NICKLE, James from Armagh and BLACK, Agnes from County Down... searching for Parish and for Ancestors

NICKLE, James and BLACK, Agnes... searching for Parish and for Ancestors

James Nickle was my great-great-grandfather (my grandfather's grandfather). He was born in 1820 (as calculated from his obituary), but I have not yet found definitive information regarding his birthdate or birth-home, and do not know the name of his parents. I would greatly welcome assistance in learning about his history in Ireland.

Notes written in 1956 by Carl Olaf Nickle, great-grandson of James Nickle, state that the Nickle family came from Ireland to Ontario, Canada in 1842, "driven partly by the potato famine of County Armagh, but largely by a desire to build a new home in the new land that was to become the Dominion of Canada a quarter century later." [From a speech entitled "A Man, A Company, and An Industry in Western Canada!", by Carl O. Nickle. The speech was given in Toronto, Canada on November 8th, 1956, to The Newcomen Society in North America. The source of his reference to 1842 is unknown. The obituary for James (copied below) says he came to Canada in 849.]

James Nickle purchased/received farm land directly from the crown in the Township of Zone (near to Thamesville Ontario), in the County of Kent, on May 18th, 1854: East-half of Lot 2, Concession 3.

He married Agnes Black on April 16th, 1855 in the Township of Dumfries (north of Brantford, Ontario).  I believe that both James and Agnes immigrated separately from Ireland and that they met and married in the county of South Dumfries.

My own transcription of their handwritten marriage certificate (which I have) is as follows:

"I do hereby certify that on the sixteenth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five James Nickle of the township of Dunfries and Agnes Black of Beverly were married by me Thomas Fawcett a Minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada in the presence of George Black and Mary Ann Black which said marriage was solemnized by banns

Witnyss my hand at St George,  April 16th a.d. 1855

Thomas Fawcett, Wesleyan Minister

Witneyss

James Black,  Mary ann Black"

[Transcribed: April 10, 2005  by Samuel William Aylesworth, Great-great grandson of James & Agnes through the following line of ancestors:

James Nickle & Agnes (1)

George Nickle & Martha Jane Stanton (2)

Samuel Clarence Nickle & Gudrun Olga Mylada Simonson (3)

Agnes Alice Nickle & Robert Wesley Aylesworth (4)

Samuel William Aylesworth & Sharon Diane Parson (5)

I don’t understand why George Black is listed as a witness in the main body of the Marriage Certificate but the witness who signed is “James Black.”   Perhaps James Black and Mary Ann Black were the parents of Agnes Black OR the witness Mary Ann may have been a sister of Agnes, as there was a sister by this name as listed below..]

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James and Agnes had seven (or six?) children, four of whom survived to adulthood:

Alexander Nickle (who remained a bachelor)

George Nickle (my great-grandfather)

Mary Jane Nickle (later married to Edward Moran), and

Agnes Nickle (who remained a spinster)

Two children who died at a younger age were:

- James, born in May 1870. May have died as an infant. No detailed information has been found.

- Samuel, born in 1868. He died in Chatham in 1889, at the age of 21. No further detail has been found.

As quoted below, the obituary of James Nickle (Senior) speaks of a seventh child, but I have not been able to confirm this or find related detail.

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James Nickle (Senior) died on July 4, 1904 in Thamesville. His wife, Agnes, was still living at the time, his son Alexander still lived (as a bachelor) in Thamesville, George and his wife Martha were living in Detroit, Michigan and his other two children (Mary Jane Moran and Agnes Nickle) lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

The following obituary was published in the Thamesville Herald in July 1904:

"After an illness of some length, James Nickle, aged 84, a well known and highly respected citizen of Zone township passed to the great beyond on Monday. Deceased was a native of Ireland and came to this country in 1849 settling near Brantford where he was married to Miss Agnes Black. About 48 years ago he and his wife moved to Zone where seven children were born to them, 4 of whom survive, Alex. at home, George at Detroit, Agnes and Mrs. E.H. Moran at Winnipeg. The funeral took place on Wednesday, service being conducted at the house by Rev. J. McInnes."

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Regarding Agnes BLACK, wife of James Nickle, my research had provided the following limited information.  I would also welcome additional information about Agnes, her family and their history in Ireland.

Her father may have been Joseph Black and her mother may have been Jane (Unknown).   Another lead is that her father’s name may have been James ???

Agnes was raised in Country Down, but I do not know the name of her parish.  She was one of 5 children as follows: 

(1) Samuel, born 1826

(2) Agnes , born about 1831

(3) George, born about 1832

(4) Mary Ann, born about 1840

(5) Eliza Jane, born about 1847

The following notice of the history and death of Eliza Jane (Black) Hardy --- sister of my Agnes BLACK --- was published in the Thamesville Herald, Thamesville Ontario,  Canada, on January 19, 1922.  It is copied here as it provides the only comments I have found regarding the Irish history of this family.  The notice reads:

"The death occurred at the family residence, Ann street, this town, on Friday last, January 13, 1922, of Mrs. Eliza Jane Hardy, relict of the late Abraham Hardy, one of the pioneer residents of Thamesville, after an illness of one week, at the advanced age of 75 years. Mrs. Hardy, whose maiden name was Eliza Jane Black, was born in the country of Down, Ireland, and came to Canada with other members of her family when 13 years old. The family first settled at St. George [in the county of South Dumfries, Brant County, Ontario] and afterwards in Caradoc township [Middlesex County, Ontario], where she was married to Mr. Hardy in 1869. After their marriage they took up their residence in Thamesville, where Mrs. Hardy has resided for fifty-three years. Deceased was a member of St. James Presbyterian church. The surviving members of the family are three sons and one daughter, viz. Messrs. Robert James, John Wesley and George and Mrs. Chas. McGaffey, all residing in Thamesville. The funeral, which was largely attended by relatives and friends, took place on Monday afternoon of this week from the family residence, Ann street, Rev. W. I. McLean conducting services at the home and at the graveside, interment being made in the Mayhew cemetery. The pallbearers were Messrs. John Howat, John Vance, John Secord, D. J. MacPherson, M. Ruckle and Robert George. Among those present at the funeral services were friends and relatives from Detroit, Mt. Brydges, Caradoc township, Rodney, Ekfrid and London."

2) Building on this information, I requested that the Brant County Branch of OGS (Ontario Genealogical Society) obtain a copy of the death certificate for Eliza Jane (Black) Hardy, hoping it might indicate the names of her parents. Instead, the OGS advised as follows:

"We have the death registration for Eliza Jane Hardy. However, it does not help us as the informant at the time of Eliza's death (being her son George Hardy) apparently knew nothing of his family. The space for "name of father" for Eliza only says "Black" born Ireland. And the space for "name of mother" for Eliza has a line drawn through it, indicating no information available."

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This message was submitted to Ireland Reaching Out by Sam Aylesworth (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on March 15, 2016.  

Yours truly,

Sam Aylesworth  (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

Email: saylesworth@shaw.ca