Francis Clement Nickle

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·                  Francis Clement Nickle, one of Dan's older brothers, introduced them to the church. A deeply religious man, Clem, as he was called, had joined the Methodists at age fifteen but was disappointed not to be baptized by immersion. At age seventeen, he raised more money to build a new Methodist church than anyone else on the building committee. At eighteen, he became superintendent of the Methodist Sunday school and leader of youth prayer meetings held each Wednesday evening.

One evening after the prayer meeting, several of the youth had left the building and began to sing "Skip to My Lou." A cheerful man by nature, Clem joined in with them. The stern minister and some of his more austere congregants felt disgraced that youth should sing a party song on their way home from church. To prevent further jollity, they abolished the youth prayer meetings, reprimanded Clem, and dismissed him as Sunday school superintendent.

Sometime later, a group of boys gathered at the depot as Clem played his harmonica. One started dancing a jig, and the others laughed and called for more. Clem played another song or two as the boy danced. The more somber members of his congregation found this behavior reprehensible, and Clem soon found himself on trial before the church. He prayed as requested to open the trial, leading one elderly woman to protest, "I think we old heads should be ashamed of ourselves. A boy who can pray as Clem has today just can't be very bad." Others did not agree, however, and they excommunicated Clem from the church. When the decision came down, Clem's mother arose and asked that her name be taken from the records too.11

About the time the church expelled Clem, a stranger received permission to preach in the Methodist church. He continued for several nights while many of the older members listened attentively, acknowledging their approval with occasional shouts of "Hallelujah!" One evening, however, the stranger spoke of Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, and the volatile congregation erupted. A ninety-two-year-old man who had helped expel the Mormons from Missouri in his youth exclaimed, "Let me out. I'll run home and get my gun. I've shot at 'em once; I'll shoot at 'em again." The speaker fled the community for his safety.12

Still concerned about the mode of his earlier baptism, Clem entered the Baptist Church by immersion. In his new church, he met Nellie Rhoades, whom he soon married. Four days after their marriage in 1895, Clem was outside gathering kindling when a man approached him. "He was riding a red mule," Clem would later recall, "and his hair was exceedingly white. His eyes were very blue and his complexion so fair that it seemed almost transparent." The stranger asked to spend the night.

"But we have only one bed," Clem answered, "and even that is not a very good one."

"I can sit in a chair," replied the visitor, "and if you let me stay, I will give you a present that you will cherish all the days of your life. But if you don't let me stay, you will regret it as long as you live."

Clem and Nellie had planned to spend the evening with her brother Bill. Clem told the stranger about a hospitable neighbor who could make him comfortable. "I know you can stay there," he added, "or I would not think of sending you on. It is very inconvenient for us to change our plans now."

Clem left the visitor and went indoors. When he told Nellie about the man and his request, Nellie said, "Oh, why didn't you let him stay? I wouldn't mind. We can go to Bill's some other time. Go tell him to come in." Clem immediately went out to invite the man inside, but he had disappeared, even though it was impossible for him to have gotten out of sight in so short a time. Clem later learned the man had not called on the neighbor he recommended, nor had anyone else in the region seen him. For the rest of his life, Clem regretted having turned away the stranger, whom he later became convinced was either John the Revelator, the New Testament apostle, or one of the Three Nephites, Book of Mormon apostles promised to lived until Christ's Second Coming.13

An ardent student of the Bible, Clem grew dissatisfied with the Baptists. For years, he and Nellie studied the scriptures and attended different churches but did not feel they had found the truth. During this period, Clem became so ill that some thought he would die. In the seclusion of a cedar grove, the sick man implored God to restore his health and lead him to the true church, promising to dedicate his life to it. Clem eventually got well and with his family continued praying for direction to the true church.14

Then one day in 1906, two men visited Clem and Nellie in Rogers, Arkansas. "We are missionaries representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," they said, introducing themselves.

"The Church of Jesus Christ," echoed Clem. "That's a beautiful name, but how strange I have never heard of it before."

"We are better known to the world as Mormons," they explained.

"Oh, Mormons," Clem replied. "Yes, I know a lot about the Mormons." What Clem had been led to believe about Mormons was less than positive, but the missionaries seemed so clean and sincere he heard them out. As he listened and studied, Clem recognized in their message the truth he had long been seeking.

"Nellie," said Clem to his wife. "I'm going to see Mother. I know that she will be happy to know the truth is really on the earth." Nellie agreed, and lacking other means of conveyance, Clem walked twenty miles to his mother's home. "Mother," he announced when he arrived, "I've come to tell you something glorious and beautiful. I have found the true church of Jesus Christ; one that bears His name and teaches His doctrines. It even has the same organization that He had in His church."

"Where is it, son?" she answered. "Tell me quick."

When he mentioned the word "Mormon," she wept and warned him, "Don't ever let the Mormons into your home again, Clem."15

For eight years after first meeting the missionaries, Clem and Nellie continued to study Mormonism. They moved from Arkansas to Springfield, Missouri, and then to Arkansas again, this time to Eureka Springs. One day, two Mormon missionaries entered the town, checked into a hotel, and went out to preach. Their presence infuriated local bigots, who began organizing to drive them out. One missionary sought help from a doctor for an eye infection. Recognizing the new patient as a Mormon, the doctor drew a revolver and ordered, "Get down those stairs or you'll have to be carried down." When the missionaries returned to the hotel, they found their belongings on the porch.

Hearing the uproar, Clem sought out the missionaries and invited them to stay at his house. A mob soon sent Clem a message threatening retribution if he did not expel the Mormons. "You cannot take them as long as I am alive," he replied. The Latter-day Saint elders volunteered to leave for the family's safety, but Clem and Nellie insisted they stay. The mob never appeared.16

Eventually, persecution became so intense, however, that Clem, Nellie, and their children left Eureka Springs, practically giving away their beautiful home. After two or three years, they ventured moving back into the vicinity. After they had moved back, Nellie one day said to her husband, "Clem, we believe the Mormons are right, don't we?"

"Yes," he acknowledged. "I surely do. Don't you?"

"Then why," she replied, "don't we get baptized?"

"Well, dear," he said, "you know we would have to stand absolutely alone. My folks are all opposed to it and your folks too, while not interested in religion, are firmly against the Mormons."

"Well," Nellie asked, "we can stand alone, can't we, for what we know to be true?"

"You know, too," Clem said, "that we cannot be good Latter-day Saints unless we keep the Word of Wisdom." The Word of Wisdom, the Latter-day Saint health code, forbade the use of tobacco and coffee. Clem had smoked for twenty years, and Nellie suffered intense headaches without her coffee.

"I can give up my coffee," she said, "if you can give up your tobacco."

Having earlier committed to accept the truth if God would help them find it, they resolved to be baptized. From their previous experience, they knew it would be intolerable to remain near Eureka Springs after joining the church. So in 1914, they spent seventeen days traveling over rough roads to reach Barney, Arkansas, where a small LDS branch had been organized. There they entered the waters of baptism and became members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

When he had decided to join the Mormons, Clem thought it would be best to move far enough away from his family that they would not learn of his decision. Once he joined, however, a spirit of missionary work engulfed him, and he soon found himself back in Springfield, Missouri, preaching to friends and family members. Most of his relatives refused his message, and he especially agonized over why his mother could not see the truth of what he taught.17

One evening, he knelt in his bedroom, praying for strength to declare the gospel with convincing power. His eldest daughter later recalled a vision he had of early Latter-day Saint prophet Brigham Young. "Suddenly the room became light," she explained, "and Brigham Young appeared before him, telling him that he had indeed accepted the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and promised him that if he would be faithful he would soon receive the Priesthood, and that not only would his mother accept the truth, but that he would be instrumental in bringing all his father's household into the Church."18

Thereafter Clem took every opportunity to preach to his family members and others. At times, his mother seemed to believe his message. At other times, she rejected it and grew depressed. Eventually, she got sick and became comatose. For a long time, she could not speak to anyone. On October 9, 1917, she revived and called her nine living children to her side. When they arrived, she said, "Clem, I'm going, and I want you to make me one promise before I go."

Loving his mother dearly, but knowing her hostility toward his church and unable in good conscience to forsake his faith, Clem prayed silently and answered, "Mother, I will promise you anything that is within the bounds of reason."

"Clem," she importuned, "promise me that you will go to the temple and do the work for your father and me, and that you will teach the gospel as you understand it to all your brothers and sisters." Her words reflected the belief that families for whom sealing ceremonies are performed in Latter-day Saint temples will live together forever if worthy.

"With all the power God will give me, Mother dear," Clem committed, "I will."

As shocked as Clem was overjoyed, other family members felt their mother might not be in her right senses. Clem's sister Emma asked, "Mother, you don't mean that you want us to be Mormons, do you?"

"Yes," she answered, "I mean that. Now I know that Clem has accepted the truth. I have seen into the eternities. I cannot talk more now, for I must go. But," she said, pointing, "Clem there can talk, and he can teach you the way." With that message, she died.

The children buried their mother next to their father in Eureka Springs. Throngs attended the funeral, and after a Protestant minister delivered a sermon, Clem asked to speak. Despite the persecution he had earlier encountered in the town, Clem felt impressed to preach the gospel he had embraced. The crowd received his message well, and he later baptized twenty-two persons in the area.19

Clem's brother Sullivan had also joined the LDS Church in 1915. Just a few weeks after their mother's death, their brother Preston also joined. The next year, their sister Estella was baptized. Their brother Daniel, influenced by Clem and others, had agreed to be married by a Latter-day Saint missionary just a year before their mother's death but despite her dying words did not immediately join the church. The parents of Dan's wife, Lena, had been bitter about having their daughter's marriage performed by a Mormon elder and felt she had not been legally married.20

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THE LORD'S SERVANTS DEFENDED

Retold by Carolyn P. Squire

The following account was told to me on Friday, November 26, 1976 by H. Ray FRANCOM while he was visiting in the capacity of a home teacher at the home of my parents in Levan, Utah.

Brother FRANCOM said that while he was serving as President of the mission in the Missouri-Arkansas area, he met a man who was doing some carpentry work.  He introduced himself as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and asked if the man would be interested in setting up some meetings at his home where he might more fully explain his message.  Upon receiving an enthusiastic response from the man, meetings were held at his home.  This kind man was Clement NICKLE. 

While seated in the NICKLE home, soon thereafter; a remarkable occurrence took place, which has long been in the memory of Brother FRANCOM.  He recalled that during a discussion, Clement and his son, Jim, suddenly left the room and went out the back door.  Elder FRANCOM, sensing that something was wrong, told his companion to carry on with the discussion.  He quietly excused himself and went out to see what was wrong. 

An angry threatening mob ha gathered in front of the home.  men, armed with ropes and clubs, were intent on "ridding the country of every Mormon!"  Clement and Jim had seen them coming and had immediately gone out and got their guns.  They were prepared to defend those missionaries with their lives.  When the men demanded the NICKLES turn the missionaries over to them, Clement responded that he would shoot the first man who set foot on his property.  Brother FRANCOM, being filled with the spirit of the Lord, turned to Clement and told him that it would not be necessary and asked if he might be allowed to speak to them.  Clement told him it was alright to talk to them, but he warned him to stay back, saying, "Do not go where they can lay their hands on you!"

Brother FRANCOM assured the angry men that he meant the people in that area no ill will, but that God had sent him with a message.  He told them he had left his wife and two babies at home and had traveled a long distance at his own expense to bring the gospel to those people because he cared for them.  As he continued speaking, one by one the men began to slip away until there was only one man left.  His head bent low;  he at last looked up and said, "I want you to know that I have never been a party to anything like this before, and if the Lord will forgive me, I will never do anything like this again."  He then turned and walked away.

Soon after that, Brother FRANCOM baptized the entire NICKLE family.  He recalled their faithfulness and devotion to the cause of truth.  Clement NICKLE was a gret influence for good among the people, and the church began to prosper and grow largely due to the efforts and fine example of this good family.  The family later moved to Utah where Brother NICKLE served as Bishop.  Then, feeling that perhaps he could be of more value among the people from whence he had come, he returned again to labor among them.  Being more familiar with their customs and attitudes, he became a great missionary and was responsible for more than two hundred baptisms.  His remarkable courage in defending the servants of the Lord remains paramount in the memory of Brother FRANCOM.

(A short note on the life of Brother H. Ray FRANCOM:)

At the time of this writing, Brother H. Ray FRANCOM is an elderly retired farmer and life-long resident of Lavan, Utah.  He is much revered by all who know him, and has served in many church and civic capacities.  I have know Brother FRANCOM all of my life.  He was a good friend of my grandfather, James R PAYSTRUP, now deceased.  As a child, I remember many times he would bear his testimony and tell how his ancestors came from South Africa for the gospel's sake and the many hardships they endured as they lived in dug-outs.  He now has a very large posterity.  Over the years, he has been in much demand as a speaker in funerals and other important occasions.  He has the ability to preach the gospel in a convincing, powerful way.  I have heard him preach many marvelous sermons on the plan of salvation and the restoration of the gospel.  I feel that my life has been greatly enriched by having known him.

Wilson NICKLE and Esther Brown NICKLE

In Appreciation

Thanks must be given to the ones who have helped compile this history and record it, of the WILLIAM NICKLE and HANNAH AULD, his wife, who were the first of this family of Nickles to immigrate to this country about the year 1801.  Thanks to Kathleen Nickle Newby who told of a Nancy Nickle Kelly, a granddaughter of another William Nickle, the founder of Nickleville, PA, who was living in Salt Lake City in 1959.  I called on her and she is a very gracious lady in her late seventies, she gave me the name of Ruth McDonald of Emlenton, PA, whose husband is a distant relative.  After corresponding with her for several weeks, we found the relationship of our ancestors.

The Pennsylvania Nickle Family had no knowledge of the life of WILSON NICKLE or his brother, JOHN NICKLE, or their whereabouts after they left Nickleville about 1839-1840, they assumed they had gone west and were lost.  Thanks to Mrs. Hazel Crawford, also of Emlenton who helped compile their history, and re-wrote it for us, with the help of others it has been accepted by the D.A.R. as a permanent record, and what has been compiled on the Wilson and John Nickle families will be sent to her to be included in the afore mentioned history.

Thanks to Miss Grace Nickle of Smithboro, Illinois and to Mrs. Ressie Nickle Bone of Vandalia, IL, both granddaughters of John Nickle, for all they have contributed on their families.

Many thanks to Fredrick Elmer Nickle of Butterfield, MO and a grandson of Wilson Nickle, to Mrs. Naomi Nickle Bradley of Cassville, MO and a great-granddaughter of Wilson Nickle, to Mrs. Fred Terry of Purdy, MO and a granddaughter of Wilson Nickle, who so very much wanted a copy of this history, but passed away in 1960.  A very great deal of appreciation to Jane Nickle Belnap, who was so much help when this history was in its infancy.

This that had been compiled in this folder does no comprise the complete history received from Pennsylvania, it merely touches on the highlights and the interviewing points.  The full history is in the possession of ORVILLE KENNETH NICKLE of Draper, Utah, at this time.

Lorna J. Nickle

2-12-1961