THE Nicrloi.J,S FAMILY of VIRGINIA, 1722-1820 Victor Dennis Golladay
THE NICrlOI.J,S FAMILY OF VIRGINIA, 1722-1820 Victor Dennis Golladay Waynesboro, Virginia B.S., Madison College, l�b3 M.A., University of Virginia, 1�69 A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Corcoran Department of History University of Virginia June, 1973 ABSTRACT During the late colonial, revolutionary, and early national periods of Virginia history, the Nicholas family furnished the state and the new nation with leaders on all political levels. For example, Robert Carter Nicholas of Williamsburg held the high post of Treasurer of Virginia from 1766 to 1776, while his sons served in posts in three states -- Virginia, Kentucky, and New York -- and in the new national government as spokesmen for the Jeffersonian Republicans. Yet, after 1820 the Nicholases provided very few leaders of note, and any influence formerly held by the family died. The rise and fall of the Nicholas family provides an interesting insight into the social patterns of' Virginia's elite. In 1722, the founder of the family, George Nicholas of Manston, Dorset, was trans ported to Virginia for life in lieu of being hanged for forgery and counterfeiting. Despite his disgrace, George Nicholas quickly carved a place among Virginia's social elite. Using his English gentry back ground, Cambridge education, and slight medical training to maximum advantage, he styled himself a physician, married the eldest daughter of Virginia's wealthiest planter, acquired large tracts of Piedmont land, and ultimately served in the House of Burgesses as the representative of the College of William and Mary.
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