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Francis Nichols of Stratford, Connecticut: 6th Update: John Nichols DNA Test


Francis Nichols of Stratford, Connecticut: 6th Update: John Nichols DNA Test
By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Winter 2010 and Revised 25 Oct 2010

INTRODUCTION

Until recently, it was generally believed that John Nichols was a son of Francis Nichols.

In our earlier Updates on Francis Nichols we described recent recent research appearing to indicate that John Prentice of Fairfield, CT, was the son of Francis Nichols of Stratford, CT, bap. 25 May 1575 in Sedgeberrow, Worcester, England, who had a son John Nichols, bap. 16 May 1601. The inference was that the 1601 John Nichols had a daughter, Hester Nichols, who m. John Prentice, a grandson of the immigrant, Valentine Prentice.

Recent DNA test results, however, appeared to indicate that John Nichols of Fairfield, CT, was not a son of Francis Nichols. Those test results can be found about half way down the list at http://www.brian-hamman.com/ResultsForNicholsSurnameProject.htm and headed "First Nichols Clan with 23,14,10 R1b Motif (Rev. 24 Oct 2010). Briefly summarized, the DNA tests purport to show that:

  1. Francis Nichols' sons, Isaac Nichols and Caleb Nichols, belong to Haplogroup G while
  2. John Nichols, bap 16 May 1601, (Hester Nichols' father) is placed in a completely different Haplogroup R1b (23, 14, 10 R1b Motif).

DOES JOHN NICHOLS REALLY BELONG IN THE R1b GROUP?

Brian Hamman PhD is the person heading up the Nichols DNA testing and the person who prepared the chart at http://www.brian-hamman.com/ResultsForNicholsSurnameProject.htm.

In order to learn more about the DNA test, we emailed Dr. Hamman. We received an email from Dr. Brian Hamman on 24 Oct 2010 which pointed us to the genealogy material which accompanied the DNA specimen pertaining to John Nichols.

We learned that the speciman, and genealogy material accompanying it, came from Barbara Nichols. In her genealogy material Barbara Nichols traces her Prentice roots from her own family back to John Nichols who m. Mercy Holbridge. She then added that John's father is "possibly" (her italics) the John Nichols who d. by 1655.

Barbara Nichols' statement of a "possible" father-son relationship between the 2 men raises a red flag since it really is saying that "we don't know whether or not there is a father-son relationship."

We have not independently researched the line between her family and the John Nichols who m. Mercy Holbridge. If her line to that point is correct, there seems to be no question about the propriety of placing the John Nichols who m. Mercy Holbridge in the "23, 14, 10 R1b Motif" group.

However, placing the John Nichols who d. c. 1655 in that same group is, of course, dependent on clear evidence that there is a father-son relationship between them.

We did an Ancestry.com family tree search in an effort to locate other researchers who have reported such a link. Of the many postings for John Nichols and his wife, Mercy Holbridge, not a single other researcher purports to identify any parents at all for him.

We also approached the matter from a different direction, doing an Ancestry.com search to locate any descendants of John, the known son of the John who d. c. 1655. Again, of the many postings for his son, John, not a single other researcher purports to show any marriage or children for him.

In and of itself, such omissions do not prove anything. They do, however, raise some concern.

We have emailed Barbara Nichols asking that she identify for us the specific sources of information and documentation upon which she relies in linking those 2 men in a father-son relationship.

Pending her furnishing such material establishing a clear father-son relationship, we have suggested to Dr. Brian Hamman that he might wish to consider doing the following in his chart:

  • 1. Placing an appropriate caveat by the John Nichols shown in the R1b group.

  • 2. Or, perhaps better, remove the John Nichols listed and replace him with Barbara Nichols' John Nichols, b. c. 1650 and d. Dec 1675. This latter approach would strengthen the integrity of the DNA R1b group.

We will update this article when Barbara Nichols has provided her source information.

CONCLUSION:

Despite DNA tests seeming to exclude Francis Nichols' son, Isaac Nichols, as a brother to John Nichols, it is of interest to note that John (1) bought land from Isaac Nichols, (2) named Isaac Nichols as an Administrator of John's estate, and (3) that Isaac and Isaac' sister, Sarah, cared for some of John's children after his death.

Investigation is continuing.


Footnote 1: DNA Tests linking John Nichols and Enoch Nichols

The DNA test, discussed above, appears to link John Nichols to Enoch Nichols, b. 1762, Wilton, Fairfield Co., CT. An Ancestor Chart for Enoch Nichols can be found at Ancestry.com which traces his roots back to John Nichols (perhaps b. c. 1635-1645) and his wife, Mercy Holbridge who in 1669 were living in Compo, Westport, Fairfield Co., CT. Enoch Nichols' family tree is set out in Ancestry.com as follows with the dates shown for the first 3 generations being only estimates:

1. John Nichols. His birth year is given in Ancestry.com as 1651 and d. 1680. Another source at Ancestry.com says he was b. 1651 and d. 1676 in MA.

He m. Mercy Holbridge, probably about 1667-1669. That same source at Ancestry.com says she was b. 30 Jun 1650 in New Haven Co., CT, and d. 1712 in Compo, CT. They had 3 or more children, including:

  1. John Nichols, b. c. 1669, Compo, Westport, Fairfield, CT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [2]
  2. Nathaniel Nichols 1671 – 1762. For his family see Ancestry.com .
  3. James Nichols 1673 –

2. John Nichols, b. c. 1669, Compo, Westport, Fairfield, CT, and d. in Westport.

He m. Abigail who was b. c. 1672, called "of Westport," and d. there. Known children:

  1. Benjamin Nichols
  2. Ebenezer Nichols
  3. Joseph Nichols, b. c. 1700-1705 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3]
  4. Margery Nichols
  5. Samuel Nichols – 1757
  6. Solomon Nichols – 1734
  7. Thomas Nichols

3. Joseph Nichols, b. c. 1700-1705

He m. Abigail c. 1730 in Fairfield Co., CT. She was b. c. 1705 and called "of Wilton, Fairfield Co., CT." They had 1 or more children, including:

  1. Joseph Nichols, b. 27 May 1734, Norwalk, Fairfield Co., CT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4]

4. Joseph Nichols, b. 27 May 1734, Norwalk, Fairfield Co., CT, and d. c. 1774, perhaps Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., CT.

He m (Unknown). They had 3 or more children, including:

  1. John Nichols
  2. Rebecca Nichols 1760 – 1849
  3. Enoch Nichols 1762 –

Correspondence:   If you have any information about the folks mentioned in this article, please send your information to us at the Prentice Newsletter. Be sure to give the full title and date of this article in the Subject line of the email.

Caution: If you don't use the above email link, your email to us may be deleted as spam by our email filter.


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