Fonds F 542
20 centimetres of textual records
Fonds consists of copied records and some original records of Robert Nelles and of other Nelles family members, including: personal correspondence, militia records, business records, Niagara District records, records of transactions with local native Indians, commissions, agreements and grants and indentures, and other records, including documents of a John Beamer.
Correspondence consists of letters received by Robert Nelles from a number of individuals, regarding local politics, business, farming conditions, and family matters. Included are letters from Robert Nelles' son Henry, from his daughter Margaret and her husband Major Edward Pilkington, and from his son Rev. Abraham Nelles.
Militia records consist of correspondence, orders, accounts and receipts, affidavits and certificates, pay lists, returns and statements, muster rolls and lists, commissions (of Robert Nelles' father Hendrick Nelles, and of his son, Henry Nelles), and proclamations and notices.
Business records contain correspondence (regarding debts, trade, deliveries, and the Banks of Upper Canada), and accounts (with Samuel Street, Hamilton and Crooks, Hamilton and Cartwright, and others).
Records regarding the Niagara district include: records of the Grimsby church (including a list of subscribers, correspondence, minutes of meetings, a notice of the formation of a Niagara chapter of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and a printed petition of the United Presbytery of Upper Canada to the Legislative Council appealing for educational funding); voters lists for various townships in the area; records arising from road construction and maintenance (including correspondence, a survey, a directive, and a warrant authorizing John Bigger to oversee statute labour); court records (including correspondence, an affidavit, minutes of proceedings, a statement, a judgement, and a subpoena); and assessment rolls of Grimsby Township, including a list of landholders.
Records arising from transactions with local natives include: correspondence, an indenture, a commission, and two notices (one appointing a surveyor to report on the Brant Lease Tracts, and one concerning the centennial celebration of the Mohawk landing near Deseronto.
Commissions include: the appointment of John Grout as inspector of chimneys for the town of Quebec; the appointment of Joseph Edwards, Abraham Nelles, and William Crooks to inquire into the flight of Gideon Frisbee into the United States; the appointment of Abraham Nelles and William Crooks to examine treasonous activity in the Niagara District; the appointment of John Grout to oversee the prevention of accidents by fire in Quebec City; and two marriage certificates.
Agreements, indentures, and grants relate to: the operation of the water works at 40 Mile Creek, the sale of property, and the rental of property.
Fonds also contains other records, such as: the records of John Beamer (including a certificate of naturalization, and a warrant to oversee road work); a tavern licence; a petition for a United Empire Loyalists grant; House of Assembly resolutions and committee reports; an account of the early years of the Loyal Canadian Society; and other records.
Robert Nelles, (1761-1842) was a soldier, businessman, politician, and public servant in Grimsby, Ontario.
He was born in the United States in the Mohawk Valley and served with his father, Hendrick William Nelles, in the Indian Department during the American Revolution. After the war, he moved to Upper Canada, and settled at Grimsby. There he became a Justice of the Peace, Township Warden and a member of the Legislative Assembly until 1820. During the War of 1812 he commanded the 4th Lincoln Regiment, and acted as a local purchasing agent for the British Army. Nelles also operated a grist mill with his brothers at Forty Mile Creek for many years.
The Archives of Ontario also possesses the records of Robert Nelles' father, Hendrick William Nelles (F 529), and of his brother, Abraham Nelles (F 543)
Title based on content of fonds.
Accession Numbers 3057, 11288, 11305.MU 2190 - MU 2192.MS 503.
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