Daniel Nelson, Jr. was born on August 18, 1902 in Xinyang (Sinyang), Henan (Honan), China, to Daniel, Sr. and Anna Nelson. He grew up in that country, attending the American School of Kikungshan, a boarding school for missionary children. Through these early years he came to love the culture and the people of China. He attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, graduating in 1924 with a bachelor of arts degree. The next year he taught high school in Fisher, Minnesota, after which he entered Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, to continue his preparation for the ministry. In 1927, while still a student, he married Esther Idso, a schoolmate from St. Olaf. In 1928 he graduated from Luther Seminary, was ordained, and shortly thereafter left with his new wife for China. Years later, in 1940, he received his master’s degree in Chinese studies from the University of Southern California, and in 1943 a Ph.D. in Chinese history and culture from Hartford Seminary.
Esther Idso was born December 10, 1901 in Paullina, Iowa, the daughter of Olaus and Ella Idso. Like Daniel, she attended St. Olaf College, graduating in 1923. After graduation from St. Olaf she spent two years in Hallock, Minnesota, first as a teacher then as the principal of the local high school. The following year, she moved to Anoka, near Minneapolis, where she taught for two years. Years later, she also received her master’s degree in Chinese.
Arriving in China in 1928, they served briefly in Hankou (Hankow; now part of Wuhan), where Daniel was manager of the Lutheran Missions Home and Agency. Then, after language study in Beijing, they were transferred to the Lutheran United Mission in Zhengyang (Chengyang), Henan. Zhengyang district was noted for its bandits, yet mission work continued. Several years later, in 1936 Daniel Nelson wrote: “On the whole we have had a fine working year. It has been possible to visit all the outstations [the market towns in the countryside surrounding the city] one or more times and reading courses have been conducted. There have been no large bandit groups to disturb our work although local bandits have proved a nuisance.” He also reported that during the Chinese New Year holidays a short course for workers was planned which turned out so well that they decided to hold a similar course the next year. This time they had an enrollment of about fifty.
During World War ll, while he was working on his doctorate in Hartford, he served for some time with United China Relief in New York. The Japanese had penetrated deep into China and the war had been devastating, so relief was urgently needed.
In 1943, Nelson was chosen by the National Lutheran Council, the arm of the Lutheran World Federation in China, to head up their work in China. He accepted the challenge. In 1944 he became director of the Lutheran World Federation (still then in formation) in China, a post he held until his death.
During these several years, when he was based in Chongqing, his duties were many faceted. His first assignment was to provide relief to orphaned missions—European Lutheran agencies cut off by the war from their support in Germany and Scandinavia. He opened a Lutheran Service Center for American military personnel. He was instrumental in organizing a Chinese Lutheran congregation from among the refugees and in opening a provisional theological school.
The Lutheran Church in China paid this tribute to Daniel Nelson: “Under the Providence of God, Dr. Nelson, as the able director of Lutheran World Action in the China theater, has been the means of getting us together again, enabling us to plan and work together, not only to meet the most urgent present needs, but also to plan unitedly and effectively for postwar rehabilitation and advance in mission technique.” At the end of the war, the Center and the LWF offices were moved to Shanghai. There, in addition to his other responsibilities Nelson established and operated a Lutheran mission hostel.
He was a staunch advocate of the use of airplanes in mission work. In World War ll, he organized rescue by air of nearly 300 missionaries and their families from danger zones into safety. Early in 1944, Nelson had approached Major General Patrick Hurley, who at that time was U.S. ambassador to China. Through Hurley’s intervention, General A.C. Wedemeyer issued an order to perimeter bases to bring out all missionaries. American transport planes picked up the missionaries, brought them first to West China, and then lifted them high over the Himalayan Mountains and the Burma jungles to Calcutta. In 1946, he conceived of using a mission plane to facilitate movement of missionary personnel now streaming back into China. He brought this dream to reality by purchasing a DC3 twin-engined transport from the U.S. Army, which he christened the “St. Paul.” As the communist forces advanced throughout China, the St. Paul became a critical factor in another major movement—the evacuation of missionaries. The “St. Paul” made dozens of flights into China to evacuate Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries from territory threatened by the Communists. By June of 1948, the plane had completed 30 trips bringing out Lutheran missionaries and others. Over 1,000 Korean Christians were also airlifted.
In the summer of 1947, Nelson, together with Dr. Peng Fu, travelled by the “St. Paul” to attend the first Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation in Sweden. At that time, Nelson also contacted Lutheran centers in various countries in Europe. In June, 1948, he returned the United States to report to the National Lutheran Council, during which time he was elected the first president of the World Missionary Aviation conference.
Through these years Esther assisted Daniel in many ways. In the office she was seen as an efficient and unobtrusive help. Meanwhile, she reared their daughter and son quietly and firmly. She was sweet, reserved and balanced. Esther and Daniel thought together, worked together, prayed together. The Nelsons and their children were a close-knit family.
On July 16, 1948, Daniel Nelson was on a business trip to Hong Kong and also a short vacation with his family when the commercial airline seaplane which they had boarded for their return from Macao to Hong Kong crashed. Pirates had boarded the plane, one a trained pilot, and when they attempted to take over the plane there was resistance, leading to a fight which ended in disaster. The entire family perished—Daniel and Esther with their daughter Marguerite and son Daniel. The sole survivor was one of the pirates.
Those who knew Daniel remembered his irresistible enthusiasm and good humor. His intimate understanding and love of the Chinese people were valued by Chinese and westerners alike. He had an unusual degree of vision and originality as well as the drive, efficiency and daring to make vision a reality. Developing new projects always engaged his mind. He was buoyant, an incurable optimist. He has been quoted as saying in regard to one project, “Some said it would be impossible, but we Christians specialize in the impossible.” This faith was inherent in all that he did.
Daniel Nelson authored several books. One of them, Apostle to the Chinese Communists, told the story of his brother Bert Nelson, who was captured during the unrest of 1930 and after two years was killed in captivity. Their father, Daniel Nelson, Sr., had also died a violent death by a stray bullet during a skirmish between opposing forces in Xinyang, Henan. Though all these people died “before their time,“ their impact in China and beyond was great.