WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
RAY B. NELSON
(killed in an oil well explosion at age 22)
BIOGRAPHY
Ray "B" and his twin brother, Rex "M", were born in St. George on September 8, 1912.Ray worked at the OK Market, a family business on Main Street in St. George.
On March 6, 1935, Ray and many other Dixie citizens went out to the site of the Escalante No. 1 Oil Well to watch the spectacle of an expected gusher. But as explosives were being lowered into well, they exploded prematurely killing 10 people, including Ray.
FAMILY
|
Parents and Siblings:
Henry Ernest Nelson Euphemia Miles Nelson Whipple Prince Alice Nelson Rex M. Nelson Ray B. Nelson Miles Ernest Nelson Evelyn Nelson |
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married xx/xx/xxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (went by the nickname, "Famie") (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Frank Milne) (9/8/1912-8/18/1968) (married Cleo Higgins) (9/8/1912-3/6/1935) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Melba Swapp) (xx/xx/xxxx-12/10/2012) (married Norman J. Hunt) |
PHOTOS
 Infant Twins |
 About Age 3 or 4 |
 Age 15 |
 In Between Friends |
 With His Dog |
 At the Market |
WCHS photos:
WCHS-01363 Photo of Ray in front of the family market on Main Street in St. George
WCHS-01376 Photo of siblings Ray Nelson, Rex Nelson, and Alice Nelson
WCHS-02645 Photo of Ray B. Nelson and two friends
WCHS-02646 Photo of Ray B. Nelson and two friends
WCHS-03159 Photo of Ray B. Nelson & female friend at the Grand Canyon
REFERENCES
A Summary of What I Have Learned Through The Years About My Uncle Ray B NelsonPrepared by nephew Clark N. Nelson, Sr.
March 25, 2015
Ray B. Nelson obituary
Washington County News, March 14, 1935, Page 4