Nelles, Abraham

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Douglas Leighton, “NELLES, ABRAM (Abraham),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 11, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/nelles_abram_11E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Church of England clergyman, missionary, and translator; b. 25 Dec. 1805 at Forty-Mile Creek (Grimsby), Upper Canada, third son of Robert Nelles and Elizabeth Moore; m. first 3 May 1831 Hannah Macklem (d. 6 July 1863) of Chippawa (now part of Niagara Falls, Ont.), and they had two sons; m. secondly in 1866 Sarah Macklem, a cousin of his first wife, and they had a son and a daughter; d. 20 Dec. 1884 in Brantford, Ont.
    • Abram Nelles was descended from a Mohawk River valley family of German origin. The loyalist migrations of the late 18th century brought this family of prosperous farmers from New York into the Niagara peninsula where they were the pioneers of the village of Forty-Mile Creek, Grimsby Township, Upper Canada. The Nelles family appears to have been an early benefactor of the Church of England and Abram pursued studies towards a career in the ministry at York (Toronto) under the direction of John Strachan and Alexander Neil Bethune. Nelles’ father and grandfather had both been involved in the conduct of Indian diplomacy and it may have been this influence that led him at the age of 21 to offer his services as a student missionary to the Six Nations at Grand Rive
    • Few clergymen in the western part of the diocese of Quebec were attracted to the isolation, the linguistic and cultural differences, and the uncertain living conditions of the Indian missions. Financial constraints made it impossible for the church in Upper Canada to underwrite costs, and agencies such as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the interdenominational New England Company financed the missions.
    • Nelles’ new post carried with it the rectorship of the Mohawk Church and the principalship of the Mohawk Institute, a day-school operated by the New England Company for Indian students. Under his administration for 35 years, the institute, teaching both academic and practical subjects, became a model for Indian schools which had assimilation of the Indians as their object. As early as 1844 Nelles transformed the institute into a boarding-school for 50 children. Many students’ families were scattered about the reserve and “living in” was necessary for the school’s success. His students included several who became prominent Indian leaders, for example, George Henry Martin Johnson.
  • Son of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=6190
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55626124/abram-nelles