Humboldt County Poineers


Jeremiah and Mary Nicholas

Jeremiah Nicholas


Picture was taken from Vera Haviland's srcap book



Jeremiah Nicholas was born to Edward and Philippa Nicholas in Kea (Chacewater Parish), Cornwall County, England in 1837. Edward Nicholas was a miner. In the 1800s Cornwall was a hub for mining in England. Edward Nicholas was listed as a copper miner in the 1840 census. He died in 1847 and in the 1851 census Jeremiah, his Mother, brother Thomas, and sister Mary were living with Phillipa's Dad John Pollard who was also a miner. Also living in the the same home with John Pollard was Zach Pollard and his famly. Zach was Jeremiah's Uncle, he was also a miner.

The Chacewater tin and copper mine is noted by the authority on Cornish mining, J.H. Collins, in his 'Observations on the West of England Mining Region', as being a copper stockworks, the elvan being "full of small strings of copper ore". Wheal Busy (pronounced Bissy), on the outskirts of Chacewater village, is one of the oldest copper mines in Cornwall with its associated smelting house at North Downs, believed to date from the late 17th century. Wheal Busy attained a depth of 220 fathoms.

Chacewater Church, Chacewter, Cornwall County, England

Picture was taken from Vera Haviland's srcap book

Chacewater Church today

Chacewater, or Chasewater as it was formerly known, lies in the heart of what was one of Cornwall's most famous mining areas and much of its history and heritage is entangled with mining and other reminders of the areas industrial past.

William Borlase, the famous Cornish historian reported in 1758 on the "Chacewater and North Downs mines as being among the most profitable Cornish mines in the period from 1718 to 1758. In this first working the clear profits of Wheal Busy are said to have been not less than �200,000".

Piece: HO107/1910 Place: St Clement -Cornwall Enumeration District: 1o
Civil Parish: Kea Ecclesiastical Parish: Chacewater
Folio: 771 Page: 13 Schedule: 45
Address: Penstrase

1851 Census Cornwall England, Place St Clement, Parish Chacewater
Surname Sex Age Ocupation Born
Pollard John M 63 Copper Miner Cornwall- Kea
Pollard Mary F 63 Cornwall - Kea
Pollard Mary F 28 Cornwall - Kea
Nicholas Philippa F 40 Pauper Cornwall - Kea
Nicholas Jeremiah M 15 Farm Labourer Cornwall - Kenwyn
Nicholas Thomas M 13 Farm Labourer Cornwall - Kenwyn
Nicholas Mary F 8 Cornwall - Kenwyn
Pollard Zacharias M 33 Copper Miner Cornwall- Kea
Pollard Johnna F 33 Cornwall- Kea
Pollard Martin M 13 Farm Labourer Cornwall- Kea
Pollard Zacharais M 10 Work at Mine Cornwall- Kea
Pollard Cordelia F 6 Scholar Cornwall- Kea
Pollard Elizabeth F 4 Scholar Cornwall- Kea
Pollard William F 3 Cornwall- Kea

Jeremiah's Mother died in in 1861, which is the same year that Jeremiah and his brother Thomas left England bound for the new world. The following information is the ships ledger on which Jeremiah sailed.

Galway, Ireland via St. John's Newfoundland to New York
16 March 1861

DISTRICT OF NEW YORK - PORT OF NEW YORK
I, James Walker, Master of the Prince Albert, do solemnly, sincerely and truly swear that the following List or Manifest, subscribed by me, and now delivered by me to the Collector of the Customs of the Collection District of New York, is a full and perfect list of all the passengers taken on board the said Prince Albert at Galway, from which port said Prince Albert has now arrived; and that on said List is truly designated the age, the sex, and the occupation of each passenger, the part of the vessel occupied by each during the passage, the country to which each belongs, and also the country of which it is intended by each to become an inhabitant; and that said List or Manifest truly sets forth the number of said passengers who have died on said voyage, and the names and ages of those who died
So Help Me God.
James Walker

Sworn to this March 16th 1861
Before Me J White DC
List or Manifest of all passengers taken on board the S S Prince Albert whereof James Walker is Master, from Galway via St John's, Newfoundland. Burthen 1468 tons Columns represent: Name, Age, Sex, Occupation, Country to which they severally belong, Country of which they intend to become inhabitants, Died on voyage, Part of ship occupied by each during the voyage.

Columns eliminated and the reasons why:
Died on voyage: Only one death: Passenger 133
Space occupied during voyage:
����Passengers 1 to 639 - Steerage;
����Passengers 640 to 653 - Saloon;
����Passengers 654 to 668 - 1st Class

206 Jeremiah Nicholas 24 M Laborer GB US
207 Thomas Nicholas 23 M Laborer GB US

From 1861 until the 1880 Nevada census I have been unable to track Jeremiah or his brother Thomas. They came to the new world and ended up in the middle of the our Civil War. Starting in 1880 he was a resident of Winnemucca and was married to Mary Wood. Jeremiah went by Jerry, for all the census from 1880 on. He was employed as a railroad clerk or baggage master.

Mary Alicia Wood Nicholas


Mary Alicia Wood was born to William and Mary Wood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1850. At the time of Mary�s birth, William was under contract from Phineas T (PT) Barnum to capture big game for Mr. Barnum�s museum. Mary had and older brother Richard Wood who was also born in Rio in 1849. Mary O�Connor meet William in Rio, feel in loved and married there. Mary O�Connor was born in Tipperary county Ireland in 1829.

William Wood is some combination of Indian Jones and Tarzan. William�s parents were from Worchester England and they went to South Africa as colonist shortly after Williams birth 1827. William was raised around the Zulu tribes in area. In a book written by Martha Hisey called the �A Long Journey� she describes William�s childhood through transcription of William�s journal. He learned the Zulu language, he learn to hunt, trap and live in jungle. When he was 13 his father Albert was killed during a Zulu uprising. William was with his father when he killed on a hunting trip and was so shocked that he ran into the bush and ended up on his own for almost week. I have a copy of �A Long Journey� and it is a great read. A lot of what is in the book is hard to verify but it is a well written, fun and exciting adventure. In the back cover of the book are the family trees for the Wood and Nicholas family. The Nicholas decedents are primarily all of Carl Haviland�s children, grandchildren, and even great-great-grandchildren.

The Wood family left Rio in 1854 and went back to England. For several years William was a manager for a Inn in Liverpool. In 1860 the Wood family left England for the New York on the Mary Glover. In 1861 William volunteered with 69th Infanty in the Civil. William also took his son Richard with him. There are no records from the Wood about what the Wood women did during the Civil War.

In the 1880 Nevada census Richard Wood and his family are in Winnemucca and Mary has married Jeremiah Nicholas and they are also in Winnemucca. Richard Wood was working as a telegraph operator and Jeremiah was working for Southern Pacific.

Mary and Jerry had three children Edward, Lillian, and Cora. Edward was born in 1878 and died in 1900. I have no information about Edward, his cause of death, pictures, or other.

Lillian and Cora Nicholas


Zach Pollard (Jeremiah's Uncle) headstone behind Chacewater Church


Picture was taken from Vera Haviland's srcap book

In Vera scrap book there were a number of lose photos from England. Until I started doing a lot of queries on FreeCen a free online British census I couldn�t figure out how all the Pollard family tied in Jerry. The 1851 census clearly show Jerry with his Mom and brother, sister, cousins, Uncle and Grandparents. He must have remained in contact with his cousins through the years.

Vera and Dorothy Haviland, Jeremiah, Francis Hoenstine


Picture was taken from Vera Haviland's srcap book

Reno Evening Gazette Feb 21, 1920 page 1 column 6

The corner stone to the new Court House was laid this afternoon. It was such an occasion, that Mayor Thomas Brandon declared it a holiday from one to four o�clock. The old court house was destroyed by fire in 1918. Relics taken from the old court house corner stone where laid in the corner stone of the new court house.

(page 2 column 2)

The corner stone to the original court house was laid in 1873 and it is fact worthy of note that of those present on that date there remain living in Winnemucca today the following persons who attend those ceremonies and whose names will again be placed in the corner stone; Judge William S. Bonnifield, Judge Sam J. Bonnifield, Frank C. Robins, A. Klienhans, Jerry Nicholas.

When the first corner stone was set Mr. Robins was working for his Father as a printer for the Humboldt Register. Mr. Klienhans was just starting a successful career as a merchant. Jerry Nicholas was just learning to railroad for Southern Pacific.

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