JAMES ANDREW AND FRANCES ALOIS McNICHOLL marriage and family

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Married 6 June 1890

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Some records state that this marriage occurred 23 March 1890. We have a photo copy of a picture of James, date unknown, but none of Fannie (as she was known). We know little about his early life. Fannie told her children a few memories that they passed on to their children who wrote them down.
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James Andrew McNicholl  circa early 1900's

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Like many other people of their time this family moved many times and settled new frontier areas.   Prior to 1890 the US had a 'frontier of settlement'. The 1890 census announced that the frontier region of the United States no longer existed and westward migration would no longer be tracked.

In the scant records of names and birth, marriage and death records we can observe that many people, like the McNicholl's continued to 'go west'. Some sought land, some gold and other riches or opportunities, and for some the challenges were merely exhilarating adventures.

History teaches us that, "At noon on April 22, 1889, just a few weeks after [Benjamin Harrison was inaugurated President of the United States], a gunshot signaled the opening of the Indian Territory in Oklahoma—some 1.9 million acres—to white settlers. That day, 20,000 people crossed into the territory, claiming all the available acreage. This event in Oklahoma was on the heels of the land rush for over 11 million acres of Sioux Indian territory in the Dakotas two months earlier. On October 15, 1892, Harrison made an additional 1.8 million acres of the Crow Indian reservation in Montana available for general settlement."

Archives Unbound states, "To bring the lives of these settlers into focus, consider the Western land itself—the vastness, the boundless plain, and awesome mountain barriers. ... At first they travelled in covered wagons, then by steamboats and stagecoaches. The coming of railroads increased the speed of the journeys, but for the emigrant travelers there was little in the way of amenities. ... Westward settlers following trails west typically [followed one of several established trails]. Although each trail had a main route, there were many cutoffs and alternative routes, some of them were notoriously ill-chosen while others provided significant savings of time and effort...

"It is estimated by historians that up to half a million settlers crossed the West on these trails from the earliest wagon trains to the building of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. The journey across overland trails took settlers 2,000 miles and around seven months to complete. Most groups traveled at a pace of fifteen miles a day. Few traveled the overland trails alone; most settlers traveled with their families. Large groups of settlers joined together to form 'trains.' Groups were usually led by 'pilots' who were fur trappers or mountain men that would guide them ...

"The journey over the trails usually began in the spring to avoid traveling in the winter. The most common vehicle for Oregon and California-bound settlers was a crude farm wagon covered with a canopy and led by a team of oxen (which were greatly preferred over horses and mules)."
The first child in the McNicholl family, Lenora Blanch McNicholl was born 31 Aug 1893 at Hope, Steel, North Dakota; followed by Alice Mabel McNicholl born 9 February 1893 in Denton, South Dakota [place unidentified]. Sarah Isabell McNicholl, Papa's maternal grandmother, was born 7 December 1894 Yankton, Yankton, South Dakota. Next came Cora McNicholl  born April 1896 in South Dakota, Georgia McNicholl born about 1898 or 1899, who died as an infant 2 Feb 1899 in South Dakota, and the last child born to this family of girls was Dora McNicholl born 27 October 1906 in Volmer, Idaho [may be present day Craigmont].

In a cook book published for a Shelton / Bennett Family reunion in 1990, compiled by Carrie and Gina Shelton, cousins, there is a photocopy of an old photo of 3 McNicholl daughters.  The book is full of fun pictures of many family members. The Cookbook says photos and Geneology research were courtesy of June Shupe, her daughter Pat Shelton Erdman, and Hazel Bennett Berry.

Alice McNicholl back left, Sarah McNicholl back right, 

Cora McNicholl front  circa early 1900s

We are grateful for all the work, dedication and research these individuals, and others, give our family for the discovery, and preservation of,  records and photos. They also contributed significantly to a history of Sarah Isabelle McNicholl Shelton, a daughter of James Andrew McNicholl.

In that history of Sarah Isabelle McNicholl Shelton, Papa's maternal grandmother, some of her children tell some of the stories and memories they heard from their mother.

Sarah's son (Herman Shelton) records, "[In our family] the boy's height came from Fanny's uncles and James McNicholl was tall - 6 feet. I understand [Fanny] was nice but she was very strict. That's the way it was in those days ... James wasn't a farmer - he worked in town in a profession of some kind but Mom [Sarah Shelton] never told us what. I got the impression they were not poor."

Sarah's daughter, Katherine May (Shelton) Ames, known as Kit says, "Chief Sitting Bull (the Titular Chief - title existing in name only, not the renegade) was a friend of the family and several times was an overnight guest at [James and Alois McNicholl's] home. Sometimes the Chief and his wife would just drop in for a visit and stay for several days. The Chief gave [James McNicholl] his War Bonnet when he learned that the McNicholl family was going to Idaho."

I have been unable to find any support or evidence of whom these Native American visitors might have been. Chief Sitting Bull the renegade did live in the Yankton, South Dakota area but died in 1890 only a few months after their marriage, and four years prior to Sarah Isabelle McNicholl's birth.

It has been claimed that 'Frank and Jesse James' were friends of the McNicholl family and stopped at the family home whenever they were passing through.' This seems quite unlikely as Jesse James was killed in 1882 (8 years prior to their marriage) and most of the James brothers infamously barbarous and cruel  exploits took place much further east and south than South Dakota. Although many romanticized legends sprang up regarding these men they were murderous criminals. Much of their lawlessness began as Confederate supporters in the Civil War.

Kit continues, "About 1906, after saying all their 'goodbyes', the McNicholl family joined a wagon train going west to Montana and Idaho [from Yankton, South Dakota - see below]. A history teacher says they probably took the Lewis and Clark route up the Missouri river and through South Dakota."

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Kit adds, "By this time, most Indian tribes were friendly with the whites or at least not making war with them, so there was not the need for large wagon trains or military escorts.

"Theirs was a small group of a couple dozen or so wagons, heavily loaded with all their possessions. They took all summer going from Yankton, South Dakota to Grangeville, Idaho.

"There were the McNicholl family, the George Huckins family, the Robert (Bob) Dougherty family and a few other families. Mrs. Bob Dougherty was Daisy Huckins, a sister to George Huckins and Fanny Alois McNicholl was also a sister to George Huckins. So there were strong family ties causing these three families to be traveling together.
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1900  census: Lower Methow, Okanogan County, Washington State

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On the 1900 census the parents of Frances, James and Mary Huckins, were living in Washington state and Robert Dougherty was a boarder/miner living in their household. James Huckins was the foreman for the Tom Hal Mining Company formed in 1899. If Robert Dougherty was traveling with the group in 1906, as Kit describes, he has traveled west to Washington state previously. (Note: previous census records show many Dougherty families in Washington.)
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Daisy is not with her husband (married 1897) or parents on this census. We find a Daisy Dougherty on the 1900 census of Heyde Park [Hyde Park], Cook County, Illinois near Chicago, as a neice of John and Mary McGrayel. Is this the sister of Frances Alois Huckins? I do not yet know. It is of interest however that Frances was born in that general area. 

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"While crossing the plains, ... Sarah was the 'boy' of the family of six girls. She cut the wood, gathered buffalo chips for the fires, carried water and did boy chores - she liked that. ..."
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In Donald James Shelton's history (special thanks again to cousin Pat Erdmann and all that many have helped her) Kit tells about visiting some of their mother's old friends in Entiat while moving from Oregon to Washington in the spring of 1929. "They came running out to the car and said 'hello Jim'. We were all surprised because, as Donald said to me, 'We ain't got no Jim'. We found out later that was what they called mom when she was a girl. She was the only one of six girls that would do boys work. Donald James Shelton was named after his mother's nickname Jim."

Kit continues her narrative, "As the covered wagons traveled through the mountains they had some very interesting experiences. When they came to a steep hill that they had to go down, they sometimes had to cut down a big tree and tie it to the back of the wagon so that it would be a drag and let the wagon down slowly.

"One of the stories Mom [Sarah Shelton] told us was: 'When they were in their covered wagon, coming across the plains they came to a river, which they had to ford. As arrangements were being made, an Indian rode up on his horse on the other side of the river and sat and watched them. They had heard so many Indian stories that they were scared to death of Indians and the girls were afraid he was going to scalp all of them when they got across the river. The bedding in the wagon was on top of the load, so the girls all hid under the bedding. The Indian apparently had seen them and knew what was going on. He met the wagon and came around to the back, lifted up the bedding, peeked at the girls, laughed and went back to talk to the rest of the people."

"They settled in Grangeville, Idaho, Idaho between then and the time Sarah's father, James McNicholl died on 29 March 1910 in Grangeville." Death certificate in possession of Pat Erdman.

James Died: 29 March 1910
Grangeville, Idaho, Idaho
Buried: 6 April 1910

Kit tells that, "Sometime after James McNicholl's death, Fanny married Roy Dougherty, brother of Bob Dougherty. Roy Dougherty was then Sarah's stepfather. Roy Dougherty and George Huckins later moved to Wenatchee, Washington where they lived for a short while and then moved up the Columbia River by stern-wheeler Steamboat to Pateros, Washington.
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"To get to Pateros, one must go up the Pateros rapids, which is a pretty wild piece of water. It was so swift and rough that they would put a line ashore and hook it to teams of horses to help the steamer up over the rapids. On this particular trip, Grandpa's trunk was sitting on the afterdeck and the tossing of the boat shook the trunk overboard and it sank in the rapids. Chief Sitting Bull's War Bonnet was in that trunk."

Frances Died:17 May 1918, Weatherby, Baker, Oregon
Some records say she died in nearby Durkee.

Buried: 1918 Malheur, Malheur, Oregon

Update July 2012: see an interesting site about pioneer travel from South Dakota west at http://history.sd.gov/Museum/education/Transportation.pdf

FRANCES ALOIS HUCKINS death

Spouse: James Andrew McNicholl

Married 6 June 1890

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When the husband of Frances Alois Huckins died, 29 March 1910 in Grangeville Idaho, their youngest child was still a toddler. (Family records say that child Dora McNicholl was born 27 Oct 1906 making her about 2/12. The 1910 census lists her age as 1 year 7 months.)  Two daughters,  Cora age 10 and Georgia an infant preceded him in death.

Fannie left Idaho and went to live with her recently widowed mother in Pateros Washington. Her father, James Huckins, died only 8 months prior to her husband. On the 1910 Census she is head of household living with 4 daughters at the same residence as her mother, 3 brothers, and a nephew.
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The first name on the same census page is Roy Dougherity [also spelled Dougherty, Dougharty and other variations]. Fannie later married him and when she died they were living  in Oregon. Some sources say Fannie was living at Durkee, Oregon. Others say she died at Weatherby, Oregon. Both are tiny, mostly abandoned villages/camps in the Oregon high country wilderness where this family lived.
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Notes from Papa's first cousin, Pat Shelton Erdmann, say,
"Funeral record from Weatherby, Oregon.
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"Certificate of Death, Oregon State, Multnomah County of Fannie Dougharity, died near Weatherby, Baker, Oregon.  Was 44y 23d d 17 May 1918 of Valoular Insufficiancy. She had dropsy for 3 years.  She was married to Roy Dougherty (signature) at the time of her death.  Her father was listed as James Huckins born in Canada. Her birthplace was listed as Peoria, Ill.  She was buried at Malhure Ore. 20 Jun 1918.
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"Fanny was 44 when she passed away.  Her death record says she was born in 1874. ... The Huckins family history says that Fanny and Roy lived in Grass Valley, Oregon which is more north central Oregon than where they lived when she died.  They must have lived in Weatherby at least 6 months as the Doctor that attended her stated he had treated her from 26 Oct 1917."
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Hazel Bennett Berry (a child of her daughter Lenora McNicholl and Marion Allen Bennett) wrote, "the furthest back I can remember was when my grandmother died. In those days the body wasn't taken to a funeral parlor, but was kept at home until time for burial. I remember seeing the coffin in a room, my parents and Aunt Sarah [Isabella McNicholl Shelton] were there. 

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"This was a large two or three story house. This is the only time I can remember mama's sister Dora [McNicholl. Dora died one month later 13 June 1918 at Entiat, Washington, see note below]. She was about twelve or thirteen years old, and when grandmother died she ran across a creek and up a road to the neighbors to tell them what had happened. 
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" I was about four years old [born 24 July 1914 ]and this made an impression on my mind that was hard to forget. This all happened at a very small town called Weatherbee, between Baker City and Ontario, Oregon. My Aunt Sarah and her family must have lived in that house with us or close by, because she was with my older sister, Blanche, and I quite a lot."
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Notes from Pat Shelton Erdmann, say, "

Dora died of diphtheria. 

Washington State Death Certificate, 13 Jun 1918 #102  Both of Dora's parents died before she did so Clarence Shelton (her brother in law) listed her parents as Roy Doughartiy (step father) and Ida Snelson (his new wife). Place of burial on the death certificate is Sunny Slope, it also states she was born in Oregon.

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"Dr Coulter took care of Dora during her illness."

FRANCES ALOIS HUCKINS history

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Born: 22 April 1875, Neponset, Bureau, Illinois
Some records say Frances is born in nearby Peoria. 

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Father:  James William Huckins (1843-1909)
 Son of Johnathan Crawford Huckins born 1802 

     and Abigail Aldrich born 1804

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Mother: Mary Elizabeth Middleton (1856-1909)

Daughter of James Middleton born 1804 
     and Elizabeth Hisong born 1822
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Fannie's father was born in eastern Canada at Montreal, Quebec. This area was also frequently referred to as 'Canada' [or previously 'Lower Canada', meaning closer to the mouth of the river - distinguished from 'Upper Canada' an area further 'up' the river]. 
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Many early immigrates to North Amercia, especially from England, France and other areas of Europe, traveled up the St. Lawrence River and through the Great Lakes along the waterway chain connecting the east-central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean.
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 Montreal was the furthest point  the largest vessels could reach at that time. The remainder of this 'highway', extending deeply through 2 of what became the largest Canadian provinces, connects 9 states along the US/Canada border. It was traversed in segments in smaller vessels.

Encyclopedia Britannica 2004 map showing Great Lakes and St Lawrence River

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Wikipedia tells us, "People during the era routinely traveled huge distances, and the river was the principal route for people, supplies, arms, and commercial goods. Despite the need to portage past the Lachine Rapids, Niagara Falls, and other shallow rapids, the St. Lawrence was far easier to travel than rugged, inland routes. The importance of the St. Lawrence as the primary water route for shipping American goods westward receded with the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, thus allowing a more southerly route stretching from New York City to Lake Erie to serve settlements in the Midwest." 
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The population of this area included many immigrants. It also included many Loyalists that fled to Canada during the American Revolutionary War, and Native Americans that were expelled from the US at that time. The War of 1812 significantly impacted the area around the Great Lakes as the US declared war on Britain (Canada was a British territory) and poorly prepared and motivated American and British forces both captured and lost disputed territories. It was a war neither side really wanted or had the means or manpower to prosecute. Britain in particular was preoccupied with Napoleon and the French.
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Fannie's mother was born in Elkhart, Indiana. It is just east of the southern end of Lake Michigan. That area and its many resources lie between the tips of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and were commonly used by many Native American tribes well into the 1800's. 
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From Richard Dean Taylor we learn: The village  platted as 'Elkhart' in 1832, near the convergence of 3 streams east of Lake Michigan had been 'fluidly' occupied by small Indian, trapper, and early missionary camps and settlements for centuries. It became the Town of Elkhart in 1859. Like many other river towns of the era it was situated on busy and well known trade routes with many heavily used trails and roads. Steamboat transport reached a zenith for a short few years and died out suddenly as the railroad arrived in the 1850's. "In 1850 the town had a 780 inhabitants and by 1870 2,053." Population and commercial interests expanded exponentially and in 1875 Elkhart incorporated as a city.
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The Great Chicago Fire of October 1871, that killed and injured hundreds, and destroyed 3.3 square miles of the city of Chicago was one of the largest disasters of the 19th century in the United States . As the city was rebuilt it reshaped the economy of this region.
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Fannie's parents were married in Stuart, Guthrie, Iowa 18 June 1871 (500 miles west of Elkhart) and their first child, a son they name Burton Blanchard Huckins was born there on March 10, 1872.  The family appears to be steadily migrating west.  
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Neponset, where Fannie was born, is a small village in Illinois (about halfway between Elkhart and Stuart) with a total area of approximately one square mile, all of it land. The community was established in 1855 when the newly completed Central Military Tract Railroad (later renamed the Chicago, Burlington, Quincy Railroad) built a station there.
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Soon afterward, the US Post Office was moved to Neponset from Brawby, a hamlet formerly located two miles north of the present village. It was named for the Massachusetts hometown of Myron Lee, the railroad's first agent at the Neponset station.
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We do not know why Fannie's birthplace is contrary to the usual pattern and westward movement we see this family experiencing and 250 miles is a long way to go 'back east' by horse and buggy or wagon. We do know that she was born at a time when Railroads were rapidly expanding. This allowed people to travel much greater distances safely in more comfort and significantly reduced the time journeys took. Did they travel by rail? We do not know. Maps of railroads do show rail travel may have been available and did radiate out from the Great Lakes region, particularly near the southern areas of Lake Michigan.
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Possible railroads that may have been available for use.

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We see Fannie's siblings born further and further West. Eventually 4 brothers and 3 sisters (8 children in all) join the Huckins family. The youngest is born one year before she marries.

Locations of some events in Fannie's life. 

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George Augustus Huckins 1877, Des Moines, Polk, Iowa;
Daisy D Huckins1879, Gray, Audubon, Iowa:
Cora (also called Corrie) Huckins 1881, Gray, Audubon, Iowa;
Alonzo Benjamin Harrison Huckins 1883,
       Hill City, Pennington, South Dakota;
Bertha Mabel Huckins 1885, Gray, Audubon Iowa;
Clarence Wilford Huckins 1889, Olreichs, Fall River, South Dakota.
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1880 Cameron, Audubon County, Iowa

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The 1880 census shows James and Mary Huckins living in Cameron, Audubon, Iowa with 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys. It is about 12 miles west of Gray on the map above - so near that the locating tag for Gray disappears behind the tag for Cameron. Frances Alois is 5 years old. Her father is working in carpentry.

1885 Cameron, Audubon County, Iowa

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The 1885 Iowa State census for Carroll, Warren County (26 miles south of Cameron - not on map above) shows Fannie A Huckins, age 10, with her parents and sibings. The birth place for her youngest sister, Bertha  Mabel Huckins born 15 January 1885, is listed as Gray. Her father is farming and is subject to military service and entitled to vote. Women in Iowa did not have the right to vote until Congress passed an amendment in 1919. There are columns to designate if people can read and write but not even one person on this sheet is checked - perhaps the census taker did not feel it was necessary information.
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Spouse: James Andrew McNicholl

Married 6 June 1890
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In March 1910 her husband of 20 years died where they are living at Grangeville, Idaho. She is a widow at age 35. Her father died 8 months before then and on the census in June we see she is head of household in Washington State living with her daughters, 3 brothers, her mother and a nephew. 
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She remarries a gold miner named Roy Dougherty (spelling varies) that has lived in her mother's boarding house while her father was the foreman of a mine on the Lower Methow in Okanogan County Washington. They live in California and Oregon. 
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Died:17 May 1918, Weatherby, Baker, Oregon 

Buried: 1918 Malheur, Malheur, Oregon

JAMES ANDREW McNICHOLL DEATH

Papa's great grandfather, his mother's grandfather, was a frontier settler and pioneer of the western United States.

Died: 29 March 1910
Grangeville, Idaho, Idaho
Buried: 6 April 1910
Grangeville, Idaho, Idaho

He left behind a young widow, Frances Alois McNicholl nee Huckins, after only 20 years of marriage and 4 living daughters, the youngest a toddler. Two daughters preceded him in death. His widow moved from Idaho to be with family in Washington state. Her father died 8 months prior to her husband and on the 1910 census taken in June she is head of a household that includes her 4 daughters, her mother, 3 brothers and an 8 year old nephew.

This move vitally affected the family. On the 1900 census Fannie's father is the mine foreman for the Tom Hal Mining Company founded in 1899. Their household includes 20 miners as boarders. One of the miners is Robert Dougherty who married Fannie McNicholl's sister Daisy in 1897. The 3 older daughter's of James and Fannie soon marry in that area.

Photo and Death certificate in possession of Patricia Shelton Erdman.

JAMES ANDREW MCNICHOLL history

Born: 9 March 1857
Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa

Father: John James McNicholl (b. abt 1831)
 Bernard (Barney) McNicholl (b. abt 1829)

Mother: Sarah Wright (b. abt 1835)
 Rebecca Donins (b. abt 1830)

Can anyone verify the parents of this man? They are listed in several ways on several hand written and typed records.
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We have little information about this great grandfather.
We have a few names, dates and places.
Do your know more?
Do you have any pictures?

In a cook book published for a Shelton / Bennett Family reunion in 1990, compiled by Carrie and Gina Shelton, cousins, there is a photocopy of an old photo of James Andrew McNicholl.  The book is full of fun pictures of many family members. It says photos and Geneology research were courtesy of June Shupe, her daughter Pat Shelton Erdman, and Hazel Bennett Berry.

We are grateful for all the work and research anyone so generously shares with our family in the discovery, and preservation of,  records and photos. They also contributed significantly to a history of Sarah Isabelle McNicholl Shelton, a daughter of James Andrew McNicholl.

In that history (of Sarah Isabelle McNicholl) some of her children tell some of the stories and memories they heard from their mother and father.

Sarah's son (Herman Shelton) records, "[In our family] the boys height came from Fanny's uncles and James McNicholl was tall - 6 feet. I understand [Fanny] was nice but she was very strict. That's the way it was in those days ... James wasn't a farmer - he worked in town in a profession of some kind but Mom [Sarah Shelton] never told us what. I got the impression they were not poor."
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1870 Denamrk, Lee, Iowa US Census

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Census records verify a few facts. In 1870 James McNicholl, age 13, is 'at home' with Barney McNicholl, an Irish Farmer and his wife Rebecca, and 7 siblings in Denmark, Lee, Iowa.  He attended school that year and can read and write.
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In 1880, at age 23, a James McNicholl is working as a farm laborer and boarding at a house hold in Green Bay Township, Lee, Iowa for Lewis or Louis Derle and his wife Emma. He is listed as a boarder.
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In 1900 census records we see James Andrew McNicholl married and living, with his wife and 3 children, in Mt. Idaho, Idaho County, Idaho State. He is working as a teamster and his wife is a laundress. They both were 'not employed' for 6 months in 1900. Unemployment was very common following the panic, widespread strikes and economic depression of the mid 1890s.

The profession, Farmer, on the first line is for the person listed above him. 

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Spouse: Francis Alois Huckins (b. 1875)
Married: 6 June 1890 (or 23 March 1890)
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As you can tell we still have many unanswered questions - be sure to watch for updates, and please share if you learn something we do not know yet. We will do the same.