Biographies
(Transcribed by Sharon Wick)

Source:
HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY, OHIO
and Representative Citizens
Edited and compiled by Hon. S. S. Scranton, Celina, Ohio
Published by Biographical Publishing Co.
Chicago, Illinois
1907

< CLICK HERE to RETURN to 1907 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE to GO to List of BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES Indexes and TABLES of CONTENTS >

CAPT. SAMUEL A. NICKERSON, formerly county treasurer of Mercer County, and the well-known proprietor of "Lake View Farm," a body of 80 acres of excellent land in Jefferson township, situated in sections 4 and 5, township 6, range 3 east, is also a surviving officer of the great Civil War, in which he distinguished himself by gallant service.  Captain Nickerson was born in Preble County, Ohio, Apr. 17, 1834, and is a son of Joseph Colby and Anna (Everman) Nickerson.      The Nickerson family is of English extraction and its American founders came to Massachusetts Bay Colony as early as 1637.  The old home seems to have been in the vicinity of Norwich, England, and from there came one William Nickerson, who landed at Boston, June 20, 1637, after a stomy crossing of the Atlantic in a frail little sailing vessel of the time.  Afterwards he bought land of the Indians in what is now Chatham, which forms the elbow of Cape Cod, and from that point noted for its fishing and ship building have spread the sturdy family of Nickersons of which our subject is a most worthy member.      From the coast of Massachusetts the Nickerson sons adventured north and a branch found a home in Maine and there Rev. Joshua Nickerson, the grandfather of Captain Nickerson, was born, as was also his son, Joseph Colby Nickerson.  Rev. Joshua Nickerson served in the Revolutionary War under General Washington at Valley Forge.      About 1815 Joseph Colby Nickerson came to Ohio and settled near Eaton, in Preble County, where he entered 80 acres of land.  HE had already had a somewhat adventurous life, having served in his youth as a sailor and also worked along the coast as a ship carpenter.  He had also served as a soldier in the War of 1812, under Generals Wilkinson and Harrison, and participated in the battles of Shady Four Corners and Stone Mill, along the Canadian border.  After settling permanently in Preble County he worked as a carpenter and millwright and built the first mill and the first jail in that county.  About 1827 or 1838 he brought his family to Mercer County, Ohio, our subject being then about three years old, and settled in Recovery township, where he entered land on the Wabash River at the point called the Second Crossing.  In Preble County he married Anna Everman, a daughter of Samuel Everman.  Her only brother, Philip Everman, was in General Hall's army at the surrender of Detroit.      At the little settlement of Second Crossing, Samuel A. Nickerson was reared and his education was secured in the neighboring district schools.  He was a young man of 26 years of age when the call came for loyal soldiers to go out to defend the Nation's flag and he was one of the first to respond, entering Company I, 175h Reg. Ohio Vol. Inf., and served as a private through the three months of his first enlistment, passing the most of this period at Camp Anderson, Lancaster, Ohio.  He returned home only to volunteer under Captain Stone and went with his company to Lima, where he was appointed an orderly sergeant and was sent home to recruit.  While engaged in this duty the regiment went on to Cincinnati, where Sergeant Nickerson later reported with his volunteers and the company was assigned to the 118th Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf.      On the reorganization of the regiment, Sergeant Nickerson was promoted to 2nd lieutenant of Company I, receiving this commission on Aug. 13, 1862.  On Feb. 1, 1864, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant of Company B, 118th Regt., Ohio Vol. Inf., and on Oct. 12, 1864, he was made captain of Company B.  His honorable discharge was received Apr. 15, 1865, at Mosely Hall, North Carolina, on account of ill health brought on by exposure and the vicissitudes of a soldier's life.  During the siege of Atlanta he was very seriously injured, and on numerous occasions his life was in momentary jeopardy for hours at a time.  Captain Nickerson's army record is that of as brave a soldier as ever wore the Union blue, his rapid promotion giving testimony to this fact.  Among the many adventures in which he was prominently concerned, the complete routing of the Confederate raider Caldwell was a typical one and may be briefly related here.  Extracts are made use of from a Celina publication many years after the events took place.      "The notorious Jim Caldwell of the Rebel army was in the habit of visiting every few weeks, a place known as Morris Mills, in the upper part of Campbell County, North Carolina, where he obtained recruits, horses, supplies, etc., a regular correspondence and communication being kept up with sympathizers in the border counties of Kentucky."  As a result, Lieutenant Nickerson with 13 men was detailed to capture Caldwell and to break up his line of communication.  In referring, years after, to this event, Captain Nickerson said:  "After all these years, looking back over the many hard campaigns which we passed through during the war, I can think of none fraught with more danger or that produced better results according to the number engaged in it.  We pursued, met and defeated a force twice our size and advanced so far into the enemy's country that our entire force could have been surrounded and cut to pieces.  As to the fatigue we had endured, the first night out we had moved over 20 miles on foot, the greater portion of the time on the double quick.  For two days and two nights we were almost continually in the saddle.  As to the results, it not only drove Caldwell out of Kentucky, but put an end to the Rebels sending spies through our lines into Covington and Cincinnati to spy around General Burnside's headquarters.  It also broke up their mail routes from Cincinnati into the Rebel lines, stopping the sending of supplies and recruits into Humprhey Marshall's army and it effectually quieted that part of Kentucky.      The capture of Caldwell was not accomplished, as he fled at the first approach of Lieutenant Nickerson's brave men, who, however, captured three other prisoners, two of whom were officers of the Confederate Army, viz.:  the notorious Major McGraw and Capt. William Corbin, on whose persons where found contraband goods and letters to the enemy.  Strange as it may seem, neither Lieutenant Nickerson nor his men ever received any special recognition from the government for one of the bravest raids ever made by that command and one which had far-reaching consequences.      After his retirement from the army, Captain Nickerson returned to Mercer County and settled down to farming.  On June 13, 1877, he married Lucinda Myers, a daughter of George and Eliza Myers, old residents of Mercer County.  Mrs. Nickerson's great-grandfather, John Myers, was a Hessian soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War in the British Army, having been pressed into the service; at his earliest opportunity he deserted and afterwards settled in Hamilton County, Ohio.  Mr. and Mrs. Nickerson have no children of their own, but the have reared George and Savella Myers, a nephew and niece, as a son and daughter.      For a number of years Captain Nickerson resided at Fort Recovery and while living there he carried on a livery business.  He was also made justice of the peace and filled this office for 12 consecutive years to the satisfaction of all concerned.  While residing at Fort Recovery, he also was engaged in a drug business and was one of the leading citizens of the village.  Politically he is a stanch Democrat and it was on the Democratic ticket that he was elected treasurer of Mercer County, in which office he served for many years, proving a capable official, devoted to the interests of his fellow-citizens.  After retiring from that office, he purchased his present farm near Celina, to which he gave the pleasant name of "Lake View," and here he is surrounded by all that is calculated to make the evening of life a compensation for all the hardships or disappointments which may have gone before.  He is active in the Grand Army of the Republic and is president of the Mercer County Pioneer Association.  Portraits of Captain and Mrs. Nickerson accompany this sketch Association.  Portraits of Captain and Mrs. Nickerson accompany this sketch. Source: History of Mercer County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Edited and compiled by Hon. S. S. Scranton, Celina, Ohio - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 589

PETER NIEKAMP, a representative farmer of Marion township, who owns an excellent farm of 160 acres in section 10, was born on this farm, February 10, 1859, and is a son of Frederick and Catherine (Stammen) Niekamp.      The father of our subject was born in Germany in 1811 and came to America in young manhood. For a short time after reaching America, he worked at Cincinnati, as a laborer and then went to Tippecanoe, Ohio, where he lived for 16 years. He hauled the logs that were used in building the! first, house in this place. Here he married a lady who was born at Dayton, Ohio, and they had four children, viz.: John, Clemmens, Joseph and Mary, who married Rudolf Klostermann.      In 1850 Mr. Niekamp moved to Mercer County and later traded an old surrey buggy for the land which is now a part of our subject's farm. About seven acres had been cleared. He was one of the earliest settlers in this , region. He built first a log cabin which he replaced in 1872 by a large six-room brick residence which our subject now occupies. About two years after settling here, his first wife died and he married Catherine Stammen, who came from Germany. To this union were born these children: Henry, who married Catherine Koch; Minnie, who married John Ronnebaum; Gerhard, who married Elizabeth Mestemaker; Peter; Frank, who married Elizabeth Klostermann; and Elizabeth and Catherine, both deceased. Mr. Niekamp soon acquired fluency in speaking the English language and in the early days, with Joseph Siefken and a Mr. Loocterfelt, frequently  accompanied German neighbors when they went to Celina to settle legal difficulties and business matters. He died August 18, 1894, aged 83 years, his wife having passed away in the month of May previous.  They were most worthy people, widely known and highly esteemed.      Peter Niekamp was reared in Marion township and worked for his father into manhood. On September 25, 1884, he was married to Frances Bertke, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Barney Bertke, who was born in Germany and emigrated to America before the birth of Mrs. Niekamp. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bertke were: Elizabeth, who married Barney Vahorn; Ann, who became the wife of Harman H. Schwietermann; Mary, who married Barney Knopke; John, who married Dinah Clune; Mathias, who married Mary Hostelinger; and Barney, who married Catherine Knopke. The father assisted in the construction of the canal, from Cincinnati to the reservoir. He died in 1905, at St. Marys, where his wife had died in 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Niekamp have had nine children, namely: Clemmens, Catherine, Fred, Matilda, Leboretta, Leo, Tocilla (deceased), Regina and Richard. Mr. Niekamp and family belong to the Most Precious Blood Catholic Church at Chickasaw.      In 1888 our subject bought this farm from his father. He is interested also in the Chickasaw Grain & Milling Company, having become a partner in 1906. This promises to be one of the leading business enterprises of the place. Source: History of Mercer County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Edited and compiled by Hon. S. S. Scranton, Celina, Ohio - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 747

NOTES: