Obituary: Rock County, Wisconsin: Jennie M. NICHOLS

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Submitted by Ruth Ann Montgomery, <rmontgomery@cishome.com> May 2005

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FORMER RESIDENT PASSES AWAY

Jennie M. Nichols

Identified with Evansville and one of its landmarks -- the old Mill House,
was the lady, whose remains were brought to our town for interment on
Friday last, December 12.

Jennie M. Nichols, was born near Watkins Glen, New York state, in 1837. As
a young woman she came west to Richland Center, Wisconsin and married
Joseph C. Nichols. During the days of Reconstruction following the Civil
War, she removed to Evansville with her husband, who was attracted by the
business prospects afforded by the mill property with its setting in the
midst of rich farm lands on the edge of the deep fertile outwash plain. Mr.
Nichols purchased the mill property, consisting of mill and water-rights,
of small house lots and the adjacent well-watered meadow lands from the
pond to Main street, of Mr. Prentiss. Mr. Nichols added improvements and,
until his early death in 1876, the farmers brought their grist to mill and
took away feed and flour of corn, wheat and buckwheat. 

Then in the early eighties came revolution in both milling-process and
social economics -- the "Roller" processes replaced the burr in flour
manufacture and the "Trusts" of Pillsbury and Washburn, forced out the
local miller. The property declined, was operated fitfully as a feed-mill
and finally sold. One of the most dramatic and spectacular events of the
village history was the going out of the dam and flooding of the flats.

A short time prior to his death, Mr. Nichols bought a house and lot,
partitioned off from that of Byron Campbell of Mill street, near that of
Dr. Beebe and opposite to J. C. Lehman.

Barring a brief interval or two, Mrs. Nichols remained a resident of
Evansville until her younger daughter finished High School here. All of the
remainder of her fourscore years and more were passed in Chicago where she
has lived with her two daughters, Josephine and Lillian Nichols. Surviving
her husband by forty-four years, she has outlived most if not all of her
contemporaries of this city. Her death was due to arterioscerosis, hastened
by a fall.

December 18, 1919, Evansville Review, p. 5, col. 5, Evansville, Wisconsin