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Nell[i]e Clyde Wilson (1883-1962)

born in Clyde County, Illinois, died in California

Married John Edward Reagan November 3, 1904

Nelle Clyde Wilson Reagan was the youngest of seven children born to Thomas and Mary Ann Elsey Wilson. Her mother was extremely religious, and Nelle grew up spending a lot of time at church and reading the Bible.

Nelle's father took off for Chicago when she was seven, and was not heard from until he returned to see his dying mother three years later in 1894. He later returned to the family. Nelle's mother died when she was 17. So only her father was around to disapprove of her marrying a Catholic with a fondness for liquor.

Though she was Protestant, she married a Catholic, John Edward Reagan (Jack) in the parsonage of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fulton, Illinois. They had met while working at Broadhead's General Store in Fulton, where Jack worked for eight years. Nelle's brother Alex stood in for her father to give the bride away.

In order to get Jack away from the influence of his hard drinking brother, William, Nelle convinced Jack to move to Tampico, 26 miles away. There Jack took a job at the H.C. Pitney General Store. They moved into a five-room apartment over a bakery on Main Street, with no indoor plumbing. Nelle had to haul coal and water up steep steps while her husband hung out at the local bar and watched wrestling.

Their first son, John Neil was born on September 16, 1908 in their home. He was baptized Catholic. Three years later, during one of the worst blizzards hit Tampico, their second son was born, Ronald Wilson Reagan. Ronald weighed 10 lbs. and Nelle had a difficult birth. The doctor told Nelle this would be her last child.

Nelle became active in the Christian Church of Tampico, where she had been baptized in 1910. She attended prayer meetings on Wednesday and Sunday nights, and Sunday school for the boys on Sunday mornings. She also became a visiting disciple, spending a lot of time away from the family visiting the sick or morally disturbed and praying with them.

In 1914, Jack lost his job and the family moved to Galesburg where Jack got a job at a shoe store. Ronald enrolled in first grade in February 1916, but the whole family was forced to move again in 1918 when Jack lost his job due to drinking. The moved to Monmouth, Illinois, where Jack got another job as a shoe clerk.

When Ronald was in the third grade, a flu epidemic hit Monmouth, and Nelle nearly died. She recovered, but that winter Ronald also contracted to flu and Neil was hit by a truck and broke his leg. The doctor bills and the poor economy made things tough for the Reagans, especially with Jack's small salary.

In 1919, the family moved back to Tampico, where Jack was offered better pay and a chance at a partnership in the H.C. Pitney Store. It was at this time that Nelle became active in the high school theater group. She was still active in the church, and would travel around the countryside giving dramatic readings and reciting poetry.

In 1920, the Reagans left for Dixon, where Jack was a partner in the Fashion Boot Shop. It is this town that Ronald calls home. They moved into a house on 816 South Hennepin Avenue. Nelle had a room for sewing in this house, as well as a room to take in boarders, both of which she did to make money for her family. She was the one who held the family together, teaching the boys tolerance for their father's alcoholism, reading out loud in the evenings and teaching honesty and charity. She taught Ronald to read when he was five-years-old and took him when she was doing much of her goodwill work, which included visits to mental hospitals and local jails.

As a result, Ronald respected his mother highly, and they were closer than she and Neil, who was more like his father. Nelle took Ronald to shows that came to town, but Neil declined, choosing football instead. Nelle was also respected in the community the wife of Ronald's Sunday School teacher is quoted in Anne Edward's book, "Early Reagan," as saying, "Everybody loved Nelle Reagan and looked up to her as a leader," She was always there when anyone needed her. God always heard Nelle Reagan's prayers and answered them. "

Another Dixonite described her as thin and very tiny with a pleasing voice. Yet another said, "She had a way of givin' out her religion that wasn't offensive. She was an elocutionist-- dramatic readings is what it is called nowadays."

She had a big influence on Ronald, teaching him to look people in the eyes, remember their names and showing them that he cared. He took the lesson well.


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