THE NICHOLS FAMILY

 

The name Nichols and its variations including Nicol, Nicholls, Nickels, Nicholson, and many others [1], is derived from Nicholas, an ancient Greek name signifying people’s victory or victorious army and frequently given to saints [2]. For example, the Bishop of Myra (in Asia Minor) in the fourth century became St. Nicholas, from which both the character and name of Santa Claus evolved. According to English tradition, the common ancestor of most Nichols families in that country came to England with the Norman invaders [3]. Records have been found of at least 21 Nichols heads of families among the English who arrived in New England before 1700 [4]. Many of the approximately 170,000 individuals of that name currently in the United States are descended from these early settlers [5]. This account of the Nichols family traces a single line of descendents from Francis Nichols, one of the early English immigrants.

            The English ancestry of Francis Nichols has been extensively researched, but until recently, no reliable information on his background had been found. Some old reports asserted that Francis was the brother of New York governor Richard Nicolls, whose ancestry is well known and includes King Robert I of Scotland [6]. Frederic Torrey’s genealogy of Humphrey Nichols, a descendent of Francis Nichols, includes a six-page appendix arguing that Francis and Richard were in fact brothers [7]. Although the governor did have a brother Francis, more recent reports make it clear that this Francis Nichols was not the American settler [8].

A recent article by Neil Thompson published in the October 2000 issue of The American Genealogist [9] presents evidence that the immigrant Francis Nichols was the son of John Nicholls of Sedgeberrow, a very small town that still exists about 15 miles southwest of Stratford-upon-Avon in County Worcester. The children of Francis of Sedgeberrow named in baptismal records are consistent with the known children of Francis the immigrant. It appears, however, that the family left Sedgeberrow before the birth of son Caleb, and the Nichols line presented here is traced through the immigrant’s son Caleb. Nevertheless, the circumstantial evidence is quite good that the Sedgeberrow family is the correct one [10], so this Nichols line will now begin nearly 500 years ago with Thomas Nycholls of Sedgeberrow, England.

 

1.  THOMAS NYCHOLLS was born around 1510 [11], just after the beginning of the reign of King Henry VIII, probably near Sedgeberrow. He died between 27 November 1558, when his will was executed, and 4 April 1559, when the will was proved [12]. The will indicated he was a husbandman (farmer) and named 4 sons and 2 daughters. The will also names son-in-law James Alyson, who could have been the husband of one of the daughters named in the will or of a deceased daughter. If in fact Thomas were born in 1510, he would have been 48 or 49 years of age when he died, about 10 years longer than the average life expectancy in 16th century England [13]. His wife Elinor lived an additional 33 years; she was buried at Sedgeberrow on 8 June 1592 [14]. Thomas Nycholls may have been related to John Nycholls, also of Sedgeberrow, who witnessed the signing of Thomas’s will, and whose own will was proved in 1556 at Worcester [15].

       Children of Thomas and Elinor Nichols:

a)  Julian Nycholls, b. ca. 1536

b)  Margery Nycholls, b. ca. 1538

c)  William Nycholls, b. ca. 1540

    2(d)  John Nycholls

e)  Henry Nycholls, b. ca 1544

f)   Nicholas Nycholls, b. ca. 1546

 

2.  JOHN NICHOLS, as the name came to be spelled [16], was born around 1542. He was approximately 55 years of age when he died at Sedgeberrow, where he was buried on 6 August 1597 [17]. John did not have a will; the value of his property at inventory was £200 3s 4d [18]. His wife Joan died 30 years later, and was buried at Sedgeberrow 29 November 1627 [19]. Names and dates for their children are found in the parish register [20].

       Children of John and Joan Nichols:

         3(a)  Francis Nichols

b)  John Nichols, bp. 3 May 1577

c)  William Nichols, bp. 3 January 1579/80.

d)  Goodith Nichols, bp 17 March 1581/2, buried 27 April 1582

d)  Henry Nichols, bp. 13 April 1583; buried 5 June 1595

e) Elinor Nichols, bp. 18 August 1586; m. 15 January 1613/4 Thomas Payton

f)   Ann Nichols, bp. 5 September 1590

g)  Elizabeth Nichols, bp. 22 September 1592; buried 19 May 1595.

 

3.  FRANCIS NICHOLS was baptized at Sedgeberrow 25 May 1575 [21] . He married first at Sedgeberrow 24 January 1599/1600 Francis [sic] Wimarke. She was the daughter of Robert Wimarke and was baptized 2 November 1577 [22] . There is no record of her in New England, so she may have died before her husband emigrated. His whereabouts between 1627, when his son Isaac was born in Sedgeberrow, and 1639, when he is first known to have been in Stratford, Connecticut, are unknown [23] . Histories of Stratford have suggested he went to London and belonged to the famous regiment of the Royal Horse Guards of Charles I [24] , but no evidence whatsoever has been found to support that claim. Orcutt’s 1886 history indicated that he was one of the first 17 English settlers of that town [25] , although later historians could not determine the identity or number of the first settlers [26] . The earliest record of anyone known to be in Stratford is a 1639 order of the Connecticut General Court “to assigne Srjeant Nicholls for the present to trayne the men and exercise them in military discipline [27] .” Sgt. Nichols also owned land and lived for a time in Southold, Long Island, New York, where he married in Anne Wines, daughter of Deacon Barnabas and Ann (Eddy) Wines [28] . Thompson suggests this marriage occurred around 1649, when Francis would have been nearly 75 years old and Anne only about 17. Francis Nichols died a year later, leaving Anne with an infant daughter. She married second John Elton of Southold, third Capt. John Tooker of Setauket, Long Island, and fourth, Col. John Youngs, cousin of her daughter Anna’s husband [29] . Francis Nichols apparently had no will, and his personal property inventory showed he owned very little: a bed, bedding, some pots and pans, a few clothes, a bandoleer and sword, 5 bushels of Indian corn, 12 bushels of peas - total appraised value about £28 [30] .

       Children of Francis and Frances Nichols [31]:

a)  John Nichols bp. 16 May 1601 m. (1) _____, (2) Grace _____; d. 1655.  Children [32]: Hester Nichols, Elizabeth Nichols, Hannah Nichols; Isaac Nichols, Sarah Nichols, John Nichols, Samuel Nichols [ca. 1655].

b)  Jane Nichols, bp 3 November 1603, m. William Washburn, son of John and Martha (Timbrell) (Stevens) Washburn [33]. Children: Sarah Washburn [1626], John Washburn, Mary Washburn [1629], Hope Washburn, Martha Washburn [1637], Agnes Washburn, Phebe Washburn, Patience Washburn, Hester Washburn.

c)  Henry Nichols, bp 19 November 1605, bur. 21 December 1606.

d)  Anne Nichols, bp. 18 October 1606, bur. 25 December 1606.

e)  Margaret Nichols, bp. 4 January 1608/9.

f)   Francis Nichols, bp. 25 August 1611 [34].

g)  Joseph Nichols, bp. 31 August 1614, bur. 2 September 1614.

h)  Jonathan Nichols, bp. 31 August 1614, bur. 4 September 1614

i)   Sarah Nichols, bp. 12 November 1615, m. Richard Mills [35]. Children [36]: Samuel Mills, Mary Mills, Isaac Mills, Phebe Mills.

j)   Isaac Nichols, bp. 27 December 1617, m. May 1646 Margery _____ [37]; d. 1695.  Children: Mary Nichols [1647/8], Sarah Nichols [1649], Josiah Nichols [1651/2], Isaac Nichols, Jr. [1654], Jonathan Nichols [1655], Ephriam Nichols [1657], Patience Nichols [1659/60], Temperence Nichols [1662], Margery Nichols [1663], Benjamin Nichols [1665/6], Elizabeth Nichols [1668].

         4(k)  Caleb Nichols

            Children of Francis and Anne Nichols:

l)   Anna Nichols m. ca.1676 Christopher Youngs, Jr., son of Christopher and Pricilla (Elvin) Youngs. Children: Hannah Youngs, Sarah Youngs.

4. CALEB NICHOLS, youngest son of Francis Nichols, was born in England around 1623. He is not included among the children of Francis Nichols in the Sedgeberrow parish records, suggesting that the family left that area after Isaac was born in 1617. He came to America as a teenager with his father and several older siblings, probably brothers John and Isaac and sister Sarah. He married, ca.1650, Anne Warde, daughter of Andrew and Hester (Sherman) Warde of Fairfield, Connecticut [38]. In Stratford, he was selected a “Townsman,” and in December 1661 Caleb Nichols and two other Townsmen represented the town of Stratford in the purchase of a large tract of land from the Paugussett Indians [39]. Part of this land later became the site of the large “Nichols Farm” owned by his son Abraham, and today it is the village of Nichols just north of Stratford [40]. Caleb Nichols was involved in the first major conflict between dissident factions in the Stratford church in 1665, siding with a group who favored the “half-way covenant [41].” The half-way covenant, announced by the fourth Synod in Boston in 1662, would allow children whose parents had not converted to Puritanism to be baptized but not receive communion. The Stratford Congregational Church, however, held to the original rule that required both parents to convert to Puritanism before their child could be baptized or receive communion. Caleb’s group split off and formed a new church in 1670, originally called the Second Congregational Church of Stratford. In 1673, 17 families from the second church moved about 25 miles north and formed the town of Woodbury, but they were forced to return to Stratford two years later for protection during King Philip’s War against the colonists. By 1676, the Woodbury pioneers began to return with more members, including Caleb Nichols and his family. His youngest child John was baptized there in March 1675/6 [42]. Caleb died there in 1690, age about 66. His will was dated 14 August 1690 [43]. His widow Anne was nearly 90 when she died in Woodbury in 1718 [44].

            Children of Caleb and Anne Nichols [45]:

a)  Sarah Nichols, b. 1 December 1650, m. 20 October 1674 Moses Wheeler, Jr., son of Moses and Miriam (Hawley) Wheeler.  Children [46]: Moses Wheeler, III [1675], Caleb Wheeler [1677], Sarah Wheeler [1678], Nathan Wheeler [1680/1], Samuel Wheeler [1681/2], James Wheeler [1683], Robert Wheeler [1686], Elizabeth Wheeler [1687].

b)  Anne Nichols, b. 5 March 1651/2; died young.

c)  Esther Nichols, b. 18 March 1652/3, m. John Prentice, son of Valentine and Alice (Bredda) Prentice, d. ca. 1683. Children [47]: Valentine Prentice [ca. 1683].

d)  Joseph Nichols, b. 25 December 1656; died young.

    5(e)  Samuel Nichols

f)   Andrew Nichols, b. 28 November 1659 [48].

g)  Abraham Nichols, b. 19 January 1661/2, m. (l) 3 December 1684 Rachel, daughter of Daniel Kellogg, (2) Sarah (Rogers) Buckingham.  Children (by first wife) [49]: Joseph Nichols [1685], Daniel Nichols [1687], Hester Nichols [1689], Rachel Nichols [1691], Abraham Nichols, Jr. [1696], Avis and Eunice Nichols [1698, twins], Ruth Nichols [1701], Phebe Nichols [1703].

h)  Abigail Nichols, b. 6 February 1663/4, m. 25 June 1685 William Seaborn Martin, son of Samuel and Phebe (Bisby) Martin; d. 4 January 1734/5. Children [50]: Joseph Martin [1691], Samuel Martin [1692/3], Caleb Martin [1697/8], Phebe Martin [1703/4].

i)   Mary Nichols, b. 1665/6, m. 20 January 1690/1 Capt. Joseph Hull, son of John and Mary (Beach) Hull [51]; d. 6 April 1733.  Children [52]: Samuel Hull [1692], Joseph Hull [1694], Caleb Hull [1696], Andrew Hull [1697/8], Mary Hull [1699], Sarah Hull [1701], Abijah Hull [1703], Nathan Hull [1709].

j)   Hannah Nichols, b. August 1667.

k)  Caleb Nichols, Jr., b. February 1668/9; d. 14 April 1706.

l)   Phebe Nichols, bp. 12 November 1671, m. (1) 28 December 1697 Isaac Knell, Jr. [53], (2) George Clark.

m) John Nichols, bp. 23 January 1675/6, m. 13 November 1705 Jane, daughter of John and Mary (Brinsmead) Bostwick; d. 24 April 1727.  Children [54]: Sarah Nichols [1706/7], Caleb Nichols [1708], John Nichols [1711], Caleb Nichols [1712/3], Andrew Nichols [1715], Joseph Nichols [1718], Mary Nichols [1720], Samuel Nichols [1723].

5.  SAMUEL NICHOLS, oldest surviving son of Caleb Nichols, was born in Stratford 29 March 1658 [55]. As a teenager, he moved with his family to Woodbury, where he married Susanna Fairchild, shortly after her husband Thomas died in 1686. She brought five children to the marriage, ranging in age from 2 to 13 [56]. Samuel joined the first Congregational Church 26 February 1687/8 [57] and three years later died at the age of only 33. His property inventory was recorded in Woodbury 11 August 1691 [58]. His estate was appraised at £125, £35 of which was for his land and home in Woodbury. Among the items listed were animals (cattle, mares, sheep, and a hog), furniture, and books. After Samuel died, his widow married Samuel Castle [59].

            Children of Samuel and Susanna Nichols:

    6(a)  Josiah Nichols

b)  Andrew Nichols, bp. 10 March 1688/9 [60].

6. JOSIAH NICHOLS, only surviving son of Samuel Nichols, was born in Woodbury 25 July 1687 [61]. Land records indicate that by 1709 he had moved to Danbury, a few miles southwest of Woodbury [62]. In Danbury, he married Mabel (Boardman) Griswold, daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Wright) Boardman and widow of John Griswold, who died 24 December 1719 [63]. His wife had five children in her previous marriage: Hannah (b. 1711), Jeremiah (1713), Thankful (1715), Mabel (1718), and John (1720). After Josiah Nichols died in Danbury in 1743, age 56 years, is teenaged sons Daniel and Samuel chose their mother as guardian [64]. The inventory of his estate was quite extensive; it included his homestead and 13 additional tracts of land appraised at nearly £1000, livestock worth more than £250, and numerous personal and household items [65].

            Children of Josiah and Mabel Nichols:

a)  Susannah Nichols, m. Joshua Sweet.  Children [66]: Josiah Sweet, Susannah Sweet.

    7(b)  Daniel Nichols

c)  Samuel Nichols, b. 1728, m. Elizabeth Pickett, daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Knapp) Pickett. d. 26 June 1794.  Children: Ebenezer Nichols, Samuel Nichols, Elizabeth Nichols [67].

7.  DANIEL NICHOLS was born in Danbury around 1726. Because the British burned all of Danbury’s vital records in 1777, little information about him or his family before that date remains. His wife Temperence was admitted to the First Congregational Church in Danbury 2 June 1771 [68]. Daniel Nichols owned land in the King Street area, which he sold 28 December 1783 [69]. He died without a will in 1785, age about 59, just across the New York state line in Dutchess County [70]. A Letter of Administration, granted to his son Josiah 16 November 1785, indicates that both Daniel and his son were farmers in the North East Precinct of Dutchess County. This document names Temperence Nichols as Daniel’s widow and Josiah’s mother. Daniel Nichols may have had several other children [71].

            Children of Daniel and Temperence Nichols:

a)  Temperence Nichols, b. 26 March 1753, m. 16 April 1772 Joseph Barnum, Jr. Children: Amos Barnum [1775], Elijah Barnum [1782] [72].

b)  Daniel Nichols, Jr., m. 5 May 1774 Mary Hodge [73].

    8(c)  Josiah Nichols

d)  Ezra Nichols, b. 6 July 1763, m. Elizabeth Knapp; d. 31 July 1827.  Children: Daniel Nichols [1782], Sarah Nichols [1784], John Nichols [1787], Chloe Nichols [1789], Eli Nichols [1795], Clemon Nichols [1802] [74].

8.  JOSIAH NICHOLS, son of Daniel Nichols, was born in 1757 in Danbury [75]. He married Anna (Nancy Ann) Wilkinson [76] of Danbury, according to her testimony more than 70 years later, in June of 1780 or 1781 [77]. This testimony, submitted in a Revolutionary War veteran’s widow’s pension application, indicated that Josiah Nichols served from 1779 to 1783 in Capt. Samuel Delevan’s New York company of light horse. Her application was rejected, apparently because she could not prove that the Josiah Nichols in Capt. Delevan’s company was her husband. On 4 January 1786, when Josiah was living in the “Little Nine Partners” area of Dutchess County, New York, he purchased a parcel of land previously owned by his father in Danbury. When he sold this property in 1792, his residence was Williamstown, Massachusetts [78]. He sold his land in Williamstown on 23 December 1805 [79], and moved back to Dutchess County New York, where he was living when his father died. On 1 June 1818 paid $326.00 for a 65-acre tract in Henrietta, near Rochester, New York [80]. Josiah Nichols died in Henrietta on 29 August 1821, age 64, and was buried in the Riverview Cemetery [81]. A short notice of his death appeared in the Monroe Republican, referring to him as a “Revolutioner [82].” His widow Nancy was still living in 1857, when she would have been at least 92 years old.

            Children of Josiah and Nancy Ann Nichols [83]:

a)  Isaac Fairchild Nichols, b. ca.1783, m. 29 March 1805 Deborah Elwell [84]; d. 9 April 1844.  Children [85]: Elijah E. Nichols [1812].

b)  Soloman Nichols, b. 1796, m. Lucy Ann Branch [86]; d. 15 May 1890 [87].

c)  Josiah Nichols, Jr.[88], m. Amelia _____.

    9(d)  Daniel Franklin Nichols

e)  Anna Nichols, m. James Markham, Jr.

f)   Phebe Nichols, m. James Davis.

9.  DANIEL FRANKLIN NICHOLS, youngest son of Josiah Nichols, was born 24 November 1800 in Williamstown, Massachusetts [89]. He married, in 1818 or 1819, Lydia Bishop, daughter of Newman and Mary (Tuttle) Bishop [90]. They followed his parents to Henrietta, New York, and in 1825 moved to Napoli, Cattaraugus County, New York, where Daniel owned a farm (valued at the time of the 1860 census at $4200) and raised 12 children [91]. On 22 January 1851, he wrote a letter for his mother to the Commissioner of Pensions about the status of her application [92]. Daniel’s wife Lydia died in 1859 [93], and in 1867 he Daniel Nichols and Sophronia Sperry of Westfield, Massachusetts, signed a prenuptial agreement indicating their intention to marry and how their property would be divided after one of them died [94]. Sophronia, born 20 April 1813, was the daughter of Daniel and Anne (Lewis) Sperry. Daniel and Sophronia lived in Westfield for several years, and his will was written there 1 October 1873 [95]. After Sophronia’s death on 24 December 1875, Daniel moved back to Napoli, where he died 26 April 1883 [96].

            Children of Daniel and Lydia Nichols:

a)  Daniel Franklin Nichols, Jr., b. 5 December 1819, m. 25 April 1859 Fanny Hatch; d. 1 January 1896.  Children: Lydia Maria Nichols [1860], Emilie A. Nichols [1862].

b)  Josiah Newman Nichols, b. 1821, m. Phoebe _____; d. 3 April 1861.

c)  Jere B. Nichols, b. 1822; d. 1877.

d)  Mary A. Nichols, b. 1823.

e)  Laura Lovice Nichols, b. 22 November 1824, m. 21 June 1849 Lyman Shurtleff, son of Elisha and Susanna (Gorham) Shurtleff; d. 11 August 1916. Children: Ellen Georgiana Shurtleff [1850], Ellie Caroline Shurtleff [1852], Arthur Fayette Shurtleff [1856], Eugene Shurtleff [1861] [97].

f)   Sarah Adeline Nichols, b. 25 April 1827, m. 21 October 1852 George Shurtleff, son of Amasa and Fanny (Brockway) Shurtleff; d. 1 December 1916.  Children: Horace Brockway Shurtleff [1853], Fannie Isabella Shurtleff [1857], George Frederick Shurtleff [1868].

g)  Lafayette W. Nichols, b. September 1828, m. Mary Plumb; d. 1925. Children: Josephine Nichols.

  10(h)  Soloman Fairchild Nichols

i)   Horace Young Nichols, b. April 1832, m. Rose _____.

j)   Caroline S. Nichols, b. 1833; d. 1867.

k)  Sarinda Nichols, b. ca.1835, m. (1) Seth Smith, (2) _____ Quigley. Children: Wesley Smith, Marshall Smith, Rose Smith.

l)   Estella H. Nichols, b. ca.1838, m. George Williams. Children: Walter Williams [98].

10.  SOLOMAN FAIRCHILD NICHOLS, fifth son of Daniel Nichols, was born 21 November 1830 in Napoli, New York [99]. There he married on 22 September 1852 Elvira Noble, daughter of Phineas F. and Alma (Stevens) Noble. In the 1860 census records, Soloman Nichols’ occupation is listed as “carpenter and joiner [100].” In January 1865, he moved to Indian Creek, Washington County, Iowa, where he bought a farm [101]. He was one of 28 charter members of the New Haven Baptist Church, organized 13 October 1866, in Dutch Creek Township, and was one of five members named to the building committee [102]. On 19 June 1867, he was selecting logs at McKain’s mill with which to construct the new church. As reported in the Washington Press, “Mr. Soloman Nichols, while crossing the Skunk River in a skiff above McKain’s mill-dam, in company with a lad about twelve years of age, became excited, lost one of the oars, then in the flurry dropped the other; and finally, seeing the skiff would go over the dam, they both jumped overboard, and were carried over the dam, several rods below the mill, where they lodged against a tree that had fallen into the stream. The boy was still alive but badly frightened; but being encouraged by Mr. McKain, to hold on to the limbs, he became somewhat assured, and easily sustained his head above water till the skiff was brought to his assistance. But Mr. Nichols was dead before he arrived at the tree. He was taken out as soon as the skiff could be brought up, but all efforts to resuscitate him were fruitless. He was brought home that night and buried the next day in the new Baptist Cemetery near Wells’ school house. Mr. Nichols was a devoted Christian and leaves a wife and four children to mourn his untimely death [103].” He was only 36. His widow married William Wells, a prominent county farmer, on 6 December 1869 [104]. According to family tradition, William did not treat her sons well, so Elvira and the boys moved out within six weeks. At the time of the 1870 census, she and her sons were living with her parents, Phineas and Alma Noble, who had accompanied them to Iowa. In 1874, Mr. Wells charged Elvira with desertion “without any just cause or provocation,” and on 25 April of that year he was granted a divorce [105]. In 1880, Elvira and her sons moved to Smith County, Kansas. She died there 13 February 1902, a day short of her 71st birthday.

            Children of Soloman and Elvira Nichols:

a)  Albro Ami Nichols, b. 19 September 1853.

b)  Horace Fremont Nichols, b. 1 May 1858, m. 13 April 1881 Anna Melissa Ferguson; d. 3 January 1948.  Children: Roy Ainslee Nichols [1881], Blanche Avis Nichols [1884], Madge Irene Nichols [1893], Ruth Leona Nichols [1897].

c)  Soloman Fairchild Nichols, Jr., b. 24 March 1862, m. (1) 18 March 1881 Annie Laura Currie, (2) 16 May 1890 Clara Anna Humrich, (3) 5 June 1899 Clara Maria Nelson [106]; d. 21 August 1916.  Children: George Appleton Nichols [1882], Lawrence Fayette Nichols [1884], Junnie Nichols [1886], Annie Laura Nichols [1889]; Carl Addison Nichols [1892], Guy Ugene Nichols [1893], Clara May Nichols [1895], Harold Elmer Nichols [1898]; Clarence Nelson Nichols [1897], Lellah Elvira Nichols [1900]; Edward Albro Nichols [1903], Roy Melvin Nichols [1904], Rose Lucille Nichols [1907], Oscar Raymond Nichols [1914].

  11(d)  George Truman Nichols

11.  GEORGE TRUMAN NICHOLS, youngest son of Soloman Nichols, was born 13 August 1863 in Napoli, New York. He moved with his parents to Iowa, where his father died when he was four years old. In the winter of 1879-1880, he moved with his mother and brothers to Smith County, Kansas, near Lebanon. He returned to Cattaraugus County, New York, where he completed the college preparatory course at the Chamberlain Institute in Randolph in 1889. George Nichols graduated from New Windsor College in Westminster, Maryland in 1894 and prepared for the Congregational ministry at Oberlin Seminary in Oberlin, Ohio. Returning to Kansas, Rev. Nichols married, on 31 August 1898, Wilhelmina (Mina) Gerstung, who was born in Germany to Karl and Anna (Rodiger) Gerstung. Before his retirement, he served Congregational churches in Grant, Nebraska; Burlington, Kansas; Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Grant, Nebraska. Mina Nichols died 16 February 1941, age 68, and Rev. Nichols died 15 January 1950, age 86. At that time, he was living with his son Dean in Laramie, Wyoming.

            Children of George and Mina Nichols:

a)  Dean Gerstung Nichols, b. 18 June 1899, m. 11 June 1929 Eileen O’Mara, daughter of John Thomas and Elizabeth Jane (Pearce) O’Mara; d. 21 December 1988.  Children: George Truman Nichols.

  12(b)  Oscar Lee Nichols

12.  OSCAR LEE NICHOLS, second son of George Nichols, was born 5 July 1906, in Columbus, Ohio. After graduating from high school in Denver, Colorado, he attended Colorado State Teachers College in Greeley. Oscar taught school in rural Nebraska before deciding on a career in the ministry. He graduated from Oberlin Seminary in 1938, and on 21 June of that year, married Arveda Miller, daughter of George and Sarah (Adams) Miller. He was a Congregational minister in Ft. Recovery, Columbus, and Dayton, Ohio; Ault, Colorado; Downs, Kansas; and Mondovi, Wisconsin. After 1959, he served Methodist parishes in Boyceville, Ashland, and Neilsville, Wisconsin. Rev. Oscar Nichols died on 17 January 1967, age 60, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and was buried in Neilsville. Arveda Nichols died 6 June 1982, age 76.

            Children of Oscar and Arveda Nichols:

a)  Barry Lee Nichols, b. 1 February 1940.

  13(b)  Paul Leslie Nichols.

13. PAUL LESLIE NICHOLS, second son of Oscar Nichols, was born 27 April 1941 in Celina, Ohio. He lived with his parents in Ohio, Colorado, Kansas, and Wisconsin, graduating from Mondovi (Wisconsin) High School in 1959. He attended the University of Wyoming for two years before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1965. Paul Nichols attended graduate school at the University of Minnesota in the Behavioral Genetics program and earned a Ph.D. in 1970. He worked for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), an institute of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland until he retired in 2004. He is the author of Minimal Brain Dysfunction: A Prospective Study (with T.C. Chen), Preschool IQ: Prenatal and Early Developmental Correlates and Retardation in Young Children (with S.H. Broman), and several scientific articles.

 


[1] The 1907 Index of Persons, Volumes 1-50 of The New England Historical and Genealogical Society Register listed 28 different ways the name Nichols had been spelled in their journal. Today, Nichols is by far the most common spelling of the name in the United States.

[2] Smith, Eldson Coles. American Surnames. Philadelphia: Chilton, 1969.

[3] Torrey, Frederic C. The Ancestors and Descendents of Humphrey Nichols of Newark, New Jersey, and of His Brothers and Sisters. Lakehurst, NJ: Author, 1917. Torrey cites the National Cyclopedia of American Biography Vol. III, (p. 210). The common ancestor of most Nichols families in England may have been Nicholas de Albine, or Nicol de Albini, or Nigel d’Aubigny, although no supporting evidence has been found.

[4] Holmes, Frank R. Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families 1620-1700, New York, The American historical society, inc., 1923.

[5] The number of people named Nichols in the United States was estimated from census data (see http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/genealogy/www/namesearch.html), social security data, and online telephone directories. According to the United States Bureau of the Census, Nichols is the 153rd most common surname in the United States.

[6] The most widely cited source for the King Robert the Bruce connection is: Nicholls, Walter. Sergeant Francis Nicholls and the Descendents of His Son, Caleb Nicholls. New York: Grafton Press, 1909.

[7] Torrey quotes a lengthy 1917 letter from George L. Nichols, a New York lawyer, amateur genealogist, and Francis Nichols descendent. Mr. Torrey and Mr. Nichols were both convinced that the immigrant Francis Nichols was the son of Francis Nichols of Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England, and his wife Margaret, who was a descendent of King Robert the Bruce. Mr. Nichols cites an old letter from Mary (Nichols) Wiswall, born in 1762 and sixth generation descendent of Francis Nichols, which said at one time there were family records that were so definitive that an English lawyer advised before the Revolutionary War, that they would be sufficient evidence in court to recover property left by Margaret Bruce Nichols to her son Francis. Unfortunately, the suit was never filed, and the records were lost.

[8] Jacobus, Donald Lines. Pre-American Ancestries. I. Francis Nichols of Stratford. American Genealogist 9: 9-12, 1932. Nichols, Barbara J. Francis Nichols of Stratford, Connecticut Was Not the Brother of Deputy Governor Richard Nicolls of New York. The American Genealogist 68: 113-114, 1993. Jacobus and Nichols cite separate lines of evidence that Francis Nichols of Ampthill would have been much too young to be Francis Nichols the immigrant.

[9] Thompson, Neil D. The English Origin of Sergeant Francis Nichols of Stratford, Connecticut. The American Genealogist 75: 267-271, 2000.

[10] The immigrant Sergeant Francis Nichols had sons John, Isaac, and Caleb, a daughter Jane who married William Washburn of Bengeworth, and another daughter who married Richard Mills. Francis of Sedgeberrow had children John, Isaac, Jane, another daughter Sarah, and could have had a son Caleb after he left Sedgeberrow. His daughter Jane provides the best evidence that Francis of Sedgeberrow was in fact the Stratford immigrant. Sedgeberrow Jane (baptized in 1603) was the right age to have married William Washburn (baptized in 1601) and lived only a short horseback ride from her future husband’s home in Bengeworth. And it is known that William married the immigrant Jane Nichols, because their son John named Jane’s brother (“loveing Uncle Isaac Nicholls of Stratford”) as an overseer. Hempstead, New York, Court Proceedings 1657-1660, pp. 95-97.

[11] Thomas (2000) estimated the dates of birth for Thomas Nycholls and his children.

[12] Consistory Court of Worcester, 1559, No. 68. Wills are available on microfilm at the Worcestershire Record Office, Worcester, UK, and at the LDS Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

[13] E. A. Wrigley and R. S. Schofield, The Population History of England 1541-1871: A Reconstruction (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1981), p.234.

[14] The Sedgeberrow parish registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials begin in 1566. Copies of the parish records are available from the Worcestershire Record Office and can be ordered from the LDS Library.

[15] Consistory Court of Worcester, 1556, No. 98.

[16] Today, the name Nichols is more than 25 times as common as Nicholls.

[17] Sedgeberrow parish register

[18] Consistory Court of Worcester, 1597, No. 109e.

[19] Sedgeberrow parish register

[20] The Sedgeberrow church, which is still standing today (see http://www.his.com/~pnichols/sedgeberrow.html) was already 250 years old when John’s children were born. See Page, William (Ed.) The Victoria History of the Counties of England. A History of Worcestershire, Volume III. (Published for the University of London Institute for Historical Research, preprinted from the original edition of 1913). Folkestone and London: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1971, pages 518-521.

[21] Sedgeberrow parish register. An image of the baptismal record is online at: http://www.his.com/~pnichols/baptism.gif.

[22] Sedgeberrow parish register.The register reads Francis, although the female form of the name is usually spelled Frances.

[23] In the last third of the 16th and first third of the 17th centuries, the name Nicholls was one of the most common in Sedgeberrow; nearly 19% of the registered baptisms (44 or 235) were Nicholls children. After that time, the name Nicholls never again appeared in Sedgeberrow, consistent with the hypothesis that the Nicholls families left Sedgeberow and Francis moved before his son Caleb was born.

[24] Knapp, Lewis G. In Pursuit of Paradise. History of the Town of Stratford, Connecticut. W. Kennebunk, ME: Phoenix Publishing (for the Stratford Historical Society), 1989.

[25] Orcutt, Samuel. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Part II. Fairfield, CT: Fairfield County Historical Society, 1886.

[26] Wilcoxson, William Howard. History of Stratford Connecticut 1639-1969 (2nd ed.). Stratford, CT: Stratford Terceneneary Commission, 1969.

[27] Trumbull, J. Hammond. The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut Prior to the Union with New Haven Colony, May 1665. Hartford: Brown & Parson, 1850. The court order does not mention the given name of Sgt. Nichols. Although most researchers have assumed the recipient of the order was Francis Nichols, Savage thought Isaac was the sergeant. Now we know that in 1639 Francis would have been 64 years old, seemingly quite old in the 17th century, but Isaac would have been only 22, probably too young for so responsible a position. (Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England. Volume III. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1965. (Originally published 1860-62.))

[28] Breck, Ruth Allendorf (Ed.). The Eddy Family in America. Supplement 1980. Middlesboro, MA: The Eddy Family Association, 1980.

[29] Youngs, Selah, Jr. Youngs Family. Vicar Christopher Yonges. His Ancestors in England and His Descendants in America. A History and Genealogy. New York: Author, 1907. Thompson (p. 269) reviews the evidence for Anne’s four marriages: On 30 April, 1654, John Elton of Southold conveyed cattle to Barnabas Wines for Anna Nichols, daughter of his wife Anna by her former husband Francis Nichols of Stratford, pursuant to an agreement made at marriage (Southold Town Records A:61, rec. Feb. 1678/9). John Elton mentioned his wife in his will, dated 19 April 1675 and proved 3 June 1575 (New York Wills 1:113). As a widow, Anna [or Hannah] Elton made a pre-nuptial agreement with the widower John Tooker Sr. of Southold on 3 June 1686 (Southold Town Records C:106, recorded 26 Jan. 1692/3), and as a widow Anna [or Hannah] Tooker, she made a similar agreement with the widower John Youngs Esq. of Southold on 31 Dec. 1690 (Southold Town Records C:197, acknowledged 9 Sept. 1693, recorded April 1694.

[30] The estate inventory was included by Walter Nicholls in his monograph, but Thompson was unable to locate the original document.

[31] The baptismal and burial dates for shown for children (with the exception of Caleb) are in the Sedgeberrow parish records.

[32] Children of John Nichols are listed in Orcutt’s history of Stratford.

[33] See Washburne, Brenton P. and Washburne, Robin P., The Washburne Family in America, 2nd ed. (Buena Park, California, published by the authors, 1997). Another Washburn reference is: Washburn, Mabel Thacher Rosemary, Washburn Foundations in Normandy, England, and America. Greenfield, Indiana: Wm. Mitchell Printing Co., 1953. Jane and William probably married in Bengeworth, but the parish register for that period is missing.

[34] No further record of Francis Nichols, Jr., has been found. Some Nichols researchers have suggested that he may have, in fact, come to America, and it was he at age 38 who married 17-year-old Anne Wines rather than his father at age 75. So far, no evidence has been found to answer this question conclusively.

[35] Richard Mills was known to have married a daughter of Francis Nichols, because his son Samuel Mills owned land bounded on the east by Isaac Nicholls, “by purchase from his uncle Caleb Nicholls” (Stratford land records, Volume 1, page 164). His wife’s name does not appear in any colonial records. Thompson suggests that the only possible candidates would have been Sarah and Margaret, and Sarah was the appropriate age.

[36] Ullmann, Helen Schatvet. Richard Mills, Seventeenth-Century Schoolmaster in Connecticut and New York. New England Historical and Genealogical Register 154:189-210, 2000. The author concluded, after extensive research, that Richard and Sarah (whom she had not identified by name but only as a daughter of Francis Nichols) had the four children listed, but no birth records have been found.

[37] The Isaac Nichols bible is in the Booth Museum, Stratford, Connecticut; it has birth dates for all of his children; see http://www.his.com/~pnichols/Bible_Lineage_1.html. Early Connecticut vital records are available in White, Lorraine Cook. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 50 volumes, c1994-c2002. Stratford records are in Volume 41. Vital statistics for 137 Connecticut towns to about 1850 are being published by the Genealogical Publishing Company. The records were originally copied by Lucius Barnes Barbour, Connecticut Examiner of Public Records from 1911 to 1934, a total of 14,333 typed pages.

[38] Nicholls, 1909.

[39] Knapp (1989) suggests the General Court had ruled that the colonists already owned Stratford, and that the Indians were running a series of “going-out-of-business sales.” The large tract was “sold” for £12 worth of cloth and one blanket.

[40] According to Walter Nicholls (1909), Abraham did not accompany his father to Woodbury, but remained in Stratford to oversee the plantation. Because he was under 14 at the time, it is more likely that he went with the family to Woodbury and later returned to Stratford. Walter’s colorful description of the Nichols home follows: “About 1700 Abraham Nicholls erected for himself a homestead upon his lordly domain, and which, according to the description vouchsafed by persons now living, who chanced to view it while yet standing in the early part of the nineteenth century, was an immense gambrel-roofed structure of a rambling style of architecture, situated upon an eminence, affording an unobstructed vista of the surrounding landscape and at the southward, about four miles distant, the shimmering bosom of Long Island Sound. There it stood for decades, without a neighboring habitation within a circuit of several miles; while the sepulchral quietude of its surroundings was rarely broken, even by the echo of a sound adequate to dispel the day dreams, or waken the nocturnal slumbers of its peaceful inhabitants, save that of the casual lowing of kine, the appealing cadence of the whop-poor-will at nightfall, or the grewsome howling of wolves. . . .It is a subject of profound regret on the part of many of the descendents of Abraham Nicholls that neither his will nor the inventory of his estate can be found of record.”

[41] Hunt, Richard H. The Settlement and Early Development of Stratford, Connecticut. American Colonial History, Sec. 02, January 3, 1968. Mimeograph in Stratford, Connecticut, public library. The division within the Stratford Congregational Church may have caused problems within the Nichols families. Caleb opposed the church’s position on the half-way covenant, and eventually left the church, while its new preacher, Israel Chauncey, married Caleb’s niece Mary (daughter of his brother Isaac).

[42] Cothren, William. History of Ancient Woodbury, Connecticut, from The First Indian Deed in 1659 to 1854. Published by the author, Woodbury, CT, 1879. Reprinted in Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc., 1977. Caleb Nichols apparently was not one of the original 17 settlers of Woodbury, but the baptismal date of his son John indicates he was among the first to return to Woodbury after the war ended. Cothren (Volume 3) reports that John Nichols was the first child baptized in Woodbury.

[43] Caleb Nichols’ will is printed in the Walter Nicholls (1909) monograph

[44] Jacobus, Donald Lines. John Prentice of New London, Conn. and His Two Nichols Wives. The American Genealogist 34: 81-89, 1958. This article cites a death record for Anne Nichols, who died “in ye 98th years of her age as is supposed on good grounds.” Jacobus logically concluded the record must be an exaggeration, because if she were 98 in 1718, she would have been 55 years old when her son John was born in Woodbury.

[45] Barbour Collection, Volume 41.

[46] American College of Genealogy. The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America. Boston: American College of Genealogy, 1914.

[47] Jacobus (1958) includes quite a bit of information on the Caleb Nichols family. John Prentice first married Esther’s cousin Hester, daughter of Caleb’s brother John. See also: Dewald, Linus Joseph, Jr. Valentine Prentice: His Origins and the Descendents of his Grandsons John, Jonathan, Stephen, and Thomas from 1514 to 1992. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1992. This book was updated in 1997 and can be obtained online at http://www.prenticenet.com/home/news/binney97.htm.

[48] Jacobus (1958) indicates that Andrew Nichols grew to maturity but died unmarried.

[49] Barbour Collection, Volume 41

[50] The Martin children are listed in Cothren (Volume 3), and in Hay, Thomas Arthur. Martin Genealogy. New York: Author, 1911.

[51] Jacobus, Donald Lines. History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield., Volume I. Fairfield, Connecticut: Fairfield Historical Society, 1930. Reprinted with corrections by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1976.

[52] Barbour Collection, Volume 41

[53] Jacobus, 1930.

[54] Jacobus, 1930.

[55] Barbour Collection, Volume 41.

[56] Jacobus (1930) reported that Thomas Fairchild’s property inventory (16 April 1686) named the five children and included their ages: “Emm, over 14; Samuel, 10 next Jan.; Ruth, 8 next 15 Jan.; Alexander, 6 next Feb.; Katharine 1½. Susanna’s identity has not been determined. See also Gilmore, Jean Fairchild. Early Fairchilds in America and their Descendants. Baltimore. Gateway Press. Published by the author, 1991.

[57] Woodbury, Connecticut, Congregational Church records. Connecticut State Library, Hartford.

[58] Woodbury, Connecticut, Probate records. Samuel Nichols’ property inventory, 1692. Connecticut State Library, Hartford.

[59] Jacobus, 1930.

[60] Andrew is listed in the Woodbury church records, but it is assumed he died young, as no further records of him have been found.

[61] His father’s property inventory (referred to above) names “Josiah Nickolls ye son of Deceased Samuell Nicholls aged four years ye 25th of July past.”

[62] Woodbury, Connecticut, land records, Volume 2, page 14. Josiah Nicholls, now residing in Danbury, acknowledges his inheritance from grandfather Caleb Nicholls, late of Woodbury.

[63] Goldthwaite, Charlotte. Boardman Genealogy 1525-1895. Hartford: Case, Lockwood, & Brainard Co. Press, 1895.

[64] Fairfield, Connecticut, Probate Records, Volume 7, page 281. “At a court of probate held in Fairfield January 22 AD 1744/5, Dan’l and Sam’l Nicholls sons of Josiah Nicholls late of Danbury dec’d made choice of mother Mehitabell Nicholls to be their guaudian, which choice the court accepts.”(Mabel was short for Mehitabell.)

[65] Fairfield, Connecticut, Probate Records, 1744/45.

[66] Danbury, Connecticut, Probate Records, Volume 2, page 26. On 6 May 1751, widow Susannah Sweet was appointed guardian for Josiah Sweet, son of Joshua and Susannah Sweet, daughter of Joshua. There is a Revolutionary War pension file for Jonathan Sweet, born 25 December 1749, who may have been another son of Joshua and Susannah. He was not, however, listed in the guardianship papers.

[67] Pickett family notes from Imogene Heireth, Danbury, Connecticut, March 1984.

[68] Danbury, Connecticut, Congregational Church Records. Connecticut State Library, Hartford.

[69] Danbury, Connecticut, Land Records. Holdings for Daniel and Josiah Nichols. Volume 2, page 146, 1783; Volume 3, pages 11-12, 1783; Volume 5, page 10, 1786; Volume 6, page 211, 1792.

[70] Scott, Kenneth. Genealogical Data from Administration Papers from the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany. The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York, 1972.

[71] With the destruction of the Danbury records in 1777, it is difficult to trace the families who lived there before then. A query in the 19 April 1916 Boston Evening Transcript genealogy column asked: “Josiah Nichols, early of Danbury, Connecticut, and said to be a descendent of Samuel Nichols of Woodbury (Conn.) left three children, viz., Daniel; Samuel, b. 1728, and daughter Susanna. Whom did Daniel Nichols marry and who were his children?” There was apparently no answer then, and still no answer today. A genealogy of one of Daniel’s sons, Ezra Nichols (Bruce, Helen M., & Bruce, Dorothy E. The Descendents of Ezra Nichols, 1763-1827. Newtown, CT: Mimeographed by B & W Services, 1964) indicates that Ezra was one of 11 (unnamed) children, and that his parents died in a smallpox epidemic.

[72] Barbour Collection, Volume 8.

[73] Danbury, Connecticut, Congregational Church Records. Connecticut State Library, Hartford.

[74] Ezra’s children are listed in Bruce & Bruce (1964), and in the Knapp, Alfred Averill. Nicholas Knapp Genealogy. Ann Arbor, Michigan, Published by the author and printed by Edward Brothers, Inc., 1953. The Bruce reference suggests there may have been a seventh child, Ezra Nichols, Jr., but he is not mentioned in the Ezra Nichols will.

[75] Josiah’s date of birth was calculated from his age on his tombstone.

[76] Adams, William. Historical Gazateer and Biographical Memorial of Cattaraugus County, New York. Syracuse, NY: Lyman, Horton & Co., 1893. This county history identifies Nancy Ann as a Wilkinson, no corroborating evidence has been found.

[77] Revolutionary War Pension Files. Josiah Nichols R7656. National Archives, Washington, D.C. The files include an affidavit dated 28 March 1856 in which Nancy Ann Nichols, age 91, swore that she was married to Josiah Nichols in June 1780 (“or eighty-one” was written in later) in Danbury by Rev. Peck.

[78] Danbury, Connecticut, Land Records. Holdings for Daniel and Josiah Nichols. Volume 2, page 146, 1783; Volume 3, pages 11-12, 1783; Volume 5, page 10, 1786; Volume 6, page 211, 1792.

[79] Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Land Records. Book 12, page 273.

[80] Monroe County, New York, Land Records. Liber 1, page 522. Henrietta was in Ontario County in 1805 when Josiah Nichols moved there.

[81] Monroe County, New York, Cemetery Records. Riverview Cemetery. Rochester, New York, Public Library.

[82] September 25, 1821, page 2 of the Monroe Republican under the heading “Died”, the second line reads: “In Henrietta, Mr. Josiah Nichols aged 64. He was a revolutioner.” The New York Historical Society has a copy of the paper.

[83] Monroe County, New York, Land Records. Josiah Nichols, deceased. Liber 6, page 359, 1822. This document names 6 children of Josiah, identifies James Markham, Jr., and James Davis as the husbands of daughters Anna and Phebe, and Amelia as the wife of Josiah.

[84] New Fairfield Congregational Church records, Connecticut State Library, Hartford.

[85] Landmarks of Monroe County, New York. Boston, Massachusetts: The Boston History Company, 1895.

[86] McIntosh, W. H. History of Monroe County, New York 1788-1877. Philadelphia: Everts, Ensign, and Everts, 1877. The first school in Henrietta was taught by Lucy Branch, sister of Jefferson Branch, in 1811. She later married Soloman Nichols and moved to Cattaraugus County.

[87] Cattaraugus County, New York, Cemetery Records. Randolph Cemetery. Fenten Historical Society Library, Jamestown, New York.

[88] This Josiah was probably the father of Crowell Wilkinson Nichols, who, according to his Revolutionary War pension file, was born 17 September 1820 in Mendon, Ontario (later Henrietta) County, New York, and lived in Ohio. The time, place, and middle name are right, and Crowell had an uncle Daniel in New York; the only inconsistency is that Crowell (or Croel)’s death certificate named his parents as Josiah and Amanda, not Amelia (Francee Taylor, Eatonville, Washington, personal communication).

[89] The Adams 1893 History of Cattaraugus County biographical sketch of Daniel “Nicholas” names his 12 children and several vital statistics. A smaller write-up is in Ellis, Franklin. History of Cattaraugus County, New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia: Everts, 1879.

[90] Hayden, Doris W., & York, Jean H. Families of Blandford, Massachusetts. Mimeograph in Porter Memorial Library, Blandford, Massachusetts.

[91] Census, Bureau of the. New York, l860. Set M653, roll 726, pages 1114, 1117, 1118. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[92] This letter is in Josiah Nichols’ pension file at the National Archives (R7656.).

[93] Daughters of the American Revolution, Olean, New York Chapter. Unpublished Cemetery Records of Cattaraugus County, New York. Vol. 221, 1957-58. East Randolph Cemetery. Nichols burials include Lydia, wife of Daniel, “Norman” (Josiah Newman) and his wife Phoebe, Jerele or Jere, and Caroline.

[94] Cattaraugus County, New York, Land Records. Liber 5, page 685, 1867.Daniel agreed that all of Sophronia’s property (her home and furnishings in Westfield and bonds and notes worth about $3500) would revert to her “kindred” if she predeceased him. If he died first, she would get a modest sum, depending on how long they were married, and she agreed to make no additional claim on his estate.

[95] Daniel Nichols’ will was written in Westfield, Massachusetts, but filed in Cattaraugus County, New York (Vol. 9, page 315. The will provided support for Daniel’s mentally retarded son, Jere until his death, after which the remainder of the estate would be divided among the other children (except for son Daniel, who altered his farm without his approval).

[96] Adams, 1893

[97] Laura and Sarah Nichols married cousins; their families are detailed in Shurtleff, Ray. L. The Descendents of William Shurtleff. San Francisco: Author, 1976.

[98] Named in the execution of Daniel Nichols’ will by Sarinda N. Smith, executor.

[99] Boltwood, Lucius Manlius. History and Genealogy of the Family of Thomas Noble, of Westfield, Massachusetts. Hartford: Case, Lockwood, & Brainard Co. Press, 1878.

[100] Census, Bureau of the. New York, l860. Set M653, roll 726, pages 1114, 1117, 1118. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[101] Most of the information on this family comes from the following family record: Nichols, Lawrence Fayette. Genealogical Line from Thomas Noble (1653) to Elvira Noble Nichols (1879) and Information regarding the Nichols Family from Soloman Fairchild Nichols, Husband of Elvira Noble Nichols (1852) to the Present Date (1931). Mimeograph in possession of Paul L. Nichols.

[102] Fisher, Kathy. In the Beginning There Was Land: A History of Washington County, Iowa. Washington, Iowa: Washington County Historical Society, 1978.

[103] The Washington Press, Washington, Iowa, June 26, 1867. The paper is preserved on microfilm at the Washington, Iowa, public library.

[104] Washington County, Iowa, Marriage Records. Book G, page 3, 1869.

[105] Washington County, Iowa. File No. 01258.

[106] Gustafson, Marion Nelson. The Descendants of Magnus and Bolette Nelson. Printed by the author, 4251 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407, 1980.

Paul L. Nichols
August 24, 2002
pnichols@his.com