Nicholson - David D - Putnam

Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1893, pp437-438

HON. DAVID D. NICHOLSON. It gives us pleasure to represent on   these pages the life of this venerable gentleman, one of the   early settlers of Ladoga, where he is now living in retirement   from active business. He was for many years identified with the   industrial interests of Montgomery County as a skillful mechanic   and as a practical farmer, and he has been prominent in the   management of its public affairs as an incumbent of some of its   most important offices.

 Mr. Nicholson was born December 1, 1811, in Jessamine County,   Ky., but his life has been passed in this state since he was four   months old, his age when his parents came hither to found a   pioneer home in the wilderness. His father was Benjamin   Nicholson, a Virginian by birth and a Kentuckian by breeding, as   he was but a small boy when his parents settled in Woodford   County, Ky., of which they were among the earliest pioneers. When   Benjamin was a young man his father removed with his family to   Jessamine County, in the same state, and there he was married to   Miss Jemima Starr, who was the daughter of a German who died in   coming across the ocean to this country.

 Mr. Nicholson continued to live in Jessamine County some two or   three years after marriage, and then migrated to this state in   the spring of 1812. He became one of the first pioneers of   Washington County, and during the exciting times of the War of   1812 he and his family lived in a fort for two years. He bought   land that was in a perfectly wild condition, and in the busy   years that followed was actively employed in clearing and   improving it, and was one of the successful farmers of the   county. He died in 1848, leaving behind him a sound record as a   man and a citizen. His wife departed this life in 1830. They had   eight children, three of whom are still living: David D., Martha   Catherine, widow of Noble Calloway, and William M., who lives in   Washington County.

 Hon. David D. Nicholson grew to manhood in Washington County, and   managed to secure a very good education, although the schools of   the day were poor. He remained with his father until he was   nineteen years old, and then left home to learn the trade of a   gunsmith, at which he worked several years. From Washington   County he went to Putnam County, where he engaged at his trade   and opened up some land that his father had bought. Two years   later he left there, and in the spring of 1837 he came to Ladoga,   and this has been his home for the past fifty-five years. He   opened a gun shop and a smithy, and until within ten or fifteen   years has devoted himself to mechanical pursuits. He then bought   a farm of one hundred and twenty acres near town, and engaged in   its improvement. At the age of seventy-five he retired from   business altogether, and is spending the declining years of a   long and honorable life in cheerful contentment, at his ease, in   the enjoyment of an ample income, which is the fruit of his   diligent and well-directed labors in years gone by.

 Mr. Nicholson was married in 1832 to Miss Elizabeth Fleener, a   daughter of John Fleener, who was a prominent pioneer of   Washington County. He was one of the first to settle within its   borders, and on his land was a fort during the War of 1812. Mrs.   Nicholson died in 1875 after a wedded life that extended ever a   period of forty-three years, in which she had been all that a   true wife could be to her husband, and a faithful mother to her   children. They all hold her in grateful remembrance. She was a   sincere Christian, as was shown in her every-day life, and she   was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. Of the seven   children born to her and our subject all grew to maturity, and   these six are living: Benjamin, a blacksmith in Ladoga; John, an   engineer, also residing at Ladoga; William, a general mechanic at   Ladoga; Oliver, who works at heading barrels at Ladoga; Reece, a   farmer, who is living with his father, and Amanda, who died at   the age of thirty, and was the wife of Benjamin F. Williams.

 Mr. Nicholson is a true Democrat of the old Jackson school, and   he has voted at every presidential election from the days of the   old General to the present time. He has always been a strong   advocate of education, and has been School Trustee for ten years.   His fellow citizens, knowing him to be a man of keen   intelligence, perfectly trustworthy, and well fitted for   responsible public positions, have elected him to other   responsible offices. He was Township Trustee for twenty years, in   1839 was made Justice of the Peace, and for five years he   administered the law in the local court wisely and well. In the   season of 1848-49 he served a term in the State Legislature with   credit to himself and his constituents.

Source: Atlas of Montgomery County, Indiana 1878 Chicago: JH Beers

NICHOLSON, David PO Ladoga, Farmer and Township Trustee, son  of Benjamin and Jemima STARR Nicholson, who settled in Washington  Co, Indiana Territory, March 1812 was b. in Jessamine Co Ky Dec  1, 1811 and settled in Ladoga March 1837 married in 1832 to  Elizabeth FLEENOR of Washington Co; 7 children: Benjmain H; Sarah  V; John F; William W; Oliver W; Reese D and Amanda K., all  living.