Nichols Breakthrough!



Oscar and Delilah (Schelske) Nichols

 It's been 5 years since I started my search for ancestors. Some of it was very easy in that there was information already collected complete with documentation. Other lines that have been very difficult include the Nichols family. In starting I had only my grandfather Oscar Nichols, his father James William, and grandfather James Thomas. For years I had been told that grandpa (Oscar) was born on the 4th of July 1890. Recently I finally discovered his birth record that says he was born July 3, 1891. Which is a relief because I found Sarah (Lanning) and James' marriage record first that said they hitched up in Paulding, Ohio in September of 1890, and it meant that grandpa was 3mos. old...hmm. The discrepancies in the information I was finding with what I had been told about the family was a frustration. On James William's death certificate it states that he was born in Illinois, and that information was solid in all other records I found about him.


James William's parent's names as they appeared on 1912 marriage record



James William's parent's names on his death cert


 His mother's name was an even bigger mystery. So finding  him as a boy in Illinois or prior to living in Michigan seemed hopeless. James obviously had no idea where his parents were born and I kept thinking.."If I could only find a brother or cousin ". So I asked family if they had known if grandpa had a cousin or uncle/aunt mentioned over the years..."nope". I had almost given up, but recently at what my sisters and I call "Craft Night" we were going about our business (I was working on a cross stitch I started about 2 yrs. ago...LOL!) and my sister-in-law Mary mentioned that an old friend from the neighborhood that we knew had stopped by for a visit to my brother Leroy's house. I vaguely remembered her and I asked more about who she was and Mary said she was the grand-daughter to grandpa Nichols' COUSIN Carrie. That brought me totally into the conversation and I said "Whaaat?". In addition to that Carrie was the subject to a cousin's lunch conversation between my brother Leroy and cousin Geraldine and she told him that she was related to us. To confirm this I emailed Geraldine and asked her what she knew about Carrie Nichols. She said she didn't know much other than Carrie was grandpa's (Oscar) cousin and her husband's name.So armed with this information I stared my investigation.  

Carrie's marriage record did not include her parents name...strike one, however her place of birth was listed as Indiana. I found her living in Jefferson, Allen Co., Indiana in 1910 and the father was listed as Irenes D. "Nickols". Remembering an 1870 census from Illinios that I suspected was my family I looked it up again. Listed are J. T. Nichols, Lydia, and James W., and the oldest child named Irenes D. So I followed Irenes some more and found he had married a Cora Croy in 1895 in Fort Wayne, Indiana...once again no parents listed.



James Thomas Nichols and family
1870 federal census
Greenbush, Warren, Illinios

 So, next I thought...well if Irenes spent time in Fort Wayne I might look for his parents in Allen Co. too. I added James Thomas's name to the search box on familysearch.org and it finally popped up before me. I sat with my mouth hanging open for a second and then a holler for joy! James T. Nichols and "Lydia" E. Null married in Fort Wayne Indiana in October of 1860. The record was a transcript of the original document but I have sent for the hard copy through the mail and still waiting for it's arrival.

Further investigation of Lydia's family history, I found another tree on Ancestry with more records to go with her. This tree had Lydia listed as a sister to their direct ancestor. Lydia's parent's names were George W. Null and her mother's first name was Sarah...her maiden name still a mystery. George Null was born in about 1801 in Pennsylvania, his wife Sarah listed as being born in Maryland. I searched Genweb and found their resting place in the IOOF Cemetery in New Haven, Allen County, Indiana and photos to go with. The best part about that is that their birth/death dates are on their stones. Now perhaps I can obtain death records that might include their parent's names...hopefully. I'm still searching for James Thomas and Lydia's resting places...more later.

George W. Null
Written on his stone: Asleep in Jesus blessed sleep
From which none ever wakes to weep
A calm and undisturbed repose
Unspoken by the last of foes




Sarah I. (maiden name unknown) Null
Written on her stone:  A precious one is from us gone
A voice we loved was stilled
A place is vacant in our home
Which never can be filled