American politician
Robert Carter Nicholas (January 10, 1787 – December 24, 1856) was a United States senator from Louisiana . He was a veteran of the War of 1812 , and also served as Secretary of State of Louisiana and Louisiana's Superintendent of Education.
Early life and education
Born in Hanover, Virginia , 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).[1] and the grandson of Robert Carter Nicholas (1728–1780).,[2] and named for his late grandfather Robert Carter Nicholas, Sr. [3]
In 1816 and 1817 Nicholas attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia .[4] [5]
Military service
Nicholas joined the United States Army in 1808, receiving a commission as a Captain in the 7th Infantry Regiment .[6]
Nicholas was promoted to major in 3rd Infantry Regiment in 1810[7] and became Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Infantry Regiment in 1812.[8] He served with his regiment in the War of 1812 , including combat at the Battle of Chippewa .[9] After serving with the 30th Infantry , in 1814 he was promoted to colonel , and he commanded the 8th Infantry Regiment until resigning his commission in 1819.[10] [11]
Career
After his military service, Nicholas relocated to Kentucky , and in 1821 received an appointment as U.S. Indian Agent to the Chickasaw Nation .[12]
Nicholas later moved to Louisiana , where he owned a sugarcane plantation in Terrebonne Parish while residing in St. James Parish .[13] He operated that plantation using enslaved labor. In the last federal census in his lifetime, Nicholas owned 236 enslaved people.[14]
Nicholas was elected as a Jacksonian (later a Democrat ) to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator-elect Charles E.A. Gayarre , and served from January 13, 1836, to March 3, 1841.[15]
He was Secretary of State of Louisiana in 1845.[16] From 1849 to 1853 he was Louisiana's Superintendent of Education.[17] [18]
Death and legacy
Nicholas died in Terrebonne Parish on December 24, 1856.[19]
Hanover, VA
Personal life
He married Susan Adelaide Vinson, and their children included a daughter, Mary. Mary Nicholas was the wife of Frederick George Burthe.[20]
Nicholas was a nephew of John Nicholas , a U.S. Representative from Virginia and Wilson Cary Nicholas , a Senator from Virginia.[21]
References
^ du Bellet, Louise Pecquet (1907). Some Prominent Virginia Families, Volumes I and II . Baltimore, MD: Clearfield. p. 316. ISBN 9780806307220 .
^ "Historical and Genealogical Notes: Nicholas" . William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, Volume 27 . Williamsburg, VA: William and Mary College. July 1, 1918. p. 132.
^ "Ni5-1 Robert Carter Nicholas" . The Genealogy of the Hester Family of Saginaw and the Bland and Nicholas Families of Shelbyville Ky . Dr. William Hester. Retrieved March 18, 2015 .
^ "Alumni of William and Mary College" . The New England Historical and Genealogical Register . 42 . Boston, MA: 361. October 1, 1888. ISBN 9780788405839 .
^ Biographical Directory of the American Congress . Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. 1961. p. 1387.
^ United States Senate, Journal of the Senate of the United States of America , 1810, page 309
^ Journal of the Senate of the United States of America . Washington, DC: R. C. Weightman. 1810. p. 308.
^ Powell, William H. (1900). List of Officers of the Army of the United States from 1779 to 1900 . New York, NY: L. R. Hamersly & Co. p. 88 . robert c. nicholas 12th infantry.
^ Quisenberry, Anderson Chenault (1969). Kentucky in the War of 1812 . Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 165. ISBN 9780806302829 .
^ Anderson Chenault Quisenberry, Kentucky in the War of 1812 , 1996, page 165
^ United States War Department, A Compilation of Registers of the Army of the United States, from 1815 to 1837 , 1837, page 19
^ United States Senate, Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the United States Senate , Volume 3, 1821, page 235
^ Robinson, Merritt M. (1843). Reports of cases argued and determined in the Supreme Court of Louisiana, Volume 22 . New York, NY: A. S. Gould. pp. 7–8.
^ 1850 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule for Eastern District, St. James Parish, Louisiana pp. 49-51 of 85, available on ancestry.com
^ Byrd, Robert (1993). Senate, 1789–1989: Historical Statistics, 1789–1992, Volume 4 . Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 114. ISBN 9780160632563 .
^ Michel, John T. (1902). Annual Report of the Louisiana Secretary of State . Baton Rouge, LA: Baton Rouge News Publishing Company. p. 328.
^ Jeanne Frois, Louisiana Almanac: 2006-2007 , 2006, page 555
^ The Boardman , Volumes 6-8, 1951, page 5
^ "Louisiana Intelligence: Death of Robert C. Nicholas" . The Times-Picayune . New Orleans. December 29, 1856. p. 4. (Incorrectly indicates that Nicholas served 12 years in the Senate and as Chargé d'Affaires in Naples.)
^ The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 57 . Richmond, VA: Virginia Historical Society. 1949. p. 83.
^ American Political Leaders 1789–2009 . Washington, DC: CQ Press, Inc. 2010. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-60426-537-8 .
External links
International National People