Where Did All Those Pickels/Pickles Come From?
Written by Rebecca Sellars for the Madison Genealogy Society
A search of The White Pages over the internet yields 61 Pickles/Pickels in Madison County and 26 in Taylor County. Where did they come from? Likely someplace in Georgia; and before Georgia, the Pickles moved from South Carolina.
Michael Pickels was born in Georgia and arrived with Jacob and Elizabeth Pickels, who were probably his parents, in the 1830’s. Jacob and Elizabeth were born in South Carolina. Michael and Jacob were counted in the 1840 census as heads of households. There were two people, including Michael, in his household: Michael, whose age was between 20 and 29, and a female between the age of 20 and 29, who was probably his wife, Dicy Carolyn West. Jacob’s household included three people: Jacob, whose age was between 40 and 49; a female, probably Jacob’s wife Elizabeth, who was between 30 and 39; and one male, maybe another son, who was between 10 and 14 years old.
True Florida Pioneers, the Pickles family meets the definition of the Florida State Genealogical Society as a family who settled in Florida before Florida became a state, in 1845. Michael and Dicy Carolyn West were married on Oct 1, 1840; census records indicate that Dicy was born in South Carolina. They had ten children: Elizabeth Pickels; Jacob Pickles, who married Julia; Mary Polly Pickels, who married Ephraim Bass; Robert A. Pickels, who married Sarah Bass; Julia Ann Pickels; William Roeann (Bill) Pickels who married Cornelia Murphy; Sarah (Sally) Pickels; James Piney Pickels, who married Eliza Coker; John Berry Pickels, who married Nancy Elizabeth (Lizzie) Pinkard; and Levi Pickels.
On July 10, 1844, Michael received a land grand of 40 acres in the Hopewell area from the Federal Land Grant office in Tallahassee. He voted in the 1845 Florida statehood election. And, he served in Captain Livingston’s Company, Taylor’s Battalion, Middle Florida Mounted Volunteers in the 1838 Indian Wars. Michael and Dicy’s six sons left quite a few descendants, many who still call Madison and Taylor County home.
Their oldest son, Jacob Pickels, shows up in Louisiana in 1880, married to Ellen.
Their second son, Robert A. and his wife Sarah Bass were counted in the 1910 census in the Mosely Hall area, with nine children: Rosa Ella Pickels; Alexander Pickels (1871-1925); John S. Pickels (1873-1920); Millidge Pickels (1878); Stella Irene Pickels; Sally Pickels; Mattie E. Pickels; Tesey Pickels; and Mamie Pickels.
Michael and Dicy’s third son, William (Bill) Roeann Pickels and his wife, Cornelia Murphy, had the following children: Radford Pickels; Hosannah Pickels, (1880-1960); Eliza Pickels (1882); James Avery Pickels (1883-1965); William Pickels, Jr. (1885); Georgia Ann Pickels (1887-1967); and Delila Pickels (1895-1928).
The fourth son, James Piney Pickels and his wife Eliza Coker had the following children: Mary Frances Pickels, William Michael Pickels, Henrietta Pickels, Jack Pickels, John “Olen” Pickels; Dellar Pickels; Roberta Pickels; and James Sidney “Sid” Pickels.
John Berry Pickels, Michael and Dicy’s fifth son, and Nancy Elizabeth Pinkard had the following children: Albert Earnest Pickels(1888); Robert Lee Pickels (1891-1956); James Russell Pickels (1893- 1951); Randall P. Pickels (1899); Wilford Pickels (1901); George Pickels (1903-1979); and Alma Pickels (1908).
After Jim died in 1925 Liza went to live with her daughter Dellar Hunter in Perry. When a girl during the Civil War the Yankee Soldiers came by and asked her about her brothers. Her reply was that she didn’t know but if she did she wouldn’t tell them. Her house was burned during the war. Liza lived to be 101.
We’re not sure what happened to Levy Pickels, the sixth son. He is four years old in the 1860 census, but we don’t see him after that.
Why are some families, all with the same ancestor, Michael Pickles, known as Pickles and some as Pickels? Apparently the census takers in different years spelled Pickles in different ways, causing some of the Pickles branches to be Pickels and some to be Pickles.
Many of the Pickles/Pickels families lived in the San Pedro and Mosely Hall area of the county and many are buried in the San Pedro Cemetery. Many family members have been active in the New Home Baptist Church. We see that all of the local Pickels/Pickles came from Michael and his wife Dicy Carolyn West, who pioneered in Madison County in the 1830’s and who raised six sons and four daughters. Four of the sons, Robert A. Pickels, William Roeann Pickels, James Piney Pickels, and John Berry Pickels seemed to have remained in Madison and themselves raised large families. These four sons of Michael and Dicy who lived in Madison County and raised large families left a large legacy of Pickles/Pickels descendents, many of who live here today. In addition, the daughters and daughters-in law connect the Pickles/Pickels families with numerous other Madison pioneer families, such as the Cokers, Basses, Pinkards, Williams, Holtons, Albrittons, Murphys, Hunters, Tutens, Cruces, Newsomes, Lambs, and Burnetts.
Michael and Dicy Pickles have left a proud legacy of hardy, industrious, family-oriented, good solid citizens. Michael and Dicy’s family has enriched Madison County for over 180 years. [Extracted from the Enterprise-Recorder, 16 May 2014]