Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T23:36:04Z

Dhtwiki: copy-editing "Legacy", templating, wiki-linking; removing {{GOCEinuse}}

{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013|few=March 2015}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols (detail), in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]], and a nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]], where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married her second husband, John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her husband for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915, at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family, and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained efforts, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana—Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, Victor C. Megenity, and others—discovered documents regarding her being owned as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings, which appeared, for [[Black History Month]], in the [[Indiana Historical Society]]'s ''Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History'' magazine (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, after which she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and allotted to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845, according to the Higgs family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died, and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee, to be allotted equally between his heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861, court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves, and their value, to be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs, after their second-eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]], and eventually arrived at the Union lines that were at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee, almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment]], who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment, and described her character as someone having integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref name=Esarey2012>{{cite news |last=Esarey |first=Jenna |title=Exhibit details life of an escaped slave |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy |date=January 31, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Courier-Journal]] |location=Louisville, Kentucky |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> Other soldiers, and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Lucy's first husband came into the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]], or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed; but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, Lucy's young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]], in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]], and then north, where the 23rd Infantry was present in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana, community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers, and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well; and, again, years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]], in Chicago, and was considered a member of the family.

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions, and Lucy was no exception; but the GAR rallied to her defense again. She was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous, through the many newspaper stories on the granting of the pension.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries' Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (NKAA), John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of [[Washington County, Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infantry listed John as a musician, but after the war, he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>{{cite web |title=John J. Nichols: Private of the Union Army |url=http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols |website=[[FindTheBest]] |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to marriage records, from 1845-1920, shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street, New Albany. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger of the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as having been born in Halifax County, North Carolina, before moving to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery, New Albany.

==Legacy==
*In 2011, a marker in her honor was erected by the [[Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau|Indiana Historical Bureau]] and the Friends of [[Division Street School]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at {{Coord|38|17.283|N|85|48.763|W}}, on E. Market St., in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana, houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky, reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year, through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'' and a companion book for younger readers, by Indiana author Kathryn Grant, were published in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |title=Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery |url=http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery |date=July 16, 2013 |newspaper=[[News and Tribune]] |location=[[Jeffersonville, Indiana]] |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T23:11:47Z

Dhtwiki: re-wiki-linking mentions of the 23rd Indiana; copy-editing ""Personal life and later years"

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013|few=March 2015}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols (detail), in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]], and a nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]], where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married her second husband, John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her husband for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915, at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family, and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained efforts, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana—Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, Victor C. Megenity, and others—discovered documents regarding her being owned as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings, which appeared, for [[Black History Month]], in the [[Indiana Historical Society]]'s ''Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History'' magazine (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, after which she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and allotted to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845, according to the Higgs family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died, and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee, to be allotted equally between his heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861, court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves, and their value, to be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs, after their second-eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]], and eventually arrived at the Union lines that were at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee, almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment]], who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment, and described her character as someone having integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref name=Esarey2012>{{cite news |last=Esarey |first=Jenna |title=Exhibit details life of an escaped slave |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy |date=January 31, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Courier-Journal]] |location=Louisville, Kentucky |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> Other soldiers, and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Lucy's first husband came into the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]], or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed; but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, Lucy's young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]], in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]], and then north, where the 23rd Infantry was present in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana, community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers, and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well; and, again, years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]], in Chicago, and was considered a member of the family.

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions, and Lucy was no exception; but the GAR rallied to her defense again. She was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous, through the many newspaper stories on the granting of the pension.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries' Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (NKAA), John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of [[Washington County, Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infantry listed John as a musician, but after the war, he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>{{cite web |title=John J. Nichols: Private of the Union Army |url=http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols |website=[[FindTheBest]] |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to marriage records, from 1845-1920, shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street, New Albany. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger of the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as having been born in Halifax County, North Carolina, before moving to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery, New Albany.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T22:48:52Z

Dhtwiki: setting "few" parameter in orphan template (2 articles now link); copy-editing "After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry"

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013|few=March 2015}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols (detail), in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]], and a nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|Indiana 23rd Infantry]] of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]], where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married her second husband, John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her husband for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915, at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family, and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained efforts, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana—Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, Victor C. Megenity, and others—discovered documents regarding her being owned as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings, which appeared, for [[Black History Month]], in the [[Indiana Historical Society]]'s ''Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History'' magazine (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, after which she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and allotted to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845, according to the Higgs family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died, and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee, to be allotted equally between his heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861, court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves, and their value, to be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs, after their second-eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]], and eventually arrived at the Union lines that were at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee, almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment, and described her character as someone having integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref name=Esarey2012>{{cite news |last=Esarey |first=Jenna |title=Exhibit details life of an escaped slave |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy |date=January 31, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Courier-Journal]] |location=Louisville, Kentucky |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> Other soldiers, and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Lucy's first husband came into the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]], or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed; but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, Lucy's young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]], in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]], and then north, where the 23rd Infantry was present in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana, community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers, and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well; and, again, years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]], in Chicago, and was considered a member of the family.

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions, and Lucy was no exception; but the GAR rallied to her defense again. She was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous, through the many newspaper stories on the granting of the pension.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries Database of Notable Kentucky African Americans, John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of Washington County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infanttry listed him as a musician, but after the war he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>{{cite web |title=John J. Nichols: Private of the Union Army |url=http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols |website=[[FindTheBest]] |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to Marriage Record from 1845-1920 shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger to the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as being born in Halifax County, North Carolina before they moved to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T22:35:51Z

Dhtwiki: copy-editing "Escape from slavery and the Civil War"

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols (detail), in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]], and a nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|Indiana 23rd Infantry]] of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]], where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married her second husband, John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her husband for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915, at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family, and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained efforts, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana—Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, Victor C. Megenity, and others—discovered documents regarding her being owned as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings, which appeared, for [[Black History Month]], in the [[Indiana Historical Society]]'s ''Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History'' magazine (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, after which she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and allotted to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845, according to the Higgs family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died, and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee, to be allotted equally between his heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861, court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves, and their value, to be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs, after their second-eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]], and eventually arrived at the Union lines that were at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee, almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment, and described her character as someone having integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref name=Esarey2012>{{cite news |last=Esarey |first=Jenna |title=Exhibit details life of an escaped slave |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy |date=January 31, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Courier-Journal]] |location=Louisville, Kentucky |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> Other soldiers, and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Lucy's first husband came into the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]], or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed; but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, Lucy's young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]], in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]], and then north, where the 23rd Infantry was present in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well and again years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]] in Chicago and considered a member of the family.
[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions and Lucy was no exception, but the GAR rallied to her defense again and she was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous in many newspapers of the time.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries Database of Notable Kentucky African Americans, John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of Washington County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infanttry listed him as a musician, but after the war he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>{{cite web |title=John J. Nichols: Private of the Union Army |url=http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols |website=[[FindTheBest]] |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to Marriage Record from 1845-1920 shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger to the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as being born in Halifax County, North Carolina before they moved to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T22:23:44Z

Dhtwiki: templating reference

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols (detail), in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]], and a nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|Indiana 23rd Infantry]] of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]], where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married her second husband, John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her husband for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915, at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family, and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained efforts, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana—Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, Victor C. Megenity, and others—discovered documents regarding her being owned as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings, which appeared, for [[Black History Month]], in the [[Indiana Historical Society]]'s ''Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History'' magazine (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, after which she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and allotted to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845, according to the Higgs family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died, and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee, to be allotted equally between his heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861, court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves, and their value, to be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs, after their second-eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter, Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]] and eventually arrived at the Union lines who were camped at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of Indiana's 23rd, who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment and described her character as someone with integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref name=Esarey2012>{{cite news |last=Esarey |first=Jenna |title=Exhibit details life of an escaped slave |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy |date=January 31, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Courier-Journal]] |location=Louisville, Kentucky |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> Other soldiers and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Her first husband joined the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]] or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed, but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, her young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]] in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]] and then north where the 23rd Infantry was presented in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well and again years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]] in Chicago and considered a member of the family.
[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions and Lucy was no exception, but the GAR rallied to her defense again and she was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous in many newspapers of the time.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries Database of Notable Kentucky African Americans, John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of Washington County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infanttry listed him as a musician, but after the war he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>{{cite web |title=John J. Nichols: Private of the Union Army |url=http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols |website=[[FindTheBest]] |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to Marriage Record from 1845-1920 shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger to the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as being born in Halifax County, North Carolina before they moved to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T06:38:18Z

Dhtwiki: templating reference

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols (detail), in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]], and a nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|Indiana 23rd Infantry]] of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]], where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married her second husband, John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her husband for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915, at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family, and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained efforts, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana—Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, Victor C. Megenity, and others—discovered documents regarding her being owned as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings, which appeared, for [[Black History Month]], in the [[Indiana Historical Society]]'s ''Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History'' magazine (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, after which she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and allotted to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845, according to the Higgs family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died, and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee, to be allotted equally between his heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861, court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves, and their value, to be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs, after their second-eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter, Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]] and eventually arrived at the Union lines who were camped at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of Indiana's 23rd, who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment and described her character as someone with integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref name=Esarey2012>{{cite news |last=Esarey |first=Jenna |title=Exhibit details life of an escaped slave |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy |date=January 31, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Courier-Journal]] |location=Louisville, Kentucky |accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref> Other soldiers and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Her first husband joined the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]] or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed, but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, her young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]] in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]] and then north where the 23rd Infantry was presented in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well and again years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]] in Chicago and considered a member of the family.
[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions and Lucy was no exception, but the GAR rallied to her defense again and she was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous in many newspapers of the time.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries Database of Notable Kentucky African Americans, John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of Washington County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infanttry listed him as a musician, but after the war he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to Marriage Record from 1845-1920 shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger to the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as being born in Halifax County, North Carolina before they moved to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T06:25:41Z

Dhtwiki: copy-editing "Early life"

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols (detail), in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]], and a nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|Indiana 23rd Infantry]] of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]], where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married her second husband, John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her husband for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915, at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family, and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained efforts, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana—Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, Victor C. Megenity, and others—discovered documents regarding her being owned as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings, which appeared, for [[Black History Month]], in the [[Indiana Historical Society]]'s ''Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History'' magazine (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, after which she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and allotted to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845, according to the Higgs family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died, and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee, to be allotted equally between his heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861, court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves, and their value, to be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs, after their second-eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter, Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]] and eventually arrived at the Union lines who were camped at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of Indiana's 23rd, who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment and described her character as someone with integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref>http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy</ref> Other soldiers and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Her first husband joined the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]] or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed, but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, her young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]] in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]] and then north where the 23rd Infantry was presented in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well and again years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]] in Chicago and considered a member of the family.
[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions and Lucy was no exception, but the GAR rallied to her defense again and she was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous in many newspapers of the time.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries Database of Notable Kentucky African Americans, John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of Washington County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infanttry listed him as a musician, but after the war he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to Marriage Record from 1845-1920 shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger to the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as being born in Halifax County, North Carolina before they moved to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T06:04:03Z

Dhtwiki: editing caption; copy-editing lead

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols (detail), in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]], and a nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|Indiana 23rd Infantry]] of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]], where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married her second husband, John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her husband for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915, at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family, and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained efforts, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana, Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, and Victor C. Megenity, and others discovered documents regarding her ownership as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings which appeared for [[Black History Month]] in ''Traces'' magazine, (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, when she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and divvied out to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845 miles apart. According to the Higgs Family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee to be divided in equal value between his other heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861 court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves and their value to be divided out between Willie and Prudence Higgs after their next eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter, Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]] and eventually arrived at the Union lines who were camped at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of Indiana's 23rd, who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment and described her character as someone with integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref>http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy</ref> Other soldiers and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Her first husband joined the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]] or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed, but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, her young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]] in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]] and then north where the 23rd Infantry was presented in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well and again years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]] in Chicago and considered a member of the family.
[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions and Lucy was no exception, but the GAR rallied to her defense again and she was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous in many newspapers of the time.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries Database of Notable Kentucky African Americans, John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of Washington County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infanttry listed him as a musician, but after the war he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to Marriage Record from 1845-1920 shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger to the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as being born in Halifax County, North Carolina before they moved to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T05:44:53Z

Dhtwiki: spacing; editing picture caption; making reflist multi-column

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013}}
}}

[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols, in Indianapolis, 1898, with the G.A.R., where she celebrated her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]] and nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|Indiana 23rd Infantry]] of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]] where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her second husband John Nichols for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915 at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained effort, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them in 28 battles from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C. on May 23, and May 24, 1865 for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspapers articles writing about the special act of congress, which granted her pension, once spread her fame across the country. These included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana, Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, and Victor C. Megenity, and others discovered documents regarding her ownership as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings which appeared for [[Black History Month]] in ''Traces'' magazine, (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, when she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and divvied out to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845 miles apart. According to the Higgs Family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee to be divided in equal value between his other heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861 court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves and their value to be divided out between Willie and Prudence Higgs after their next eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter, Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]] and eventually arrived at the Union lines who were camped at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of Indiana's 23rd, who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment and described her character as someone with integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref>http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy</ref> Other soldiers and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Her first husband joined the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]] or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed, but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, her young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]] in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]] and then north where the 23rd Infantry was presented in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well and again years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]] in Chicago and considered a member of the family.
[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions and Lucy was no exception, but the GAR rallied to her defense again and she was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous in many newspapers of the time.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries Database of Notable Kentucky African Americans, John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of Washington County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infanttry listed him as a musician, but after the war he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to Marriage Record from 1845-1920 shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger to the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as being born in Halifax County, North Carolina before they moved to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Lucy Higgs Nichols

2015-03-25T05:37:22Z

Dhtwiki: prematurely removing {{Copy edit|date=November 2013}}; placing {{GOCEinuse}}

{{GOCEinuse}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=November 2013}}
{{Orphan|date=November 2013}}
}}
[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols head shot.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols in 1898 celebrating Indianapolis with the G.A.R. on her recent government pension approval. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany Floyd - County Public Library]]

'''Lucy Higgs Nichols''' (April 10, 1838 – January 25, 1915) was an [[African-American history|African American]] [[Fugitive slave laws|escaped slave]] and nurse for the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Known affectionately as "Aunt Lucy", her sole photo shows her surrounded by veterans of the [[23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment|Indiana 23rd Infantry]] of the [[Army of the Tennessee]]. She was as devoted to the soldiers as they were to her and her daughter, Mona. She lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War, and after the war ended, settled in [[New Albany, Indiana]] where she worked as a housekeeper to several officers and eventually married John Nichols. She lived in New Albany with her second husband John Nichols for more than forty years, until her death on January 25, 1915 at the Floyd County Poor House.

The [[Grand Army of the Republic]] admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson's Post, men's group, but of the United States. "Aunt Lucy" was treated as family and loved by all the soldiers that knew her. Due to their sustained effort, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them in 28 battles from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C. on May 23, and May 24, 1865 for the [[Grand Review of the Armies]]. Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspapers articles writing about the special act of congress, which granted her pension, once spread her fame across the country. These included ''The Janesville Gazette'', ''The Salem Democrat'', ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''The Logansport Journal'', ''[[The Denver Post]]'', ''The Freeman'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''.

==Early life==
Until recently, little was known about Lucy Higgs as a child, but local historians from New Albany, Indiana, Pamela R. Peters, Curtis H. Peters, and Victor C. Megenity, and others discovered documents regarding her ownership as a slave in [[Hardeman County, Tennessee]]. Pamela Peters wrote an article about their findings which appeared for [[Black History Month]] in ''Traces'' magazine, (Winter 2010).

Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land in July 1855. An additional, earlier family record lists Lucy's birth as April 10, 1838, when she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and divvied out to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth, who both died in 1845 miles apart. According to the Higgs Family cemetery archives from Hardeman County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/hardeman/cemeteries/higgs.txt |title=Hardeman County, TN - Cemeteries - Higgs Cemetery |publisher=Files.usgwarchives.net |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> The families went to court again, when Wineford died and the slave children were sent back up to Grays Creek, Tennessee to be divided in equal value between his other heirs. On Tuesday, January 8, 1861 court documents again list Lucy with four other slaves and their value to be divided out between Willie and Prudence Higgs after their next eldest son, Marcus Higgs, died.

==Escape from slavery and the Civil War==
[[File:Lucy and Mona Escapiing Slavery.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs with her daughter Mona escaping slavery from Grays Creek, Tennessee to the Union lines, June of 1862.]]

In late June 1862, Lucy, her daughter, Mona, and some other slaves escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee, crossed the [[Hatchie River]] and eventually arrived at the Union lines who were camped at the fairgrounds near Bolivar, Tennessee almost thirty miles away. Major Shadrack Hooper of Indiana's 23rd, who recorded all of their battles as adjutant, reported her joining their regiment and described her character as someone with integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf |title=A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry |publisher=Nafclibrary.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref><ref>http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120201/ZONE12/302010032/carnegie-exhibit-lucy</ref> Other soldiers and the regiment surgeon, Magnus Brucker, described her as a faithful nurse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf |title=Magnus Brucker Papers, 1861-1868 |publisher=Indianahistory.org |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref>

[[File:Lucy Higgs Union Civil War Nurse.JPG|thumb|Lucy Higgs Nichols foraged herbs and gave medicine to soldiers from Indiana's 23rd Infantry during the Civil War, 1862-1865.]]

Her first husband joined the Union lines as a laborer under [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]] or may have possibly served in a [[United States Colored Troops|colored regiment]] that was formed, but it is not known what happened to him. Mona, her young daughter, died at the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including [[Walter Q. Gresham|General W. Q. Gresham]]. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were called back to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]] in [[Sherman's March to the Sea|The March to the Sea]] and then north where the 23rd Infantry was presented in the [[Grand Review of the Armies]].

==After the war: work with the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry==
After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lucy was a free citizen of the New Albany, Indiana community and maintained herself with modest means. She still worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health. So beloved was Lucy that five years after the war, when she contracted [[measles]], she was cared for by the soldiers, until she was well and again years later, when she had a stroke. When General Gresham’s daughter was married, Lucy was an invited guest at [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]] in Chicago and considered a member of the family.
[[File:Lucy Higgs Nichols Original.jpg|thumb|Group of Civil War and Spanish-American War soldiers and veterans at a reunion in English, Indiana in 1898. Several are identified: front row, 4th from left is Lemuel Ford; front row, 10th from left (dark hat and beard): Winfield Scott Sloan; 2nd row from front, 1st on left: Peter Gottfried; 2nd row 6th from left (long white beard): Henry McCowan; 2nd row, 7th from left (African-American woman): Lucy Nichols; 2nd row, man with largest drum: Tim Ingle. Stuart B. Wrege History Room, New Albany - Floyd County Public Library]]

As the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was forming posts all over the nation, Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s Post. She attended every meeting and reunion with the soldiers. At the last meeting of more than seventy veterans the officers escorted her with much respect. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions and Lucy was no exception, but the GAR rallied to her defense again and she was eventually granted $12 a month in a special act reported by The [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Pensions]] on July 1, 1898, which subsequently made her famous in many newspapers of the time.<ref>HB4741, Congressional Serial Set, v.74, pt.3, p.617 – 1898</ref>

==Personal life and later years==
On the [[University of Kentucky]] Libraries Database of Notable Kentucky African Americans, John Nichols, Lucy's second husband, is described as residing in Tennessee and Indiana with his mother and father as free community members, according to the 1850 census of Washington County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2435 |title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Nichols, John and Lucy A. Higgs |publisher=Nkaa.uky.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> Indiana's 152nd Infanttry listed him as a musician, but after the war he joined the colored regiment before returning to New Albany after three years.<ref>http://civil-war-soldiers.findthedata.org/l/4127128/John-J-Nichols</ref> [[Floyd County, Indiana]]'s index to Marriage Record from 1845-1920 shows that Lucy and John married on April 13, 1870. They did not have any children together. The 1910 census still shows them living quietly on Naghel Street. Lucy Nichols is listed on the ledger to the Floyd County Poor House as being admitted on January 1, 1915. Even though her birthplace is listed on the register as Kentucky, she is listed clearly on Rueben Higgs' court and family inventories as being born in Halifax County, North Carolina before they moved to Grays Creek, Tennessee. The register shows her death as January 25, 1915. She is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery.

==Legacy==
*A marker in her honor was erected in 2011 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Friends of Division Street School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm |title=Newsroom |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-11-13}}</ref> As listed on Indiana Historical Bureau Markers, Lucy Higgs Nichols' marker is located at 38° 17.283′ N, 85° 48.763′ W. in New Albany, Indiana. A summary of her life and accomplishments appears on the front and back of the marker.

*The [[Carnegie Center for Art & History]] in New Albany, Indiana houses an exhibit, ''Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, Men & Women of the Underground Railroad''.

*The [[Frazier History Museum]] in Louisville, Kentucky reprises the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols each year through programs and a local theatrical interpretation.

*An historical novel based on the life of Lucy Higgs Nichols, '' Honorable (Purpose in Repose)'', and a companion book for younger readers by Indiana author Kathryn Grant were published in 2013.<ref>''[[News and Tribune]]'' (July 16, 2013). [http://www.newsandtribune.com/local/x1538943055/Author-to-talk-book-on-woman-who-escaped-slavery "Author to talk book on woman who escaped slavery"]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further sources==
*'''Newspapers'''
**"Daughter of the Regiment," Janesville Daily Gazette, 03/14/1889, p. 1
**“Negro Woman Given Membership in G.A.R.,” Atlanta Constitution, 01/31/1891.
**“GRAY HEADS AND GRAY BEARDS IN REUNION,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 09/21/ 1894."Colored Nurse's Pension," Logansport Journal, 07/15/1898, p. 5
**"Noted Woman Warrior Receives Her Reward," New York Times, 12/14/1898.
**“Why Aunt Lucy Got a Pension,” The Denver Sunday Post, 12/18/1898.
**“Negress Who Nursed Soldiers Is a Member of the G. A. R.,” The Freeman, 09/03/1904.
**“Only Woman Ever Member of G.A.R. Dies in Asylum,” New Albany Daily Ledger, 01/29/1915.
**Lucy Nichols in "Obituary Notes," New York Times, 01/31/1915.
**Lucy Nichols article, New Albany Weekly Ledger, 02/03/1915.
**Shiels, Damain, “Who Shot General McPherson,” Civil War Gazette, 02/01/2001.
**Bean, Amanda, “The Civil War: 23rd Indiana Regiment,” News and Tribune, 03/13/2013.
**HOOPER, SHADRACH K.,A Historical Sketch of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry July 29, 1861, to July 23, 1865, Report of the Indiana-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, 1910, PREPARED IN PAMPHLET FORM BY THE AUTHOR FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE 23RD INDIANA REGIMENT AT THEIR ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, 09/29-30/1910.
**Peters, Pamela R., Peters, Curtis H., and Meginity, Victor C.,"Lucy Higgs Nichols: From Slave to Civil War Nurse of the 23rd Indiana Regiment," Traces (Winter 2010): 35-39.

*'''Documents and records'''
**The National Archives, US Colored Troops Military Service Records, film 3M589
**The Civil War Archive – Indiana Units
**Floyd County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1845-1920
**Inclusive Volume W. P. A. Book Number Indicates Location of Record, Book 6, p. 572.
**Caron’s Directory of the City of New Albany 1888-1889
**Halifax County Deed Books, Bk. 22, p. 225, No. 24
**United States Federal Census Records, 1830,1840,1850,1860,1870,1880,1890
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 03/02/ 1846
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Inventory of Rueben Higgs’ Slave Property, 07/09/ 1855
**Hardeman County, Tennessee Records, Index to Marriage Record January 1866
**Floyd County, Indiana, General Affidavit for claim No. 1130541, 29/07/1993
**Floyd County, Indiana, Pension Office, Deposition #6, Case of Lucy Nichols, No. 1130541, 04/12/1894
**55th Congress, 2nd Session, H. R. Report No. 4741 {to accompany H.R. 1366}, 06/23/1898

==External links==
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/officers/23rd_in_infantry_officers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/docs/CC-lucy_curriculum_090412-4.pdf Carnegiecenter.org]
*[http://www.cityofbolivar.info/The%20History%20of%20Bolivar Cityofbolivar.info]
*[http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/23rd_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf Civilwarindex.com]
*[http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/newalbany.pdf In.gov]
*[http://www.nafclibrary.org/Resources/Adults/Indiana/Service/23rdIndianaVolunteer.pdf Nafclibrary.org]
*[http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/record.php?note_id=2435 Uky.edu]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterquin01gres#page/n33/mode/2up Gresham, Matilda, Life of Walter Quintin Gresham, 1832-1895]
*[http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/68564.htm In.gov]
*[http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/magnus-brucker-papers-1861-1868.pdf Indianahistory.org]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Nichols, Lucy Higgs
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American nurse
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 10, 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = January 25, 1915
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Lucy Higgs}}
[[Category:American Civil War nurses]]
[[Category:African-American nurses]]
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses]]

Henry FitzRoy, 12. Duke of Grafton

2014-03-03T11:08:19Z

Dhtwiki: assuming typo

{{Infobox Peer
| name= The Duke of Grafton
| title=[[Duke of Grafton]]
| predecessor=[[Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton]]
| image=File:12th Duke of Grafton Allan Warren.JPG
| tenure=7 April 2011 – present
| birth_date= {{birth date and age|1978|4|6|df=yes}}
| spouse = Olivia Sladen
| issue=
| parents=James Fitzroy, Earl of Euston<br />Lady Claire Kerr
}}
'''Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton''' (born 6 April 1978), known as '''Harry Grafton''', is an [[Peerage of England|English]] [[peerage|peer]] and [[Promoter (entertainment)|music promoter]]. He inherited the [[Duke of Grafton|Dukedom of Grafton]] from his grandfather, [[Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton]], on 7 April 2011.

==Early life==
Grafton is the son of James Oliver Charles FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (1947–2009) and his wife, Lady Claire Amabel Margaret Kerr, the daughter of [[Peter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian]].<ref name=burke>Charles Mosley, ed., ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition, vol. II (2004), ISBN 0-9711966-2-1, pp. 1616–1619</ref><ref name=rhodes>Michael Rhodes posting to [http://groups.google.com/group/peerage-news Peerage News message list], 15 April 2010</ref> He was known as Viscount Ipswich from his birth until he succeeded to the dukedom. On his father's death in 2009 he could have taken the title of Earl of Euston, but did not do so.

His ancestor [[Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton]] (1663–1690) was an [[Legitimacy (law)|illegitimate]] son of [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] by his mistress [[Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland|Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland]]. Grafton shares the surname FitzRoy (meaning "son of the king") with other natural lines descended from Charles II.<ref>Bernard Falk, ''The Royal Fitz Roys: dukes of Grafton through four centuries'' (1950), p. 7</ref>

Educated at [[Harrow School]] and the [[University of Edinburgh]], he spent a post-graduate year at the [[Royal Agricultural College]], [[Cirencester]].

==Career==
From 2003 to 2005 he lived in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]. He worked for the music business management firm FBMM, was a part-time radio show host on 91.1 [[WRVU]], and played drums with a band called 'The Squibs'. He also plays the guitar. From 2005 to 2007 he worked for the [[Rolling Stones]] as merchandising co-ordinator for their "[[A Bigger Bang Tour]]".

In 2007 he moved to [[London]] and in 2009, due to the death of his father, he returned to Suffolk to help manage the Euston estate.<ref>[http://thesinglepeer.blogspot.com/ The Single Peer], Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy, Viscount Ipswich, 5 December 2010</ref> He currently promotes live music events through the Euston Estate.

==Family life==
On 14 August 2010 Lord Ipswich, as he was then known, married Olivia Margaret M. Sladen at [[Snowshill]], [[Gloucestershire]].<ref>[http://thepeerage.com/p7049.htm#i70490 Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy] at thepeerage.com, accessed 11 April 2011</ref> Their engagement had been announced 15 April 2010.<ref name=rhodes/> Their son, Alfred James Charles, Earl of Euston, was born on 26 December 2012. <ref>{{cite news|title=GRAFTON|url=http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/births/158305/grafton|accessdate=3 January 2013|newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph]]|date=2 January 2013}}</ref>

The Duke's seat is [[Euston Hall]], at [[Euston, Suffolk|Euston]] in [[Suffolk]], near [[Thetford]] in [[Norfolk]].

==Titles and styles==
*6 April 1978{{spaced ndash}}7 April 2011: Viscount Ipswich
*Since 7 April 2011: ''[[His Grace]]'' The Duke of Grafton

==Ancestry==
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|1= 1. '''Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton'''
|2= 2. James FitzRoy, ''Earl of Euston''
|3= 3. Lady Claire Kerr
|4= 4. [[Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton]]
|5= 5. [[Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton|Fortune Smith]]
|6= 6. [[Peter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian]]
|7= 7. [[Antonella Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian|Antonella Newland]]
|8= 8. [[Charles FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton]]
|9= 9. Lady Doreen Buxton
|10= 10. Evan Smith
|11= 11. Helen Williams
|12= 12. Andrew Kerr
|13= 13. Marie Kerr
|14= 14. Sir Foster Newland
|15= 15. Agnes Carr
|16= 16. Lord Charles FitzRoy
|17= 17. Hon. Ismay FitzRoy
|18= 18. [[Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton]]
|19= 19. Mildred Smith
|20= 20. Lindsay Smith
|21= 21. Helen Collyar
|22=
|23=
|24= 24. Rt. Hon. [[Lord Walter Kerr]]
|25= 25. Lady Amabel Cowper
|26= 26. William Kerr
|27= 27. Annabel Jarves
|28=
|29=
|30=
|31=
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
|image =
|crest = On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Lion statant guardant Or ducally crowned Azure and gorged with a Collar counter-compony Argent and of the fourth
|coronet =[[Coronet#British coronet rankings|Coronet of a Duke]]
|escutcheon = The Royal Arms of Charles II, viz Quarterly: 1st and 4th, France and England quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland; the whole debruised by a Baton sinister compony of six pieces Argent and Azure
|supporters = Dexter: a Lion guardant Or ducally crowned Azure; Sinister: a Greyhound Argent, each gorged with a Collar counter-compony Argent and Azure
|motto = Et Decus Et Pretium Recti (The ornament and recompense of virtue)
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg|en}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton|Hugh FitzRoy]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Grafton]]|years=2011– }}
{{s-inc}}
{{end}}

{{Dukes of Grafton}}
{{British dukes}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Grafton, Henry Fitzroy, 12th Duke of
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 6 April 1978
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grafton, Henry Fitzroy, 12th Duke of}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:House of Stuart]]
[[Category:Dukes of Grafton|12]]
[[Category:FitzRoy family|Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton]]
[[Category:People educated at Harrow School]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Jakobethanischer Stil

2013-05-06T21:24:25Z

Dhtwiki: modified link to point to architecture section under English Renaissance

[[File:Harlaxton manor.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Anthony Salvin]]'s [[Harlaxton Manor]], 1837 – 1855, defines the Jacobethan style.]]
'''Jacobethan''' is the style designation coined in 1933 by [[John Betjeman]]<ref>Betjeman, '' Ghastly Good Taste'', 1933; Thomas Burns McArthur, Feri McArthur, eds. ''The Oxford companion to the English language'', 1992:539.</ref> to describe the mixed national [[Renaissance revival]] style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s,<ref>Newman and Pevsner 1972:55</ref> which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the [[English Renaissance#Architecture|English Renaissance]] (1550–1625), with elements of [[Elizabethan Architecture|Elizabethan]] and [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]]. The "Jacobethan" architectural style is also called "Jacobean Revival". Betjeman's original definition of the style is as follows:
<blockquote>The style in which the Gothic predominates may be called, inaccurately enough, Elizabethan, and the style in which the classical predominates over the Gothic, equally inaccurately, may be called Jacobean. To save the time of those who do not wish to distinguish between these periods of architectural uncertainty, I will henceforward use the term "Jacobethan".<ref>Betjeman, '' Ghastly Good Taste'', London, Chapman and Hall, 1933 p 41</ref></blockquote>

The term caught on with art historians. Timothy Mowl asserts in ''The Elizabethan and Jacobean Style'' (2001) that the 'Jacobethan' style represents the last outpouring of an authentically native genius that was stifled by slavish adherence to European baroque taste.

==As an architectural term==
In architecture the style's main characteristics are flattened, cusped "Tudor" [[arch]]es, lighter stone [[Molding (decorative)|trim]]s around [[window]]s and [[door]]s, carved brick detailing, steep roof [[gable]]s, often [[terracotta|terra-cotta]] [[brickwork]], [[balustrade]]s and [[parapet]]s, [[column|pillars]] supporting [[porch]]es and high [[chimney]]s as in the Elizabethan style. Examples of this style are [[Harlaxton Manor]] in Lincolnshire (''illustration''), [[Mentmore Towers]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Good Stuff IT Services |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-42105-mentmore-towers-mentmore |title=Mentmore Towers - Mentmore - Buckinghamshire - England |publisher=British Listed Buildings |date=1951-09-26 |accessdate=2012-08-15}}</ref> in [[Buckinghamshire]] and [[Sandringham House]] in [[Norfolk]], England.

[[File:39 Welsh Row, Nantwich2.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Former Savings Bank, [[39 Welsh Row, Nantwich]], in Jacobethan style.]]
In June 1835, when the competition was announced for designs for new [[Palace of Westminster|Houses of Parliament]], the terms asked for designs either in the Gothic or the Elizabethan style. The seal was set on the [[Gothic Revival]] as a national style, even for the grandest projects on the largest scale; at the same time, the competition introduced the possibility of an ''Elizabethan'' revival. Of the ninety-seven designs submitted, six were in a self-described "Elizabethan" style.<ref>Pevsner 1962:477</ref>

In 1838, with the Gothic revival was well under way in Britain, [[Joseph Nash]], trained in [[Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin|A.W.N. Pugin]]'s office designing Gothic details, struck out on his own with a lithographed album ''Architecture of the Middle Ages: Drawn from Nature and on Stone'' in 1838. Casting about for a follow-up, Nash extended the range of [[antiquary|antiquarian]] interests forward in time with his next series of [[lithograph]]s ''The Mansions of England in the Olden Time'' 1839–1849, which accurately illustrated Tudor and Jacobean great houses, interiors as well as exteriors, made lively with furnishings and peopled by inhabitants in [[Ruff (clothing)|ruffs]] and [[farthingale]]s, the quintessence of "[[Merry England|Merrie Olde England]]". A volume of text accompanied the fourth and last volume of plates in 1849, but it was Nash's [[picturesque]] illustrations that popularized the style and created a demand for the variations on the English Renaissance styles that was the essence of the newly-revived "Jacobethan" vocabulary.

Two young architects already providing Jacobethan buildings were [[James Pennethorne]] and [[Anthony Salvin]], both later knighted. Salvin's Jacobethan [[Harlaxton Manor]], near [[Grantham, Lincolnshire]], its first sections completed in 1837, is the great example that defines the style.

The ''Jacobethan'' Revival survived the late 19th century and became a part of the commercial builder's repertory through the first 20 years of the 20th century. Apart from its origins in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], the style became popular both in [[Canada]] and throughout the United States during those periods, for sturdy "baronial" dwellings in a free Renaissance style. A key exponent of the style in Britain was [[Thomas Graham Jackson|T.G. Jackson]]. Some examples can also be found in buildings in the former British Empire, such as [[Rashtrapati Niwas]], the Viceregal Lodge at [[Shimla]].

==As a literary term==
More recently the term has proved useful to literary studies that are emphasizing the continuity of [[English literature]] in the half century 1575–1625.<ref>E.g. by S. Gorley Putt, reviewing works on Jacobethan drama in "Jacobethan wonderlands", ''The Sewanee Review'' 1976:699ff; "the revival of non-Shakespearean 'Jacobethan' plays has been particularly successful in two Elizabethan-style playhouses, the Swan at Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare's Globe in London", observe Angela Stock and Ann-Julia Zwirerlein in D. Mehl and A. Stock, eds., ''Plotting Early Modern London: New Essays on Jacobean City Comedy'', "Introduction: 'Our scene is London...'", 2004:1.</ref> For example the 1603 death of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] falls in the middle of [[Shakespeare]]'s career as dramatist: he is both an ''Elizabethan'' and a ''Jacobean'' writer.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources and further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Mowl |first=Tim |authorlink= |title=Elizabethan And Jacobean Style |year=1993 |publisher=[[Phaidon Press]] |location=London |isbn=0-7148-2882-3}}
*{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=John |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |author2-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |series=[[The Buildings of England]] |title=Dorset |year=1972 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=Harmondsworth |isbn=0-14-071044-2 |page=55}}
*{{cite book |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |authorlink=Nikolaus Pevsner |series=[[The Buildings of England]] |title=London |volume=I |year=1962 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=Harmondsworth |page=477}}

==See also==
{{commons category|Jacobethan}}
*[[Tudorbethan architecture]]
*[[Jacobean era]]
{{Architecture of England}}
{{Revivals}}

[[Category:Jacobethan architecture| ]]
[[Category:Renaissance Revival architecture]]
[[Category:British architecture by period]]
[[Category:Architectural styles]]
[[Category:Revival architectural styles]]
[[Category:Victorian architectural styles]]