The Nelson family appeared in the 1841 census living in Newbiggin on Lune, where they were carriers ... they may have been related to another Nelson family of carriers that lived in Kendal.  Although I have not undertaken any research into this family myself, this excellent blog post tells you about the family ...

 

https://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/a-family-of-carriers-the-nelsons-of-newbiggin-on-lune/ 

 

and the following is a more general post about Westmorland carriers in general ...

 

https://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/westmorland-carriers/

 

The later article includes some wonderful old images of the carriers and the villages they visited.  I suspect that once you have read these two blogs, you will find yourself exploring the rest of this very interesting website!

 

If you are connected to the Ravenstonedale NELSONs, please do get in touch.