Wilson Cary Nicholas

From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

Wilson Cary Nicholas (1761-1820) was a U.S. congressman, Senator, governor of Virginia, and political protege of Thomas Jefferson. Born in Williamsburg, he studied at the College of William and Mary until he joined the army during the American Revolution. By 1784, he joined his mother who lived in Albemarle county and was elected to the House of Delegates serving until 1789. He befriended James Madison and consulted with Jefferson on the Kentucky Resolutions. He became a U.S. Senator in 1799 and became a prominent Jeffersonian. He resigned in 1804, but Jefferson asked him to return to Congress and he won a House seat in 1806, but served only one term due to ill health. In 1814, he was elected governor of Virginia, and served through the end of the War of 1812. He was a strong supporter of education and helped Jefferson with his plan for the University of Virginia.

Later in life, Nicholas had other ties to his mentor, Jefferson. Jefferson stopped at Nicholas' house called Mount Warren on his trips back and forth to Poplar Forest.[1] His daughter Jane married Jefferson's grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph. Also, Nicholas and his brother, George, were heavy land speculators, and by the Panic of 1819, he defaulted on a $20,000 note, which Jefferson took over. This extra burden put Jefferson deeper in debt. Nicholas was buried in the Monticello Graveyard.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ S. Allen Chambers Jr. Poplar Forest and Thomas Jefferson. (Forest VA: Poplar Forest Foundation, 1993), 140.

Further Sources

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