Source: GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C., a map supplement
The Nicholites of Jamestown and Deep River
by Jack Perdue
context taken from pages 80 - 83

In the 1770's there was a migration of people into the Deep River section of Guilford County that has been completely overlooked by historians. These people belonged to an obscure sect known as Nicholites. They have been so overlooked that even their descendents do not even know of them. A case in point is the recent history of Deep River township written by Will Pegg in which he makes no mention of the Peggs being Nicholites. Richard Mendenhall married Mary Pegg a Nicholite, who was the daughter of Valentine Pegg, one of the original Nicholite emigrants into this area. Other prominent families in the area who were Nicholites were the Chipmans, Charleses, Horneys, Joseph Standley, and the Wheelers.

The Nicholite movement was founded by Joseph Nichols about 1760. He lived in Delaware near the Maryland border. Nichols had not been a religious person and spent his free time partying with his friends. During one of these escapades, one of Nichols' best friends became ill and died. This experience so shook Nichols that he began preaching to his friends of the light that he had come to believe shown in the understanding of man and to obedience to an "Inward Director." The area in which Nichols and his friends lived was populated by Quakers. This movement was greatly influenced by and had many similarities to the Society of Friends. They may have taken a stand against slavery even before the Quakers did. They did not believe in paid ministers; all marriages, births, and deaths were to be recorded. Marriages were performed in the same manner as Quakers and marriage to a non-Nicholite would cause one to be disowned from the meeting. Nicholites, like Quakers, did not believe in fighting and suffered many hardships because of this believe during the Revolution. Nicholites even referred to each other as Friends and were often called by others, "New Quakers".

One major difference between Quakers and Nicholites was evident however. While Quakers were great believers in education and operated schools for that purpose, Nicholites saw evil in too much education and seldom had their children taught beyond the ability to read and write. In fact, from the number of Nicholites who make marks instead of signing their name on documents preserved in the public records, it would seen that many of them lacked even this basic education.

Nicholites, apparently influenced by Quaker John Woolman, believed in austerity and plainness to the extreme. They wore only undyed cloth, would not even mix natural colors of yarn in woven cloth, would not wear black leather or black their shoes. Their furniture was very simple and there were no flowers in their gardens When ever possible they would travel by foot.

Joseph Nichols died in December, 1770, after only a few years of his ministry. He was survived by his wife Mary who married Levin Charles and migrated to Guilford County, his son Isaac and one daughter. Nichols' followers did not scatter or disband after his death but instead, in December 1774, organized themselves into a monthly meeting to meet at the house of James Harriss. It was this James Harriss who assumed the leadership role among the Nicholites. Meetings were held in various members' houses and sometimes they attended meetings for worship at nearby Quaker meeting houses. By 1775, the Nicholites had three meeting houses of their own in the border area of Maryland and Delaware. About this time , a number of the members of this society migrated to the Deep River area of Guilford County, North Carolina.

The Nicholites of the Delaware area began to decline and merge into the Society of Friends in the 1790's and by 1800 the movement for all intents and purposes, no longer existed. It probably lasted about a decade longer in the Deep River-Jamestown area of Guilford County, North Carolina.

Listed below are some of my relatives who were reported in the Deep River MM, Guilford County, North Carolina minutes. For details go to my Ancestors section.