PrenticeNet

We have been working with Brian Hamman, PhD, who heads up the Nichols DNA research.

The purpose of this project is to use Y-chromosome testing to link descendants of Colonial American Nichols families. Most of our participants trace their Nichols ancestry back to late 1700s of Colonial America, and many as far back as the 1600s. However, documentation of most Nichols ancestry in Colonial America is very sketchy and it is hoped that the Y-chromosome tests might clarify these early documents.

A Surname Project traces members of a family that share a common surname. Since surnames are passed down from father to son like the Y-chromosome, this test is for males taking a Y-DNA test. Females do not carry their father's Y-DNA and acquire a new surname by way of marriage, so the tested individual must be a male that wants to check his direct paternal line (father's father's father's...) with a Y-DNA12, Y-DNA37, or Y-DNA67 marker test. Females who would like to check their direct paternal line can have a male relative with this surname order a Y-DNA test. Females can also order an mtDNA test for themselves such as the mtDNA or the mtDNAPlus test and participate in an mtDNA project.

Dr. Hamman's project chart can be found at http://www.brian-hamman.com/ResultsForNicholsSurnameProject.htm. About 4/5 of the way down the chart you will find Francis Nichols' grouping under the heading, "Proposed Descendants of Francis Nichols (d. ca 1650, Belonging to Haplogroup G2a3b." The DNA specimens were provided by descendants of his sons, Isaac and Caleb Nichols.

No male-line descendant of Francis Nichols' son, John Nichols, has yet been located to provide a DNA specimen for testing to confirm that he, too, is a son of Francis.

Why do we need John Nichols' DNA? A person, claiming to be one of his descendants, submitted a DNA specimen which tested out as not being in the same group as Francis Nichols. We think that person erred in identifying John Nichols as an ancestor. We need DNA from a proven descendant of John Nichols to prove he is truly a son of Francis Nichols.

There seems like a good chance that John Nichols may be the John Nichols who m. Mercy Holbridge and later died in Dec. 1675 in King Philip's War. We have been working with descendants of John and Mercy in an effort to locate a living patrilineal descendant from whom we can obtain a DNA specimen for testing.

If you, or anyone you know, would like to participate in the testing program, here is the direct link to sign up for a Y-DNA test thru our Nichols project at Family Tree DNA: http://www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.asp?code=V69432&special=True&projecttype=S .

Dr. Hamman recommends the Y-DNA37 test (for $149). No payment need be made until one is ready to have the sample processed after it's returned to the lab. All one need do is simply rub a provided cotton swab inside his cheek for 1-minute, drops in provided vial, and returns in provided envelope. The test result should be ready a few weeks later.

If you have any information about the folks mentioned in this article, or about a patrilineal descendant of John Nichols, please send your information to us at the Francis Nichols Newsletter. Be sure to give the full title and date of this article in the Subject line of the email.

Caution: If you don't use the above email link, your email to us may be rejected as spam by our email filter.