Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/551

Rh and married theie an American lady. On his return to Holland in 1827 he whs elected a member of the lower chamber, took part in the revolution of 1830, and was for three years a member of the Belgian assembly. Early in 1884 he resigned his seat, and was making preparations to emigrate to the United States, where he had resolved to make his home, when he died suddenly of heart disease. His works include " Histoire de la guerre entre I'Angleterre et les Etats-Unis, ses causes, ses resul- tats " (The Hague, 1819); and "Voyage pittoresque a travers les Etats-Unis de I'Amerique du Nord " (2 vols., Brussels, 1824). His " Lettres d'un diplo- mate " (2 vols., 1828), which were written during the author's official career in America, and contain a description of the society of Baltimore, attained a large circulation and were widely discussed. He also wrote;' Considerations sur le systeme republi- eain des Etats-Unis compare avec les gouverne- ments representatifs d'Europe " (1831) ; and " De I'aristoeratie en Europe et en Amerique " (1833).

NICHOLA, or NICOLA, Lewis, soldier, b. in Dublin, Ireland, in 1717; d. in Alexandria, Va., 9 Aug., 1807. He was of Huguenot descent, and both his father and grandfather were officers in the British army. He also entered the army as ensign in 1740. was subsequently promoted major, and in 1766 given the command of Port Charles, near Kinsale, Ireland. In this year he resigned his commission and emigrated to this country, settling in Philadelphia, where he engaged in civil engineering. In 1769 he established the "American Magazine," which he published and edited during that year, including the transactions of the American philosophical society, of which he became a member. Early in 1776 he was chosen barracks-master-general of Philadelphia, and he afterward was placed in command of the city guard. In December of that year he was commissioned town major, with that rank in the state service, holding this place till 1782. Shortly after the Declaration of Independence he published in Philadelphia " A Treatise of Military Exercise, Calculated for the Use of Americans, in which every Thing that is supposed can be of Use to Them is retained, and such Manoeuvres as are only for Show and Parade omitted. To which is added some Directions on the Other Points of Discipline." He planned a calevat or boat for river defence, devised plans for magazines, and made maps of the injuries that were done by the British while they were in posses- sion of the city. He formed and offered to congress the plan for raising a regiment of invalids, which was not only to be a retreat for those who suffered in the service, but also a recruiting corps and mili- tary school, and in 1777 was commissioned its colonel. He was made brevet brigadier-general in the U. S. army in November, 1783. His military knowledge and skill made his services of great value to the colonies, and the archives of Pennsyl- vania teem with his suggestions for the good of the public service. He was one of the original members of the Pennsylvania branch of the Society of the Cincinnati. Col. Nichola was usually the medium of communicating to Gen. Washington the complaints and wishes of his comrades in arms. In this capacity, in May, 1783, he addressed a letter to Gen. Washington, in which he suggested that a mixed government, of which the head might bear the title of king, would be best able to extricate the United States from their embarrassments. He further hinted that Washington alone would be worthy of this place, since he had conducted the war to a successful issue. The letter caused Gen. Wash- ington pain, and he rebuked the writer severely.

NICHOLAS, Robert Carter, statesman, b. in Hanover, Va., in 1715; d. there in 1780. His fa- ther, Dr. George Nicholas, emigrated to Virginia about 1700. After graduation at William and Mary college, the son studied law, and practised with much success. He represented James City in the house of burgesses, in which he continued until the house of delegates was organized in 1777, and was a member of this body until 1779, when he was appointed a judge of the high court of chancery, and consequently of the court of appeals. Prom 1764 till 1776 he was a conspicuous member of the paity of which Richard Bland, Peyton Randolph, and "Edmund Pendleton were leaders, and in 1774 voted against the stamp-act resolutions of Patrick Henry. From 1766 till 1777 he was treasurer of the colony, and in 1773 he was a member of the committee of correspondence. He was also a mem- ber of all of the important conventions, and presi- dent pro tempore of the one that met in July, 1775. — His son, George, statesman, b. in Hanover, Va., about 1755 ; d. in Kentucky in 1799, was graduated at William and Mary in 1772, was major of the 2d Virginia regiment in 1777, and afterward became colonel. He was an active member of the conven- tion that ratified the Pederal constitution, and was a member of the house of delegates, in whose de- liberations he had great influence. In 1790 he removed to Kentucky, and was chosen a member of the convention that framed the constitution of that state, meeting at Danville, Ky., on 1 April, . The constitution was largely the work of Mr. Nicholas. He was the first attorney-general of Kentucky. — Another son, Wilson Cary, governor of Virginia, b. in Hanover, Va., about 1757; d. in Milton, Va., 10 Oct., 1820, was graduated at Will- iam and Mary college. He was an officer in the Revo- lutionary army, and commanded Wash- ington's life-guard until it was dis- banded in 1783. He was a member of the convention that ratified the consti- tution of the Unit- ed States, and was elected a U. S. sena- tor, in place of Hen- ry Tazewell, as a ^ Democrat, serving ^ from 8 Jan., 1800, till his resignation, 17 Dec, 1804. He was collector of the ports of Norfolk and Portsmouth in 1804-'7. He was elected to congress, serving from 26 Oct., 1807, till 27 Nov., 1809, and from 1814 till 1817 he was governor of Virginia. Henry S. Randall, in his lite of Jefferson, says of him and his brothers : " No Virginia family contributed more to Mr. Jef- ferson's personal success than the powerful family of the Nicholases — powerful in talents, powerful in probity, powerful in their numbers and union. On every page of Mr. Jefferson's political history the names of George, John, Wilson Cary, and Philip Norborne Nicholas are written. — Another son, John, jurist, b. in Williamsburg, Va., 19 Jan., 1761 ; d. in Geneva, N. Y., 31 Dec, 1819. was elected to congress as a Democrat, serving from 2 Dec,, till 3 March, 1801. He removed to Geneva, N. Y., in 1803, and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. Prom 1806 till 1809 he was a state