nicholsfarm, do you have the marriage record for Joseph NICHOLS and Lucretia/Crecia BRITT? What was the exact date, month and day? I haven't been able to find it online.
Also, have you found a county in Tennessee where BRITTs, LATHAMs and NICHOLS converged? One speculation is that the LATHAMs might have migrated via Tennessee on their way to Bibb Co., AL and may have been in company with BRITTs and/or NICHOLS. If such is the case, it might hint to where Joseph and Lucretia later spent the years of their marriage (1830s) and where their children were born.