The Nichols Family

In my previous post I noted while researching my Uncle’s DNA matches, I found multiple descendants of a Nichols family that hark back to early Montgomery County, North Carolina. The shared matches overwhelmingly show a connection to my third great grandparents, John Jacky Morris and Amelia, whose maiden name is unknown. This find could be an indicator of Amelia's origins or of John Morris's mother's origins. I’ve spent the past few weeks exploring the Nichols family who lived in Montgomery County in hopes of finding out more about them and the families they connect to.

The 1790 Census for Montgomery County, North Carolina shows five Nichols men, Edmond, Joseph, Edmond Jr, William, and John living in the area. Each man is shown with the number of people in their households, male and female, and approximate ages. The Census has been alphabetized so it is unknown, by this record, if the men lived close to one another but land grant records show that they all lived near Little River in Montgomery County with some serving as chain carrier for one another’s surveys.

Edmond Nichols, probably Senior, is shown with 7 people in his household. Three males under 16 and 3 females, one most likely his wife. Edmond was born before 1774.

Joseph Nichols has 6 people in his home. Two males under 16 and 3 females, one probably his wife. Joseph was also born prior to 1774.

Edmond Nichols Jr has the smallest family and most likely has only been married for a short time, a year to eighteen months at the most. He has only 2 females in his home, one probably a very young daughter and one his wife. He also was born before 1774.

John Nichols has two males over the age of 16 in his home, one being him, and the other, presumably his son (it could be his father or an uncle or an elder brother or cousin) but assuming it is his son, this puts John’s birth around 1749 as his son would have been born before 1774 to be listed as older than 16 on the 1790 Census.

William Nichols is most likely the same man who moved to Lawrence County, Alabama and stated in his Revolutionary War pension file that he was born in 1765, age 67 in 1832 when he filed his pension claim, in Montgomery County, North Carolina (formed from Anson in 1779).

It is important to note that there may have been two men named William Nichols in the area, and they may have been related to one another, or it is possible that these men may be one in the same. There are many similarities that can be found in the records, yet the differences cannot be overlooked either.

One man named William Nichols lived in Anson County around Brown’s Creek close to William Griffin Hogan and they are found on land surveys as chain carriers together. William Nichols witnessed a deed dated 1779 for John Stevens Jr and George Jefferson for land on Brown’s Creek. That same deed shows Mary Nichols was a witness to the deed and other deeds found in Anson County show Susannah Nichols (sometimes spelled Nickools, Nukools, Nichools). Who are these women? Additionally, I found deeds with J. Nichols and Wm Nichols as witnesses in Anson County for Isaac Nichols in 1783 for land on Brown’s Creek.

William Nichols sold land on Brown’s Creek to Frederick Gordon in 1783, and William C. Nichols was a witness on a deed dated 1785 for Frederick Gordon. The date on this Anson County deed puts William’s birth year prior to 1762 if 21 years would have been the legal age back then.

William Nichols entered a land grant in Dec. 1780 for 100 acres on the head branches of Town and Clark’s Creek. This land is in Montgomery County, North Carolina. Some research I read indicates it is Cheek’s Creek (I think because the handwriting is so terrible and people have a hard time reading it), but careful study of the adjoining land grants and researching the headwaters of each creek indicates it is Clark’s Creek. John White was a chain carrier for that survey along with William Nichols. John White, according to Anson County records, lived on Brown’s Creek in Anson County, so, it is a bit odd that he would go across the river to perform a chain carrier duty, unless he knew the man who the survey was being done for.

To make it more confusing, in 1778, Townsend Robinson sold to Thomas Chiles a tract of land in (then) Anson County, on the East side of Little River and Northeast side of Pee Dee River and William Nichols witnessed that deed. This land is in current day Montgomery County. “Jane” White was a witness, but I think that may be mis-transcribed and it is probably “John” White, though without seeing the original record, I cannot be sure.

As a side note, there may be some connection between the Nichols and White families in Orange County, North Carolina and old Ninety-Six District (Abbeville, South Carolina), and Anson County, North Carolina. In an early 1800s suit pending in Orange County, North Carolina, a court ordered depositions of Henry White and Julius Nichols who were living in Abbeville, South Carolina to be taken. I did not read the entire file, so more research is required to understand how, or if, these men relate to one another.

Research found in the book “White roots - a Nichols genealogy” by M. Q. Nichols has some interesting theories on the Nichols family and indicates it may never be fully figured out who these Nichols men are of Anson and Montgomery counties, North Carolina due to the loss of early county records. That book can be found on Family Search and offers some valuable information for anyone researching the surname Nichols. This post can in no way do justice to all the valuable information provided in this book.

On page 235, the writer mentions Julius Nichols who signed the petition to divide Anson County in 1779 and whom may be related to the Nichols of Montgomery County, North Carolina. There are so many Julius Nichols, it would take a massive undertaking of research across multiple states and counties to figure them all out.

Original records can be found on Family Search using their Full-Text search and after performing several tedious drill downs and scrolls (the clickable buttons they previously offered were so much easier and neatly kept at the top of the screen), can finally be found under Abbeville, South Carolina. Abbeville was previously part of Ninety-Six District so including in a search of those several counties that were formed from Ninety-Six District is useful as there is one Julius Nichols, son of William Nichols mentioned who may be the grandson or son of the elder Julius who lived in Abbeville.

Clues found in North Carolina House Bill (30 Jan 1779): a Bill for dividing the County of Anson into two distinct counties (to form Montgomery County) show many men signed the petition to divide Anson County, but on the last page of this bill is found the signature of Julius Nichols. A date found on the signature page is 9 Jan 1779 and it shows Julius Nichols was one of the men who signed the petition. This may be Julius Nichols who died in Abbeville, South Carolina about 1803. I do not think it was the Julius Nichols who died in Franklin, Georgia and had a Revolutionary War file, but I have been wrong before.

 

Julius Nichols who moved to Franklin County, Georgia states in his Revolutionary War pension claim that he was born in Granville County, North Carolina in 1757 and he lived in Wake County, North Carolina when he first entered the service in September 1776. He enlisted again in September 1778 at Salisbury, North Carolina (next door to Anson County) for 9 months (so, it seems unlikely that he signed the petition to divide Anson as he was in the Army at the same time it was signed in Jan 1779). In 1780, he enlisted in Hillsborough, (Orange County) North Carolina and again in 1781 he volunteered in Wake County. So, this man moved around quite a bit.

On 10 Oct 1854, Ransom Nichols, a resident of Clarke County, Georgia, provided an affidavit that he was the nephew of Julius Nichols. Ransom states that he was born in Wake County (North Carolina) in May 1785; that Julius moved from Wake County in 1809 to settle in Franklin County, Georgia where he died on 18 May 1838; that he, Ransom, was in the company of Julius Nichols when he, Julius would discuss with his brothers Thomas and William Nichols their respective services in the revolution. This affidavit was given in support of the claim filed by Agnes A. Malone, the daughter of Julius Nichols.

These men, Julius, William, and Thomas are names mentioned in the will of Julius Nichols who died about 1803 in Abbeville, South Carolina.

YDNA testing for genealogical purposes was not available when M. Q. Nichols wrote his book in the 1980s. If it were, he might have been interested in DNA testing some of the Nichols he wrote about. I checked FTDNA Nichols Project and found what might be a male descendant of Ransom Nichols (he is often cited as the son of William Nichols of Anson County) but there is no place of origin listed for this kit at FTDNA and the death date is off by a few years from what is in most family trees. Other Nichols testers did not even bother to list any ancestral information. How disappointing!

The other William Nichols lived in Anson County as well but in those parts that became Montgomery when Anson split in 1779. This William Nichols lived in the vicinity of Edmond, Joseph, Edmond Jr, and John and is found serving as chain carrier for surveys for land around Little River, Montgomery County.  

William Nichols, who was born prior to 1758 and William Nichols born 1765 both lived in Anson County prior to 1779 but Anson County split at that time to form Montgomery County and the men were separated by the new county line with one remaining in Anson County (Brown’s Creek area) and the other living in the newly formed county of Montgomery (Little River area). William Nichols, born 1765, did not move, the county name simply changed.

The 1770 John Collet map shows the vicinity where each of the William Nichols lived. In 1770, Anson County encompassed current day Montgomery and Stanly counties. That area is more than 30 miles apart. Not much in today’s standards, but in 1770, it likely would have taken a full day to travel that distance depending on the terrain, river crossings, and mode of travel. 

The 1808 Stone/Brown map shows the divide that happened in 1779. Anson lies south of Montgomery County and Montgomery County straddles the Yadkin / Pee Dee River. A current day map shows Stanly County, created in 1841 from Montgomery, lying to the west of Montgomery County. Little River is in the western part of Montgomery County and Brown’s Creek remains in Anson County.

Joseph, Edmond, William, and John are listed on the North Carolina State Census 1784-1787 age between 21-60 years old making their birth years between 1725 – 1764. William Nichols has 4 people in his household, indicating he is probably a young man with a new family.

In Feb 1795, Edmond Sr and Mary Nichols executed a deed to Benjamin Randle for 100 acres of land in Montgomery County, North Carolina on the head of a small branch the south side of Barnes Mill Creek of Little River ... it being a tract of land granted to Edmond Nichols Sr on 2 Oct 1762 by estimation 200 acres ... which Edmond Nichols sells to Benjamin Randle 100 acres of the said tract. A witness to the deed was Joseph Nichols most likely the same man found on the 1790 Census for Montgomery County.

There were several land grants for Anson and Montgomery counties for Nichols’s men. George Nichols and Issac Nicholas lived in Anson County on Brown’s Creek while all other land grants show land that originated in Anson County but became Montgomery County in 1779.

Without researching neighbors, I cannot come to any conclusions on George Nichols yet (but the Nichols book noted above does have some theories). He showed up in the newly formed county of Anson around 1751 with land on Brown’s Creek and probably is some relation to Isaac since Isaac looks to have lived very close to George. There were no land records for George Nichols I could find in Bladen County pre-1750. Anson was formed in 1750 from Bladen. So, George may not have come from Bladen County but from elsewhere. I found a lot of George Nichols in the Granville, North Carolina area as well as in Virginia pre-1750. 

The 1773 land grant for Edmund Nichols on Little River shows John Nichols was a chain carrier so John may have been in his teen years at this time. 

William Nichols claimed he was born in Montgomery County, North Carolina in 1765 and was aged 67 years in 1832 when he filed for his Revolutionary War pension in Lawrence County, Alabama. He claims he entered the Army on 15 Oct 1780 in Montgomery County, North Carolina and did various tours marching about the surrounding area. William remained in Montgomery County, North Carolina until aged 40 years (1805) and moved to Powell’s Valley, (current day Lee County) Virginia and remained there from 1805 to 1808. He then moved to Lincoln County, Tennessee and lived there from 1808 to 1822 and moved to Lawrence County, Alabama in 1822 and had remained there ever since.

As a side note, the Parsons family of Montgomery County have handed down stories in their family that their ancestor, Joseph Parsons, had hung Tories during the Revolutionary War in Montgomery County, North Carolina. In the 1832 Revolutionary War pension file of William Nichols who served under Captain Joseph Parsons and is found proof that Parsons did hang Tories in Montgomery County.

William Nichols tells that “Captain Parsons raised a Company of volunteer Rangers … about July 1782” and William “joined them and ranged about through Montgomery and Moore counties to keep the Tories down for about three months – we took several of the most notorious & had them hung …”

William Nichols provided his written discharge signed by Captain Joseph Parsons himself.

Eli Thompson and James Alexander lived in the current neighborhood (Lawrence County, Alabama) and provided a deposition to William’s character. James Alexander says he moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina shortly after the Revolutionary War and settled in the neighborhood where William Nichols had lived (Montgomery County, North Carolina).

Eli Thompson claims he had known Nichols for 35 years (1797, Montgomery County, North Carolina) and often heard his father speak of Nichols.

These testimonies lead me to believe that James Alexander was a grown man (over the age of 21) when he came to Montgomery County, North Carolina from Pennsylvania. He speaks of his own knowledge; that he knows Captain Joseph Parsons and Major Crump and spoke directly to Parsons versus Eli Thompson who says he had heard his father speak (indirect knowledge) of William Nichols as having been a soldier. So, Eli Thompson is probably younger than William Nichols and still lived in his father’s house while William was serving in the war.

In 1799, James Alexander was a chain carrier for a survey of Electious Thompson for land on Ridges (also seen as Bridger’s) Creek joining William Ozier and William Cupples. Phillip Thompson was the other chain carrier. Land grants for both Ozier and Cupples show they lived on and near Little River.

What is incredibly interesting is that William Nichols, who lived in Sumter, South Carolina whose widow, Martha (Petty) Pool Nichols had a widow pension file dated 1844 for his Revolutionary War service in the 10^th Regiment North Carolina Militia who entered the service as a volunteer on 1 Aug 1782 under Capt. Rhodes and served until the end of the war. 

In that file, Martha claimed that her husband William lived in Anson County, North Carolina at the time he enlisted. There are several affidavits from men who claimed to be at her wedding and at least one states her maiden name as Martha Pool. William and Martha were married in 1783 at the home of John Alexander's father by a Baptist minister named Lewis Collins. He may have been the pastor of Swift Creek Church. William Nichols died in 1823 according to Martha, his widow. A son David Nichols provides power of attorney to collect what may be owing to his mother, Martha. 

It gets even better because research posted on Wiki Tree notes William Nichols as the son of Isaac Nichols who lived on Brown’s Creek in Anson County, North Carolina. That same research lists Martha Pool Nichols as the daughter of Stephen Pettypool, likely son of Seth Pettypool and Martha Ragsdale (no proof of the Ragsdale connection). 

In 1804, William Nichols and others are listed in the power of attorney as heirs of Stephen Petty Pool of Sumter District, County of Salem, South Carolina (historic Sumter District, which became Sumter County) providing power to trusty and loving friends William and Simon Daniels to collect what is owing to them in the property in North Carolina and elsewhere that belonged to Stephen Pettypool.

If William Nichols of Sumter, South Carolina is the son of Isaac Nichols of Brown’s Creek, Anson County, North Carolina then there were two very different William Nichols indeed.

In 1858, Elizabeth Barrett, widow of Robert Barrett of Lawrence County, Alabama, stated she was also the widow of William Nichols who died in Lawrence County, Alabama 16 May 1838. She was born in 1784 and married William Nichols on 4 Oct 1800 in Montgomery County, North Carolina. Her maiden name was Trent. After the death of William, she remarried to Robert Barrett who died in Dec 1850.

Elizabeth is probably the daughter of William Trent who was the only Trent in the area by at least 1789 and lived on the East side of Little River next door to Little Berry Hicks (Hix) and close to the Nichols families.

William’s pension file names sons Edward, Elijah, James, and Emanuel King who was noted as being 53 years old in 1867 making him born about 1814.

The 1830 Census for Lawrence, Alabama shows William Nichols with 2 males 5-9, 1 male 10-14, 2 males 20-29, himself 60-69, 1 female 5-9, 1 female 10-14, 1 female (his wife, Elizabeth) 40-49 so there are some children I still need to look for.

After William Nichols died, his widow, Elizabeth married Robert Barrett III. He descends from a line of Robert’s with himself being the 3^rd generation with the same name. His father, Robert Barrett II, was born about 1750 probably in Louisa County, Virginia and married Barbara Winston. Robert II is the son of Robert Barrett I, born about 1716 and Elizabeth Lewis. His father is Charles Barrett, born about 1685, married (supposedly) Mary Chiswell.

Robert Barrett I evidently had a sister, Anne Barrett, who married William Dabney and their daughter married William Morris of Taylor's Creek, Hanover, Virginia. So, that will be a Morris family that I will focus on in the coming months to see if there is any connection to my Morris family.

The Barrett family in Louisa County, Virginia do show some interaction with a Nuckolls (Nichols) family, perhaps an ancestor of Julius Nichols who migrated to Georgia (see above) as well as the Yancey family in Mecklenburg County, Virginia whom I wrote about in the post Eusebius and The Griffin Connection

The Nuckolls/Nichols family of Mecklenburg County, Virginia intermarried with the Yancey family of the same place. Keziah Yancey, the sister of Robert Yancey who married Philadelphia Jones (Griffin) whom I wrote about in the blog post The Griffin Connection, married Charles Nichols who died 1767 in Louisa County, Virginia. Charles may be the son of James Nichols, born about 1695 in New Kent County, Virginia. 

It is quite suspect to me that William Nichols and Elizabeth Trent somehow ended up in the same place that Robert Barrett III was and Robert just happens to be from the same area in Virginia that Julius Nichols/Nuckolls, the Yancey's, and the Griffin's came from, so, there may be more to find out about these families in the coming months as I continue my research.