NELSON
family
of Sunny Bank
Thomas Nelson, a United Empire Loyalist, moved to Nova Scotia in the 1780’s, where settled with his wife, Elizabeth Hools. James was born there in 1789. When still young, he spent some time in Maine, and finally settled in Shigawake about 1815. There he opened the first shoemaker shop on the Gaspe Coast. James and his wife Mary Rafter had a family of three children, James, Thomas and Samuel.
In 1854 Thomas Fitzallan Nelson, while still a teenager, left his home in Shigawake and married Mary Eleanor Grant. They settled on lot 19 in Sunny Bank. Thomas and Mary built their home on the hillside and raised a family of 8 children. Apple trees still mark the spot where the homestead once stood.
No Nelson’s remain in Gaspe today, but their descendants are numerous among the Patterson and Miller families. The following chart shows the ancestors of Thomas, pioneer of Sunny Bank.
Thomas Nelson, United Empire Loyalist
B circa 1850, USA
M Elizabeth Hools
their son:
James
B 1789
M 1814
Mary Rafter
D 1860
Had 3 children:
James
B ?Thomas Fitzallan (settled in Sunny Bank)
B 1825
M 1857
Mary Grant
D 1913Samuel
B 1849
M 1849
Mary Jane Scott
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