Household #97: Nichols, James Oren
Back to the 1900 Census & Household Index
In the 1900 Barney census, James Nichols headed a 3-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.
Household Snapshot
James Nichols headed a 3-person household in the 1900 Barney census with 1 spouse or marital partner and 1 child.
James Nichols's listed occupation was Farmer.
All listed household members were reported as born in Georgia.
1900 Census Household
| Name | Relation | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Nichols | Head | 21 | Georgia | Farmer |
| Emma Nichols | Wife | 21 | Georgia | — |
| Earl Nichols | Son | 9/12 | Georgia | — |
Children and Later Trails
This section is reserved for later-life child evidence. No later spouse, death, burial, obituary, probate, separate household, or descendant-line identification has been added here yet from direct records.
Family Narrative
The 1900 Barney household of James Nichols, wife "Emma," and infant son Earl is the starting point for this family in the Barney census sequence. James remained in Brooks County across the next three censuses, appearing in 1910, 1920, and 1930 as a farmer. His 1918 World War I draft card places him at Barney, gives his birth date as 8 March 1879, identifies him as self-employed, and names "Aurelia J. Nichols" as his nearest relative. His death certificate shows that James O. Nichols died at Barney on 22 February 1939, age sixty, and was buried at Mt. Zion near Morven.
The marriage evidence now provides the direct bridge that earlier versions of the entry lacked. A Brooks County marriage license dated 30 November 1898 authorized the marriage of "Mr. James O. Nickols" and "Miss Amelia Lowdy," and the return shows they were married on 4 December 1898. In light of the later record set, those spellings fit the same couple later found as James Oren Nichols and Aurelia Lundy Nichols. The surname variation is routine, and the bride's recorded forms "Amelia Lowdy," "Emma," "Iona," and "Aurelia" are best treated as record variants within the same marriage rather than as separate women.
Aurelia's Lundy identity is now well supported from her own family records. In 1880 she appears as a small child in Jones County, Georgia, in the household of Robert Lundy and Esther Lundy. Her brother A. S. Lundy's 1928 death certificate names their parents as R. L. Lundy and Esther Henderson, and the Jones County marriage record for Robert Lundy and Earther Henderson, dated 9 and 11 October 1875, fits that parental household. The Nichols household records later reinforce the same identification. Delma Humphrey Nichols's 1937 death certificate names his parents as "Jim O. Nichols" and "Aurelia Dona Lundy," providing a strong direct link between the Barney Nichols family and the Lundy maiden name.
The family structure is also better documented than the earlier entry showed. James appears in 1880 as a one-year-old in the household of Thomas Nichols and Mary A. Nichols in Lowndes County, a placement consistent with the parental birth-state pattern carried forward in his later records. The 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses track the growing family through Earl, Conrad, Delma, Vesta Mae, Lois, and Gladys. Across those censuses James is consistently a farmer, and the ownership columns indicate that he owned his farm free of mortgage. In 1930 the farm was valued at $300.
Connections to Other Barney Families
The strongest documented connection for HH#97 is internal to the Nichols-Lundy family itself: James O. Nichols and Aurelia Lundy Nichols can now be followed through marriage, multiple censuses, the 1918 draft registration, Delma Humphrey Nichols's death certificate, and James's own 1939 death certificate. The Lundy side is anchored in Jones County through Robert Lundy and Esther Henderson.
Open Research Questions
- Parentage audit: Keep head-of-household and spouse parentage as unresolved unless a cited direct record names the parents or the entry explains the census chain supporting the identification.
- Child census audit: Continue direct-record tracking for each child named in the 1900 household where later census, marriage, death, burial, obituary, or other parent-link proof is not already cited above.
- Aurelia's actual death certificate has not yet been added, although the Georgia death index entry for Aurelia L. Nichols in Brooks County aligns well with the cemetery record.
- The earlier distinction between this James Nichols and another James Nichols said to have died young should not be stated more strongly than the direct evidence allows until the competing child's death or burial record is added to the entry.
- The census given-name variants for Aurelia are now substantially bridged by the marriage and child-death records, but the literal spellings should still be preserved as found in each source.
Research Status
Well-researched. The household is now supported by a direct marriage record, a five-point census chain for James, a World War I draft card, James's death certificate, Delma Humphrey Nichols's death certificate, Aurelia's Lundy-family records, and cemetery evidence. The remaining gaps are limited and do not prevent a stable identification of the household.
Sources
- 1880 U.S. census, Lowndes County, Georgia, household of Thomas Nichols and Mary A. Nichols, including one-year-old James.
- 1900 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, household of James Nichols, wife "Emma," and son Earl.
- 1910 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, household of James Nichols and wife "Iona."
- 1920 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, household of James Nichols and Aurelia Nichols.
- 1930 U.S. census, Brooks County, Georgia, militia district 1571, household of "Jimmie O. Nicholas" and wife "Iona."
- Brooks County, Georgia, marriage license for "Mr. James O. Nickols" and "Miss Amelia Lowdy," issued 30 Nov 1898, with return showing marriage on 4 Dec 1898.
- World War I draft registration card for James Orange Nichols, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, dated 12 Sept 1918.
- Death certificate of James O. Nichols, Brooks County, Georgia, died 22 Feb 1939, buried Mt. Zion near Morven.
- Death certificate of Delma Humphrey Nichols, Brooks County, Georgia, died 10 Jan 1937, naming parents "Jim O. Nichols" and "Aurelia Dona Lundy."
- 1880 U.S. census, Jones County, Georgia, household of Robert Lundy and Esther Lundy, including Aurelia.
- Jones County, Georgia, marriage record for Robert Lundy and Earther Henderson, license dated 9 Oct 1875 and marriage dated 11 Oct 1875.
- Death certificate of A. S. Lundy, Bibb County, Georgia, died 2 Apr 1928, naming parents R. L. Lundy and Esther Henderson.
- Georgia death index entry for Aurelia L. Nichols, Brooks County, Georgia, certificate no. 26827.
- Find a Grave memorials for James Oren Nichols and Aurelia Lundy Nichols, Camp Ground Cemetery, Mount Zion Church, Morven, Brooks County, Georgia.
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