John A. Nicholson - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

John Anthony Nicholson was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware.

Early life and family

He was born in Laurel,Delaware where he began preparatory studies which were complete at a seminary in Nelson County, Virginia, possibly the Presbyterian school at Lynchburg. After four years study, in 1847 he graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He married Angelica Killeen Reed in August 1848 and John Reed Nicholson was one of their children.

Professional and political career

Nicholson began his career as briefly the superintendent of the free schools of Kent County in 1851. At the same time he studied law with Martin W. Bates

Martin W. Bates

Martin Waltham Bates was a lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, and then the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U.S. Senator from Delaware.-Early life and family:Bates was born in Salisbury, Connecticut...

in Dover, was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1850, and began a law practice in Dover. In addition he served as brigadier general of militia in Kent County in 1861. In 1864 he defeated the Republican and Ultimate Unionist candidate, Nathaniel Smithers, another Dickinson graduate, and was ultimately elected as a Democrat to the 39th and 40th Congress, serving from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1869. During the first term he was on the Committee of Elections and in the second the Appropriations Committee. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1868 and continued his practice of the law.

Death and legacy

Nicholson died at Dover and is buried there in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery, on the grounds of the Delaware State Museum. His son, John Reed Nicholson was the chancellor of Delaware between 1895 and 1909.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. U.S. Representatives took office March 4th and have a two year term.
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| U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

| Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

| Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

| March 4, 1865
| March 3, 1869
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{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=8 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
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|1865-1867
|39th

39th United States Congress

The Thirty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1867, during the first month of...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

|Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

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|1867-1869
|40th

40th United States Congress

The Fortieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867 to March 4, 1869, during the third and fourth...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

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!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
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|Year
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| 1864
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

| |8,762
| |52%
|
| |Nathaniel B. Smithers

Nathaniel B. Smithers

Nathaniel Barratt Smithers was a was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware.-Early life and family:...

| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |8,253
| |49%
|-
| 1866
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

Democratic Party (United States)

| |9,933
| |54%
|
| |John L. McKim
| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |8,553
| |46%

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965
Newark Free Library; 750 Library Ave., Newark, Delaware; (302) 731-7550

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