 Jane and William Nichol (Nickle) & Family by Katie Tisdall-Dingman  he Nichol family began their journey in Ireland and moved across Great Britain and finally settled in Upper Canada, I have
found the name spelled Nichol, Nichols, Nicholl and Nickle (sometimes differently in the same document!) William Nichol
was born in Ireland around 1797. He married Jane McIntyre. According to Ruth Devoy, (Jane's great-granddaughter) Jane was
believed to be of Scottish Covenanter stock some of whom were hanged for their beliefs in the Presbyterian Covenant.
William and Jane had six daughters, Mary, Agnes, Martha, Margaret (Maggie), Susan and Hannah (Anna). Mary was born in St. Helier on the Isle of Jersey in 1819. Agnes was born in Kingston, Ontario on 9 March 1831. The four youngest daughters were born in Canada according to the 1842 Census report (Toronto City, St. George's Ward, Government Common). The family was Church of England, although the 1842 Census lists one member as Church of Rome. Jane was born in Ireland in 1793 and practiced as a midwife. William was in the 79th Regiment of Food (Cameron Highland Infantry). The uniform consisted of a green doublet with dark green facings, a Cameron Tartan kilt and a black sporran with two white tails. The sporran was not worn on active service. The headdress was a blue hummel bonnet adorned with black ostrich feathers and red and white dicing. A detachable peak was worn in battle to shade the eyes. Footwear consisted of black short gaiters and the hose were red and white dicing held up by red garters. After being disabled, William was pensioned and granted 100 acres of land on 13 November 1833. Conditions of the land grant stated that he had to "make settlement" by clearing and cultivating the land and keep residence there for at least three years. Meeting these conditions was very difficult for him given disability and that he had no sons. The small pension he drew, seven pence a day, was not enough to sustain the family. (I obtained this pension rate from the Chelsea Pension Records on file at the National Archives in Ottawa.(WO 120, Vol.70). I've ordered William's military file from the Archives as well but it's not arrived yet.) Many pensioners in British North America suffered similar circumstances and were forced to relinquish their pensions in exchange for a lump sum. Conditions in the new land were harsh. Inclement weather, disease and lack of basic supplies weighed heavy on new settlers. William thought that if he could return to his homeland his friends could help him and his family. He hoped that by writing to the Lt. Governor he could persuade him to grant the deed to his land so that he could sell it. I found the following letter in the Land Petition Records (1836, Petition N20/19) addressed to the Lt. Governor of Upper Canada dated, October 1836. I doubt the letter was in William's own hand as many people could neither read nor write. If a letter needed to be written, common practice was to seek out someone who could do the task or hire a scribe. Many people who could read and write had horrible writing skills and generally wrote phonetically. I have transcribed this letter literally, i.e., I have not changed the spelling or the wording. Head Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada Etc Etc Etc The Petition of William Nichol leat of the 79th Reg' humbly sheweth that your Petitioner has been disabled as well appear in is discharge, and that having tried the cultivation of land be finds it impossible for him to do so. Your Petitioner therefore prays that your Excellency may be pleased to grant him the deed of his land, that he may be enabled to dispose of it for the Purpose of caring him and his Wife and six children home to his native land, as his Friends may be of great help for him - and finding that he cannot support his Family hear he prays your Excellency may concider this his Petition as he wish some of his Friends may have it and as in duty bound Your Petitioner will ever Pray
Toronto October 22nd 1836 The envelope was folded from a piece of paper and addressed as follows: The Petition of William Nichol Gov'House, 31st Oct. 1838 Referred to the Gov' to report heron for the information of the Honable the Executive Council.
5 of 2 Nov. 1836 The following description was given: The Petitioner as a discharged Soldier from the 79 Regiment was Located 5 July 1835 for the East half of Lot No. 25 in the Second of the Township of Tosorontio, for which no description has apeared. Residence for three Years is required of discharged Soldiers unless specially exempt by Your Excellency
1 of 17 Nov 1836 By 1839, almost 4,500 pensioners were paid out in exchange for resigning their pensions and in 1840 the British Treasury agreed to compensate pensioners fourpence-halpenny per day. Unfortunately, the decision was long in coming and only 654 pensioners were left to reap the benefit. William Nichol was one of those survivors. By petitioning the Governor as he did William Nichol affected this decision as the following recommendation from the Executive council explains. I found this in the Land Grant Index (1836-37, #305). There doesn't seem to have been a clear decision made but flaws in the pension system were recognized and a recommendation was put forward to the Lt. Governor to make a ruling on hardship cases. William Nichol late of 79th Regiment stating that he has been disable and finds it impossible to cultivate his land and praying for a deed of the some that he may be enabled to dispose of it for the purpose of carrying him and family home. The Council have felt much embarrassment in advising Your Excellency in cases like the present. It appears to the Council that his Majesty's Government in allowing free grants of land to discharged Soldiers are from infirmities and many from bad and dissolute habits totally unfit to undergo the labors necessary in making a settlement and these persons have been extremely unfortunate in urging their claims of deeds. Without compliance with the unmixed condition to these locations of three years residence. Upon receiving the deeds, no doubt the lands would be disposed of to Speculators of small gums of money and would remain uncultivated to the great injury of the neighbouring settlers. It appears harsh on the one hand to require of the locates what in their circumstances are physically impossible and on the other it seems unwise to confer a small benefit on an individual to the jury of others in the community. The Petitioner at the time of his location was as much incapacitated from becoming an actual settler as at present and on the opinion of the Council was therefore not of the description of persons to whom His Majesty's Government could have intended to give grants of land upon condition of actual settlement. It would be very satisfactory to the Council if some general rule could be established for those cases and if it should meet with the approbation of His Majesty's Government perhaps the least injurious method of overcoming the difficulty would be to allow discharged Soldiers already located to sell their locations still preserving the condition of actual settlement binding upon the assignee.
The original documents are difficult to read and the microfilm quality is poor. I hope to add even more to William's story when I receive his military file from the records in the Ottawa Archives. He finally received his patent on5 July 1841. The Patent Record states the following: Nickle, Will th, 100 acres, 5 July 1841, E ½ Lot 3, Concession 2, Tosorontio, Home District, Issued 9 July 1841, to J. B. Spragge, Book AB, Folio, 61, free -79th Regt William moved to London Ontario sometime after 1842. In 1854 the family lived in St. Andrew's Ward, and rented 1/2 of a house at #14 South Bathurst Street West. The house was owned by James Cousins. Across the street at #10 North Bathurst Street West, renting a part of a house owned by Samuel Colerick, lived the Drew family. Alfred Drew was nine years old and Susan Devoy (Jane's granddaughter) was eleven. I imagine this is when Alfred and Susan first became acquainted. It wasn't until 1867 (13 years later) that Alfred and Susan were married at St. Paul's Cathedral. Four of William and Jane's daughters married at St. Paul's Cathedral in London: Susan to Robert Chapman, Sergeant, 20th Regt, 4 May 1848, Hannah to John Teale, 3 May 1854 and Margaret to George Watson, 23 May 1855. (In a letter from Ruth Devoy, she states that both Martha and Margaret married a man named Bathie from Winnipeg. Her letter contains some confused data and I have yet to come across any other evidence to support this claim. I will update you in a future addendum as these stories unfold.) John Sullivan and Agnes were witnesses at Margaret and Hannah's weddings. They were married on 1 November 1855. John, also a highland infantryman like William, was in the 45th Regiment of Foot and was pensioned on 13 September 1836. Mary married William Devoy and they had seven children, Margaret, William, Susan, John, Martha, Thomas Farrell, and Agnes. William Devoy was born in County Wicklow, Ireland around 1818 and died sometime between 1857 and 1861. I haven't been very lucky yet finding information on William Devoy, but I haven't given up hope. After William Nichol's death 1855, Jane lived with her daughter, Mary and worked as a midwife. On 15 December 1858, an article appeared in the London Free Press Police Court records. It stated the following: "J. Walker was charged by Mrs. Jane Nichol with threatening and using abusive language. On Monday of last week the complainant went to defendant's house for the purpose of getting from him the sum of $3 owed to her for attending his wife, and the defendant ordered her out, and threatened that if she didn't go he would knock her brains out. She left the house, and did not get paid. She went into the next house and defendant ordered her away from about the place. His worship considered that Walker had acted in a very unjustifiable manner in applying the epithets and using the threats against an old and feeble woman (Jane was 65 years old) like the complainant, but he did not think that he had so far committed himself as to admit of the low punishing him, and therefore he must discharge him." William Nichol died in London on 6 August 1855 at the age of 58 and was buried in the old Woodland Cemetery (located where the Fair Grounds is now). Jane died 23 August 1873 at the age of 80 and was buried beside him. The fee was L2.10s for William in 1855 and $5 or Jane in 1873. Also buried in the same plot were, Hannah (Anna) Teale, her young two-year-old daughter, Hannah and Susan Chapman. Anna and Hannah died only a month apart so I suspect the cause was the same. Susan bore a child two months before she died so I suspect that she may have died of complications of childbirth. There is still much to uncover about the Nichols. They are a truly interesting family and I have enjoyed discovering their story. I feel that I have only touched the surface here and that there are many wonders to come. |
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