Matthias Nicoll was born on March 29, 1626 in Plymouth, England. He was the son of the Reverend Matthias Nicolls and his wife, Martha Oakes. The family, whose name was variously spelled Nicolls, Nicoll, or Nicholls, had been established at Islip, Northamptonshire, since the fifteenth century.
Following his education at Plympton grammar school and Lincoln's Inn, where he was admitted November 27, 1649, Matthias took up the practice of law in London.
In 1663 Samuel Maverick, who had been appointed one of the royal commissioners to investigate conditions in New England, secured for him the position of secretary to the commission. Together with his wife, the former Abigail Johns, and their two children, Nicolls accompanied the expedition to America in the following year.
The principal member of the commission, Richard Nicolls, to whom Matthias was not related, was also appointed governor of New York by the Duke of York and charged with the task of wresting that province from the Dutch. After the conquest, the new English governor named Matthias Nicolls secretary of the province, a position he held continuously until 1680 except for the short period of Dutch reoccupation in 1673-74. In his capacity as secretary he was a member of the council and served as presiding judge in the court of assizes.
He also held a number of other offices. He was captain of a military company and was twice appointed mayor of New York City, 1671-72 and 1674-75.
After the abolition of the court of assizes and the reorganization of the provincial judicial system in 1683 he became judge of the court of oyer and terminer and continued to act in that capacity during the remainder of his life. In 1683 he was also chosen speaker of the first assembly called in the province.
Unquestionably the provincial secretary, with his legal training, had a large part in the drafting of the document, though his exact contribution cannot be determined. Many sections were drawn from codes of New England, since the inhabitants first affected by its provisions were those of Long Island and Westchester, a large proportion of whom had originally come from the Puritan colonies. Other sections of the code were simply adaptations of familiar English practices to the immediate circumstances of the province. The system of government established by this code served on the whole as a highly satisfactory and adequate arrangement during the transition period of the colony's history.
Nicolls acquired a considerable tract of land at Cow Neck (now Manhasset), Long Island, where he established an estate.
Nicolls is said to have had several children, but according to family tradition all except one daughter and one son, William, were drowned in an accident in the East River near Hell Gate, the latter saving himself by swimming to the shore.
