Person:Daniel Nicholls (2)

Early life

Daniel William Nicholls' exact date and place of birth are uncertain. In the censuses he consistently gave his place of birth as the parish of Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, and on one occasion (1881) specified the hamlet of Gustard Wood in Wheathampstead. However, he was not baptised at Wheathampstead, but in the nearby town of Luton, just over the border into Bedfordshire. He was also baptised just over a year after his father Daniel Nicholls' burial, implying that his mother Hannah was pregnant with him when Daniel senior died and that he must have been a few months old when baptised. How long Hannah lived in Luton is unclear, but certainly she did move with her two surviving children Mary and Daniel William back to Wheathampstead, living at Gustard Wood in 1837 when her daughter Mary died aged 14.

When Daniel was about nine years old his mother Hannah remarried to a John Maddox, a widower originally from Shillington in Bedfordshire. At the time of the marriage in 1839 the family was living in Snatchup Alley in St Albans, at the northern end of the town behind The Cricketers public house. They did not stay long in St Albans, moving to the Coldharbour area of Harpenden, which is where Daniel appears in both the 1841 and 1851 censuses with his mother Hannah and stepfather John Maddox. Indeed, in 1851 Daniel's name is recorded as "Daniel Maddox".

Adulthood

In 1854 Daniel was involved in an altercation in Wheathampstead, which was reported in the Hertfordshire County Press ^[12]. He assaulted one John Handley, in retaliation for Handley assaulting Daniel's stepfather John Maddox at The Folly public house. Handley claimed that his attack on Maddox had been provoked by Maddox and another man calling "insulting and disgusting" names under his window after he and his wife were in bed. Handley was fined 5s plus 15s.6d costs, whilst Daniel was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

In the late 1850s, Daniel set up home with a lady named Susan Warner. They had presumably known each other from childhood, as they had been close neighbours at Coldharbour in the 1841 census. Susan and Daniel went on to have seven children together but, for reasons which are unclear, never actually married. The births of most of their children were registered under the surname Warner, with Nicholls being a middle name, although all the children later used Nicholls as their surname, not Warner. The baptisms of some of their children at Wheathampstead describe them as "Daniel Nichols, labourer, and Susan Warner, single woman". In the 1861 and 1871 censues Daniel and Susan were living at Nomansland - a hamlet in the south of Wheathampstead parish beside the large heath of Nomansland Common. Susan died on 17th June 1871, aged just 36. On Christmas Eve that same year, Daniel married Susan's half-sister, Maria Wright (formerly Hornet), who had been widowed in 1868. Daniel and Maria's children from their previous relationships were therefore already cousins, and following Daniel and Maria's marriage became step-siblings as well.

Daniel and Maria went on to have another three children, although their youngest, James, died as a baby. Through the 1880s, five of Daniel's children by Susan Warner emigrated to Australia, with four of them settling around Maryborough in Queensland. Only William and Mary Ann of Daniel's children by Susan stayed in England: William died as a young man in Derby in 1891 and Mary Ann appears to have died in the St Albans area in 1935, yet has not been found in the censuses as an adult. Daniel's two surviving children by Maria Hornet both stayed closer to home, settling in the Southdown area of Harpenden and eventually both living on Cravells Road.

By 1901, Daniel and Maria were living at West Common in Harpenden, apparently in the row of cottages known as Soapsud Alley, just north of Pimlico Place. Daniel died ten days after the 1901 census, aged 70, at Pimlico, of chronic heart disease. Maria outlived him by five years and died in 1906.

1. ↑ Church of England. Luton Parish Records, Primary quality.

   No.2072 / 29 May 1831 / Daniel William son of / Daniel & Hannah / Nichols / Luton / Laborer

   
2. ↑ General Register Office. The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) HO 107/1-1465 Census Returns: 1841 Census Schedules, HO107/441/4/31/15, 6 Jun 1841, Primary quality.

   Address: Cold Harbour, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   John Maddock, male, 45 [1791-6], Ag Lab, b. outside Hertfordshire
   Hannah Maddock, female, 30 [1806-11], b. Hertfordshire
   Charles Maddock, male, 20 [1816-21], Ag Lab, b. outside Hertfordshire
   Elizabeth Maddock, female, 25 [1811-16], Pl[aiter?], b. outside Hertfordshire
   Ann Maddock, female, 11 months [1840], b. Hertfordshire
   Daniel Nicols, male, 9 [1831/2], b. Hertfordshire

3. ↑ General Register Office. The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) HO 107/1466-2531 Census Returns: 1851 Census Schedules, HO107/1713/97/4, 30 Mar 1851, Primary quality.

   Address: Back Lane (listed immediately after Cold Harbour), Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   John Maddox, head, married, male, 70 [1780/1], Ag Lab, b. Barton le Clay, Bedfordshire
   Hannah Maddox, wife, married, female, 41 [1809/10], Straw plaiter, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Daniel Maddox, son, unmarried, male, 17 [1833/4], Ag labr, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

4. ↑ General Register Office. The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) RG 9 General Register Office: 1861 Census Schedules, RG9/927/43/10, 7 Apr 1861, Primary quality.

   Address: No Mans Land, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Daniel Nichols, head, married, male, 27 [1833/4], Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Susan Nichols, wife, married, female, 26 [1834/5], Wife of labourer, b. Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   William Nichols, son, male, 3 [1857/8], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Jesse Nichols, son, male, 2 [1858/9], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

5. ↑ General Register Office. The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) RG 10 General Register Office: 1871 Census Schedules, RG10/1376/51/18, 2 Apr 1871, Primary quality.

   Address: No Man's Land, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Daniel Nichols, head, married, male, 37 [1833/4], Ag Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Susan Nichols, wife, married, female, 36 [1834/5], Straw plaiter, b. Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   William Nichols, son, male, 13 [1857/8], Ag Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Jessie Nichols, son, male, 11 [1859/60], Ag Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Frederick Nichols, son, male, 9 [1861/2], Ag Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Mary Ann Nichols, daughter, female, 7 [1863/4], Straw plaiter, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Alfred Nichols, son, male, 5 [1865/6], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Nichols, daughter, female, 3 [1867/8], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Arthur Nichols, son, male, 1m [1871], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

6. ↑ General Register Office. The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) RG 11 General Register Office: 1881 Census Schedules, RG11/1429/48/7, 3 Apr 1881, Primary quality.

   Address: Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Daniel Nichols, head, married, male, 47 [1833/4], Farm labourer, b. Gustard Wood, Hertfordshire
   Maria Nichols, wife, married, female, 48 [1832/3], Straw plaiter, b. Batford Mills, Hertfordshire
   Frederick Nichols, son, unmarried, male, 19 [1861/2], Farm labourer, b. Nomansland, Hertfordshire
   Mary Ann Nichols, daughter, unmarried, female, 17 [1863/4], Straw plaiter, b. Nomansland, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Nichols, daughter, unmarried, female, 12 [1868/9], Scholar, b. Nomansland, Hertfordshire
   Arthur Nichols, son, male, 9 [1871/2], Scholar, b. Nomansland, Hertfordshire
   Clara Nichols, daughter, female, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. Nomansland, Hertfordshire
   George Nichols, son, male, 6 [1874/5], Scholar, b. Nomansland, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Wright, daughter, female, 13 [1867/8], Scholar (2nd family), b. Folly, Hertfordshire

7. ↑ General Register Office. The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) RG 12 General Register Office: 1891 Census Schedules, RG12/1114/47/15, 5 Apr 1891, Primary quality.

   Address: Hamwell Cottage, Nomansland, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   4 rooms occupied
   Daniel Nicholls, head, married, male, 57 [1833/4], Agric[ultura]l Labourer, employed, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Maria Nicholls, wife, married, female, 58 [1832/3], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Charlotte Nicholls, daughter, single, female, 18 [1872/3], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   George Nicholls, son, single, male, 16 [1874/5], Agric[ultura]l Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

8. ↑ General Register Office. The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) RG 13 General Register Office: 1901 Census Schedules, RG13/1310/20/32, 31 Mar 1901, Primary quality.

   Address: West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   2 rooms occupied
   Daniel Nichols, head, married, male, 70 [1830/1], General farm labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Maria Nichols, wife, married, female, 69 [1831/2], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

9. ↑ Death certificate, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office), Primary quality.

   1901 DEATH in the Sub-district of Harpenden in the County of Hertford
   No.282
   When and where died: Tenth April 1901, Pimlico, West Common, Harpenden Urban UD
   Name: Daniel Nicholls
   Sex: Male
   Age: 67 years [1833/4]
   Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
   Cause of death: Chronic Heart Disease, Pulmonary Oedema, Certified by W.H. Blake, M.B. (Lond)
   Informant: Clara Seabrook, Daughter, In attendeance, Upper Cravells Road, Harpenden Urban
   Registered: Eleventh April 1901

   
10. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Harpenden Parish Registers, Primary quality.

    BURIALS in the Parish of Harpenden in the County of Hertford in the year One thousand nine hundred and one
    No. 1379
    Name: Daniel Nicholls
    Abode: West Common, Harpenden
    When buried: April 13th 1901
    Age: 67 years [1833/4]
    By whom the Ceremony was performed: W.K. Suart, Assist[ant] Curate

11.   Herts Advertiser, 20 Apr 1901, page 8
    DEATHS.
    NICHOLLS.-April 10, at Pimlico, Harpenden, Daniel Nicholls, aged 67.
12. ↑ County Press, 5 Sep 1854, Page 3, St Albans Liberty Petty Sessions & County Press, 17 Oct 1854, Page 3, Hertfordshire Michaelmas Quarter Sessions