Robert Carter Nicholas (January 10, 1787 – December 24, 1856) was a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He was a veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, and also served as

Secretary of State of Louisiana The secretary of state of Louisiana (french: Secrétaire d'État de la Louisiane) is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Louisiana and serves as the head of the Louisiana Department of State. The position was created ...

and Louisiana's Superintendent of Education.

Early life and education

Born in

Hanover, Virginia Hanover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hanover County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat and is located at the junction of U.S. Route 301 and State Route 54 south of the Pamunkey River. While his ...

, on January 10, 1787, he was the son of Revolutionary war veteran and politician George Nicholas (1754–1799) and his wife Mary (Smith) Nicholas (d. 1806). and the grandson of Robert Carter Nicholas (1728–1780)., and named for his late grandfather Robert Carter Nicholas, Sr. In 1816 and 1817 Nicholas attended 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 ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

Military service

Nicholas joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in 1808, receiving a commission as a Captain in the 7th Infantry Regiment. Nicholas was promoted to major in 3rd Infantry Regiment in 1810 and became Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Infantry Regiment in 1812. He served with his regiment in the

, including combat at the

Battle of Chippewa The Battle of Chippawa, also known as the Battle of Chippewa, was a victory for the United States Army in the War of 1812, during its invasion on July 5, 1814, of the British Empire's colony of Upper Canada along the Niagara River. This battle ...

. After serving with the 30th Infantry, in 1814 he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, and he commanded the 8th Infantry Regiment until resigning his commission in 1819.

Career

After his military service, Nicholas relocated to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, and in 1821 received an appointment as U.S. Indian Agent to the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in the United States. They are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, original ...

. Nicholas later moved to

, where he owned a sugarcane

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Terrebonne Parish Terrebonne Parish ( ; French: ''Paroisse de Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 111,860, and 110,461 in 2019. In 2020, its population declined to 109,58 ...

while residing in St. James Parish. He operated that plantation using enslaved labor. In the last federal census in his lifetime, Nicholas owned 236 enslaved people. Nicholas was elected as a Jacksonian (later a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

) to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator-elect

Charles E.A. Gayarre Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

, and served from January 13, 1836, to March 3, 1841. He was

in 1845. From 1849 to 1853 he was Louisiana's Superintendent of Education.

Death and legacy

Nicholas died in Terrebonne Parish on December 24, 1856. He was originally buried at his plantation, and later moved to the Burthe family vault at

Saint Louis Cemetery Saint Louis Cemetery (french: Cimetière Saint-Louis, es, Cementerio de San Luis) is the name of three Catholic cemeteries in New Orleans, Louisiana. Most of the graves are above-ground vaults constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Cemete ...

No. 1,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Personal life

He married Susan Adelaide Vinson, and their children included a daughter, Mary. Mary Nicholas was the wife of Frederick George Burthe. Nicholas was a nephew of John Nicholas, a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Virginia 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 ...

, a Senator from Virginia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Robert 1787 births 1856 deaths People from Hanover County, Virginia People from St. James Parish, Louisiana United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Democratic Party United States senators from Louisiana Secretaries of State of Louisiana Louisiana State Superintendents of Education Robert Carter Nicholas 2 American planters College of William & Mary alumni Louisiana Jacksonians Louisiana Democrats Burials in Louisiana Educators from Louisiana