In the late 1800s, many families across Scandinavia were struggling. Poverty, overcrowding, and lack of opportunity drove thousands to seek a better life in America. The U.S. Homestead Act of 1862, which offered 160 acres of free land, was especially tempting to Norwegians who lived where farmland was scarce.
By 1882, over 105,000 Scandinavians had migrated, and during the 1880s alone, nearly 176,000 Norwegians arrived in the U.S.
One of those immigrants was Karl Mathais Nielsen, who landed in Galveston, Texas, in 1881 as a young cook on a sailing ship. By 1890, he had officially become a U.S. citizen and changed his name to Charles Martin Nelson—known to his family simply as Charlie.
His journey marked the beginning of a multi-generational family legacy rooted in fishing and oystering along the Texas coast.
Life on the Water Begins
After marrying Mary Floyd in Galveston, Charlie worked as a longshoreman before moving his young family after the devastating 1900 hurricane. By 1912, Charlie, Mary, and their seven children settled at Smith Point, arriving in a motorless sailboat named Nancy. There, the Nelsons built their lives around the water.
Charlie’s children quickly took to fishing. His eldest, Jake, built 40-foot boats. Another son, Lawrence, ran an oyster house, while May and her husband started a shrimping business.
But it was Neal, another son, who carried the family’s oystering tradition forward, passing it to his three boys—Joe, Ben, and Eddie Lee. Even Charlie’s daughter, Necil, worked alongside her father and later with her husband, Alton Kelley, in Nelson’s Oyster House.
Building Businesses and Family Traditions
By the 1950s, Nelson’s Oyster House was well known. The family fished, shrimped, crabbed, and sold seafood throughout Anahuac, Hankamer, and Double Bayou.
Later, the Nelson brothers branched out on their own. Joe opened Fisherman’s Harvest, which included a restaurant, while Ben pursued his own oyster leases, one of which is still held today.
Ben and his wife, Jeri, eventually founded Jeri’s Seafood in 1970. What began as a small family operation grew into one of the largest oyster businesses in Texas, managed today by their grandson, Justin Woody.
Protecting the Oyster Reefs
The Nelsons weren’t just fishermen—they were also defenders of the bay. In the 1960s and 1970s, Neal and his sons fought against companies dredging oyster reefs for road-building materials.
Standing in front of dredging boats with clusters of live oysters in hand, they demanded protection for the reefs. Their persistence led to oyster leases that helped preserve parts of Galveston Bay from destruction.
By the late 20th century, Jeri’s Seafood held some of the oldest oyster leases in Texas. But securing the future of oysters wasn’t easy. The family faced new challenges from poachers, industry regulations, and natural disasters.
Battles Against Poachers and Nature
Ben Nelson fiercely guarded his oyster leases. His vigilance sometimes meant confronting poachers head-on, even at gunpoint, to protect what rightfully belonged to his family.
Beyond human threats, nature posed even greater risks. Hurricanes, floods, and droughts reshaped the oyster population. Hurricane Ike in 2008 wiped out thousands of acres of reefs, while the 2010 BP oil spill shifted pressure from Louisiana to Texas, bringing more boats and overharvesting.
Droughts and salinity changes in the bay further weakened oysters. Most recently, Hurricane Beryl in 2024 caused an 80–90% loss of oysters in East Bay.
The Modern Oyster Industry
Today, Jeri’s Seafood continues to thrive under the leadership of Justin Woody and his family. They farm oysters by leasing areas of Galveston Bay and harvesting sustainably. While Texas has fewer leases compared to states like Louisiana and Virginia, the Nelson family remains one of the largest leaseholders in the state.
The industry has shifted over the decades—from shrimping and fishing to primarily oysters—and faces constant battles with weather, regulations, and market demands. Yet the Nelsons have endured, proving that resilience and family tradition can keep a business alive for more than a century.
The story of the Nelson family is more than just a history of oystering—it is a tale of perseverance, tradition, and love for the water. From a young Norwegian immigrant seeking a better life to a Texas family leading one of the state’s largest oyster operations, the Nelsons show how determination can turn hardship into legacy.
Through storms, industry battles, and generations of change, one thing has remained constant: their deep connection to the sea and the oysters that continue to shape their lives.
