Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User Information
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Box and Folder Listing
Cataloguing Information
Processed by
Chris Harter
14 April 1998
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 2 manuscript boxes
COLLECTION DATES: ca. 1847-1953
PROVENANCE: Alice H. Schmidt, 3732 North Nelson St., Arlington, VA 22207
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
OTHER FINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: SC 2030, Twin Lakes Crippled Children's Camp Records
ACCESSION NUMBERS: 1998.0031
NOTES:
William Gray (1794-1865), a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, married Rebekah Babcock in 1819. They moved to Lima, New York, and Green Creek (Sandusky Co.) Ohio, at undetermined dates. They had five children: Reuben Merrick, Martha Rebekah, Maria Loisa, William Edwin, and Flavia Arvada. All five were born in Lima, New York. After Rebekah's death in 1839, William married Charlotte Osgood (1816-1865) in 1841. They had three children: Albert Perry (b. 1842), Parmelia, and Alfred.
Martha Rebekah Gray (1822-1905) married Harrison Nichols (b. 1821) in 1844. Nichols, a native of New York, served in the Civil War with the 127th Indiana Regiment, Co. E (12th Calvary). Martha and Harrison moved from Clyde (Sandusky Co.) Ohio, to near Winimac (Pulaski Co.) Indiana, where his parents were living, in 1848. They relocated to Plymouth (Marshall Co.) by June 1852. They had five children: William Merrick, Samuel Clarence, Rebecca Arvada, Alice Estella, and Elrie Francis.
William Merrick Nichols (1845-1925) was born in Sandusky County, Ohio. He attended Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He worked in the newspaper trade, living at various times in New York City, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. William worked for the Indianapolis Journal, and he was the proprietor of the Marshall County Republican in 1870. When his mother broke her hip in 1895, William was summoned home. He gave up his work in St. Louis, and lived in Plymouth until his death. He never married.
Rebecca Arvada Nichols (1850-1879) was born in Pulaski County, Indiana. She married Arthur Metcalf in 1872 in Hobart, Indiana. They had two children: a daughter (b. 1874) who died in infancy, and Minnie (b. 1876).
Alice Estella "Dot" Nichols (1854-1904) was born in Plymouth, Indiana. She married William Eugene Leonard in 1873. They had six children: Lottye May, Cora Fay, Besse Gray, Rollo, Floy Estelle, and Marie.
William Edwin Gray (1827-1909) was born in Lima, New York. He married Jane Amanda Brush (1829-1854) in 1848 in Clyde, Ohio. They had three children: Wilton Clarence, Elon E., and Edwin Dubois. After the death of his first wife, William E. married Lydia Ann Jackson (1829-1900) in St. Joseph County, Indiana. They had three children: Alfred, Ella, and Jennie. William E. married his third wife, Mary Jane Torpy Paine, in 1902.
Flavia Arvada Gray (1830-1917) was born in Clyde, Ohio. She married Zelotes Perin (1826-1892) in 1848. They had six children: Asa, Ada, Eva, Amy, Abby, and May. Flavia was postmistress in Clyde for many years, and was one of ten female postmistresses in the United States at the time.
Daniel McDonald (1833-1916) was born in Fayette County, Indiana. His family moved to Marshall County in 1836. McDonald worked as a newspaperman, author, and editor. He was the editor and proprietor of the Plymouth Democrat from 1874 to 1902, and authored a number of history books, including two histories of Marshall County. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1869, 1905, and 1907. He married Lydia C. Armstrong (d. 1882) in 1857; they had five children. His second wife was Lillie Brackett, who he married in 1887; they had one child. (See also: card catalog under the heading, McDonald, Daniel)
Source: Material in collection accession file.
This collection consists of the correspondence and papers of the Gray-Leonard-Nichols family of Indiana and Ohio. Much of the correspondence located in Box 1 is letters received by Martha R. and Harrison Nichols from various family members. Present are letters from her father, William Gray, and her siblings, William E. and Flavia, (1848-1859, 1866-1884); letters from Flavia (Gray) and Zelotes Perin (1863-1896); and from Martha and Harrison's daughter, Alice Estella (1877-1878). There are also letters received by Alice from her family and her friend, Julia Collins (1878-1885), and letters written by Martha to her husband while he served in the Civil War (1864). The family correspondence mostly contains writings on daily activities, family illnesses and news, etc. Later correspondence includes letters between William Merrick Nichols and a newspaper editor from New York concerning a newspaper article Nichols wrote about a traveling matrimonial bureau, and letters written by state representative Daniel McDonald to Nichols.
The correspondence of Martha R. Nichols and her son, William Merrick Nichols, is located in Box 2. The letters were exchanged while William worked in the newspaper trade in Indianapolis, New York, and St. Louis. William's letters contain many references to his employment. Miscellaneous papers include an advertisement for the Marshall County Republican listing William M. Nichols as proprietor; a poem written by Martha R. Nichols; photocopies of newspaper clippings concerning Daniel McDonald, his work on behalf of the Potawatomi Indians, and a monument in honor of the Potawatomis and their leader, Menominee at Twin Lakes, Indiana; a pamphlet written by William M. Nichols, entitled "Crippled Children's Camp, Twin Lake, Indiana" (See also: SC 2030, Twin Lakes Crippled Children's Camp Records, and Visual Collections); and a typescript of an account by Martha Stevenson regarding old homes in Plymouth, Indiana.
Box 1: General Correspondence, 1847-1907, n.d.
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 1847-1848
2 1849-1850
3 1851-1852
4 1853
5 1854
6 1855
7 1856-1859
8 1860-1863
9 1864, January-May
10 1864, June-July
11 1864, August-December
12 1865
13 1866
14 1867-1868
15 1869-1871
16 1872
17 1873
18 1874
19 1875-1876
20 1877
21 1878, January-June
22 1878, July-December
23 1879
24 1880-1884
25 1885-1895
26 1896-1907, n.d.
Box 2: Martha R. and William M. Nichols Correspondence, 1869-1895; Miscellaneous Papers
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 1869-1871
2 1872, January-June
3 1872, July
4 1872, August-October
5 1872, November-December
6 1873, January-June
7 1873, July-December
8 1874
9 1875
10 1876-1878
11 1879-1880
12 1881-1884
13 1885
14 1886, January-May
15 1886, June-December
16 1887
17 1888, January-April
18 1888, May-September
19 1888, October-December
20 1889
21 1890
22 1891-1892
23 1893
24 1894, January-August
25 1894, September-December
26 1895
27 Miscellaneous Papers
MAIN ENTRY: Gray-Leonard-Nichols family papers, ca. 1847-1953
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Gray family
Leonard family
Nichols family
Nichols, Harrison, b. 1821
Twin Lakes Crippled Children’s Camp (Twin Lakes, Inc.)
Journalists--Indiana
Potawatomi Indians--Monuments--Indiana--Twin Lakes
Indiana--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Plymouth (Ind.)--History--Sources
Marshall County (Ind.)--History--Sources
ADDED ENTRIES: Gray, William, 1794-1865
Gray, William Edwin, 1827-1909
Perin, Flavia Arvada Gray, 1830-1917
Perin, Zelotes, 1826-1892
Leonard, Alice Estella Nichols, 1854-1904
Nichols, William Merrick, b. 1845
McDonald, Daniel, 1833-1916
Nichols, Martha Rebekah Gray, 1822-1905
END