GENERATION 7

GENERATION 6

Biography

DAVID PACKER was born in Haverhill, Essex, MA, on Apr. 1, 1775. He married REBECCA NICHOLS on Dec. 15, 1799. They came to New York in 1818, with their five children. They made the entire journey overland with teams, bringing with them all their earthly possessions. DAVID located in the town of Edmeston, Otsego, NY, purchased a tract of timber land and built a log house, which he "chinked" with chips and mud. After living in Edmeston for several years, they moved to the town of Milford, Otsego, NY, where DAVID spent the rest of his years. He is buried nearby at Pine Grove Cemetery in Portlandville, Otsego, NY.

After DAVID died, REBECCA lived the rest of her years with her daughter, RUTH, and died at her home in Winslow, Stephenson, IL, on Sep. 2, 1868. She is also buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Portlandville.

The parentage of REBECCA NICHOLS is unknown. But there were several Nichols' families in Haverhill in the 1700's and 1800's:

    1738 - David Nichols had a house on the Merrimack River.
    1745 - David Nichols had a house on the Merrimack River near Pattee's Ferry.
    1757 - Militia included Jacob Nichols, 1st Company; Joseph Nickels, 3rd Foot Company "Alarm List".
    1775 - Phineas Nichols in Col. Johnson's regiment.
    1775 - David Nickels was a private in Capt. Cogswell's company in Col. Gerrish's regiment.
              which was stationed at Malden and Chelsea.
    1775 - Humpree Nicols trained with Capt. Sawyers company.
    1779 - Daniel Nichols loaned the town 147 pounds.
    1798 - Dwelling Houses owned by Phineas Nichols ($500), Dorothy ($100) and Jacob Nichols ($500).
    1821 - Phineas Nichols, Deacon of Second Baptist Church.
    1825 - Christian Church selects Abel Nichols as Deacon.
    1837 - Moses Nichols & Co., shoe manufacturer.
    1840 - Henry M. Nichols ordained as minister of West Parish.
    1848 - James R. Nichols involved with Pentucket Navigation Co.
    1852 - John B. Nichols representative of Haverhill.

From the above list of potential parents, Daniel Nichols stands out as the most likely. Daniel (Jr.) is the son of Daniel Nichols Sr. of Amesbury. Daniel Sr. is the grandson of THOMAS NICHOLS (see Tucker line). Daniel Jr. married Alice Hopkinson, daughter of Samuel Hopkinson and Betty Palmer. The marriage took place in Bradford, Essex, MA, Aug. 10, 1775. Intentions had been filed in Bradford on Jul. 22, 1775. There are no recorded births for that couple in Bradford, but three sons are listed in the vital records of Haverhill:

Daniel Nichols Sr. - b. 09-30-1712 Amesbury
Daniel Nichols Jr. - b. 10-21-1750 Amesbury, m. 08-10-1775 Bradford
Rebecca Nichols - b. 06-01-1778 Haverhill - speculative, not proven
Samuel Nichols - b. 11-10-1781 Haverhill
Stephen Nichols - b. 08-21-1783 Haverhill
Daniel Nichols - b. 08-07-1785 Haverhill

No record exists in Haverhill for the marriage or death of any of these three sons. Nor, can any such record be found on any internet data base. However, it can't go unnoticed that Daniel Jr. named one of his sons Daniel, this being the third consecutive generation with a Daniel Nichols. Rebecca's first child was named Daniel Bradley, possibly adding to the string of Daniels.

Daniel Bradley Packer married Desire Lincoln on Jan. 15, 1824, in New York. Desire is the daughter of JONATHAN LINCOLN Sr. and RUTH SOUTHWORTH. This means that Daniel Bradley Packer is the brother-in-law of LODUSKEY KENNEDY LINCOLN, and at the same time her uncle.

Daniel and Desire were in Eaton, Lorain, OH, at the time of the 1830 census. They were enumerated on the same page as EDWARD KENNEDY and Daniel's sister, RUTH PACKER. They came to Winslow in 1845, and operated the hotel in Lena, Stephenson, IL, for twenty years. In 1874, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Lena Hotel. After Desire died in 1884, Daniel moved to Denver, CO, to live with his son George. He died at the home of his son in 1891. His remains were brought back to Winslow and he is buried at Christian Hollow Cemetery next to Desire.

William Packer came to Otsego County with his family when he was twelve years old. After attaining his majority, he went to Sharon, Schoharie, NY, and purchased a farm in the part of town now called Seward. He lived there until 1855, and then bought a farm in the Susquehanna Valley, in the town of Milford, Otsego, NY. Here, for many years, he was engaged in general farming and hopraising, and owned upward of 200 acres. His home was in Portlandville.

On Oct. 16, 1833, he married Catherine Petrie, who was born in the town of Sharon. Her father, Conrad Petrie, was a farmer. Her mother was Catherine Young. Her parents spent their last years in the Seward part of the town of Sharon.

William and Catherine had eight children: Kate, Celia M., Helen, Charles, Romine, Edwin, Osborn and Frank. On Oct. 16, 1856, Celia M. married Orlando Wescott of Milford. They both died in 1892.