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Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 120 - 121 |
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ISAAC NICHOLS
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In Clam Lake township, upon a good farm, Isaac Nichols makes his home and devotes his energies to general agricultural pursuits. He was born in Ontario county, Canada, on the 22d of March, 1847, and is a son of John and Sophia (DeBoyse) Nichols. His parents are both now deceased, his father having passed away in Canada when but thirty years of age. The mother long survived him, however, and spent her last days in the home of her son, Isaac, in Clam Lake township, where she died in her eighty-second year. In the Dominion Isaac Nichols was reared upon a farm. He attended the public schools and when not engaged in the effort to master the branches taught in such institutions he devoted his labors to the work of the farm and thus gained practical experience in the occupation which he has chosen as his life work. He remained in Canada until about twenty-six years of age and then determined to seek a home in the United States. Many are the sons of the Dominion who have crossed the border in order to enjoy the better business opportunities, with livelier competition, that are to be found in this country. It was in the month of September, 1873, that Mr. Nichols arrived in Wexford county with his family and he settled upon the farm where he now lives and it has been his home continuously for thirty years. He here owns one hundred and twenty acres of land and with unfaltering energy he has continued the work of cultivation and improvement here until he now has over one hundred acres under the plow. He has also erected a modern brick residence and made other valuable improvements, including the planting of an orchard of four acres, which yields its fruits in season. His fields return to him good harvests and in all of his farm work he is progressive, using the latest improved machinery in the cultivation of the soil and keeping good grades of stock to assist in carrying on the farm work. Mr. Nichols was married in Canada to Miss Josephine Watt, a native of Lambton county, Ontario, born July 16, 1848. Unto them have been born four children, who are yet living, namely: John W., Thompson W., Melissa S., who is the wife of Robert Graham, and Louisa, who is the wife of Frank Flynn. They have also buried one son, Isaac, who died in Clam Lake township, when twenty years of age, his loss being deeply mourned not only by his family, but also by many friends. John W. wedded Miss Bertha M. Hammond and resides in Clam Lake township; they have one little daughter, Patience L. Thompson W. wedded Miss Anna Stewart and they have two children, Leone J. and Stewart W., a resident of Clam Lake township. John is fitting himself for the profession of dentist and is now a student in the dental department of the Detroit College of Medicine, a member of the class of 1904. Matters of public interest pertaining to the welfare and progress of his section of the state received the attention and oftentimes the active support of Mr. Nichols, who is a wide-awake and progressive citizen. He has served as highway commissioner of Clam Lake township, but has never been an active politician in the sense of office seeking, preferring to give his time and energies to his business affairs. He votes with the Republican party and is connected with the Patrons of Husbandry. He has a nice home and good farm and all that he possesses has come to him through his own efforts. He may well be called a self-made man and deserves all the credit which the term implies. His business methods have been such as will bear close investigation and his worth both as a man and citizen are widely acknowledged by all with whom he has come in contact. His hope of finding good business advantages in the United States has been more than realized and by improving the opportunities with which he was surrounded he has gained a creditable position among the prosperous agriculturists of his adopted county. |