. . . . . . . . "Nelson W. Winbush"@en . . . "Winbush was born in Ripley, Tennessee, the Mississippi delta area, to Isaac and Ganelle Nelson Winbush. His siblings included brothers Robert and Harold, and sisters Mary and Dorothy Jean. His family grew up in the house built in 1908 by his maternal grandfather Louis Napoleon Nelson. As Nelson lived until 1934, Winbush had a few years as a young boy to absorb his vivid stories of slavery and service with the Confederates during the American Civil War."@en . . "Winbush was born in Ripley, Tennessee, the Mississippi delta area, to Isaac and Ganelle Nelson Winbush. His siblings included brothers Robert and Harold, and sisters Mary and Dorothy Jean. His family grew up in the house built in 1908 by his maternal grandfather Louis Napoleon Nelson. As Nelson lived until 1934, Winbush had a few years as a young boy to absorb his vivid stories of slavery and service with the Confederates during the American Civil War. As a slave youth, Louis Nelson had accompanied his master James Oldham's sons as a servant when they went to war from their plantation. He eventually became part of Co. M, 7th Tennessee Cavalry of the Confederate Army, first working as a cook. The company was led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest. In the late stages of the war, Nelson was allowed to serve as a rifleman, and later served as chaplain to both blacks and whites; he had already memorized the King James Bible by heart. As a descendant from Nelson, a recognized Confederate veteran, Winbush later qualified for membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He notes that his grandfather received a pension from Tennessee for Confederate veterans, beginning in 1920 Both Winbush's mother Ganelle and his maternal grandmother were teachers, and education was prized in their family. Winbush and his siblings all earned college degrees and some, like his sister Mary, also earned graduate degrees. She became a teacher and principal. Winbush earned an undergraduate degree in science and a master's degree in physical education."@en .