Fremont County WY Archives Biographies.....Nickerson, H. G. 1841 - 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 23, 2011, 9:10 pm

Source: See below
Author: A. W. Bowen (Publisher)

CAPT. H. G. NICKERSON.

   One of the leading citizens of Wyoming, and one of the most prominent public
men of the state, is the subject of this brief sketch, Capt. H. G. Nickerson,
the agent in charge of the Shoshone Indian Reservation. He has a long and varied
career in the west, and for many years has taken an active and leading part in
the development and settlement of Western Wyoming. Born on May 4, 1841, Captain
Nickerson is a native of Medina county, Ohio, and is the son of Erastus and
Harriet (Clifford) Nickerson, both natives of the state of Ohio. His father was
engaged in the business of manufacturing shoes, and was an active and successful
business man of that state. He was the son of Jesse and Anna Nickerson, both
natives of the state of New York. The family were prominent during Colonial
days, and were of English descent, first settling in Long Island upon their
arrival in this country. His father passed away in the state of Ohio, in the
year 1892, at the age of 73 years. The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in
the state of his nativity, and received his early education in the public
schools of Litchfield, Medina county. Upon the breaking out of the great Civil
War he responded to the call of patriotism, and in 1861, enlisted as a member of
Co. D, of the Twenty-third Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The late
President William McKinley was the second lieutenant of this company, and
Rutherford B. Hayes was the colonel of the regiment. Going to the front in the
service of his country, under the command of such officers, he participated
actively in  many engagements, and was under fire at the battles of Bull Run,
South Mountain and Antietam. At the battle of South Mountain he was captured by
the enemy, and for a period of three months was confined as a prisoner of war at
Libby prison. At the end of that time he was paroled and returned to the North.
He was then promoted to a captaincy of the One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, for gallantry in action, and joined the army of General
Sherman in its expedition into Georgia. Here he was detailed to repair the lines
of railroad, and also in the pursuit of his duty assisted in the capture of the
rebel General Morgan. At this time he was under the command of General Crook. At
the end of the war he returned to Ohio, and entered upon the study of the law at
Elyria, but owing to ill health, he was obliged to give up his studies, and in
the year 1866, started overland with ox teams for the newly discovered gold
fields of Montana. On this expedition he had many thrilling experiences. On the
Powder River, in Montana, his partner was killed by the Indians, and he only
escaped the massacre at Fort Phil Kearney by a few days. Upon his arrival in
Montana, he engaged in the mining business, in which he continued up to the year
1868. Not meeting with as great success as he had anticipated, he then came to
South Pass, Wyo., where he followed mining with varying success for a period of
eighteen years. During this time he had many experiences with the Indians, who
were often on the warpath, and was a member of the party which effected the
capture of a large number of the hostile Arapahoe tribe, among whom was the
Indian boy who afterward became the Reverend Sherman Coolidge. Captain Nickerson
was in command of this expedition. In the year 1868 he located land in the
vicinity of Lander for the purpose of engaging in stock and agricultural
pursuits, but was driven out by the hostile Indians. From the time of his first
coming to Wyoming, he has taken an active and prominent part in public affairs,
and was a candidate on the Republican ticket in 1869 for member of the first
territorial legislature, but was not elected. In the year 1871 he was elected as
a member of the legislature and served with distinction as a member of that
body. He was also elected to the office of county treasurer. In the year 1884 he
was a member of the constitutional convention, and from 1884 to 1887 he was
probate judge of Fremont county. During the legislative session of 1884 he was a
member, and it was through his efforts in that body that the county of Fremont
was created out of Sweetwater county. In the year of 1892 he was appointed to
the position of receiver of the United States land-office at Lander, Wyo., and
it was his duty to first open that office to the public. He continued to hold
this position up to the time of his appointment as Indian agent in the year
1893. During his active public career he served as the first county
superintendent of schools of Sweetwater county, and was the first chairman of
the board of county commissioners of Fremont county. He also served as justice
of the peace at Lander, and held that position for a number of years during the
exciting times in South Pass, Wyo. In the year 1896 he was a delegate to the
Republican national convention at St. Louis, which nominated McKinley and
Hobart, and was also a member of the committee appointed to notify the late
President of his nomination. In addition to his other business interests,
Captain Nickerson is interested in farming, and is the owner of 160 acres of
tine land immediately adjoining Lander, a valuable piece of property. On March
4th, 1876, at Elyria, Ohio, Captain Nickerson was united in marriage to Miss
Harriet J. Kelsey, a native of the state of Ohio, and the daughter of Lorenzo C.
and Harriet (Avery) Kelsey, both natives of that state. To their union have been
born four children, namely. Ora K., who is now a druggist at Lander; Alta M.,
Edith A., and Nellie. Their home is noted for its refinement and generous
hospitality. Fraternally Captain Nickerson is affiliated with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, and is past grand master of that order in the state of
Wyoming. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is past post
commander and present quartermaster of Thomas A. McCoy Post of that great order.
He takes an active and prominent part in the social and fraternal life of the
community in which he resides, and is looked up to in all movements of a public
nature, or which are calculated to work to the benefit of that section of the
state. Patriotic, public spirited, and devoted to the general welfare of the
community. Captain Nickerson has done much to develop the resources, and to
promote the settlement and advancement of Western Wyoming. He is now in the
prime of his mature life, and may look forward to many years of usefulness and
achievement, an honored public servant, and held in affectionate esteem by all
classes of his fellow citizens. He resigned as Indian agent on May 1, 1902, and
was appointed U. S. allotting agent, allotting lands to Indians.


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO, ILL.
A. W. BOWEN &CO.
PUBLISHERS AND ENGRAVERS
1903


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