 Scotland
|  Hugh and Mary Ann Nicholl  U.S.A.
| This Web Site is devoted to the descendants of Hugh Nicholl (Nichol) and Mary Ann McKay. Hugh was born in 1799 or 1800; presumably at Ahoghill, County Antrium, Northern Ireland. Ahoghill is about 3 miles from Ballymena, which was the linen center of the world at that time. Hugh, whose parents are unknown, spelled his surname with two "l's." All of his three sons dropped one "l" after immigrating to America. Therefore, "Nichol" is the surname carried on by the family. Hugh was a weaver of linen. Mary Ann was also born in 1799 or 1800 and was the daughter of Robert McKay (originally from Argyle, Scotland) and Jane Kilpatrick (from Braid, Scotland).
Their Children and Later Descendants- - - - - - - - -
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Coming to North America
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The three sons; Robert (Family Number 12),
Hugh II (13) and John (14); decided to immigrate to America.
John and Hugh came first and continued to live the rest of their lives in close proximity. John tried his wings
later and remained somewhat independent of his brothers. The Table below displays the approximate emigration patterns
of the three brothers.
By 1864 all three had settled near Salem and Cambridge in Washington County, N. Y. The sisters soon followed. Robert and Hugh II operated a flax mill while John worked in dentistry and leather goods. |
It is not known
whether their parents immigrated to New York or waited until the sons moved to Canada.
In 1867 the three Nichol brothers moved to Ontario. They ended up in Belmont, ON (about eight miles east of London). There, they once again built a flax mill. It is assumed that the parents, Hugh I and Mary Ann, joined their sons from Ireland sometime between 1866 and 1871. All three brothers married and started families while in Ontario. In 1878 the brother lost their flax mill by fire. Robert and Hugh then moved to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. John and his family followed a year later. As shown in the table, Robert, Hugh and their respective families later moved to Rapid City, MB and Bottineau, ND. Sarah (Family Number 11) married James RALSTON in Ahoghill (1848) and settled in Salem, NY in 1866. James worked in the flax mill with the Nichol brothers. He and Sarah later moved to North Adams, MA in 1892, where they lived out their lives. The other four daughters were Mary (15), Elizabeth (16), Nancy (17), and Rachel (18). Other than the fact that Elizabeth's baptism (on 4 April 1847) is recorded at Ahoghill Presbyterian Church, very little is known about them or their offspring. |
Contents of this Web Site
This web site presents the activities of Hugh and Mary Ann's descendents. It includes:- Information about the first four branches of the family (Sarah, Robert, Hugh II and John).
- A family time-line.
- Information about Nichol reunions.
- Some information about the places where the early Nichol's lived.
Purpose of this Web Site
The purpose of the site is to keep you informed about your Nichol family. It should:- Help all of us take pride in our ancestry.
- Help you keep in touch with your relatives more often than than just during the reunion years.
- Aid unknown relatives to get in touch with us.
If you have problems with the above "click", contact me at: [email protected]
Please send your comments and suggestions . Also, let me know anyone
we may not have included on Hugh and Mary's descendant lists. I could also use a little help with my spelling!
Thank you for your support and
encourageement. I hope to see you at the 2009 reunion in Vancouver (God willing!).- Ken Nichol