Breaking the Nichols Genealogy Brick Wall

Our direct-line Nichols family history can be traced accurately back to North Carolina in about 1794 through U.S. Census records. However, Census records prior to 1850 provided only the name of the household head and number of household members (grouped by gender and a few age ranges.)

Extended families often relocated to an area together - either simultaneously or over the course of a few years. So while we know that dozens of people named Nichols lived in Surry County, North Carolina from the mid-1700s forward and may assume they were related - we can't be certain, and we don't know what the relations were. It doesn't help that the common practice of the day was to name all ten (or so) children after biblical characters - or, of course, parents, grandparents and favorite uncles and aunts. By the mid-1800s, there were literally hundreds of people named "Nichols" in Surry County, NC alone - with many duplicate first names.

DNA testing may answer some of the questions about how we're all related.

Our Nichols Line

Kevin's DNA test appears to confirm our Nichols family line back to at least the early 1800s. But there's a wall of uncertainty past Walter Nichols before Census records began.

Our Other Nichols Relatives

Kevin's DNA has been matched strongly to five descendants of William Nichols. The five matches appear to come through three separate Nichols lines of descent from William.