March, 1817, and captain. 24 April. 1828, and sub- sequently toolv rank as a commodore. He served as 4th lieutenant of "The United States " at the capture of " The Macedonian " frigate, and was the 1st lieutenant of "The Peacock,"' and after her fight with "The Epervier " brought the prize safely into port. He was an intimate friend of Washing- ton Irving, who frequently alludes to him in his letters as " Jovial Jack Nicholson."
NICHOLSON, Joseph Hopper, jurist, b. ni
Maryland in 1770; d. there, 4 March, 1817. He
received a good education, studied law, was ad-
mitted to the bar, and practised his profession. He
was elected to congress from Maryland, and served
by successive re-elections from 2 Dec, 1799, till 1
March, 1806, when he resigned. He was appointed
chief judge of the 6th judicial circuit, and was
also a judge of the court of appeals.
NICHOLSON, William Rufus, Reformed
Episcopal bishop, b. in Green county. Miss., 8 Jan.,
1822. He was graduated at Lagrange college, Ala.,
in 1840, studied for the ministry, was admitted to
holy orders in the Protestant Episcopal church,
and was successively rector of Grace church. New
Orleans, St. John's, Cincinnati, St. Paul's, Boston,
and Trinity, Newark, N. J. In 1874 he became a
member of the Reformed Episcopal church, and
took charge of a congregation in Philadelphia. In
1876 he was elected and consecrated bishop, and
subsequently he was chosen dean of the theological
seminary of his denomination in Philadelphia.
He received the degree of D. D. from Kenyon.
He has published " The Blessedness of Heaven "
(New York, 1874) ; " Reasons why I became a Re-
formed Episcopalian " (Philadelphia, 1875) ; '• The
Real Presence in the Bread and Wine of the Lord's
Supper" and " The Call to the Ministry " (1877).
Dr. Nicholson is also the author of " The Bearing
of Prophecy on Inspiration," in the proceedings of
the •' Bible Conference on Inspiration," held in
Philadelphia in November, 1887 (New York, 1888).
NICKERSON, Frank Stillman, soldier, b. in
Swanville, Me.. 27 Aug., 1826. He was educated at
East Corinth academy. Me., and was a collector of
customs at the beginning of the civil war, when he
resigned and became successively captain, major,
and lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Maine regiment.
He was commended in general orders by Gen.
Oliver 0. Howard for bravery at Bull Run, and on
31 Dec, 1861, was made colonel of the 14th Maine
and sent to New Orleans under Gen. Benjamin F.
Butler. He was specially mentioned for his ser-
vices at Baton Rouge, and on 29 Nov., 1862, was
promoted to brigadier-general of volunteers. He
then served in the Department of the Gulf till his
resignation on 18 May, 1865. Since the war Gen.
Nickerson has resided in Boston, Mass.
NICKLIN, Philip Holbrook, author, b. in
Philadelphia, Pa., in 1786 ; d. there, 2 March, 1842.
He was graduated at Princeton in 1804, and, after
studying law, became a bookseller in Baltimore in
1809" and in 1814 in Philadelphia. In 1839 he re-
tired from business, and engaged in literature.
While a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania
he visited England, and on his return in 1834 made
a report to the board on the condition of the uni-
versities of Cambridge and Oxford. He contrib-
uted articles on conchology to " Silliman's Journal "
and to other periodicals, wrote " Letters Descrip-
tive of the Virginia Springs," " Pleasant Peregrina-
tions through Pennsylvania," and " Remarks on
Literary Property," and was also the author of
various papers on free-trade and the tariff system
in relation to books, published in the report of the
Philadelphia free-trade convention in 1831.
NICOLAY, John George, author, b. in Essingen,
Bavaria, 26 Feb., 1832. He came to the United
States with his father in 1838, lived for some time
in Cincinnati, where he attended the public schools,
and then moved to Illinois. At the age of sixteen
he entered the office of the “Pike County Free
Press” in Pittsfield, and before he came of age he
was proprietor and editor of the paper. He went
to Springfield in 1857 as an assistant to the secretary
of state, and remained there until Abraham
Lincoln was nominated for the presidency, when
he became his secretary. After the election he
was appointed private secretary to the president,
and served in that capacity until Mr. Lincoln's
death. From 1865 till 1869 he was U. S. consul
at Paris, and on his return he edited for a time
the Chicago “Republican.” He was marshal of the
U. S. supreme court from 1872 till 1887. He is the
author, in collaboration with John Hay, of the
“Life of Abraham Lincoln,” now (1888) in course
of publication in the “Century Magazine.” He has
also published “The Outbreak of Rebellion,” in
“Campaigns of the Civil War” (New York, 1881).
NICOLET, Jean, French explorer, lived in the
17th century. Pie was a trader, living in Quebec,
dealt with the Indians, and in the course of his
travels made his way as far west as the Green bay
of Michigan. According to Father Vimont, who
wrote in 1640, the date of his visit was about 1634.
Nieolet was therefore the first white man to set
foot in what is now the state of Wisconsin. He is
also believed by Bancroft to be the first European
who saw the prairies of Illinois and the site of the
city of Chicago. His stories, on his return to Que-
bec, to the effect that he had been on a river that
would have taken him to the sea had he kept on
three days longer, led the Jesuits to believe them-
selves on the eve of discovery of the long-sought
outlet to India. A county of Quebec, and a town,
the seat of Nieolet institution, bear his name.
NICOLL, James Craig, artist, b. in New York city. 22 Nov., 1846. He studied under Maurice F. H. de Haas, and has made many sketches in his trips along the Atlantic coast. He exhibited first in 1868 at the National academy of design, was elected an associate in 1880, and academician in 1885. He gained a gold medal at the New Orleans exposition in 1885. Mr. Nicoll has given much attention to etching of late years, and was secretary of the Etching club for about five years. He was elected president of the Artists' fund society in 1887, and was one of the founders of the American water-color society, and its secretary for several years. Among his water-colors, by which he is perhaps best known, are "On the Gulf of St. Lawrence," "Foggy Morning, Grand Menan" (1876); "Moonlight, Cape Ann" (1877); "Coast View in Spring"; "Off Portland Harbor," "Outlet of Lake Oscawana" (1878): "Moonlight at Nahant" (1881); "A Creek" (1884); and
