Nicholson family correspondence

Joseph Hopper Nicholson, Sr., was born on May 15, 1770 in Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland. He was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Hopper) Nicholson, Jr., and the brother-in-law of Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Hopper studied law at Washington College and was admitted to the bar. He was elected first to the Maryland House of Delegates and then the Federal House of Representatives from 1799 to 1806, where he was a strong supporter of Thomas Jefferson. Nicholson then resigned from his position in Congress and accepted a position as chief judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit and a judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. He served in this capacity from 1806 until his death at age 47.

On October 10, 1793, Hopper married Rebecca Lloyd, the sister of Governor Edward Lloyd (1809-11) of the Wye Plantation in Talbot County, Maryland. Their only child to survive to adulthood was Joseph Hopper Nicholson, Jr.

Joseph Hopper Nicholson, Jr. was born on October 10, 1806. Joseph graduated from Howard University and then began practicing law in Baltimore City. He married Eliza Ann Hagner on April 10, 1827. They had five children: Joseph Hopper III, Frances Rebecca, Emily Erving, Mary Hagner, and another unidentified child. He served as Secretary and Director of the Annapolis and Elkridge Railroad Company.

Nicholson held a variety of political positions throughout his life. He was first the Clerk of the Maryland Senate and was then appointed the acting Secretary of State under Governor Thomas W. Veazy (1836-39). In 1845 he was appointed Clerk of the Court for Anne Arundel County by Governor Thomas G. Pratt 1845-48). He was appointed to the standard seven-year term, but with the new constitution in 1851 Clerks were to be elected to a six-year term. Thus an election was held in 1851 for which Nicholson was endorsed by the Maryland Republican. Nicholson, however, was defeated by "Independent Democrat" Nicholas H. Green by 194 votes. Soon after his defeat, he was appointed United States Consul at Tunis by President Millard Fillmore. Nicholson was later appointed Principal Executive Clerk of United States Senate, a position created for Nicholson which he filled until 1861.

In 1863, during the heat of the Civil War, emotions were high and convictions were strong. Several prominent state and local politicians, including former Governor Pratt, Nicholas H. Green, and Nicholson himself, refused to take the newly required oath of allegiance at the polls that election year. The oath was intended to prove assurance that all who voted were committed to the Union and did not hold any feelings of rebellion against the United States. Everyone in the group was arrested and sent to Baltimore to see Major-General Robert C. Schenck. All were paroled except for Governor Pratt and Nicholson, who both fled south to Fortress Munroe. Nicholson eventually took the oath and returned home, but Pratt repeatedly refused the oath. He was later released by the government.

Nicholson died on June 2, 1872, and his wife Eliza died a few months later. According to the Annapolis Gazette, Nicholson was well-known throughout state as "an influential politician and vigorous writer." "No man had more respect from among the prominent men of Maryland during his time," the Gazette adds. Indeed, Nicholson was a man of strong conviction, earning him the respect of his peers and important political responsibility on the local, state, and national levels.