Overview › Family tree › William Nelems
William Nelems
Family
Child in this line
Spouse
Children
- John Nelmesb. Abt. June 1831 near Berkeley, England · d. April 16, 1884, due to drowning in a whirlpool near the junction of Deer Creek and the Cosumnes River in Elk Grove, California
- Catharine Nelmesb. Abt. 1836 in Canada
- Eliza Jane Nelmesb. Abt. 1840 in Canada
- William Nelmesb. Abt. 1841125/1842124 in Upper Canada
- Henry F. Nelmesb. Abt. 1843, 81, 82/1844 24, 124, 125/1845140, 141 in St. Thomas Township, Oxford County or Burford Township, Brant County 24, Ontario, Canada · d. April 30, 1915, in Kingsway, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Died from pneumoniam. Sarah Jane ____; Isabella Howell in abt. 1891
- James Nelmesb. Abt. 1846 in Canada
- ____ (female) Nelmesb. Abt. 1849 · d. 1851 due to scalding
- Thomas Nelmesb. Abt. 1849 in Canada
- David Nelemsb. Abt. 1850124/1851140 in Ontario/Upper Canada
In brief
Born Abt in England. He married September 20, 1828, in Walcot St and worked as laborer. He died Died at age in Burford Township, Brant County, Ontario, Canada.
Life story
Clearing Land in Burford Township
William Nelems (also recorded as Nelmes) was born around 1804–1807 in England and married Eliza Jane Gay on September 20, 1828, in Somerset. The couple emigrated to Canada and, around 1832, settled on a hundred-acre lot in Burford Township, Brant County, Ontario, which William cleared from brush by hand, living first in a log cabin and later in a small farmhouse he built there; he made shoes for his family by candlelight in the evenings. He remained on the property, by then owned by his son Henry, until late in life, and in November 1887 traveled all the way to Chilliwack, British Columbia, to visit his daughter Mary Ann Kipp. William died at the age of eighty-three.
At a glance
Sources (14)
- Excerpt of unknown book on Pioneers of BC interviewing Henry Nelems, abt. 1910s; privately held by Catherine Leineweber, Portland, Oregon, 2021.
- “Chilliwack’s First “Lady of the Land” Marks Her 90th Anniversary,” The Chilliwack Progress (Chilliwack, BC), 15 August 1929, page 2, col 3-4; web archives (https://www.newspapers.com/image/43936741/ : accessed 7 April 2022).
- “Mrs. Isaac Kipp Passes,” The Chilliwack Progress (Chilliwack, BC), 14 May 1931, page 1, col 1-2; web archives (https://www.newspapers.com/image/43150312 : accessed 11 December 2022).
- “On the Wing,” The Victoria Daily Times (Victoria, BC), 21 November 1887, page 4, col 3; web archives (https://www.newspapers.com/image/505045369 : accessed 4 December 2024).
- Ethelbert Olaf Stuart Scholefield, British Columbia from the earliest times to the Present, Volume III (Vancouver, BC: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1914), 1020-1023; digital images, University of British Columbia (https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0356573 : accessed 15 January 2025).
- Gladys Lobb and Velma Cuthbertson, grandchildren of Isaac Kipp, interview by Shirley Cuthbertson, 12 July 1980 (also Frankie Watson, Bill Watson, Velma Cuthbertson, and Alec Kipp, descendants of Isaac Kipp, interview by Shirley Cuthbertson, August 1980) (also Bill and Frankie Watson, interview by Shirley Cuthbertson, abt. 1980) (also Frankie Watson, interview by Shirley Cuthbertson, September 1987), and notes from “Kipp Family Kit”; scanned images of transcript, privately held by Ben Weber, Woodbridge, Virginia, 2024.
- 1861 Census of Canada, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1570/images/4391566_00160 : accessed 9 December 2025), entry for William Nelmes family, District 1, East Oxford Township, Oxford County, Canada West; citing roll C-1061-1062.
- 1851 Census of Canada, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1061/images/e094-e002340979 : accessed 9 December 2025), entry for William Nelmes family, District 1, North Part of Burford Township, Brant County, Canada West.
- “From Chilliwack,” The Daily British Columbian (New Westminster, BC), 16 November 1887, page 4, col 3; The University of British Columbia Library (https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/dbc/1.0345714 : accessed 8 January 2026).
- Church of England, Parish Church of Berkeley (Gloucestershire, England), "Register of Baptisms, 1813–1837," p. 7, no. 55, John Nelmes, 26 June 1831; reference GDR/V1/353, Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucester; database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5066/images/43138_633870_4606-00252 : accessed 2 September 2026).
- Church of England, Parish Church of Walcot, St Swithin (Somerset, England), " Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1924," p. 54, no. 138, William Nelmes and Eliza Gay, 30 September 1828; reference D\P\Wal.Sw/2/1/26, Somerset Archives & Local Studies, South West Heritage Trust, Taunton; database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60858/images/42886_1831115184_1018-00054 : accessed 2 September 2026).
- 1871 Census of Canada, Oxford East, Ontario, population schedule, enumeration district 13 South Oxford, subdistrict D East Oxford Township, p.15, dwelling 47, family 50, William Nelms family; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1578/images/4396330_00151 : accessed 4 September 2026); citing Library and Archives Canada Microfilm C-9911.
- 1881 Census of Canada, Oxford East, British Columbia, population schedule, enumeration district 165, subdistrict Oxford East 1, p. 31, dwelling 153, family 153, Henry F Nelems family; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1577/images/31229_C_13267-00168 : accessed 4 September 2026); citing Library and Archives Canada Microfilm C-13267.
- “Ontario, Canada Voter Lists, 1867-1900,” images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1281/images/RDCAN1900B_109607__0001-00005 : accessed 4 September 2026), Voters’ List – 1874, Township of Burford, Polling Subdivision 6, pg. 3, entry for William Nelms; citing Canadiana.org.