James Hamilton Nicholas (August 6, 1832 – May 13, 1910) was a yeoman, early settler of Wayne County, Georgia, American Civil War

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and a

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delegate of the

Screven, Georgia Screven () is a city in Wayne County, Georgia, United States. The population was 766 at the 2010 census. Although it was a railroad town as early as 1847, it was not officially chartered until August 19, 1907. History The Georgia General Asse ...

, district to the state convention in 1892. Nicholas was the biological grandfather of Anne Nichols.

Early life

James Hamilton Nicholas was born on August 6, 1832, to Susannah and Jonathan Nicholas in Appling County, Georgia. Jonathan is posthumously called Jonathan Nicholas Jr. in contemporary genealogical records. In Edgefield, South Carolina Jonathan first began his career as a school teacher. Jonathan was married to Rachel Blackburn in 1815 but separated in 1817. He subsequently married Susannah Harden in 1819 and together had nine children including James. He moved his family to Appling County, Georgia, in the 1850s where he continued to be a school teacher. He died in 1859 Jonathan at 71 years old and was buried with his father

Jonathan Nicholas Jonathan Nicholas (1757 or 1759 – September 22, 1839) was an early settler of Flanders, New Jersey, and a sergeant in the American Revolutionary War. Biography Jonathan Nicholas was born in the Province of New Jersey, British America. Contemp ...

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Civil War

Nicholas enlisted in the Confederate States Army as a private on October 3, 1861, in the American Civil War along with his brothers Josiah and William. He was first with Company A, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade of the Georgia State Troops, but mustered out of the Georgia State Troops on April 3, 1862, and enlisted in Company K, 54th Georgia Regiment in the Confederate States Army on May 16, 1862. A few months after enlisting in Company K he was discharged because of an unknown disability. He was later wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Atlanta and surrendered in Tallahassee, Florida, on May 10, 1865. Josiah deserted Company K on April 23, 1862, near Savannah, Georgia, and was never heard from again.

Wayne County

Nicholas married Sarah Hopps; they had nine children: Daniel, Francis, Alexander, William, Henry, Carrabella, Stephen, Mary and John. The family resided in Dales Mill near Jesup in Wayne County, Georgia, as a farmer. In 1868 Nicholas had an affair with a local woman, Martha Bennett, that resulted in a son born in 1869 named George. Nicholas had served in Company K with Martha's husband William Bennett but he was killed in

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. Nicholas' wife Fannie most likely knew about the affair and one year after George was weaned Fannie managed to adopt the child as part of the Nicholas family. In 1889 George had a daughter named Anne Nichols in Dales Mill whom became a famous playwright notable for her work Abie's Irish Rose. In 1892 Nicholas was appointed as a delegate to the 1217th district in

, of Wayne County, Georgia, for the

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. Nicholas and selected delegates at the state convention selected representatives for Georgia to be sent to the

1892 Democratic National Convention The 1892 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, June 21–June 23, and nominated former President Grover Cleveland, who had been the party's standard-bearer in 1884 and 1888. This marked the last time a former president was ...

in support of Grover Cleveland for the

1892 United States presidential election The 1892 United States presidential election was the 27th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1892. In a rematch of the closely contested 1888 presidential election, former Democratic President Grover Cleveland defeat ...

. On August 9, 1910, Nicholas died at 77 years old in

. His son Alexander Stephens Nicholas, named after Alexander H. Stephens, became the executor of his estate upon his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, James H. 1832 births 1910 deaths Farmers from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Confederate States Army soldiers People from Appling County, Georgia People from Wayne County, Georgia