Family History

James was born in County Cavan, Ireland, on August 12, 1817, according to his headstone. His exact date of birth is not yet proven.
He was not a famine immigrant, having left Ireland in the spring of 1845, before the first potato crop failure. It is probable that he chose a better way of life in the New World, rather than that of a landless farm laborer in Ireland.
James probably came to the U.S. by way of Quebec or Toronto, Canada. In 1847 he married Isabelle Edgeworth, either in Canada or Clarkson. Isabelle had a brother, John Edgeworth, who was a police officer in Toronto in 1893. They maintained close contact with their Canadian families. Isabelle and her sons often traveled by ship to Toronto for visits.
James and Isabelle settled in the area known as Sweden, and had five sons. They later moved to the Hamlin area and had two more sons. James purchased the property on Martin Rd., over 100 acres, in 1861.
Life was very difficult for the early Nesbits in the 1840's and 1850's. The roads were primitive ruts, making travel to Brockport and elsewhere very hard. The families who lived along these routes maintained the roads themselves. Neighbors helped neighbors to plow fields, plant and harvest crops, and cut and haul wood for the winter. In order to survive the harsh winters, everybody pitched in to get enough food and fodder for families and livestock.
His son David wrote of the endless job of cutting trees and chopping wood. His father and his brothers took turns with the axes. In the winter of 1877, he wrote of a terrible blizzard that lasted 3 days. They couldn't get the doors open because the snow was so deep. The well froze over. Their wood box was near empty and they couldn't get to the woods to cut more.
"These are fearful times," he wrote.

The James Nesbit family became Baptists, and their son Robert studied to become a Baptist minister. He preached in many of the churches in the area.
Robert died in October of 1893 of TB. His brother Albert also died of TB in 1907.
James lived a long, productive life. He died in December of 1903. Isabelle outlived him, and died in 1907. They left behind five sons and many, many grandchildren.