Date Published:
February 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

Wolfred Nelson

Nelson, Wolfred (1792-1863), rebel, was born in Montreal, Lower Canada, on July 10, 1792, the son of William Nelson. He studied medicine, and in the War of 1812 served as a regimental surgeon. In 1827 he was elected to represent Sorel in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada; and during the next ten years was one of the chief lieutenants of Louis Joseph Papineau. He took a leading part in organizing the rebellion of 1837, and was present at the engagements of St. Denis and St. Charles. He was captured, and was one of the eight insurgents banished by Lord Durham to the Bermudas in 1838. He was released, however, later in the same year; and in 1843 he took advantage of the amnesty to return to Canada, and resumed the practice of his profession in Montreal. From 1844 to 1851 he represented Richelieu in the Legislative Assembly of Canada; but in 1851 he withdrew from political life, and was appointed an inspector of prisons. In 1859 he became chairman of the board of prison inspectors; and he died at Montreal on June 17, 1863.

W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. IV, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 400p., pp. 389-390.