she came to this country with a troupe of pantomimists. Her future husband, Arthur Nelson, was the son of Robert Nelson, Sr., a native of London, who with three associates, formed the acrobatic act known as the Original Nelson family, which came to America in 1866.
A few years later Nelson, Sr. and his two small sons, Robert, Jr. and Arthur, appeared in a risley act in which the family was to become famous. The try-out was in Vancouver, British Columbia, and so well known did the act become known that they were invited to New York City in 1871, where they signed a contract to appear with the Dan Rice circus, with which they were associated for the next four years. A risley act is a type of acrobatic skill in which somersaulting acrobats are propelled, caught and balanced on the feet of other performers lying on their backs on pads.
For the next several years, Arthur Nelson, his brother and father, traveled extensively in South America and Europe, and returned to the States in 1881 to play for Barnum & London Circus. They went to India and back to Europe before coming to the United States to remain permanently in 1886. In 1895 and 1896, they were with Ringling Brothers Circus, the act then consisting of nine persons. In the latter year, Arthur Nelson met newly arrived Sara Warren, and they were married on July 9, 1896 at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Mrs. Arthur Nelson teamed with Mrs. Robert Nelson, Jr. in a tight wire act and later joined the family acrobatic troupe, as well as doing individual acts. From 1897 to 1901, the Nelsons were with the Great Wallace Circus, again with Ringling Brothers in 1902 and 1903, and with Walter L. Main Circus in 1904. The troupe left the circus in 1905 and 1906 to play fairs and amusement parks, but were back under the big top with Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in 1907. The Sells-Floto show featured the Nelsons from 1908 to 1910, when the elder Nelson retired to Mt. Clemens, where he and his wife had owned a home since 1889.
Arthur Nelson and his wife then took over the act and brought their seven children up in the troupe. The children included six daughters, Rosina, Oneida, Theol, Estrella, Hilda and Carmencita, and son, Paul, youngest member of the family. The act was with Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in 1911 and 1912, went to Australia with Wirth’s circus in 1913, was back in the States with John Robinson from 1914 through 1916, and again in 1921 and 1922. Featured by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1924 and subsequent years, fairs and vaudeville engagements were played in 1927 and 1928. Theol Nelson, one of the daughters, left the family act to remain with the Ringling show in which she was featured performing a series of backward flip-flaps on the hippodrome track for several years, and she is still with the Ringling show as a performer, as is her daughter, Sally Marlowe. From 1929 through 1931 the Nelsons were featured in the Sparks circus and were with Sells-Floto in 1932, when Zack Terrell was manager. Estrella, Carmencita and Paul Nelson were featured in the Standard Oil Company circus, managed by Terrell at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1934. When Mr. Terrell and Jess Adkins organized Cole Brothers Circus in 1935, the Nelson family was reunited to present their featured risley act for their last season.
Since then, Mrs. Nelson has lived at Mount Clemens, where one daughter, Rosena, now Mrs. George Brown, has lived since her marriage and retirement from the circus. Just as Mrs. Nelson met her husband on the Ringling Brothers Circus, so have three of her daughters and a granddaughter met and were married to men associated with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Combined circus in later years. The daughters are Hilda, who is Mrs. Noyelles Burkhart, wife of a legal adjuster of the Ringling show; Theol, who is the wife of Ray Marlowe, for years in charge of reserved seat ticket sales for the show; and Estrella, wife of Zack Terrell, who managed the Sells-Floto Circus for the Ringling interests for years before he owned his own show. The granddaughter is Mary Lou Burkhart, who was married to Richard Mader, while he was associated with the Ringling show. Mr. Nelson and two daughters, Oneida and Carmencita, have passed away since the breaking up of the family act. The son, Paul Nelson, headed an acrobatic act billed as The Nelson family on Cole Brothers Circus, for several years after the family retired, and later was principal horse trainer for the show, owned by his brother-in-law. When Mr. Terrell sold the circus two years ago, and retired to the Terrell farm home at Owensboro, Kentucky, Paul Nelson went to the Dailey Brothers Circus, where he is equestrian director.
Thus, Mrs. Nelson, on her visits among her children and grandchildren, and as hostess to them in her own home, has never been out of earshot of show business shop talk, and she maintains a lively interest in the profession which she enjoyed for five decades. Strangers in Mount Clemens, would scarcely associate the trim white-haired matron, whose dark eyes flash from rimless spectacles, with a circus career. But not so, the home town folks of Mt. Clemens. There are some people there who have known five generations of the Nelson family during the past 60 years. And most of the Mt. Clemens citizens are acquainted with Nelson’s exceptional career under the big tops, and the unique accomplishments in their chosen field of endeavor by the lively, acrobatic Nelsons. A. Morton Smith, “Circus Stars of Yesteryears, IV. Sara Warren Nelson” Hobbies, October 1950, pp. 24-25.
Artie Nelson, son of Bob of the old Nelson Family, is doing comedy acrobatics and clowning with the B. & B. Show. Billboard, April 20, 1918, p. 30.
The Nelson Family – Mount Clemens
Robert Nelson, Sr. was born in London, England in 1840. He formed an acrobatic troupe, which performed in Great Britain and sailed to the U.S. in 1866. He married Miss Emma Smart. The troupe later toured Cuba and then disbanded.
Robert and his two young sons, Robert, Jr. and Arthur, then performed as a Risley Act. A Risley Act is where one person on their back, against a support, balances and rolls with their feet other people performing acrobatic stunts. Several people can be in the bottom position and several people flying from one set of feet to the other performing acrobatic maneuvers. The troupe maintained an excellent reputation for their routine of “Risley, shoulder work, and ground tumbling.” They toured Europe several times, as well as India, and performed with a number of major circuses including Dan Rice Circus, 1871-1875, and P.T. Barnum’s Circus, 1880-1882. In India in 1884 Robert Nelson, Jr. married Miss Adele Burt, an equestrian and steeple-chase rider. In 1885 the Nelsons were a special feature with Thatcher, Primrose and West’s Minstrels. They “opened at the Detroit Opera House in 1885.” They again toured Europe and performed with: Orrin Bros. 1885; Reilly and Wood’s Combination, 1886; Ringling Bros. 1895-1896; and the Great Wallace Shows, 1897-1901. In late 1896 Arthur Nelson married Miss Sarah Warren. After forming a tightwire act they joined the Nelson Family acrobats.
The Nelson Family then consisted of: Robert Nelson, Sr. and Jr., Alice and Elizabeth Welch (cousins of Mrs. Robert Nelson, Jr.); Robert Jr.’s sons Arthur and Artie, and daughter Adele; Sid Buttons, an apprentice; and Bill “Willie” Welch (another cousin of Robert Jr.). “The act included all of the tricks known to high class acrobatics, including wonderful Risley work, ground and lofty tumbling, and perfected the four high lean (“the four high lean” means four people on top of each other balancing as the unit leans at or near a 45-degree angle) as well as the finest known feats of shoulder to shoulder work.” Mrs. Sarah Nelson, Mrs. Adele Nelson, and Arthur Nelson also performed separate acts.
The Nelsons performed with: Ringling, 1902-1903; Walter L. Main Circus, 1904; Hagenbeck-Wallace, 1907; and Sells-Floto, 1909-1910.
Original family members in the troupe then began to retire, marry or die. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Nelson, Sr. retired to Mount Clemens, MI, where they had owned a home since 1889. Robert Nelson, Sr. owned a theater, the Nelson Opera House, and the family owned the Arlington Hotel in Mount Clemens. Robert Nelson, Sr. died in 1916 and his wife in 1925. Robert Nelson, Jr. died in July 1914 and his wife, Adele, in 1912. Robert Jr.’s son, Artie, later died of pneumonia. Robert Nelson, Jr.’s daughter, Adele Nelson, a multi-talented performer, married elephant trainer Lewis Reed. Alice and Elizabeth Welch both married and worked on vaudeville.
Arthur Nelson then became the head of the Nelson Family. With his wife, Sarah, he had six daughters and a son: Rosina, Oneida, Theol, Estrella, Hilda, Carmencita and Paul. All the children, except Rosina, were born in Mount Clemens and all of them were educated in Mount Clemens. The Arthur Nelson family resided in Mount Clemens when not engaged in circus work.
The Nelson Family worked for: Hagenbeck-Wallace, 1911-1912; John Robinson’s Circus, 1914-1916, 1919-1920; and Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey (RB-BB), 1923-1926. In 1923 RB-BB created five different special lithographs of the Nelsons; one featured Oneida, Rosina and Hilda on their wire act, another featured Theol. They worked for Sparks Circus, 1929-1931; Sells-Floto Circus, 1932; and Cole Bros.-Clyde Beatty Circus, 1935.
Arthur and Sarah retired after 1935 to Mount Clemens. Arthur died in 1941in Mount Clemens at the age of 75. Sarah survived him into the 1950s.
Estrella married circus owner Zach Terrell in 1935. Carmencita died in 1934 and Oneida in 1937. Paul Nelson held various positions in circus work related to horses, 1938-1949, with Cole Circus and with Mills Bros. from 1951 until he retired. Hilda Nelson married Noyelles Burkhart, manager of the Cole Show, in 1944. Theol married Ray Marlowe and was on RB-BB for many seasons. Rosina married Dr. G. A. Brown, a Detroit dentist, and after his death resided in Mount Clemens.
On January 6, 1969 the Nelson Family was elected to the Circus Hall of Fame.
Circuses & Carnivals. For more information about the Nelson Family Circus, contact:
Clarke Historical Library | Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 | clarke@cmich.edu | Phone: (989) 774-3352 | Fax: (989) 774-2160 and yes, I’m aware that some folks deny Harry’s story about his background, but a quick check reveals the facts.