Pa., in June, 1775, became 2d lieutenant, and was captured at Quebec, :^1 Dec, 1775. He refused to give his sword to several private soldiers, but finally delivered it to an officer, with the exaction of a pi'omise that it should be returned on his release. This was done in August, 1776, in the presence of all the American officers, with the assurance that it was by the permission and command of Gen. Sir Guy Carleton. This sword is still in the pos- session of Gen. Nichols's great-grandson, Francis Nichols Whitney. Nichols subsequently rose to the rank of brigadier-general. He was the first U. S. marshal of the eastern district of Pennsyl- vania. — His brother, William, b. in Enniskillen, Ireland, 28 Nov., 1754; d. in Philadelphia, 19 Oct., 1804, also served in the Revolution, attaining the rank of captain and quartermaster in 1776. — His grandson, William Augustus, soldier, b. in Phil- adelphia, Pa., 12 May, 1818 ; d. in St. Louis, Mo., 8 April, 1869. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1838, became 1st lieutenant in 1844, served throughout the Mexican war as aide to Gen. John A. Quitman, and assistant ad- jutant-general under Gen. John Garland, and re- ceived the brevet of major for bravery at Molino del Rey. He became assistant adjutant-general, with the rank of captain, in 1852, and lieutenant- colonel in 186 L During the civil war he was adjutant-general of the Department of the East in June and November, 1861, and of the Department of New York in December, assistant in the office of the adjutant-general in Washington, D. C, in 1862-'4, became colonel and brevet brigadier-gen- eral in 1864, and brevet major-general in 1865 for meritorious service during the war. At the time of his death he was chief of staff and adjutant- general of the military department of Missouri.
NICHOLS, George Ward, author, b. in Mt.
Desert, Me., 21 June, 1837; d. in Cincinnati, Ohio,
15 Sept., 1885. He was a journalist in early life,
but at the beginning of the civil war in 1862 he
became a member of Gen. John C. Fremont's staff,
and remained with him until the battle of Cross
Keys. He was then attached to Gen. William T.
Sherman's staff, and went with him on his march
to the sea. He had some skill as a painter, and
excelled as a writer on art and musical subjects.
He spent the last sixteen years of his life in Cin-
cinnati, where he projected and accomplished the
establishment and endowment of the Cincinnati
-college of music, of which he was president at the
time of his death. He published " The Story of the
Great March," of which 70,000 copies were'sold in
one year (New York, 1865) ; " Art Education ap-
plied to Industry " (1877) ; and " Pottery, how it
is Made." with a bibliography (1878). See a me-
morial address delivered by Gen. Jacob D. Cox
(Cincinnati. 1887).
NICHOLS, Ichabod, clergyman, b. in Ports-
mouth, N. H.. 5 July, 1784;" d. in Cambridge,
Mass., 2 Jan., 1859. He was graduated at Harvard
in 1802, was tutor of mathematics there in 1803-'9,
and at the latter date was ordained associate pas-
tor of the 1st Congregational church in Portland,
Me., becoming its sole pastor in 1814, and serving
till 1855. He then removed to Cambridge, Mass.,
where he engaged in scholarly pursuits until his
death. He was a trustee of Bowdoin for many years, and vice-president of the American academy of arts
and sciences. Bowdoin gave him the degree of
D. D. in 1821, and Harvard the same in 1831. Dr.
Nichols was a Unitarian of the conservative school
in theology, a metaphysician, and an independent
thinker. His publications include a work on
"Natural Theology" (Boston, 1830) and two post-
humous volumes entitled " Hours with the Ean-
gelists " (1859) and '• Remembered Words, from the
Sermons of Rev. Ichabod Nichols" (1860). — His
nephew, George, editor, b. in Salem, Mass., 30
Jan., 1809 ; d. in Cambridge, Mass., 5 July, 1882,
was graduated at Harvard in 1828, and studied at
the divinity-school, but never was settled as a min-
ister. After being employed as a private tutor, he
became in 1833 one of the owners of the University
bookstore in Cambridge, and in 1842 one of the pro-
prietors of the University press. Mr. Nichols was
noted for his accuracy and skill as an editor, and es-
pecially as a proof-reader. For several years he was
paid a high salary for reading the proof of the
" Atlantic Monthly." In his edition of Burke's
works he cleared the text of innumerable errors.
He edited his uncle's " Hours with the Evange-
lists " (Boston, 1859) ; the " Works of Edmund
Burke" (12 vols., 1865-'7); and the "Works of
Charles Sumner" (14 vols., 1871-'83).
NICHOLS, James Robinson, author, b. in
West Amesbury (now Merrimae), Mass., 19 July,
1819 ; d. in Haverhill, Mass., 2 Jan., 1888. He was
self-educated, and attended medical lectures at
Dartmouth in 1842, but was not graduated, became
a druggist in 1843, and in 1867 founded a firm of
manufacturing chemists in Boston, retiring from
business in 1872. In 1878 he became a member of
the State board of agriculture. In 1866 he estab-
lished the " Boston Journal of Chemistry " (now
" Popular Science News " ), which he edited till his
death. He was active in railroad matters, and
founded and endowed a public library in Merrimae,
Mass. Dartmouth gave him the honorary degree
of M. D. in 1867. Dr. Nichols invented scientific
apparatus and methods of chemical manipulation,
and published " Chemistry of the Farm and the
Sea " with other essays (Boston, 1867) ; " Fireside
Science " (1869) ; and " Whence, What, Where ? a
View of the Origin, Nature, and Destiny of Man "
(1882). He has also issued Dr. James Hinton's
" Mystery of Pain," with an introduction (1886).
NICHOLS, Mary Sargeant Gove, physician,
b. in Goffstown, N." H., 10 Aug., 1810. After her
marriage with her first husband, whose name was
Gove, she taught for several years in Lynn, Mass.,
where she began a course of lectures on anatomy
and hygiene, subsequently delivering a similar
course in the New England and middle states.
She began to contribute papers on hygiene to the
" Democratic Review " and " Godey's Lady's Book "
in 1841, and in 1845 established a water-cure in
New York, which she conducted successfully for
many years. In 1848 she married Dr. Thomas L.
Nichols, with whom she was associated in the
water-cure establishment. She published '" Lectures
to Ladies on Anatomy and Physiology " (New York,
1840); "Experience in Water-Cure" (1859); and
novelettes under the pen-name of " Mary Orne."
NICHOLS, Moses, physician, b. in Amherst,
N. H., in 1759 ; d. there in May, 1790. He was a
general of militia during the Revolution, and com-
manded the troops that attacked the rear of the
enemy's left at Bennington, 17 Aug., 1777. After
the peace he practised medicine, attained to emi-
nence in his profession, and held several local
offices in Amlierst.
NICHOLS, Rebecca S. Reed, author, b. in Greenwich, N. J., in August, 1820. She removed with her father, who was a physician, to Kentucky in 1836, and the next year married Willard Nichols, with whom she edited the " Pennant," a daily newspaper. They removed about 1839 to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she edited " The Guest," a literary journal. Her earliest original productions
