| Notizen |
- www.findagrave.com:
www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=118935030
Gustavus Adolphus Anthony Nicolls
Born 3 Apr 1817 in Abbey View, Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Son of William Dan Nicolls RA and Maria (Graves) Nicolls
Brother of Jane Nicolls, Anne Nicolls, William Jasper Nicolls and Maria Anne Jane (Nicolls) Graves
Husband of Anne Hall (Muhlenberg) Nicolls — married 28 Jan 1869 [location unknown]
Father of Frederick William Nicolls
Died 18 Apr 1886 in at his residence, corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets, Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
Gustavus Nicolls fought in the US Civil War between the States.
Regiment(s): Company E, 11th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia
Gustavus was born in 1817. He is the son of William Nicholls and Maria Graves. Kairen Brooke-Anderson]], Saturday, March 15, 2014.
m.1st Rosa Catherine MUHLENBERG 28.1.1869 [? - 15.3.1867] only dau of Hon. Henry A. Muhlenberg, member of Congress, United States minister to Austria, and, later, democratic candidate for Governor. She d. 15.5.1867 without issue.
m. 2nd Annie Hall MUHLEBERG 28.1.1869 dau of Dr. F.A. Muhlenberg of Lancester, a grandson of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg who was the founder of the Lutheran Church in America.
Gustavus Anthony Nicolls, for many years prominently connected with the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, and one of Reading's most distinguished citizens, was born April 3, 1817, at Abbey View, Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland. He was the eldest child of Colonel William Dann Nicolls, of the English Royal Artillery, who married Maria Graves, daughter of Anthony Graves, a land proprietor in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Three children were born to Colonel and Mrs. Nicolls: Gustavus Anthony, born April 3, 1817; William Jasper, born in 1824 at Exeter, England; and Maria Anne, born in 1825 at Woolwich. The Nicolls family is descended from John Nicolls, of Arran. in Strathmore, near Inverness, Scotland, born in 1546. Like the uncle after whom he was named, General Gustavus Nicolls, of the Royal Engineers, Mr. Nicolls was intended for the army. His early education was directed with this in mind, under the personal supervision of his father, and later he was a student for some years at the Waterford Classical and Mathematical Academy, an institution noted for the scholarship of its pupils. He finished his schooling at the Wanstead Military College, near London. His proficiency in all branches of mathematics was well shown in his subsequent success in civil engineering. It was his father's wish to have him sent to the East Indies immediately upon the conclusion of his student life, and his uncle, Sir Jasper Nicolls, who had served with distinction in South America and India and was then commander-in-chief in India, promised to give him an appointment as aide-de-camp on his personal staff. But the young man had other ambitions, and believing that the United States offered a more congenial field for his talents and energy left for this country, sailing from England in September 1834. Arriving in Philadelphia, Mr. Nicolls studied law for a time in the office of Henry M. Phillips. In April 1835, he was appointed a rodman in the engineer corps of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, and in 1836 was promoted to assistant engineer, taking charge of the completion of a section of railroad between Douglassville and Exeter. In 1837 he became principal assistant and was stationed at Reading, and the next year he became superintendent of transportation, holding that position for eight years, until 1846. He then became chief engineer and general superintendent of the company, holding both positions for thirteen years, by the end of which time the duties had become so arduous that it was necessary to divide the work, and Mr. Nicolls chose the position of general superintendent. He served as such from that time until February 1871, when he was appointed to act also as president's assistant. This change made it necessary for him to remove his residence from Reading to Philadelphia where he resided until his return to Reading in May 1877. Meantime, in 1873, he was elected second vice-president of the company, and was unanimously re-elected to that position in 1875 and 1876. In 1877 the positions of first and second vice--president were abolished. and then Mr. Nicolls was elected president of the following branch railroads of the company: Reading & Columbia, East Pennsylvania, East Mahanoy, Allentown, and Chester & Delaware River. In 1876 he was chosen president of the Susquehanna & Tide Water Canal Company. These various positions be continued to fill, by annual re--elections, until his death. He was in the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company for over fifty years, and his ability, energy and integrity could have no better witness than his long retention in the various positions to which he was chosen. Coming to Reading in 1836, at the very dawn of the great developments which have taken place through the combination of iron, coal, and steam, Mr. Nicolls was foremost among the men who directed that development, and his name will always be prominent among the leaders of his day. During his unusually long term of service with the Philadelphia & Reading Company, covering over half a century, he saw the company ad-vance from a modest beginning to colossal proportions, and had the satisfaction of knowing that his interest and energy had much to do with its growth and progress. During his entire career as an official his constancy to the interests of the company was a prominent character-istic, and his intelligent, systematic management not on-ly resulted in great financial benefit to the road but in many other advantages, as well as in contributing to the safety and comfort of its patrons. His courage and re-source were never better shown than during the great riots of 1877 at Reading, when the whole community was aroused and alarmed over the rebellion of excited and dissatisfied railroad employees. He was fearless in occupying his prominent position at the passenger sta-tion, giving valuable suggestions for the preservation of the company's property and for the movement of regular trains. His attachment to the company was no less marked than his consideration for its employees. On one occasion during the riots he was endeavoring to quell some disturbance, when one of the rioters said to his companions: "Let's shoot that fellow!" "No, that's Nicolls," said the strikers who knew him, "and if you try to kill him, you must do it over our dead bodies." Though be was probably best known in his connection with the Philadelphia & Reading Company, Mr. Nicolls was a man too broad and widely sympathetic to confine his activities to any one line. He was a director of the Reading Fire Insurance & Trust Company from the time of its organization in 1868 until 1875. In 1862 he was elected a trustee of the Charles Evans Cemetery Company, and continued to serve as such until his death. He was also a director of the Schuylkill & Lehigh Railroad Company.
Source:
Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery p.520 http://berks.pa-roots.com/books/montgomery/n02.html - Added by: N.D. Scheidt - 4/13/2018
|
1827 - 1886 (59 Jahre)
[1] 
: Adresse
: Ortsteil
: Ort
: Region
: (Bundes-)Staat/-Land
: Land
: Nicht festgelegt
