William Thomas Nichols (March 24, 1829 - April 10, 1882) was a 19th-century politician, soldier, and businessman. He served in both houses of the

Vermont legislature The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

and commanded the

14th Vermont Infantry The 14th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a nine months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to August 1863. It was a memb ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. After the war, he became a founder of the Illinois village of Maywood, now a suburb of Chicago.

Biography

William T. Nichols was born in Clarendon, Vermont, the son of James Tilson Nichols and Minerva D. (Briggs) Nichols. Trained as a lawyer, he served as an assistant clerk in Vermont’s House of Representatives and then as the state's attorney in 1858–59. In 1855, he traveled to

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

and became involved in the dispute over whether the territory would enter the United States as a slave-owning or free state. At one point, he volunteered for the risky task of delivering dispatches from the journalist

William A. Phillips William Addison Phillips -- ''(Also known as Col. William Addison Phillips, Sr ; or Wm A. P''hillips, W.A. Phillips) anuary 14, 1824 – November 30, 1893 Wm A. Phillips ws a Free-State Abolition Journalist during the tumultuous epoch in ...

Charles L. Robinson Charles Lawrence Robinson (July 21, 1818 – August 17, 1894) was an American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1851-52, and later as the first Governor of Kansas from 1861 until 1863. He was also the first governor of ...

, a Free-Stater who was acting as territorial governor and who would later become the first governor of the state of Kansas. For this service, Nichols was appointed to Robinson's staff with the rank of colonel. He returned to Vermont the following year. Nichols served in two volunteer Vermont regiments during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In 1861, he enlisted as a private in the short-lived

1st Vermont Infantry The 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment was a three months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, in and around Fortress Monroe, Virginia. History Responding to President Abraham Lincoln's ...

, remaining until the unit was mustered out of service three months later. In 1862, he was commissioned colonel to command the

. He led his regiment in repulsing Pickett's Charge at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. Shortly after Gettysburg, the 14th Vermont Infantry was mustered out of service. Nichols's service in the state legislature overlapped the war years. In September 1861, just after the 1st Vermont Infantry was disbanded, he was elected to the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

. In 1863, after the disbanding of the 14th Vermont Infantry, he was elected to the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

, becoming the youngest man (at age 34) ever to serve as a Vermont state senator. William Thomas Nichols

After the war, having lost money in various investments, Nichols determined to go south to invest in real estate. In October 1865, Nichols took passage on the SS ''Republic'' steamship, bound for New Orleans. It ran into a hurricane off the coast of Georgia and sank. Nichols—who afterwards wrote a detailed account of the sinking to his wife in a letter that has survived—managed to get into lifeboat number 2, which two days later was rescued by the sailing ship ''Horace Beals''. Once arrived in the south, Nichols bought two cotton plantations and invested in a

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

. Nichols did not stay in the south, however, and eventually ended up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. On April 6, 1869, with six other men, he founded the Maywood Company, a consortium that led to the incorporation of the village of

Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 United States Census. History ...

, in 1881. Maywood, now a suburb of Chicago, was named in honor of Nichols's daughter May. Nichols served as the president of the company until his death. Nichols was also the president and treasurer of a subsidiary venture that manufactured farm tools, the Chicago Scraper and Ditcher Company. In 1878, he patented a new version of the screw harrow for soil cultivation. Nichols died of pneumonia in Maywood in 1882 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Rutland, Vermont.

Personal life

Nichols married Thyrza Stevens Crampton (b. 1832), and they had two daughters, May (b. 1857) and Lucy (b. 1860). Thyrza and May both died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

in 1865. May died before Nichols left on his ill-fated voyage on the SS ''Republic'', and Thyrza died shortly after she learned that Nichols had survived the shipwreck. Nichols remarried, with his second wife being Thyrza's sister Helen. Nichols's great-great-granddaughter is the writer Thyrza Nichols Goodeve. She accompanied a 2004 expedition to the site of the SS ''Republic'' wreck, which had been located the year before.

References

External links

Maywood Company Records – finding aid
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, William Thomas 1829 births 1882 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois People from Clarendon, Vermont People from Maywood, Illinois People of Vermont in the American Civil War Union Army colonels Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state senators Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Rutland, Vermont) 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople Shipwreck survivors Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont American city founders 19th-century American lawyers Military personnel from Illinois