Soldier Information
Name: Isham Nichols
Alias:
Place of Birth: Nelson KY Year of Birth: 1830
Occupation: Farmer
Eyes: Brown Hair: Black Complexion: Yellow
Height in Feet: 5 Inches: 8
Enlistment Information
Enlistment Date: June 27, 1864
Enlistment Place: Lebanon
Enlistment State: KY
Compiled Military Service Record
Document: View
Congressional District: 4th
Company: K Regiment(s): 108th USCI
Mustered Where: Lebanon, KY
Mustered Out Date: November 10, 1865
Rank at Muster Out: Private
Notes:
Isham Nichols discharged Nov. 10, 1865 on account of physical disability. He had been reduced in rank on Sept. 1, 1865 and there is no indication he was restored to Corporal. On the muster-out roll card, there is no reconciliation of his accounts or record of bounty paid.
Soldier Death Information
Died in war? No
Military Death Date:
Military Death Location:
Military Cause of Death:
Death Date: December 25, 1865
Cause of Death: Dysentery
Soldier Pension Information
No pension card found
Widow Pension Information
Widow Pension Card: Pension Card
Widow Application Date: June 4, 1869
Application No.: 175946 Certificate No.: 133749
No other family pension card found
Pension File Information
Pension File: Pension File
Pensioners: Eliza Muir
Pensioner County: Nelson Pensioner State: KY
Number of Pages:44
Pension Notes:
Pension file reveals date of death and cause of death for Isham Nichols; identifies name, age, and birth dates of the minor children under age 16 at Isham’s death. Despite the certificate of disability issued by the Federal Army, it took Eliza Nichols 4 years to obtain his pension benefits.
Freedman’s Bank/Freedmen’s Bureau Information
No Freedman’s Bank information found
No Freedmen’s Bureau Documents found
Family Information
Mother First Name: Mother Maiden Name:
Father First Name: Father Last Name:
Siblings:
Wife #1 First Name: Eliza Maiden Name: Muir
Wife #2 First Name: Maiden Name:
Wife #3 First Name: Maiden Name:
Children: Henry Clay Nichols 1852
Paulina Nichols 1855
Caroline Nichols 1857
Coleman Nichols 1859
Ann Nichols 1861
Amanda 1864 Nichols
Sallie Nichols 1867
Family Notes:
The pension identifies 5 of the minor children at the time of Isham Nichols’ death (Henry, Coleman, Caroline, Anna and Paulina), but susbsequent census records indicate there were possibly 5 other children born to Eliza Nichols. Amanda is possibly another child of Isham and Eliza but Sallie is certainly not Isham’s child as she was born after his death. I could not find any definitive records to Amanda and Sallie were the daughters of Eliza other than the 1880 census record.
Family Tree: View
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1870 Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Profession: Keeping house
1870 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1870 Real Estate Value: 1870 Personal Estate Value:
1870 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1870 Census Notes:
In 1870, Eliza is living in Bloomfield, Nelson County, KY with (presumably) her children. She is listed as age 38, born in Kentucky with estimated birth year of 1832. In the household is Taylor, 24 years old (which is a stretch to believe he was her son); his occupation is farm hand. Others include Henry (17), Pauline (15), Caroline (13), Coleman (10), Annie (7), and Amanda (6).
1880 Census
1880 Census Link: View
1880 Profession: Keeping house
1880 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1880 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1880 Census Notes:
In 1880 the Nichols family is still residing in Bloomfield, Kentucky. Eliza’s age is 48 which is consistent with the 1870 census record. There are three children identified as her daughters in the household: Mandy (16), Anna (20), and Sallie (13). Sallie was not recorded in the 1870 census so it’s unclear if this is really her daughter or not. In the record, there are a number of families living on adjacent properties that are probably related to Eliza Nichols, including two of her married adult daughters- Caroline Anderson and Paulina Duncan. Son Henry Nichols is working elsewhere in the county for a white family named Muir. There is no mention of Taylor Nichols in this record or any subsequent census record living in Nelson County; Taylor may have been a middle name and his first name something else. It’s quite possible Taylor was simply another former enslaved individual of Henry Maynard Nichols and not necessarily related to Isham and Eliza Nichols. As for Sallie Nichols, given her estimated birth year of 1867, she certainly was not the daughter of Isham Nichols. I also doubt Amanda Nichols was Eliza’s daughter since she is not mentioned anywhere in the pension file and would have been a minor at the time the widow pension application was filed.
1890 Census
1890 Census information not found
1900 Census
1900 Census Link: View
1900 Profession: Not given
1900 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1900 Own/Rent: Own 1900 Home Free/Mortgage: Free 1900 Farm/House: Farm
1900 Census Notes:
In 1900, “Lizzie” Nicholls resides in Nelson County and in this record she is listed as Head of family. Age 66, birth month and year given as May 1834. Remarkably, despite no occupation recorded, she owns her farm, free of mortgage. The enumerator notes she is a widow, mother of 2 children with 2 surviving. This is erroneous but it’s unclear what record this designation refers to. At any rate, living with her is son Coleman (40 yo), son Clay a.k.a Henry 50 yo and his 22 yo wife Ella, their children Eliza 10 yo, Henry C. 3 yo, and Ella 1 yo.
In 1910, “Liza” Nichols lives in Nelson County with her son Clay and his family. She is 78 and widowed, but the enumerator records that she has been married for 52 years. Also, that she is the mother of 10 children with only 4 still surviving. The census records have been widely inconsistent with these descriptive fields so they’re not of much value.
1910 Census
1910 Census Link: View
1910 Profession: None
1910 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1910 Own/Rent: Own 1910 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1910 Farm/House: House
1910 Census Notes:
1920 Census
1920 Census Link: View
1920 Profession: None
1920 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1920 Own/Rent: Own 1920 Home Free/Mortgage: Free 1920 Farm/House: House
1920 Census Notes:
In 1920, Eliza is living with her daughter and son-in-law Anna and Robert MCoomer. She is 87 years old with an estimated birth year of 1833. Household members are the McCoomer’s married adult daughters, Malvina Asbery (37), Ora Northington (33) and her husband William (33), and grandaughter Dorothy Northington (10).
Enslaver Information
Name: Henry Nichols Location: Nelson County, Kentucky
Previous Enslaver:
Enslaver Notes:
The challenge with this soldier record is to identify which of the Henry Maynard Nichols’ was his enslaver in 1850 and/or 1860 since there were three couples who are possibilities from 1840 to 1860
Henry and Catherine Nichols (Henry died in 1848 and his widow Catherine appears in the 1850 Slave Schedule)
Henry and Elizabeth Nichols
Henry and Jennet Nichols
1850 Enslaver Census
1850 Census Link: View
1850 Slave Schedule Link: View
1850 Number of Enslaved: 23
1860 Enslaver Census
1860 Census Link: View
1860 Real Estate Value: $14,100 1860 Personal Estate Value: $7500
1860 Slave Schedule Link: View
1860 Number of Enslaved: 10
1870 Enslaver Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Real Estate Value: $15,000 1870 Personal Estate Value: $1870
1880 Enslaver Census
Compensation Information
Compensation Application not found