WILLIAM FRANCIS BIGWOOD
b. 27 March 1853, Felicity, Clermont County, Ohio, to James Henry and Eliza A. (Young) Bigwood
d. 14 January 1906, Earlham, Madison County, Iowa
m. 31 March 1875, Rockville, Parke County, Indiana
Rachel Gertrude Nichols
b. 11 February 1856, Danville, Hendricks County, Indiana or Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana, to Thomas and Jane (Brown) Nichols
d. 22 June 1910, Valley Junction, Polk County, Iowa
Children with Rachel Gertrude Nichols:
- Effie Jane (1876-1961) married Frank R. Libby
- Zena Eliza (1878-1945)
- Marjorie Frances “Madge” (1881-1963) married (1) Joseph Ficklin, (2) Doc Woolfrom
- James Thomas (1884-1886)
- Maggie May (1887-1931) married Henry Little
- Ellis Nichols (1891-1909)
- Maryanna Elizabeth (1897-1980) married Lyman Lyle Libby
It is unknown when William came to Indiana, but they moved from Parke County between 1900 and 1905. William was a stonemason. He was a member of the Silliman Lodge #66 and Knights of Pythias. He and his brother John were in White’s Band, which played for the laying of the cornerstone of the courthouse. Rachel Bigwood and daughters were admitted into membership at the Earlham Monthly Meeting in 1905. The Nichols family was Quaker.
Submitted by:
Robert J. Libby
Iowa City IA