Nelson D. Waite was born on September 28 (or 29), 1819 in Boston Twp., Portage County, OH, to parents Benjamin Wait (1796-1864) and Sarah Kent Wait (1795-1829). His last name was originally spelled "Wait" but in 1850 he and his brothers added the final "e" changing the spelling to "Waite." Nelson was indentured at age 12 to Oliver Owen Brown (1804-1858), son of Owen (1771-1856) and Ruth (Mills) Brown (1772-1808) and older brother to John Brown (1800-1859). The contract stated that he was to learn the trade of tanning from Oliver Brown and was to serve under him until he turned twenty-one years old. However, Oliver Brown was physically abusive to Nelson and the contract was nullified after two years. Next Nelson Waite went to live and work under Reverend Caleb Pitkin (1781-1864). Pitkin was one of the founders and the first President of the Board of Trustees of Western Reserve College. Nelson was soon after apprenticed under architect Simeon Porter (1807-1871), one of the principal architects of Western Reserve College. Under Porter, Nelson worked on construction projects around the college from 1836-1843, and continued as an independent contractor on other buildings around Western Reserve College. In 1844, he painted new canal boats on the Ohio Canal near Cleveland, Ohio. In 1849 Nelson Waite left for Sacramento, California, driven by the Gold Rush. He continued to split his time between Hudson, Ohio, and Shasta County, California, for the next 55 years. He enlisted in the Civil War but was denied due to an unnamed disability. However he was able to enlist in the Sanitary Commission and served as a nurse during the war. He married Cynthia Post (1829-1926), daughter of Zina Post (1774-1865). Together they had three children, two of whom would survive adulthood. Nelson and Cynthia's first son, Frank Delos Waite (1862-1877), died shortly after his fifteenth birthday. Dr. Frederick Clayton Waite (1870-1956), second son born to Nelson and Cynthia was a professor of histology and embryology for Western Reserve University of Medicine and School of Dentistry from 1901-1940 when he retired. He followed in his father's footsteps and during World War One he served in the sanitary corps in Washington. Their third son, Arthur Nelson Waite (1857-1939) later became Mayor of Hudson in 1918.