Walter Nichols (abt. 1794 - abt. 1857)

Born about 1794 in North Carolina, USA

Husband of Sarah (Unknown) Nichols — married 1820 in Tennessee, USA

Descendants

Died about 1857 at about age 63 in Benton County, Arkansas, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Gayle Foster [send private message]

BIOGRAPHY

We are confident of our Nichols family tree back to the Walter Nichols family who lived in McMinn County Tennessee in the early 1800's and traveled by wagon train to Benton County Arkansas about 1845. However, there is no definite paper trail that gives us Walter's parents. We believe he was born about 1794 in North Carolina, based upon information recorded on U.S. Census records, and our family lore said that he was of English stock. Since we haven't found PROOF in the records from Tennessee or North Carolina that tell us who the earlier Nichols family members were or where they came from, DNA analysis may be very helpful in helping us discover more. Several male descendants of Walter Nichols have contributed Y-DNA to the Nichols DNA project. With additional research, and hopefully additional DNA matches in the future we may be able to find the parents of Walter Nichols, discover our immigrant Nichols ancestor, and establish our lineage back from Walter Nichols!

BLENDED FAMILY? See discussion below of possible NPE in one Nichols line of descent, Thomas W. Nichols.

POSSIBLE SIBLINGS - Based upon autosomal DNA analysis of descendants, it is likely that Elizabeth Nichols Swafford and Walter Nichols were siblings. ^[1]

UNPROVEN ANCESTOR THEORY - For many years (pre-internet) the theory that John Nichols and Sarah Stout Lytle Nichols were the parents of Walter has persisted, even though Walter was not listed in the will/probate of John Nichols or the family history of the Nashville Nichols family.

WALTER WAS BORN in North Carolina about 1794 per census records. Some family trees show his name as William Walter. Our family lore from Benton County descendants simply called him Walter, and no primary source documents have been found that include the first name of William.

Our family lore says that the Nichols family came from Hiwassee, Tennessee. McMinn County is in southeast Tennessee. McMinn County was formerly Indian Territory and was formed from a part of the Hiwassee District, which the Cherokee Indians ceded to the United States by a treaty on February 27, 1819. The Hiwassee River and its tributaries were part of the homeland of the Cherokee in the early 18th century. A town known as "Hiwassee" (Ayuhwasi) was located near the mouth of Peachtree Creek near Murphy, North Carolina. The Cherokee town known as Great Hiwassee (Ayuhwasi Egwahi) was located in today's Polk County, Tennessee, where the Hiwassee River emerges from the mountains.

Walter has not been located on the 1830 census. Where was he in 1820 and 1830? He married about 1820, so MAY have been head of household in 1820.

It is known where Walter and family were in 1840, 1850, and that he died in Benton County Arkansas. In 1840 Walter, wife and children lived in McMinn County Tennessee. ^[2] Their nearby neighbors were the Miser family. Many Nichols descendants have autosomal DNA matches to the Miser-Swafford-Hale families, indicating there is a family connection.

On the 1850 U. S. Census, Walter and children lived in McMinn County Tennessee. ^[3] His place of birth was shown as North Carolina, and value of real estate owned is 0. The census indicates that he and daughter, Sarah, cannot read or write and that the younger children have attended school within the year. The birthplace of the children is Tennessee. Walter's son, Thomas and wife Lucinda (Coffman) Nichols are listed on same page of census and lived nearby.

In addition to being a farmer, Walter was a shoe cobbler, making and mending shoes. His farm in Tennessee was well-stocked with vats and other supplies for tanning hides and making leather and turning them into usable goods. Without a doubt, the ageing Walter was reluctant to leave the home where he was well-known as a craftsman and farmer and the place where he had raised his children, and buried his wife, and other family members. Apparently, the spirit of adventure had taken hold of Walter's children, several of whom were grown and married, and they convinced him to leave Tennessee. As farmers, they were having a hard time establishing themselves in Tennessee and obtaining adequate land for their use. The urge to seek move to new lands became so strong that several families including many Nichols sold their farms and everything they could not bring along.

WAGON TRAIN WEST TO ARKANSAS - In 1854 eight families formed a wagon train and began their trek to Benton County Arkansas to the community of Dixon. The wagon train that brought the Nichols came from Tennessee, passed over high rough mountains with great difficulty. The teams of mules, horses and oxen strained to pull the load. At times the men would put shoulders to the wheel while women drove the teams. They would take turns with their men in driving the wagons and herding cattle they brought with them. They passed through gaps in the mountains and camped under the starry heavens or sometimes under dark storm clouds. Those in the Nichols family included Walter and several of Walter's sons and daughters including George Washington, Sarah who was sometimes called Sally, Thomas W. and his wife Lucinda, Elizabeth, Amanda, and William "Babe", and possibly others.

The families of Oakes, Wrights, Buttrams, Misers, Shorts, Coffelts, and Blevins also traveled in the wagon train, all from Tennessee. The Wrights, Blevins, Oakes and George W. Nichols family lived in Fentress Tennessee per the 1850 census. The Buckston/Buxton family was also from Fentress County and moved to Benton County. Walter Nichols and children, Thomas Nichols household, and Wrights and Buttrams lived in McMinn County in 1850.

It has been suggested that all of these families were connected by religion and/or family connections - all were Methodist, and some marriage/family connections have been identified. Several family histories relate this story of traveling together from Tennessee to Benton County Arkansas. However, they don't all agree on the starting point of the wagon train. Some mention Meigs and McMinn County that are both located in southeast Tennessee, but some say it began near Nashville. Possibly some traveled by wagon from SE Tennessee to the Nashville area to join with other for their journey to Arkansas.

BURIAL: Walter was buried in an unmarked grave near other Nichols family members in Gamble Cemetery. His unmarked grave is north of Thomas Nichols grave. Cemetery is located South of Seba Road between Gamble and Keller in Centerton. ^[4]

Y-DNA Tests prove an NPE in one Nichols line

Several male Nichols descendants have taken Y-DNA tests and are part of the NICHOLS SURNAME PROJECT. Based on the analysis of these tests, it seems that one of Walter's sons was not his biological son, Thomas W. Nichols. For a detailed discussion of this analysis and the reasons for this conclusion, see the link below. At present, it seems likely, that Thomas W Nichols (1826-1900) was the biological grandson of John Narramore Sr (1762-1851). ^[5]

This is an active research topic at Nichols-Narramore Connections in Early Tennessee.

SOURCES

1. ↑ DNA Match Analysis of Miser/Buttram/Nichols/Swafford/Hale descendants
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1840", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYG-QHN : Thu Jul 20 21:03:48 UTC 2023), Entry for Walter Nickle, 1840.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1850", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDG-BM3 : Mon Jul 17 21:45:05 UTC 2023)
4. ↑ Find-a-Grave Memorial [1]
5. ↑ [2] Nichols Surname Project

• McMinn County Genweb Page, early records;
• Family Records and stories of Agnes Nichols Williams (1904-2006);
• Bio of W. Walter Nichols, Benton Co. Ark. History, 1991, Benton Co. Heritage Committee, pgs 671-672
• Civil War Pension record of his son, showed birthplace as Athens, Tennessee (McMinn County)

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Gayle Schell for creating WikiTree profile Nichols-2850 through the import of NICHOLS ancestors of Gayle 8-2013.ged on Aug 8, 2013.