Papers : 1777-1893.
Call Number: | HIL-MICL FC LFR .N4F3P3 |
Category: | Family |
Creator: | Nelles Family. |
Description: | 3 microfilm textual records (6 volumes) ; 35 mm |
Background: | The Nelles family came to New York in 1709 with a large group of Protestant refugees who had fled from France to the German Palatinate, thence to England and New York. Henry William Nelles/Nellis (1735-1791) was the father of the Canadian branch of the family. He served with the British Indian Department in the Seven Years War under Sir William Johnson and later was a Captain during the American Revolution. Because of his loyalty, he and his family were forced to flee from New York, and his lands and property were confiscated by the rebels. Henry and his three sons Robert (1761-1842), William (1769-1830), and Abraham (1775-1839) were granted lands at Grimsby in the Niagara District of Upper Canada in compensation for their losses and for their services to the Crown. The family had developed close ties with the Mohawks (Kanien’kehá:ka) in New York prior to the American Revolution, and this friendship continued throughout the war and later in the Grand River Valley of Ontario where the Mohawks had settled. Here the Mohawk Chief, Joseph Brant, deeded several thousand acres on the Grand River to Henry Nelles and his sons. Several members of the Nelles family became active in Indian affairs, and in the church, militia, and public life of Upper Canada. |
Contents: | The Nelles Family Papers are arranged by three general categories of material: |
Originals: | The original records are held by the Archives of Ontario. |
Archival Ref. No.: | AO MS 358 |
Finding Aids: | An introduction, containing brief biographical information on several members of the Nelles family, has been microfilmed at the beginning of the reel. |
Electronic Finding Aid Record: |
Nelles Family Papers Shelf List.pdf |
Notes: |
Researchers may wish to consult the following related material: The microfilm of the Abraham Nelles Papers, 1777-1893 is available in the Loyalist Collection and is shelved at: MIC-Loyalist FC LFR .N4A2P3. The microfilm of the Robert Nelles Papers, 1759-1877, is available in the Loyalist Collection and is shelved at: MIC-Loyalist FC LFR .N4R6P3. Researchers may want to consult Andrew Nelles; A New Canadian, 1798 written by R. Robert Mutrie. |
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