Z 2206.000 F
NICHOLSON (SAMUEL TIMOTHY) PAPERS


Biography/History:

Samuel Timothy Nicholson was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, around 1833. He was the son of Thomas Wright and Winifred Wiggins Nicholson. By 1853, Samuel Nicholson and his brother, Blake Baker Nicholson, had established a farm near Livingston, Madison County, Mississippi. Blake Nicholson and his wife had returned to their farm near Littleton, North Carolina, by 1855, leaving Samuel Nicholson to manage the farm in Madison County.

On April 18, 1861, Samuel Nicholson enlisted as a private in the Beauregard Rifles, Company I, Eighteenth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate States Army. Soon after his enlistment, Nicholson was elected as second lieutenant of his company. The Eighteenth Regiment saw action at the battles of First Manassas (July 21, 1861) and Leesburg (October 21, 1861) in Virginia. Nicholson was promoted to adjutant of the regiment in March of 1862. Official records indicate that Nicholson resigned from the regiment in November of 1862.

Samuel Nicholson returned to Livingston and married Meta Jiggitts, daughter of Dr. Louis Meridith Jiggitts and Elizabeth Britton Jiggitts, on May 14, 1863. The couple resided in Livingston, and Nicholson continued to manage the farm in Madison County. The Nicholsons had four children: Laura (b. ca. 1865), Meta (b. ca. 1867), Louis (b. ca. 1871), and Elizabeth (b. ca. 1877). Meta Jiggitts Nicholson died on July 2, 1882. Samuel Nicholson married his second wife, Laura R. Jiggitts, on June 20, 1887. He died on March 11, 1896, and was interred at Canton Cemetery in Canton, Madison County.

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of two letters written by Samuel Timothy Nicholson of Livingston, Madison County, Mississippi, in 1854 and 1861. The first letter is addressed to Blake Baker Nicholson. It includes news of mutual acquaintances and mentions clearing land for planting cotton and purchasing slaves. The second letter was sent to an unidentified brother of Samuel Nicholson while the latter was serving in the Beauregard Rifles, Company I, Eighteenth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate States Army. Writing from Camp Pettus, Virginia, Nicholson briefly describes a battle, probably First Manassas (July 21, 1861), in which he recently participated. He also comments on the health of his servant, Wyatt, and of mutual acquaintances serving in Company I.

Series Identification:

  1. Correspondence. 1854-1861. 1 folder.