Stevie's Family Tree

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"somebody" has too much time on their hands tonight.... ....

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You are here: Experts > Music/Performing Arts > Classic Rock > Fleetwood Mac > stevie nicks
Topic: Fleetwood Mac
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Expert: Callie Pillar
Date: 2/8/2005
Subject: stevie nicks

Question
Wow, I can believe you know her family. Can you please tell me about stevie's family tree? I just know that she has a brother and that her grand father was a country singer. Do you know who are her grand grand grand father and mother. Did her grand grand grand father sang too?

thank you

Answer
Hi there,

I am sorry about the delay in response. Thanks for the question.

Stevie does have a brother Christopher Aaron Nicks born in El Paso, Texas on December 18, 1955. Chris married Stevie's back-up singer Lori Nicks in the late 1980's and on September 27, 1991, Chris and Lori had their only child, a daughter named Jessica James Nicks (Jessi for short). Jessi is Stevie's only niece and according to the family, she will be heiress to Stevie's fortune. Jessi is also a singer and actress in her local school plays and choirs. Jessi was also a backup singer on Fleetwood Mac's album "Say You Will".

Stevie's parents, Barbara & Jess are great business people but neither very are musical. Barbara once said that Jess enjoys singing to himself but that she can't sing at all.

Barbara Alice Meeks-Nicks was born in Bisbee, Arizona on November 12, 1927 to Alice Harwood. Barbara once mentioned that Alice was a singer and would sing lullabies to Stevie. (I have birth and death dates for most everyone but I'll have to check in my files and get back to you.) Barabra has an older brother named Edward Harwood Meeks. Edward lives in Washington state with a family of his own and Barbara talks to him on the phone, but rarely. They are not very close. Barbara does not like to talk about her biological father at all. I gathered from her discussions of the family that he was not a nice man. She was adopted by her mother's second husband Auddie Meeks from Virginia. Auddie worked for the Philip Morris Group for many years. Alice and Auddie raised Edward and Barbara in Ajo, Arizona. I have heard stories that Auddie was an abusive man.

Alice, I believe, had some brothers and sisters, but I will have to research that in my family files also. Alice's mother was Winifred "Winnie" Harwood. Winnie, Alice (who died in 1988), Auddie and Jess's father, Grandpa A.J. (who died in August 1974), are all buried here in Phoenix at the same cemetery not far from each other. I used to go and clean off Pappy A.J.'s grave because the family just let it go and weeds and grass started covering up his name and info. It's a shame, but Barbara once thanked me for taking care of it and said that they never visit it anymore. She did not say why.

Stevie's dad Aaron Jess Seth Nicks Jr. "Jess" was born on July 2, 1925 in California. Jess's parents were Aaron Jess Nicks Sr. "A.J." and Effie Nicks. Effie lived in California at the time of her death in 1969. Stevie has never mentioned her Grandma Effie nor has Barbara or Jess. It's as if she never existed. I found out about her in local county birth, death and marriage records.

A.J. (born May 28, 1892 in Phoenix), was of course, a great local country singer and took Stevie on tour with him around the Phoenix valley. When he wanted to take her out of state with him on tour, Barbara and Jess said "absolutely not, she is only 5 years old and has not even started school yet." That whole situation caused some serious problems with A.J. and the family. As a result, Stevie was kept away from her Grandpa for several years, and Barbara and Jess did not speak to him for a long time.

I don't have a lot of info on A.J.'s parents or Effie's parents and family but again I will do some research in my files. A.J. and Effie had three sons. Johnathon William "Bill" Nicks born in 1923 in California is the oldest son. He was the owner of JW Construction in Tempe and Mesa, Arizona in the 1960's/70's. He married Carmel Ruffin and they had at least one son Johnathon William Nicks, Jr. born in 1951. Johnathon married Lily and had some children. (I'll check my files for names and dates.) Johnathon's children are in their mid 20's now. Uncle Bill is who the song "Edge Of 17" is about and Johnathon is the cousin that came to the hospital with Stevie while Bill was sick. Uncle Bill died at home in 1981 in Paradise Valley, Arizona. His wife, Carmel, is still alive and living in the same house in Paradise Valley. She recently willed the house to her grandkids. Stevie keeps in touch with Aunt Carmel and Stevie still receives holiday and birthday cards regularly from her. They live about 2 miles form each other in Paradise Valley.

Jess's younger brother Eugene Robert Nicks "Gene" was born in 1927 and died in the mid 1990's. He married Mary Lou Ruffin (Aunt Carmel's younger sister) and they had three kids, Minette Nicks-Lebrecht, Suzette, and Robert. They are all in their 40's and 50's with children and grandchildren of their own. I don't know a lot about Gene's family. Mary Lou passed away shortly before Gene did. I met Gene and Mary Lou about 10 years before they passed away and they were very nice people and very willing to share stories of Barbara and Jess. I also met Robert at a Stevie Nicks concert and he let me backstage where I met some of Stevie's band and Sharon Celani, but not Stevie.

Mary Lou and Carmel's mother is Ruby O. Ruffin and I think she was also from Virginia like Step-Grandpa Auddie Meeks.

There is also a very interesting bit of info I found in the Nicks family. Back in the 1600's a woman named Rebecca Buckingham (maybe a relation of Lindsey Buckingham) met and fell in love with a man named Benjamin Nicks. I find this fact most fascinating, and also that the two brothers Bill and Gene Nicks married two sisters, Carmel and Mary Lou Ruffin.

I will search through the Nicks family tree files that I have compiled and get back to you shortly with some more info on these people and probably a few more.

Take care and happy reading!