The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: PA
Qualifying Service: Private / Patriotic Service / Civil Service
Birth: Death: aft 09 Feb 1800 / Ohio / VA
Qualifying Service Description:
Capt John Wetzel's Mt. Pleasant Company, PA Militia
Constable, Fort Dunmore
Oath of Allegiance, VA
Additional References:
SAR Patriot Index Edition III (CD: PP2210, Progeny Publ, 2002) plus data to 2004
PA Archives, 6th Series, Volume 2, pg 264
Muster Rolls Relating to Associators & Militia of Westmoreland County, pg 1906
V. A. Lewis, The Soldiery of WV, pg 122
Charles A. Wingerter, Boyd Crumrine, VA Court Records in PA, Volume 1, pg 532
Author: James Harrison Frey
John Nichols, Jr. settled in Ohio County sometime before 23 February 1775 when he was sworn in as a constable.
He purchased a “plantation” comprised of 328 acres, located on the Ohio River, east of Wheeling Town in West Augusta County, Virginia (now Ohio County, West Virginia) from Thomas Worthington’s heirs.
The property was granted to Thomas Worthington in 1773. Upon his death in 1778, he left this property to his daughters, Mary Ann Worthington, wife of James Graham, and Catherine (or Christiana) Worthington who later married Samuel Hawkins. Hawkins sold the property to John Nichols on behalf of his wife and her sister and brother-in-law. He did not provide a clear deed and in 1807 the Grahams sued.
A number of surveys and legal actions were taken over the years to resolve the competing claims. A partition agreement was made, which awarded 132 acres to the Nichols, and 168 acres to the Grahams. The value and importance of this land continued to play a role in the lives of subsequent generations of the family up to the time that the Nichols Home Farm was sold in 1909.
It is clear from early Ohio County records that John Nichols was engaged with his fellow pioneers in the defense of their settlements and in carrying out the shared duties required of members of their fledgling community. He was also a participant in the legal skirmishes of the day in a variety of roles – plaintiff, defendant, juror and witness.
“John Nichols” is listed among the volunteers in Ohio County at Fort Dunmore (Pittsburgh) in 1777.
On October 18 of that year he signed the Oath of Allegiance to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
John Nichols’ name appears on the pay abstract of Capt. John Whitzell’s Company of Rangers from Monongalia County, Pennsylvania, under the command of Col. Daniel McFarland, “ranging in Monongalia, County, Pennsylvania and Ohio County, Virginia from April 22 to July 25, 1778
According to family tradition, John Nichols died at the hands of Indians who scalped him. His will was proven July 4, 1803.
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