Isaac W. Nicholas

Isaac W. Nicholas

Isaac W. Nicholas, who has held an important place among owners and builders of vessels in Cleveland, was born in St. Albans, Vt., in 1815.

John Nicholas, father of our subject, was a farmer, and migrated with his family to Ohio in 1829, making the latter part of the journey in the steamer Henry Clay. They lived at Florence Corners, near Milan, for several years, after which they removed to Vermilion. There Isaac W. Nicholas entered the shipyards, being associated with Capts. Alva Bradley and Philip Minch in vessel building for over thirty-five years. In 1865 Mr. Nicholas purchased five acres of land on Wilson avenue, Cleveland, on which he has since made his home. For some time after taking up his residence in that city he continued vessel building at Vermilion, but later gave up this business to care for his vessels, employing others to build for him. Mr. Nicholas is a stockholder in the Cleveland Ship Building Company, and is still interested in the steel steamers Onoko, I.W. Nicholas, William Chisholm, Devereux and Wade, the wooden steamers Glidden and Philip Minch, and the schooners Negaunee, Warmington and Sophia Minch, belonging to the Bradley and Minch fleet. He was one of the men who combined to build the Onoko, the first steel vessel constructed in Cleveland.

Mr. Nicholas was married, in 1843, to Miss Louis[sic] Whelpley, and the children born to them are George D. and Frederic M. The latter is a singer of considerable note, having a tenor voice of beautiful quality, and is much sought after in local concert and entertainment circles. George D. Nicholas conducts an extensive fishing business at Vermilion. The family residence is at No. 1314 Wilson avenue, Cleveland.

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Volume I

This version of Volume II is based, with permission, on the work of the great volunteers at the Marine Captains Biographies site. To them goes the credit for reorganizing the content into some coherent order. The biographies in the original volume are in essentially random order.

Some of the transcription work was also done by Brendon Baillod, who maintains an excellent guide to Great Lakes Shipwreck Research.