(1829 -1882)


Attorney; Founder of Maywood, Illinois; assistant clerk of Vermont’s House of Representatives; Vermont States Attorney, 1858 and 1859
In 1855, traveled to Topeka KS and became embroiled in the Kansas-Missouri border wars, the fight to influence whether Kansas Territory would enter the Union as a slave or free state. Colonel Nichols encountered a group of “Slaver” raiders who intended to destroy the town of Lawrence KS, He attempted to learn as much of their plans as possible and warn the people of Lawrence. Along the way Nichols met New York Times Correspondent W. A. Phillips. Phillips wanted to send dispatches to Governor Robinson. Colonel Nichols, at great danger to himself and knowing that if he were caught he would be hung, agreed to deliver them for him. For his act of bravery, Colonel Nichols was appointed to the territorial governor's staff with the rank of Colonel. Colonel Nichols returned to Rutland in January 1856.
In 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, Colonel Nichols enlisted as a private. He saw action at the battle of Bethel with the 14th Vermont Regiment. He was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in September 1861. Soon after he reenlisted, rejoined his regiment and was elected colonel, at first refusing but finally accepting the commission. At Gettysburg, Colonel Nichol's 14th, along with the 13th and 16th Vermont Regiments, are credited by some accounts with blocking Lee's final charge. This led to the confederate surrender.
From a Monument at the Gettysburg Battlefield:
“Fourteenth Vermont-Col. William T. Nichols, July 2, 3, 1863-19 killed-76 wounded- General Stannard’s Vermont Brigade.”
Colonel Nichols mustered out after Gettysburg. At 34, he was elected to the Vermont Senate, the youngest man to ever serve as a Vermont State Senator.
In 1865 while on a trip to explore business opportunities in the south, he sailed on the SS. Republic. This was her fateful final voyage. The ship was struck by a hurricane and Colonel Nichols, along with the rest of the passengers, were shipwrecked 300 miles off the coast of the Carolinas. The survivors spent 3 days in lifeboats before being rescued by the steamer General Hooker and taken to Charleston, South Carolina. At the same time he was fighting for his life, his beloved wife and daughter May lay dying from typhoid fever.
The Town, Maywood, Illinois a suburb of Chicago, which Colonel Nichols founded along with 6 other Vermont businessmen, is named for his daughter May.