 During his time at Beccles, Nelson met Catherine Suckling, and married her on 11 May 1749 at Beccles.Catherine was the daughter of another priest, Maurice Suckling, and her grandmother had been the sister of Robert Walpole.The family therefore became distant relations of the powerful Earls of Orford, and Catherine's immediate family, including her brother, Maurice Suckling, provided important influence that would help the Nelsons' children in their early years.