Michael Joseph Nelis was on the first Celtic Committee
In the 1881 and 1891 census he is listed as being a pawnbroker
He was also on the parochial board for Bridgeton from 1884 til at least 1887 according to Herald records.
Thursday, November 27, 1884; Issue 284
![[image]](https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/_otyVyimSweEFlJXvTxUOA353270 "[image]")
Suffice to say that although it confirms he was also a pawnbroker he was clearly an influential figure in another key aspect of Victorian life.
Parochial boards held sway over everything from the building of infirmaries or poorhouses to the application of the poor law itself and were the basic predecessors to modern community councils, they were replace with elected parish councils in 1894.
Joseph must have been reasonably well connected to be nominated for election to this board, he would have been instrumental in being able to assist the club with its stated aim of providing for the poor of the area and is another prime example of a founder with more than one string to his bow when it comes to the make up of the original commitee.
He retired from the pawnbroker business in May 1897
By 1901 he is recorded as being a publican. By the time of his death in 1943 we was a retired Education Authority Clerk
He was the oldest survivor of the Founding Fathers:
16th June 1938 – Celtic's Jubilee Dinner, Glasgow (from Willie Maley's book):
"Mr Maley expressed regret at the absence through illness of the last surviving member of the first Committee, Mr. Joe Nelis. They had with them, however, two of their oldest enthusiasts, Dr. Scanlan and Mrs. Arthur Murphy, who had been with them from the very beginning."