My Present Past
A genealogical experience
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Joshua Rufus Nichols
    Born: March 14, 1831 in Manlius Square, Onandago County, New York
    Died: December 11, 1902 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah
    Father: Joshua Nichols  born: May 21st, 1783   died: August 4th, 1854
    Mother: Sally Cook  born: June 11th, 1788  died: January 5th, 1846

    Married: Charlotte Elizabeth Hammond on February 14, 1855 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
    born: April 19, 1830 in Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York
    died: March 04, 1907 in Boulder, Boulder County, Colorado

    Children:
    1) Charles Hammond Nichols  born: December 24, 1855 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
    died: July 02, 1856 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

    2) Walter H. Nichols  born: February 19, 1866 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
    died: October 11, 1935 in Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California
    Married: Esther Conner  Date of marriage: September 27, 1892 in Michigan
    born:                                       died:
Joshua Rufus Nichols was born March 14th, 1831, in Manlius Square, Onandago County, New York, the twelfth
child of Joshua and Sally (Cook) Nichols. He moved to Detroit, Michigan in early 1845, being close to his mother,
Sally Nichols, who died there in 1846. This is where he also met his future bride, Miss Charlotte Elizabeth
Hammond, whom he married on February 14th, 1855 in Chicago, Illinois. Elizabeth Hammond was the daughter of
Colonel Charles Goodrich and Charlotte B. (Doolittle) Hammond. In 1855, C. G. Hammond was the General
Superintendent of the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad in Chicago and was also the person who hired
David T. Nichols, Joshua's brother, as the first agent for the C. B. & Q. Railroad at Wyanet, Illinois in 1854.
Joshua worked at the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad in Chicago, from 1854 until 1869, first as a clerk and
then as a purchasing agent. He and his family moved to Omaha, Nebraska in late 1869, where he was appointed
Assistant Superintendent, Omaha Division of the Union Pacific Railroad, along with Charles G. Hammond who was
the General Superintendent of the same division. In 1871 Joshua and his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah
where he applied his profession of the railroad business with a new adventure, mining. He opened up a business
in Salt Lake, Nichols Mining Machine, MS, and applied his earlier trade of the railroads for transportation of
the metal and ore that he was extracting. He possessed the exclusive use rights to a patent for the Krom's
separating and concentration machinery that was introduced in connection with smelting, amalgamation and
chlorination of raw ore in 1871 and using it on his mine, the New York Lode in the Rushville mining district. In
1892 he was the Vice President of the Cresent Mining Company of Park City and was also a member of the
Bi Chloride of Gold Club Auxiliary #70 of Salt Lake. He was also a member of the Wasatch Lodge #1 of
Ancient, Free & Accepted Masons. Joshua remained in the mining profession until his death in 1902.
Left:
1850 Census Joshua R. Nichols

Right:
1860 Census Joshua R. Nichols. Joshua and
Elizabeth are living with Charles and
Charlotte Hammond.
1864 Chicago Guide  Page 27
1869 Chicago Guide Page 667
1870 Union Pacific
Page 14
1870 Union Pacific
Page 06
1870 Union Pacific
Page 05
In 1870 the Union Pacific planned a
Trans Continental Excursion for railroad
agents and personnel of the major
railroads, including the Union Pacific.
The route started in Chicago, Illinois on
September 12th, 1870, via Omaha,
Nebraska, September 13th and through
to San Francisco, California on
September 17th, 1870.


On the return trip the parties left on
Friday, September 23rd from San
Francisco and arrived in Chicago on the
28th of September, 1870
1880 Census  Joshua R. Nichols

Salt Lake City, Utah
1882-83 Utah Directory
Page 140
1900 Census Joshua R. Nichols
Joshua R. Nichols was buried at
Mt. Olivet Cemetary,
Salt Lake City, Utah by the
Wasatch Lodge #1 of A. F. & A. M.