Robert Nelles (October 6, 1761 – July 27, 1842) was a businessman and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

. He was born in Stone Arabia, now known as Nelliston, in

Tryon County, New York Tryon County was a county in the colonial Province of New York in the British American colonies. It was created from Albany County on March 24, 1772, and was named for William Tryon, the last provincial governor of New York. The county's bound ...

in 1761. His father, Hendrick William Nelles, served in the Indian Department from 1759-1760, during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

and his grandfather, William Nelles, arrived in New York in 1710, and enlisted in the colonial forces for the

Quebec Expedition The Quebec Expedition, or the Walker Expedition to Quebec, was a British attempt to attack Quebec in 1711 in Queen Anne's War, the North American theatre of the War of Spanish Succession. It failed when seven transports and one storeship were ...

in 1711. Robert was made a lieutenant in the department in 1780 and served during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, leading around 60 raids into the interior of New York state in 1781. After the war, father and son settled in the Grand River valley as

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America du ...

s and received several large land grants in the

Niagara District The Niagara District was a historic district in Upper Canada. Created in 1798 from the Home District, it existed until 1849. Historic evolution The District was formed by an Act of the Parliament of Upper Canada in 1798, and was described as cons ...

. Nelles built mills and a store on the current site of the town of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...

. He also built an early Georgian style manor, which was completed in 1798 (now Nelles Manor Museum). In 1797, Robert was appointed Indian agent in the region for a brief time. In 1800, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lie ...

in West

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, 1st

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

& Haldimand and served until 1808. He joined the local militia during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, eventually becoming lieutenant-colonel. In 1814, he replaced

Joseph Willcocks Joseph Willcocks (1773 – September 4, 1814) sometimes spelt Wilcox was a publisher and political figure in Upper Canada. He was elected to the Parliament of Upper Canada in 1807 representing York, 1st Lincoln and Haldimand. He was re-electe ...

in the legislative assembly in a by-election for 1st Lincoln and Haldimand, serving until 1820. There are a number of places named after the Nelles family in Grimsby, namely Nelles Public School, Nelles Beach Park, Nelles Boulevard, Nelles Road (North and South), the Nelles Fitch House, and Nelles Manor. He died in Grimsby in 1842.

Personal life

Robert married Elizabeth Moore in 1788. She was the daughter of John Moore and Dinah Pettit, who were United Empire Loyalists in New Jersey. With Elizabeth, Robert had seven children: Robert's second wife, Maria nee Waddell Bingle (May 9, 1783 - Jan 2, 1848) was a widow. She had two children from her first marriage: Thomas and Catherine Bingle. Together with Robert, Maria had another six children:

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelles, Robert 1761 births 1842 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada People from Grimsby, Ontario People from Montgomery County, New York United Empire Loyalists Canadian people of English descent Huguenot participants in the American Revolution

Personal life

Further reading

References

External links