Thomas Benton Nichols-
MAYFIELD, SANTA CLARA COUNTY
Editor of the Mayfield
News (note that Sawyers, page 299 says
W. J. Nichols was editor of the Mayfield News)
Surnames: VIERS, STEVENS, HOUSE, KODER, BIRKENHOLD,
CONREY, WATERS ,FOPPLIS
Thomas Benton Nichols-Counted among Mayfield's most progressive
and enterprising citizens are Thomas Benton Nichols and his
talented and estimable wife, who are the editors and
proprietors of the Mayfield News, a
clean and newsy weekly newspaper. He was born at
Maquoketa, Iowa, December 9, 1861, and grew up in
Jackson County. His father was born
near Cleveland, Ohio, on August 1, 1834. At the
outbreak of the Civil War he was a member of a company
of volunteer infantry and was
mustered into service during September, 1862, at
Maquoketa, Iowa. He was shot on October 19, 1864, in the
battle of Cedar Creek, W. VA., and on
November 27, 1864, passed way at the
hospital at Winchester. His mother, before her marriage,
Elizabeth D. Viers, was left a widow
with two children, Emma L., who is now the widow
of Jean Stevens and resides in Los Angeles, and Thomas
Benton, the subject of this review.
His mother, married the second time to George
W. House, a Civil War veteran, and they ran the old
Phoenix House at Maquoketa for many
years after the war. Thomas B. grew up there and at
the age of sixteen went into the old Maquoketa Sentinel
office as 'printer's devil" and
office boy. He also worked in the job office on
the weekly paper and was occupied for six years; then
went west to Sioux City and worked on
the Sioux City Journal; later on he went to Kansas
City, Mo., and worked for Kansas City Bank Note Printing
Company on job work; he then worked
in various places, Chicago, Kansas City, and Omaha.
Mr. Nichols' first marriage united him with Miss Minnie
Koder and they were parents of one
child, Loise, now the wife of Joe Birkenholt,
a government employee at Monroe, Iowa. Mrs. Nichols passed away
in Omaha and Mr. Nichols then removed to Monticello, Ia., where his
second marriage occurred, uniting him with Mrs. Harriet
Waters, nee Conery, a daughter of a
Civil War veteran John Conery, who enlisted from
Maquoketa, Ia., and served in the same company with Mr.
Nichols' father. When the latter was
shot, he fell into Conery's arms. Mrs. Conery was
Miss Margaret Fopplis. Mrs. Nichols is the mother of
three children by her first husband:
Harry, who died at the age of twelve years; Bertha,
Mrs. A. T. Anderson, resides in Fresno; Richard R.,
works at Stanford University.
Some twenty-five years ago, when Richard was quite
young, being then about five years of
age, he became separated from his mother,
and although a diligent search was made for him, his
parents were unable to get any
tidings of his whereabouts. His mother, who had been
untiring in her efforts to find her boy, was at last
rewarded. He had grown to manhood and
married, and with the knowledge that he was born in
Maquoketa, Ia., he wrote there and located his uncle and
aunts. Word was rushed to Mayfield
and the mother was nearly overcome with happiness
that her son was found. On October, 22, 1921, he arrived
in Mayfield.
Mr. Nichols worked with John Lanigan on the Monticello
Times until he removed to California
in 1904; then he worked on various papers
and in job offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Niles
and other places. Settling in Redwood
City he worked on the Redwood City Democrat
for J. V. Swift, its editor and proprietor, and they are
the best of friends; then he removed
with his family to Mayfield and he bought the
Mayfield News from Thomas B. Scott, about six years ago.
During the month of December, 1916, a
disastrous fire occurred which destroyed the
entire printing plant, and they carried no insurance.
They nobly made a new start, bought
new and more modern equipment and now operate a first
class newspaper and job printing office. They are
enthusiastic "boosters" for Mayfield
and were energetic in helping to get the State
Highway through Mayfield, which has been an impetus
toward greater advancement. May 1,
1922, Mr. Nichols disposed of a one-half interest
in the Mayfield News to Mr. Herbert D. Triplett of San
Francisco who thereby became a
partner in the Mayfield News. He is a native of
Austin, Nev., where he was born April 2, 1894. Educated
in the public schools of Nevada and
the Mission High School of San Francisco, he early
entered the printing and newspaper business and has a
wide acquaintance with newspaper men
on the Coast. He was married at San Francisco,
February 8, 1919, to Miss Bernice Jones, a native
daughter and now the mother of one
child, Wm. Charles Triplett. Mr. and Mrs. Triplett are
valuable acquisitions to the staff of the Mayfield News
and are heartily welcomed in Mayfield.
Mr. Nichols is an Odd Fellow. Mrs. Nichols is the past president
of the Ladies' Relief Corps of Redwood City and is now an
active member of the W. R. C. of Palo Alto; she is also
active in the Methodist Church of
Mayfield. Mr. and Mrs. Nichols radiate a spirit of
progress and good fellowship and stand for everything
that is good for the upbuilding of
Mayfield and environs.
Transcribed by
Linda Gretty, from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California,
published by Historic Record Co. , 1922. page 959
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