Timothy Nicholson was an American humanitarian. He was widely known in the book trade as the Nestor of American booksellers. It was in the field of human betterment, however, that he won state and national recognition.
Background
Timothy Nicholson was born on November 2, 1828 in Belvidere, North Carolina, United States. He was the son of Josiah and Ann (White) Robinson Nicholson, and a descendant of Edmund Nicholson, who about 1660 settled in New England. Timothy's early boyhood was spent in a typical pioneer Quaker home on a farm which offered ample outlet for his boundless energy.
Education
After attending the local Friends academy, Nicholson entered Friends (now Moses Brown) School at Providence, Rhode Island.
Career
On his return to North Carolina Nicholson was made principal of Belvidere Academy, which flourished under his six years' direction.
He was appointed teacher in the preparatory department of Haverford College, Pennsylvania in 1855 and in 1859 was made general superintendent of that institution.
At the age of thirty-three he removed with his family to Richmond, Indiana, where he soon established himself in the book business with a brother.
In him was embodied the Quaker ruling passion for social amelioration. With this social impulse he combined the scientific spirit which gave directness and effectiveness to his work in the field of reform.
During the Civil War period he was a leader among American Friends in administering relief to the colored freedmen in the South.
The work for which he was best known began in 1867 when he was appointed as a member of the Indiana Yearly Meeting's committee on prison reform. It was chiefly through the persistent efforts initiated by this committee that the state schools for delinquent boys and girls, the Woman's Prison, and later the Board of State Charities were established by state legislation. For forty years Timothy Nicholson was a leader in this work, both on and off the committee.
From 1889 to 1908 he was a prominent member of the state board.
His association with the educational development of his state was long and intimate.
In 1868 he was appointed by the governor as a trustee of the state normal school and served during the formative years of that institution. He was indefatigable in laboring for the furtherance of peaceful methods of settling disputes among nations.
In the Society of Friends he was a distinguished leader. He filled various offices of trust in Indiana Yearly Meeting, of which he was for some years presiding clerk.
Uniformly benign and courteous, he was fearless and outspoken on occasion, especially when the cause of the unfortunate was involved. Once when criticism and reprimand of a state official were required, the State Board of Charities laid the unpleasant duty upon Timothy Nicholson. Accepting it, he said: "Sometimes we Friends have to use very plain language. But when a duty like this is to be performed, I have long ago learned first to dip my sword in oil in order that it may heal as well as cut".
Achievements
Views
Nicholson was an early advocate of temperance and prohibition legislation.
Connections
On November 8, 1853, he married Sarah N. White. His first wife died in 1865, and on April 30, 1868, he married her sister, Mary White.