George Nicholas ( 1754 โ July 25, 1799) was an American lawyer, planter, patriot, military officer and politician who helped to write the first
Kentucky constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 179 ...
and became the first professor of law at
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...
. He also briefly served as
Attorney General of Kentucky
The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. (Ky.Const. ยง 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), the state's chief law enforcement officer (K ...
, and several terms in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...
.
Early and family life
Nicholas was born in
Williamsburg in the
Colony of Virginia in 1754. The firstborn son of prominent lawyer
Robert Carter Nicholas Sr.
Robert Carter Nicholas (January 28, 1728-November 1780) was a Virginia lawyer, patriot, legislator and judge. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses and its successor, the Virginia House of Delegates. He became the last treasurer of the C ...
and his wife Ann Cary was born into the
First Families of Virginia
First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsbur ...
, and named after an uncle who had served in the House of Burgesses, representing the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
. He would have ten siblings (of whom seven reached adulthood). His somewhat younger brother
John Nicholas (1756-1820) would serve as a Virginia legislator and U.S. Congressman before moving to New York, and
Wilson Cary Nicholas
Wilson Cary Nicholas (January 31, 1761October 10, 1820) was an American politician who served in the U.S. Senate from 1799 to 1804 and was the 19th Governor of Virginia from 1814 to 1816.
Early life
Nicholas was born in Williamsburg in the C ...
(1761-1820) would serve alongside this man, but remained in Virginia and became its governor (after George's death). Their youngest brother,
Philip Norborne Nicholas
Philip Norborne Nicholas (1773 โ August 18, 1849) was an American lawyer and jurist from Virginia.
Early life
Educated in the law at the College of William and Mary, Nicholas was appointed by the General Assembly as Attorney General of Virgin ...
(1776-1849) would also serve as Virginia's attorney general (from 1800 to 1819) before becoming a Virginia judge. Only their brother Lewis Nicholas (1766-1840) failed to enter politics. Their eldest sister Sarah married John Hatley Norton of Winchester, Elizabeth Carter Nicholas (1753-1810) married
Edmund Jennings Randolph
Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the 7th Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create ...
(1753-1813) who became Governor of Virginia and U.S. Attorney General. However, their sisters Mary (1759-1796), Judith (b. 1765) and brother Robert (b. 1768) never reached adulthood.
Military service
A fervent patriot during the American Revolutionary War, Nicholas became a Captain of the 2nd Virginia regiment in October 1775, was promoted to major in the 10th Virginia regiment in November 1776, and lieutenant colonel of the 11th Virginia regiment in September 1777, but resigned that post after two months. However, he spent most of his time in Baltimore (where he courted his wife), and did not lead troops into battle.
Marriage and family
In 1778 he married Mary Smith of Baltimore, whose sister would marry his brother Wilson Cary Nicholas. His brother in laws
Samuel Smith and
Robert Smith, would become a Congressman in this man's lifetime (then U.S. Senator) and Secretary of the Navy, respectively. George and Mary Nicholas had at least eight children. Their son Samuel Smith Nicholas became a judge and married Matilda Prather. Three of their sons would have military careers: Capt. Robert Carter Nicholas, Major Cary Nicholas and Captain George Nicholas Jr. Other sons included Smith Nicholas and Nelson Nicholas (1791-1826, the editor of the Kentucky Whig). Their daughter Maria Nicholas married Col. Owings of Kentucky (two of their sons would die in battle), and Ann Nicholas married Lewis Saunders
Career
George Nicholas read law under his father, and represented Williamsburg in the Assembly of 1778, succeeding fellow lawyer
George Wythe
George Wythe (; December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from ...
, who became the first professor of law at the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
and may have also helped with this man's legal education during this part-time legislative service. Nicholas would later represent
Hanover County
Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover Courthouse.
Hanover County is a part of the Greater Richmond Region.
History
Located in the wester ...
(where his father who died in 1780 had been born and owned land) for a single term, then Albemarle County, where he served with his younger brothers
Wilson Cary Nicholas
Wilson Cary Nicholas (January 31, 1761October 10, 1820) was an American politician who served in the U.S. Senate from 1799 to 1804 and was the 19th Governor of Virginia from 1814 to 1816.
Early life
Nicholas was born in Williamsburg in the C ...
and
John Nicholas.
In his last Virginia legislative service, George and his brother Wilson Cary Nicholas represented Albemarle County in the
ratifying convention of 1788. They favored adoption of the federal
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
, which was approved. In the 1787 Virginia tax census, Nicholas owned 27 adult slaves and 16 enslaved children, as well as 21 horses and 31 cattle and a four-wheeled phaeton in Albemarle County. A friend and correspondent of
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...
; he became extremely obese, and Madison laughed until he cried at a caricature of Nicholas, during the Virginia convention to ratify the
United States Constitution, as a
plum pudding
Christmas pudding is sweet dried-fruit pudding traditionally served as part of Christmas dinner in Britain and other countries to which the tradition has been exported. It has its origins in medieval England, with early recipes making use of ...
with legs.
Soon after helping ensure the federal Constitution's ratification, Nicholas and his family moved to
Lexington, Kentucky, where he built a home, and also helped draft the new state's constitution as a member of the constitutional convention of 1792. Nicholas also had a large plantation just outside of
Danville, Kentucky. In 1789, President Washington appointed Nicholas as the first United States Attorney for the District of Kentucky. However, Nicholas was a controversial figure and soon stepped down from the role as he could not "accommodate himself fully to the democratic government.". In 1799, Nicholas was appointed the first professor of law at Transylvania University.
Death and legacy
However, Nicholas died suddenly on July 25, 1799. He is buried in the Old Episcopal Burial Ground on Lexington's Third Street.
The city of
Nicholasville and
Nicholas County were named in his honor. The
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
Special Collections Research Center managed to secure some of his papers among those collected by Reuben T. Durrett.
[https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.NICHOLASG Guide to the Reuben T. Durrett Collection of George Nicholas Papers 1788-1890] at th]
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
/ref>
Quotes
"If the federal government try to reach any supplementally condition to impose upon us, we would be in Virginia exonerated."
Notes
References
*
*Andrew Cayton
Andrew R. L. Cayton (May 9, 1954 โ December 17, 2015) was a scholar of early American history. He taught at Harvard, Wellesley, Ball State, and, from 1990 to 2015, at Miami University (Ohio). In 2015 he was appointed Warner Woodring Chair in H ...
: ''American National Biography
The ''American National Biography'' (ANB) is a 24-volume biographical encyclopedia set that contains about 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Le ...
'',
George Nicholas
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, George
George Nicholas
1799 deaths
Kentucky Attorneys General
Year of birth uncertain
Carter family of Virginia
Cary family of Virginia
1754 births