Ancestry From Bavaria
Bavaria, Germany
There is an old family belief that my Great Great Grandparents, Jacob Nicklas and Elizabeth Koebel, "met on the boat in 1834", though if they did, in 1834, they would have been only about 9 and 2 years old, respectively, and hence would have been immigrating with their families. The first written evidence I have of them in the US is when they baptized three of their children on 8 Mar 1857 at Christ Church, in the City of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, NY. Jacob had immigrated from Bayern (Bavaria). Elizabeth had immigrated to the US from Alsace-Lorraine, and her spoken language was French. Alsace (or as it was then, Elsass) and Lorraine were provinces of France at the time. Baden-Württemburg was just across the Rhine.
The First US-Born Nicklas Generation
Jacob and Elizabeth were to have five children: Henrietta Emelia (1852), Anna Elizabeth (1853), Edgar Raymond (1855), William J. (1858), and John Michael (1861). They baptized their three oldest children at the Episcopal Christ Church, in the city Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, in New York State on March 8, 1857. By the time of the next census, on July 14 of 1860, the family had moved to New York City, little Willie (as William was known) was two years old, Elizabeth was three months pregnant with their fifth child, and Jacob was working as a piano maker.
By August 1870 Elizabeth had moved herself and the children back upstate - this time Shandaken Town, in Ulster County, NY. Jacob was no longer with them. We presume his death was what precipitated Elizabeth's departure of New York City, and her return to the rural life in upstate New York. Elizabeth helped support the family by selling mantuas (mantua - a loose gown or cloak worn by women) that she'd made. Edgar, the eldest boy at age 14, worked in the Chichester chair manufactory along with his 12-year old brother William, helping make ends meet in the family. Henrietta was 18, and Anna was 16. Henrietta would later marry David Relyea, who also worked at the chair factory, and raise their children upstate. Anna would marry Samuel Chichester, son of Lemuel Chichester, owner of the chair factory, and would raise their family in New York City.
By 1880 Elizabeth and her sons John and William had moved down to New York City, and were living with daughter Anna and her husband Samuel Chichester, and their children George and Nellie, at 143 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, Kings County New York City, NY. Elizabeth would die the following year, at age 49.
The Nicklas Children Have Families of Their Own
Henrietta Emelia Nicklas married David Relyea, about six years her senior. They remained upstate, and had three children: Oliver (abt. 1872), Grace (abt. 1874) and Elisabeth (abt. 1884). Oliver Relyea married Bertha (known as Birdie), and they had children Olive, Harold, and Ruth, born about 1902 through 1908.
Anna Elizabeth Nicklas married Samuel Chichester, who became a policeman in New York City. Anna and Sam had three children: George Harloe (1878), Helen (1879) who was known as Nell or Nellie, and Jansen Hasbrouck (1881). George Harloe Chichester married Jane Williams, and they had one son: William T. (abt. 1913). Nellie Chichester married a Mr. Carruthers, who are known to have travelled abroad a lot. Nellie had her ashes scatted over the Mediterranean Sea. Jansen Hasbrouck Chichester was the third child, but we have no later record of him.
Edgar Raymond Nicklas (my Great Grandfather) married Anna Miller.
William J. (born Apt 1858),
John Michael (born 18 Jan 1861). .
E-mail me at RayNicklas@aol.com if you would like to contact me about my genealogy, or about this web site. This page generated 27 Dec 2023 by Family Matters® genealogy software, Beta Version 5.00.12. This page is a pane in a frames-oriented web site. If you see only this page, and not the frames, click here. To go to the top of this page, click here.