Crawford County PAGenWeb

Nichols Family

Submitted by F. Richard Barr

SECOND GENERATION - continued

8. JOHN WESLEY2 NICHOLS (Samuel1), born 28 January 1839, Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.^A,B Before his Civil War service, he was a bricklayer by profession. John Wesley Nichols enlisted in Company K, 150th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1 5 August 1862, at Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and was mustered out 15 June 1865 at Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He served in the same unit as he brother, Simon. The unit was commonly known as “The President’s Bodyguard.” He was 5 feet 11 inches tall; fair complexion; blue eyes, and brown. Of him Carl Sandburg wrote:

Of an odd affair about mid-August of ‘64, nothing should be said of it, ran Lincoln’s advice to John W. Nichols, a guard from the summer of 1862. Nichols, on duty at the large gate entrance to the Soldiers’ Home grounds one night about eleven o’clock heard a rifle shot in the direction of the city and soon after heard the hoofbeats of a horse coming nearer and nearer. In two or three minutes a horse came dashing up. On it Nichols saw the President, bareheaded, and Nichols helped to quiet a favorite saddle horse. The President was now saying: “He came pretty near getting away with me, didn’t he? He got the bit in his teach before I could draw rein.” To Nichols’s query about his hat the President answered that somebody had fired a gun off down at the foot of the hill, and that his horse had become scared and had jerked his hat off.

“Nichols led the horse to the executive cottage, held it while the Presidentdismounted, and went into the house, then saw the horse to the stables. Nichols with a corporal began a search for the hat. At a point where the sound of the shot had come from, a driveway intersection with the main road, they found the President’s hat, the familiar plain silk stovepipe. “Upon examination,” proceeded Nichols’s story, “we discovered a bullet-hole through the crown. We searched the locality thoroughly, but without avail. Next day I gave Mr. Lincoln his hat, and called his attention to the bullet hole. He made some humorous remark, to the effect that it was made by some foolish marksman and was not intended for him; but added that he wished nothing said about the matter. We all felt confident it was an attempt to kill the President, and after that he never rode alone.^E,F,G

The following year John Wesley Nichols stood guard at the room where President Abraham Lincoln died.

In 1866 John Wesley Nichols moved west with a group of Civil War veterans. On 29 January 1876 Olney J. Thompson of Omaha conveyed eighty (80) acres in Washington County, Nebraska, to Sarah E. Nichols, wife of John W. Nichols.^H He early became employed by the Woodman Linseed Oil Company in Omaha.1 In later years he would be employed as a federal building watchman. He died 11 November 1910, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. Cause of death: organic heart disease; cirrhosis of liver.^J,K He is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Omaha, Nebraska.

He married 10 September 1860 SARAH ELIZABETH DEARBORN in Summit Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, by William Putnam, Justice of the Peace.^L She was born 23 December 1840, Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, daughter of Joseph W. Dearborn and Mary Ann Camp.^M In 1920 she was a widow, residing with her daughter and son-in-law, Bertha and Samuel J. Purchase.^N She died 13 July 1925, Omaha, Nebraska, and is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery.^O,P Cause of death: Cerebral apoplexy (incident to accidental fall); cardiac insufficiency.

Children of John Wesley and Sarah Elizabeth (Dearborn) Nichols:

28.	i.	Eva3 Nichols, born Ca. 1862, Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania; died there about 1865.
+ 29.	ii.	Herbert Arthur3 Nichols, born 17 April 1866
30.	iii.	Vernon3 Nichols, born Ca. 1867; d. 19 July 1868, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. Place of burial unknown.
+ 31.	iv.	Warren Carson3 Nichols, b. 28 April 1869
+ 32.	v.	Estella May3 Nichols, born 14 August 1871
+ 33.	vi.	Florence Pearl3 Nichols, born 19 May 1873
+ 34.	vii.	Harry Walter3 Nichols, born 21 February 1875
+ 35.	viii.	Bertha A.3 Nichols, born 1877
+ 36.	ix.	Leonard Grant3 Nichols, born 14 June 1885

SOURCES AND NOTES:
A	Estella M. Barr
B	Birth record
C	“Union Pension Record for John Wesley Nichols,” File WC-7 16-476, Co. K, 150 Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. National Archives and Records Service, Washington, D.C.
D	“John W. Nichols of Omaha Helped Guard Martyred President for Three Years During Civil War.” Nebraska newspaper story. Name of newspaper and date of publication unknown. (About 1903/4. Philip Yokum is mentioned in the article as having died one year before. He died 28 December 1902, Lexington, NE.)
E	Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, Ill (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1937), pp. 440-441.
F	Francis Fisher Browne, The Every-Day Life of Abraham Lincoln (London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, W., 1914), pp. 541-542.
G	J. G. Randall, Midstream: Lincoln the President (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1953), p. 9.
H	“Quit-Claim Deed from Otney J. Thompson to Sarah E. Nichols.” Dated 29 January 1876; Recorded 31 January 1876, Washington County, Nebraska, Book 12 of Deeds, Page 614. The land is described on the face of the earth as: “The East half of the South East quarter of Section Thirty four Township Seventeen South of Range Eleven East in the District of Lands subject to sale at the West Point Land office Nebraska containing Eighty acres. Photocopy in possession of compiler.
I	History of the State of Nebraska; Containing a Full Account of Its Growth from an Uninhabited Territory to a Wealthy and Important State; of its Early Settlements; Its Rapid Increase in Population, and the Marvelous Development of Its Great Natural Resources; Also an Extended Description of its Counties, Cities, Towns and Villages. (Chicago: The Western Historical Company. A. T. Andreas, Proprietor., 1882), p. 787.
J	Death Certificate for John Wesley Nichols, 11 November 1910, Douglas County, Nebraska, City of Omaha, Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, 1819 Farnum Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68183. Certified copy in possession of compiler.
K	Obituary: “Aged Pioneer Passes Away - John W. Nichols Dies at his Home Friday Morning.” Omaha Bee News (Omaha, Douglas County, NE.) 12 February 1910, p. 11. Nebraska State Historical Society, 1500 R Street, Lincoln, NE, 68508.
L	“Marriage Certificate, John Nicholas (sic) and Sarah Dearborn,” 10 September 1860. Photocopy in possession of compiler.
M	Birth record
N	1920 U.S. Census, Douglas County (City of Omaha, 3311 South 31 st Street, 8 Ward, Precinct 5, E.D. 86), NE, p. 55, dwelling 44, family 46, lines 74-80. National Archives Microfilm 1625, RoIl 990. Photocopy in possession of compiler.
O	Death Certificate for Sarah E. Nichols, 13 July 1925, Certificate Al 4697, Douglas County, Nebraska, City of Omaha, Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, 1819 Farnum Street, Omaha, Nebraska 6818. Certified copy in possession of compiler.
P	Omaha World Herald, Morning Edition (Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska) July 14, 1925, p. 8, col. 1 ;Nebraska State Historical Society, 1500 R Street, Lincoln, NE, 68508. Photocopy in possession of compiler. She was survived by two daughters, Mrs. William Marrow, Omaha, Mrs. Robert Barr, Chittenango, N.Y.; three sons, H.A., Harry and L G., all of Omaha; one granddaughter, Mrs. Edward O’Hern, Omaha.
Q	1880 U.S. Census, Douglas County, (City of Omaha, E. D. 24, Ward 8) NE, p. 333, dwelling 251, family 255, lines 35-42. National Archives Microfilm Tl 32, Roll 747. Photocopy in possession of compiler.
R	1900 U.S. Census, Douglas County, (City of Omaha, E. 0. 81, Ward 8), NE, pp, 1-2, dwelling 23, family 24, lines 97-100, 1-4. National Archives Microfilm T623, Roll 925. Photocopy in possession of compiler S 1910 U.S. Census

Compiled by F. Richard Barr