Consolidated Addendum to April 25, 2004 - Pioneer Profiles: N

Naessens, Rev. Albert O.M.I.

Father Albert Naessens, born in Courtrai, Belgium in 1864, came to Canada and was ordained in 1889. The following year he came to the Southern Missions in Alberta and became the school principal of the Dunbow Industrial School. He remained there for 11 years during which he gave expression to his natural interest in field sports. He was given a leave of absence to return to Belgium and on his return he remained at the school until 1907. He was appointed first pastor of Sacred Heart Parish after it had been erected and he remained for three years. In 1914 he went to St. Albert where he was Superior after 1936. He died in 1942 at Battleford, Saskatchewan.

Nash, Harold Holsworth.

Harold Nash, born at Toronto on February 9, 1856, was eighteen years old when he joined the NWMP. In 1874 he was posted to Fort Whoop-Up, and then to Fort QuAppelle. After eight years with the Mounted Police he took to farming near Battleford in 1880. He married Emily Harriet Hutchinson of Toronto in 1884. Harold worked as a scout during the Riel rebellion and it was then that their first child, Mary, was born 29 March, 1885. After the rebellion Mr. Nash acted as a guide and later was farm instructor at Fort Battleford for three years. He later joined the Indian Department and was posted to the agencies at Poundmaker, Thunderchild and finally to Macleod-Piegan in 1892. Their family by this time included along with Mary, five other girls and six boys. Harry saw service with the Canadian Rifles during the Boer War, and returned in 1889 in poor health. Emily passed away in 1915 and Harry in 1923.

Ref: The Daily Colonist, Victoria BC, May 15, 1923.

Neale, Steele

Steele Neale was a stage coach driver in the Pincher Creek area in the 1880s.

Ref: Leaves from the Medicine Tree.

Neidig, John

John Neidig emigrated from Germany to North America in the early 1870s bringing his family over a few years later. After working in various parts of Canada and the USA, he came to Lethbridge July 2, 1887 where he was a carpenter for the A.R.&I. Co. He later took up a homestead in the West Lethbridge area. During times of flood in the early 1900s their home, built partly of stone on the side of a coulee, was a haven for many neighbors. John died in May, 1914 and his wife, Dorothy, in June 1931.

Ref: The Bend -West Lethbridge.

Nelson, Andrew

Andrew Nelson was listed as a resident of Calgary in the 1891 Census. He died November 16, 1937.

Ref: SAPD old membership file card.

Nelson, John.

John Nelson, with other hunters and Indians crossed over from Montana Early in the 1870s., among them was John Nelson.

Ref: History of the Early Days of Pincher Creek p. 4-5 and SAPD old membership file card.

Nesbitt, David

David Nesbitt was a carpenter who built houses along Dog Pound Creek in the 1880s. A log house built by him in 1889 was still standing in 1977, as well as many others in the Cochrane and Botterell areas.

Ref: Big Hill Country, p. 517.

Nesbitt, Joseph

Joseph Nesbitt, born in 1860, died on April 2, 1905, in Fort Macleod.

Ref: Alberta Index for Birth, Marriage and Death Registrations 1870-1905.

Neumann, Gus and Theodore

Gus Neumann, raised in Poplar Grove, Manitoba, travelled to Montana in 1882 where he stayed the winter. In the spring of 1883 he came by horseback to homestead on land south of Pincher Creek. In 1888 his brother Theodore came west with a team of oxen and settler effects to homestead on land next to Gus. In the 1890s Guss other brothers, Ernest and Otto, joined them. In the fall Theodore worked on cattle round-ups and in the winter Gus worked cutting logs for homes. Theodore married Barbara Maine and they had six children. Theodore retired from farming in the 1930s. Mrs. Neumann died in 1944 and Theodore in 1948 at age 77.

Ref: Prairie Grass to Mountain Pass, p. 370.

Newby, Elizabeth

Elizabeth Newby who went to Morley in 1884, as assistant matron at the Indian Orphanage, married Mr. Walter at the big house of Mr. Hardisty in Edmonton, on October 21, 1886.

Ref: Alberta, Past and Present.

Newman, F. L.

Mr. F. L. Newman was recorded as a Charter member of Masonic Lodge Bow River No. 1, Calgary, instituted in 1884.

Newson, Alfred Conyers

Alfred Newson giving his address as Fish Creek, homesteaded SE 1/4 of Sec.36-21-3-W5M in 1889. Later he operated his ranch known as the Grassland at Millarville and was noted for being able to produce hay that had a good yield. In 1894, in partnership with George Lane and J. G. Templeton, they incorporated the Willow Creek Cattle Co. A. C. Newson died in 1901.

Ref: Our Foothills Bragg Creek, Kew and Millarville.

Niblock, J. N. (additional information)

Mr. J. N. Niblock, a CPR superintendent, was heavily involoved in building the first hospital in the NWT in 1889 at Medicine Hat.

Ref: Early History of Medicine Hat Country p. 38-40.

Nicoll, Lucy

Lucy (nee McMillan) Nicoll, born at Chesterville, moved in the late 1880s to Fort Macleod and married James Nicoll who was manager of the McLaren Lumber Co. In 1908 she settled in Calgary and lived there for the rest of her life. A son Archie died in 1929 and George in 1941. Mrs. Nicoll was buried at Burnsland cemetery, October 19, 1954. She was survived by two daughters, Jean and Amelia and a son, James.

Ref: The Calgary Herald, Oct. 19, 1954.

Nielson, Gustave.

Gustave Nielson, born May 4, 1870 at Gardstango, Malmo, Sweden, arrived at Cardston, Alberta with his wife and brother on June 30, 1890. He worked with his brother Olaf, for Mr. Cochrane, putting up hay for the fall. A year later in the fall, Gustave and Olaf cut logs in the mountains for their single room houses which they built a block apart. The two brothers were in the first brass band at Cardston. Gustave married Caroline Ellen Anderson on April 23, 1890 at Logan, Utah. She arrived with her husband, Gustave in June 1890. Twelve children were born between 1891 and 1916.

Ref: Hardwick Papers.

Nielson, Olaf

Olaf Nielson, born October 9, 1862 at Vidarp, Sweden, arrived in Cardston Alberta with his brother Gustave on June 30, 1890. He had married Christina Pherson, 30 March, 1887, at Logan, Utah. Olaf and his brother Gus went to work for Mr. Cochrane. The next summer he worked for Johanos Anderson and J.A. Hammer. In the fall he and his brother Gustave cut logs in the mountains to construct two one-room houses, a block apart in Cardston. Olaf took up a homestead two miles east of town and lived there until 1908, when the family moved back to Cardston. They built a seven-room house and later operated a maternity home. Ten children were born to Christina and Olaf.

Ref: Hardwick Papers.

Nier, (Shorty)

Shorty Nier, born in 1863, came from Arizona to Calgary in the early 1880s. He was a scout in the 1885 rebellion, then came south to ride for the Cochrane, the Oxley, the Flying E, and the Bar U Ranches and was involoved in most southern Alberta roundups. About 1900, Shorty homesteaded about seven miles west of Crossfield, and until 1910 was in partnership with George McLeod. For years he worked for Frank Collicut and finally sold out to George Murdock who looked after him until his death in 1926.

Ref: Leaves from the Medicine Tree p. 450.

Nigger, Molly

Molly Nigger came up to Medicine Hat from Montana in the 1880s and opened a laundry business, claiming to be the first white woman in town. Soon there were two very competitive laundries in Medicine Hat, the other being run by Slippery Annie. There was considerable rivalry between them, especially after they had a cocktail or two. Molly on one occasion took after Annie with a butcher knife and a pail of very hot water threatening to skin Annies hide.

Nimmons, Robert

Robert Nimmons, born in Cumberland County, England on October 2, 1854, married Elizabeth Birch at Winnipeg in 1882. She was born June 17, 1863 in England. Although Robert Nimmons had been in Alberta since 1876, it was not until 1890 that he settled in Lethbridge. He worked at various occupations and spent several years in the CPR machine shops. He ranched north of Lethbridge where he proved up on a homestead. They had four children, one son and three daughters. He died at Lethbridge 6 July, 1936. She died 1 December, 1943 at Lethbridge.

Ref: The Bend -West Lethbridge.

Nolan, M.

Mr. M. Nolan was recorded as a member of the Calgary Odd Fellows Lodge in 1886.

Norquay, James

James Norquay opened a boot repairing place in Medicine Hat in 1883.

Ref: Early History of Medicine Hat Country p. 38-40.

Norrish, John Dawson.

John Norrish, born in Rawden, Quebec in 1855, joined the NWMP in 1875 and was stationed at Fort Macleod from 1876 to 1879. Then after an honorable discharge he settled on Mosquito Creek in 1880 where he ranched until 1886. John fought in the Riel Rebellion of 1885 and when that stint was finished he purchased the RL Ranch from Charles Lowrie in 1888. he later lived in Calgary in 1902, where he was employed by or owned the Bain Stables. He moved to Victoria BC in 1907, then to Lasquatie, BC and died in 1917. In 1890 he had married Francis Maria Dean who died in Victoria in 1935.

Ref: CAD, Nov. 19, 2001.