Rebecca Caroline (Langley) Nelson

Caroline

Description

Life and Work

Rebecca Nelson has the distinction of having the village of Caroline named after her. Her parents were the first settlers in the area.

In 1907, her father, Harvey Langley applied for permission to have a post office in Caroline due to the mail having to be picked up at Raven, yet the post office did not have a name at this time. When the government granted the request they gave Caroline’s father the privilege of giving a name to the area. He gave the name Reba, a shortened version of Rebecca. Although some confusion arose in mail delivery between Reba and Seba, so the area was renamed Caroline, Rebecca’s middle name.

Rebecca had two sons and a daughter by a previous marriage. In 1931, the Nelson farm was purchased from the municipality. The only regret that Rebecca had was that her family did not hold on to some of the original land that her father cleared.

Rebecca and her second husband, Sam Nelson, worked on Trail Parties with the Federal Government from 1944-1955. These trail outfits were involved in geological work. Rebecca worked as a cook and enjoyed their excursions. She said that they were the happiest times of her life and that she would go back to that way of life again if she had the chance.

She continued to cook in the 1960s for many different crews and later became known as the “Grandmother of Caroline.”