Newfie Roots: Nesbit Nebucet--Ode to Aunt Millie

Revised 10/12/11

Photo on left, starting left to right: Vera Scott,
Florence, Nancy & Tom Nesbit, Eliza Scott
Aunt Millie Nesbit, Lillian Scott

Amelia (Millie) Scott Nesbit was William Scott's sister. She was born in Little Bay East, Newfoundland, and we don't know the exact date, but she was baptized in the Church of England Sept. 18, 1881. For all we know, she could have been born a year earlier and the clergyman may not have been around for some time, as was common then. In fact, of all of her 11 brothers and sisters, only 2 have exact dates of birth.

Married at the age of 24 in Channel-PAB Dec. 11, 1905 to Thomas Nebucett, a "Brakesman", the last name changed to Nesbitt, and later in the U.S. it was "Nesbit." They had 2 children: Marie Lilian and Verdina Leroy. In 1909 Thomas was killed when a load of lumber fell from a railcar that was being shunted into the yard at a paper mill (in Grand Falls). He was just 27.

Amelia with 2 children and Herbert Scott, uncle of Clyde.

Clyde Scott's brother Walter produced an entire family book with info. on each member, and the following data is the information given on "Millie":

Two years after Thomas died, it is said Amelia went to live with her brother Andrew in Boston. And at some point she ended up in Rochester, NY (where William and Eliza lived.)

"Aunt Millie" was generous and caring. One nephew on leave from the army in 1944 reported that Aunt Millie passed him a $20 bill when she gripped his hand. This same nephew said "she always left money in my shaving kit."

Nebucett
Now, what's up with the spelling of Nesbit? It went from Nebucett (NL) to Nesbit (USA). And in between those 2 spellings, I've also found record of Nebucett, Nebucette, Nabucett and Nesbitt. Well, I have been in touch with Thomas' niece (who lives in western Newfoundland) on the Nebucet side of the family and here's a little background:

Thomas had a brother Alfred and a sister, Julia, who moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to work as domestic. She died there at the young age of 19. Thomas, Alfred and Julia's parents were Alfred and Mary Nabucet. The story goes that Alfred was a stow away on a ship that had sailed from St. Malo, France. When the ship arrived in Newfoundland he supposedly jumped ship. He married Mary Crant and had three children. He apparently went out in a small boat to fish and presumably fell overboard and was never seen again and was presumed drowned. The name Nabucet does not appear anywhere else in Canada, but still exists in France, although they seem to be more in the area around Paris, not St. Malo.

Thomas' brother Alfred Joseph Nebucet married Susie Brake in Channel-PAB on Feb 6, 1911. He was also a "brakesman" just as Thomas was. Alfred eventually became a conductor on the train and worked with the railway until he retired. He and Susie Brake had seven children: Gordon, Alice, Mary, Bertha, Phyllis, Carrie, and Alfred. Alfred had a son also named Alfred who is still alive and lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He has two daughters.

Thomas Le Roy Nesbit (nee Verdina Leroy)
Now the mystery of little Verdina Leroy born Feb. 2, 1909--just a few months before Dad's death. When Amelia and her children went to the U.S., the Border Crossings document I found lists Verdina as MALE. I looked up documents for Thomas L. Nesbit. The "L" stands for Leroy, and he was born Feb. 2, 1909. Case solved....but I just have to ask...why the dress AND stockings in the photo? For certain, Thomas would never have made it through life with the name Verdina. ;-)

This branch of the family is close to mine in that Amelia's son Thomas, who was cousin and friend to my grandfather Lawrence Scott, married the cousin of Lawrence Scott's wife Vera. Comprendo? See this newsclipping from 1966.

An even further connection is that Thomas and my father Marvin attended the same dental school in southern California. Also, several other family members located to the same area where they still remain.