Nicholas Mills Sr. (23 November 1781 – 13 September 1862) was a prominent businessman in Richmond, Virginia. He built a 13 mile tramway known as the Chesterfield Railroad Company(forerunner of Virginia's first railways) to connect the coal pits of Chesterfield County to the James River. A staunch Unionist, over his house flew the last Union flag in Richmond, April 1861. He was at one time the owner of the Chesterfield Coal Pits and president of the Tredegar Iron Works. When he died in 1862 he is reported to have had $800,000 in gold (roughly $19,955,000 USD in 2017 [1]) stored in his vault, probably making him the wealthiest man in Virginia. [2]
He was born in Hanover County, Virginia on November 23, 1781 [3] and moved to Chesterfield County in 1803. [4] [5] On August 8, [6] 1805, at the age of 22 or 23, Mills married Sarah Payne Ronald (1788–1857), the daughter of attorney Andrew Ronald and Sally Payne Ronald, a cousin of Dolley Madison. [7] [8] In 1811 Mills joined a firm involved in the Chesterfield County coal mining business called Bott and Cunliffe (named after Miles Bott and John Cunliffe and subsequently called Mills, Bott, and Cunliffe). [8] [9] In 1815, Miles Bott had to sell his share in the firm to Mills as a result of some financial difficulties. [9]
In 1814, he served for three months and three days as Brigade Quartermaster in the 1st (Chamberlayne's) Brigade, Virginia Militia, during the War of 1812. [10] Thereafter a staunch Unionist, over his house flew the last Union flag in Richmond, in April 1861.
His gravestone in Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond reads thus "Paterfamilias - Nicholas Mills - Born in Hanover County Nov. 23rd 1781 - Died in the City of Richmond Sept. 13th 1862. Surrounded by a large family of children, grandchildren and faithful servants who would say much and yet lack words to express their irreplaceable loss. A sincere friend and neighbor and most useful citizen. The righteous man is taken from before the face of evil. God's will be done." [11]
References
- ^ This number comes from an internet inflation calculator located at https://westegg.com/inflation/. This site uses the Consumer Price Index from Historical Statistics of the United States (USGPO, 1975).
- ^ Couper, William (1936). Claudius Crozet - Soldier-Scholar-Educator-Engineer - (1789-1864). The Historical Publishing Co., Inc. p. 48. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Or 1782, as is listed in some books. On his tombstone 1781 is recorded.
- ^ Taylor-White, Alyson L. (2017). Shockoe Hill Cemetery: A Richmond Landmark History. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 9781467118644. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ McGhan, Judith (2007). Genealogies of Virginia Families - From Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine - Volume 1 - Albridgton to Gerlache. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co. p. 696. ISBN 9780806309477. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ Or 5th. Family Search.com's "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940" gives the date as August 8, 1805, while a Virginia Families Genealogy book gives it as August 5, 1805.
- ^ "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940". familysearch.com. Family Search.com. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ a b McGhan, Judith (2007). Genealogies of Virginia Families - From Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine - Volume 1 - Albridgton to Gerlache. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co. p. 697. ISBN 9780806309477. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ a b Green, Bryan Clark (2001). Lost Virginia: Vanished Architecture of the Old Dominion. Howell Press. p. 48. ISBN 9781574271270. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ "warof1812va1.html". www.usgwarchives.net. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
- ^ "Nicholas Mills (1781 - 1862) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
Further reading
- "Nicholas Mills", The Quarterly of the Virginia Genealogical Society, 1965.
- "Forerunner of Virginia's First Railway", Virginia Cavalcade Winter 1954.
- Richmond Portraits in the Collection of the Valentine Museum pp. 132–3.
- Houses of Richmond, pp. 43–5.