Patrilineage for Nichols Participant #39303 (Rich Nichols, [email protected])
Probable Ancestors (see discussion below)
14) Thomas Nycholls (b.Abt 1510- Sedgeberrow,Worcestershire, England;d.bet 27 Nov 1558/4 Apr 1559-)
m. abt 1535 Elinor (c1515-1592)
13) John Nycholls (b.Abt 1542- Sedgeberrow, England; b.6 Aug 1597-Sedgeberrow)
m. married c1574 Joan (c1550-1627)
12) Sgt Francis Nichols (c.25 May 1575- Sedgeberrow, England; d.Abt1650- Stratford,Fairfield,CT)
m. Francis Wimarke
11) Isaac Nichols (c.27 Dec 1617-Sedgeberrow, England; d.1695-Stratford,Fairfield,CT)
m. married 1646 Margaret Washburn (1620-c1675)
10) Ephraim Nichols (b.16 Dec 1657-Stratford,Fairfield,CT; d.16 Mar 1690-Fairfield,Fairfield,CT)
m. 1682 Hester Ward (1660-1732)
9) Ignatius Nichols (b.17 Dec 1683-Fairfield,Fairfield,CT; d.17 Dec 1758-Greenfield,Fairfield,CT)
m. c 1710 Abigail Staples (c1689-1745)
8) Ephraim Nichols (b.Abt 1711-Stratford,Fairfield,CT; d.1782-Fairfield,Fairfield,CT)
m. 1741 Rebecca Gold (1724-1810)
7) Hezekiah Nichols (b.25 Jan 1743/1744-Fairfield,Fairfield,CT;d.19 Mar 1819-Fairfield,Fairfield,CT)
m. 1762 Ann Penfield (1745-1793)
6) Silas Augustus Nichols (b.24 Jan 1771-Fairfield,Fairfield,CT;d.18 May 1811-Derby,New Haven,CT)
m. 1795 Freelove Chidsey (1772-c1859)
5) Joseph Chitsey Nichols (b.22 Jul 1800-,CT;d.29 Jun 1844-Bridgeport,Fairfield,CT)
m. 1836 Adeline Amelia Strong (1810-?)
4) Joseph Humphrey Nichols (b.Feb 1838-Hebron,Tolland,CT; d. 17/18 Feb 1886, Birmingham, AL??)
Proven Ancestors
4) Joseph H Nichols, b 1838; d 17/18 Feb 1886, Birmingham, Jefferson, AL
Sp: Sarah (Sadie) E Todzwer, b Jun 1850, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD; marr 24 Apr 1874, Algiers, Orleans, LA; d 5 Dec 1881, Algiers, Orleans, LA
3) Joseph Bernard Nichols, b 27 Dec 1878, Dallas, Dallas, TX; d 24 Feb 1913, Bronx, NY
Sp: Anna Emma Regina Florentina Sophia Kohl, b 22 Aug 1883, Frankfurt-am-Main, Hesse, GER
Marr 3 Dec 1905, Bronx, NY; d 30 Oct 1957, Bronx, NY
2) Richard Joseph Nichols, b 21 Nov 1910, Bronx, NY; d 18 Feb 1979, Bethpage, Nassau, NY
Sp: Florence Wynne, b 22 Jun 1914, Bronx, NY; marr 22 Dec 1933, Bronx, NY; d 3 Dec 1997, St Petersburg, Pinellas, FL
1) Richard Joseph Nichols (participant # 39303)
NOTE: At this juncture the ancestors of Richard Joseph Nichols, connecting his Joseph H Nichols to one Joseph Humphrey Nichols is a very very strong possibility. Since our DNA places us in the same family group as Sgt Francis Nichols and Brian Hamman further believes strongly, that I/we descend from Ephraim Nichols (b 1657), then it is only a matter of time till we prove/connect Joseph H Nichols, my great grandfather, to Joseph Humphrey Nichols of Connecticut as one of the same person. We know that Joseph Humphrey Nichols, after his father’s death, was placed in the guardianship of his uncle, Rev. Charles Nichols, brother to Joseph Chitsey Nichols. When Rev. Nichols was removed from his position in the church in Gilead, the family moved in 1857. A biographical sketch of Rev Nichols family, written by his daughter, Lucy Freelove Nichols Smith did not write that her cousin Joseph moved with them. In fact she named everyone who moved and he was not amongst them. Further research to date has not produced a death record for Joseph in Connecticut. At this point it is assumed that at the age of nineteen, Joseph Humphrey Nichols was on his own. He does not appear in Connecticut census records after 1850 and we can only speculate that he began a journey via land or sea to a new state.
As for Joseph H Nichols, my great grandfather, who died a violently. He is as mysterious as Joseph Humphrey. He is also buried in Birmingham and the cemetery has reported to me that there is a Confederate States of America plaque on his grave. That leads me to believe that he may have served for the Confederate cause. Proving that Joseph in Birmingham was my ancestor was easy. Newspaper articles stated that he was from New Orleans and left New Orleans in 1882 (after the death of his wife).
The articles also stated that his only surviving heir is his young son who lives in Algiers Joseph Bernard Nichols). These two little facts seem to confirm that this is my great grandfather. He only lived in New Orleans from 1879 to 1882 and previously in the 1873/74 period. Between 1874 and 1879 he lived in Dallas, TX and prior to that we was in Greenwood, LeFlore, MS, where he served as “acting Secretary” for the Greenville, Columbus and Birmingham Railroad for a short period of time (1873-74).
These are my challenges to locate what happened to Joseph Humphrey Nichols from 1857 on. Also, to find out where Joseph H Nichols served in the Confederate Army, and what happened to him prior to 1873 – where was he living.