William Nickle (1761-1842)

History

Excerpted from Ira C. Nickle Jr., "Nickle-Auld-Brown-Burchett-Brown-Petzold"

William Nickle, Sr., the first proven ancestor and the founder of our family in the United States, was born on 23 October 1767 in County Antrim, Ulster, Northern Ireland.

In accordance with the old Ulster-Scot naming custom, William’s parent’s would be James and Elizabeth Nickle. (James may be that James Nickall listed on the 1739 estate map of the Earl of Antrim as chief tenant in the townland of Gortnee.)

William was a member of Masonic Lodge 414 in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. William’s grandson, Reverend Oliver Hazzard Nickle, had William’s Masonic certificate.

NOTE: In response to an inquiry by the compiler the Archivist of the Grand Lodge in Dublin wrote the Secretary of Masonic Lodge 414 (Royal Blue) in Bushmills to see if any of the old records had survived, but they had not.

Lodge 414 was founded in 1764. A list of members was returned until 1774. There is then a gap of 22 years. The Lodge was in abeyance until 1796 when it was revived that year by the Grand Lodge on paying the price for a new Lodge charter.

William Nickle married Hannah Auld on 1 August 1798. Hannah was born on 18 March 1774. Census returns place her birthdate as 1778 or 1779. According to family lore she smoked a pipe and believed in fairies.

In accordance with the old Ulster-Scot naming custom, Hannah's parents would have been Andrew and Sarah Auld. In 1803 an Auld family lived in the townland of Ballyrock Scotch two or three miles south of Boneyclassagh in Dunluce Parish.

William and his wife and daughter Sarah entered the United States c. 1801. Baltimore, Maryland was probably their port of entry. The first three of their children born in the United States were born in Maryland.

William moved his family to Pennsylvania in the period 1807 to 1809. The family was in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1811. There was also an Auld family in Cumberland County.

In 1819 William moved his family to Curtins Furnace, Centre County. It is believed William worked in the iron furnaces.

William Nickle and his family moved to Venango County, Pennsylvania c. 1830. He took up land in Richland Township, Venango County, built a two room log cabin and started farming in the vicinity of what is now the hamlet of Nickleville.

William Nickle was enumerated as head of household in the 1840 census of Richland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.

On 2 July 1841, William wrote a letter addressed to his son Henry R. Wilson Nickle at Tygon Post Office, Cheshire Township, Gallia County, Ohio. William expressed concern about the whereabouts of his son James.

In the letter he informed his son Wilson, "We have had a letter from your Uncle David and one from your Uncle James. They are all well." The location of David and James was not mentioned. It is not known if they were Nickles or Aulds.

William Nickle made his will on 13 January 1843. He signed his will Wm Nikel or Nickel. William left all his real and personal property to his youngest son, Daniel D. Nickle, who was to provide a suitable maintenance for his mother, Hannah. William's sons: James, William, Wilson and John were to have two dollars each. His son Andrew and grandson, Fergus Johnston, were to have ten dollars each. His daughter, Sarah Platt, was to have ten dollars and his daughter, Elizabeth, five. His daughter's Hannah, Jane and Mary were to have each a cow. His son Daniel was named executor. Witnesses were (illegible), Alexander Salinger and James Huston. The will was proved on 11 March 1843 by Alexander Salinger and James Huston.

William Nickle died on 2 March 1843 and was buried in an unmarked grave in the Bickle Cemetery near Pittsville in Rockland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.

Hannah Nickle’s household was enumerated in the 1850 census of Richland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania. Hannah Nickle, 72; Mary Nickle, 30; Daniel D. Nickle, 32, farmer real estate valued at 1,000 dollars; Mary Ann Nickle, 22; and George P. Nickle. 4.

Hannah Nickle died on 6 September 1868 and was buried in the Nickleville Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Nickleville, Venango County, Pennsylvania.
William and Hannah's children:

1. James Nickle, (the elder), was born in County Antrim, Ulster, Northern Ireland. He died there an infant. He may have been named for his paternal grandfather

2. Sarah Nickle was born in County Antrim on 22 October 1800. She may have been named for her maternal grandmother. Sarah died in Pennsylvania on 27 March 1871. She married William Platt in Venango County, Pennsylvania.

William Platt apparently died before the 1860 census of Richland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania. The household was enumerated William Platt, 29, farmer, Sarah Platt, 59, Ireland, Elizabeth Platt, 31, Sarah Platt, 24, Mary Platt, 22, John Platt, 20, Ellen Platt, 17, Rosanna Platt, 4. Sarah and William Platt, Jr.’s children were:

A. Elizabeth Platt was born in 1829. She married George Myers.

B. William Platt, Jr. was born in 1831. The 1860 census of Richland Township, Venango County enumerated William Platt, Jr. as a farmer with real estate valued at $1,000 and a personal estate of $100.

C. Sarah (Sallie) Platt was born in 1836.

D. Mary Platt was born in 1836. She married a Hatch.

E. John Platt was born in 1840.

F. Eleanor Sophia Platt was born in 1843. She married Joseph Shreffler, Jr. whose father Joseph, Sr. was born in Centre County, Pennsylvania. They are buried in the Nickleville Cemetery.

G. Rosanna Platt was born in 1856.

H. Jane Platt married a Madison.

I. Matilda Platt married a Skelly.

3. James Nickle, (the younger), was born on 1 November 1802 in Maryland. He owned and operated a mill in Pennsylvania. One day, while he was away, the mill dam burst and his family drowned with the exception of his son's William and Lemuel. James drowned going down the Ohio River. His children that survived:

A. William Nickle married and had Rose, a music teacher, and Vern Nickle.

B. Lemuel Nickle married a Miss Davis of Davis’ Corners, Venango County.

4. Andrew Jackson Nickle, Sr. was born on 25 November 1804 in Maryland. He married Sarah Ann Hoffman (1809-1882) who was born in New Jersey.
Andrew had a son Andrew Jackson Nickle, Jr. born on 17 September 1835 in Rockland Township, Venango County. In 1840 Andrew J. Nickle, Sr. was enumerated as head of household in the census of Richland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.

Andrew J. Nickle, Sr. had a son Martin Van Buren Nickle who was born in 1841. Martin married Ella Bilkey a daughter of Richard W. and Mary Bilkey. Martin Nickle was a railroad brakeman who had served in G Company, 15th Regiment Pennsylvania, Volunteer Infantry.

Andrew J. Nickle, Jr., who was a foundryman, was superintendent of Sharpsville Furnace. He married Nancy Jane Barnicle on 27 January 1857. She was a daughter of William and Mary M. (Kester) Barnicle. Andrew and Nancy were parents of Sarah Ann (Mrs. Henry Myers). Phillip H., Martin V., Andrew J., Stanceless C. and Charles C. Nickle.

In 1888 Andrew J. Nickle, Jr. was class-leader and steward of the United Brethren Church in Sharpsville, Mercer County. A. J. Nickle, Jr. and Philip Nickle were among the church Trustees. Andrew Jackson Nickle, Jr. died on 14 May 1891.

5. William Nickle, Junior, was born in Maryland on 12 May 1807. He marriedElizabeth Anderson.

In 1828 William purchased an extensive acreage near his father's land. He laid out the hamlet of Nickleville located at the intersection of the Rockland and old Franklin roads. He was a ruling Elder of the Rockland Presbyterian Church in 1828.

He was appointed postmaster at Nickleville in 1831. William also served as a Justice of the Peace in Richland Township for several years.

William Nickle Jr. was enumerated as head of household in the 1840 census of Richland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.

William Nickle bought land from Franklin and Marshall College of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1850 William donated the land for the Academia Presbyterian Church.

An organ was donated by Elder John Say to the church about the time of the Civil War. The members felt it was an instrument of Satan. A gentleman, when asked to pray, replied, "If you must have the organ to do your singing, let it also do your praying."

(Reverend Edward Edwards, writing in the Scotch-Irish list, notes that to this day the Free Kirk and the Free Presbyterians do not use instruments.)

In the early church a member stood in front of the pulpit and by candle light read two lines from the book Psalms and Hymns. The congregation would sing the two line and the procedure would be repeated until the song was finished.

Nickle members of the church: were William and Elizabeth Nickle; Robert and Hannah (Nickle) Criswell; Daniel Nickle; Jane, Mary, Hannah and Margaret Nickle. The first Elders were Samuel Huston and William Davidson.

The 1860 census of Venango County enumerated William Nickle, 53, merchant, Maryland, Elizabeth Nickle, 47. Hannah Jane Nickle, 24, school teacher, John A. Nickle, 22, farmer, Emily C. Nickle, 19, G. M. Nickle, 17, Mary E. Nickle, 15, Ann E. Nickle, 13, William I. Nickle, 7. Joseph Nickle, 4. William’s real estate valued at $1,000 and his personal estate of $500 dollars. William died on 1 June 1884.

The present stone Presbyterian Church at Nickleville was built in 1909 replacing the Academia building. The new building was named the Nickleville Presbyterian Church. In 1981 the church celebrated its 125th year.

William and Elizabeth Nickle’s children were:

A. A daughter who died an infant.

B. Hannah Jane Nickle was born in 1836. She was a school teacher and she owned and operated a 5 and 10 cent store. She never married.

C. John Anderson Nickle was born in 1838. He served in I Company of the 105th Pennsylvania Volunteers (the Wildcat Regiment) during the Civil War. I Company was raised at Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. I Company lost 2 officers and 45 enlisted men killed. The 105th Regiment lost 14 officers and 231 men killed or mortally wounded. The Regiment was engaged at Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Bristow Station, Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysbug, Auburn, Kelly’s Ford, and Locust Grove. On 6 May 1864 John Nickle fell in the Battle of the Wilderness. He has a Veterans Administration monument in the Nickleville Cemetery.

D. Emily Catherine Nickle was born in 1841. She never married.

E. Glenn Meeker Nickle was born in 1843. He married Margaret J. Rumberger. Their children were:

(1) Twins born and died on 9 December 1872.

(2) A daughter born and died on 27 February 1875.

(3) Bernice Nickle born on 13 October 1878. She married Herbert Pearse. Bernice died on 17 December 1921.

(4) Nancy Elizabeth Nickle was born on 2 July 1884. She married Russell Kelly.

F. Mary Ellen Nickle was born in 1845. She never married.

G. Ann Eliza Nickle was born in 1847. She was organist for the Nickleville Presbyterian Church, gave music lessons and taught singing schools. She never married.

H. Wilson Nickle died young.

I. William Speer Nickle was born in 1853. He married Hattie E. Lamphere on 24 December 1877 in Venango County. William and his wife were well known singers.

He composed a number of songs and assisted in publishing the songbook Honey Out of the Rock. William Speer Nickle, George J. Myers and O. F. Pogue published Gospel Herald in Song.

William Speer Nickle may be named for Rev. William Speer (1764-1829) an early Presbyterian minister. Rev. Speer was born in Adams County, Pennsylvania and died in Warren County, Pennsylvania.

J. Two daughter who died infants.

K. Joseph Mateer Nickle was born on 17 May 1856. He may have been named for Reverend Joseph Mateer an early pastor of the Academia Presbyterian Church. Joseph Mateer Nickle married Rose M. Davison on 3 July 1879. Their children were:

(1) Gertrude Nickle married William Ralph.

(2) Arthur Nickle married Ella Pryor.

(3) Harriet Nickle married John Ross.

(4) Emily Nickle married Fred Best. She died in Kerrville, Texas in 1972.

6. Elizabeth Nickle was born on 12 May 1809 possibly in Adams County, Pennsylvania. She married James W. D. Johnston in Venango County, Pennsylvania. He died in 1833. On 30 March 1838 Elizabeth married (2) William Benjamin Harrison McDonald. The 1850 census of Venango County lists William as a farmer with real estate valued at $500. W. H. B. McDonald was enumerated in the 1860 census of Richland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania. W. H. B. McDonald, 44, farmer, Elizabeth McDonald, 51, Cynthia McDonald, 21, school teacher, Anne E. McDonald, 19, William A. McDonald, 17, Mary A. McDonald, 15, Clara McDonald, 13, Dumarius McDonald, 9.

They lived on a farm near Nickleville until 1866 when they moved to Santa Paula, California, near Los Angeles. Elizabeth died on 1 June 1905. Elizabeth’s and James W. D. Johnston’s child was:

A. Duncan Fergus Johnston was born in 1831. He married Sarah Ross a daughter of William W. Ross and Rebecca Davidson.

Elizabeth’s and William B. H. McDonald’s children were:

B. Cynthia Jane McDonald was born in 1839. She was a teacher. She married Daniel D. Moriarty.

C. Ann Eliza McDonald was born in 1841. She married John R. D. Say. John died from the effects of a bullet wound he received during the Civil War. Sergeant John R. Say served in I Company, 105th Pennsylvania Infantry.

D. William Nickle McDonald was born in 1843. He died of typhoid fever while serving in the Civil War with I Company, 105th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was buried in the National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

E. Mary Adalina McDonald was born in 1845. She married A. J. Marshall in California.

F. Clarissa McDonald was born in 1847. She married Wallace Libby Hardison in Venango County. Wallace was born in Aroostook, Maine. He was one of the founders of Union Oil Company that was incorporated in Santa Paula, Ventura County, California. He was also interested in the Santo Domingo gold mines in the Peruvian Andes.

G. Damaris Stewart McDonald was born in 1851.

H. Milton Garvin McDonald (adopted) married Margaret Lillian Simpson.

7. HENRY R. WILSON NICKLE

8. Hannah Nickle was born on 18 March 1814 probably in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. She married Robert Chesney Criswell in Venango County. Hannah taught the Swamp School, one of the first schools established in the area. (Her salary was ten dollars per month.) The school was later called the Maple Hollow School.

Hannah and Robert lived on a farm south of Nickleville. The 1860 census of Venango County listed Robert as a farmer with real estate valued at $5,000 and a personal estate valued at $800.

On 7 January 1865 Robert purchased Clara Vista in Franklin Township for 16,000 dollars. Clara Vista contained 132 acres and had a valuable orchard. Hannah died on 8 March 1893. Their children were:

A. David Criswell was born in 1841. He served in I Company, 105th Pennsylvania
Infantry.

B. William Criswell was born in 1846. He married Hannah Maria Shreffler.

C. Nancy Criswell was born on 18 January 1847. She died young.

D. Montgomery Criswell was born in 1849. He was a farmer, school director and township collector. He married sisters (1) Ella Weaver and (2) Naomi Weaver.
E. George Stuart Criswell was born in 1850. He married Flora Smith. He was a lawyer practicing in Venango County for several years. He was elected Judge of the Venango County Court the office he held for over 30 years.

F. Silas Criswell was born in 1852. He married Cyndia Wreath.

G. Mary Ellen Criswell was born in 1854. She married Jerry Weaver.

9. Jane Nickle was born on 29 April 1816 probably in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. She married William McKay in Venango County. Jane died on 5 August 1877. Jane was a twin of John Nickle.

10. John Nickle was born on 29 April 1816. He wrote his brother Wilson, in the letter of 2 July 1841, that if Wilson came to Pennsylvania in the Fall he would go back with him to Gallia County, Ohio.

John married Orilla Brown probably in Gallia County, Ohio on 10 November 1842. She was born in New York State on 23 January 1823 a sister to his brother Wilson's wife, Esther Brown.

John moved to Indiana c. 1853. John's father-in-law, Joseph Brown, a retired carpenter born in Connecticut, was enumerated in John's household in the 1860 census of Jay County, Indiana.

John lived in Indiana until about 1864 when he moved to Bond County, Illinois. John was a farmer and the first rural mail carrier in the Pleasant Mound District, Bond County, Illinois. John died in Bond County on 15 December 1875 and Orilla died on 17 September 1878. Their children were:

A. Mary Jane Nickle married Joe Teghtmyer.

B. Almira Esther Nickle married David Dewey Hunter on 19 October 1869 in Bond County, Illinois. Their daughter Myrta Florence married Oscar E. Perkins.

C. John Wesley Nickle

D. George Wilson Nickle married Martha O. Stubblefield.

E. Orlando Jackson Nickle married Martha A. Frank on 24 April 1895 in Fayette County, Illinois.

F. Alfred Nickle (twin) married Evelyn Eva Mathews 31 March 1881 in Bond County, Illinois.

G. Albert Nickle (twin) died young.

H. Ermina Nickle married William Brown.

11. Mary Nickle was born on 22 March 1817 in Centre County, Pennsylvania. She was a spinster. She was living with her brother Daniel in 1860. She may have been living with her brother, Andrew when she died on 19 May 1887.

12. Daniel Dobbin Nickle was born in Centre County, Pennsylvania on 15 April, 1818. He may have been named for Dr. Daniel Dobbin of Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

Daniel married Mary Ann Myers in Venango County daughter of George Singery and Eleanor (Burns) Myers who owned Myers Mill four miles south of Van.
George Singery Myers was a son of George Myers and Elizabeth Singery. George Myers’ father, Henry Myers, built several of the first mills in Richland Township.
The 1860 census of Richland Township, Venango County enumerated Daniel D. Nickle, 42, farmer, Mary A. Nickle, 32, George S. Nickle, 13, Ellen B. Nickle, 17, Hannah Jane Nickle, 9, William M. Nickle, 7, Oliver Nickle, 5, Sylvester Nickle, 3, Hannah Nickle, 81, widow, Ireland, Mary Nickle, 40. Daniel Nickle inherited his father’s land. His real estate was valued at $1,000 and his personal estate of $200. His mother Hannah was enumerated in his household.

Daniel died on 24 December 1909. He was buried in the Nickleville Presbyterian Church Cemetery. His children were:

A. George Singery Nickle was born in 1847. He was named for his grandfather George Singery Myers. He married Sarah Houser.

B. Eleanor Burns Nickle was born in 1849. She was named for her grandmother Eleanor (Burns) Myers. She married Peter Lovell Pryor

C. Hannah Jane Nickle was born in 1851. She married John H. Donaldson.

D. William McCurdy Nickle was born in 1853. He married (1) Lulu Grant a daughter of Alexander Grant, a justice of the peace and school director in Richland Township, and Jane Jolly. William married (2) Ida McCullough on 12 April 1856.

E. Reverend Oliver Hazzard Nickle was born in 1855. He was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Martha Elliott Lynn daughter of Charles Linn, a stone mason and school director, and Catherine Rumberger. In 1907-08 he was pastor of Barnes/Glade Run Circuit in Western Pennsylvania. He officiated at the marriage of his granddaughter Kathryn S. Sweet after he was retired and 86 years of age. She married William J. Mee at the family dairy farm at Randolph, New York

F. Sylvester Nickle was born in 1857.

G. Henry Francis Nickle.

H. Reverend Solomon Myers Nickle was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Susan Catherine Fye a daughter of George Washington Fye and Sarah Jane Mullins. Their daughter Ruth Nickle married Grant Calvin Martin.

On 7 April 1904 Reverend S. M. Nickle, a Methodist Episcopal minister, held the funeral service for J. G. Seeley, proprietor of the Farmers Hotel, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. J. G. Seeley was born in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.

NOTE: On 27 August 1859 Colonel Edwin L. Drake dug the world’s first oil well. It was located in Venango County just south of Titusville. Oil was discovered in the vicinity of Nickleville and some of the wells on the Nickle property were still producing as late as 1981.