Daniel Merton Nichols (1880-1959)

Daniel Merton Nichols was born on 30 May 1880 in Blue Earth County, Minnesota.  Daniel was the seventh of eleven children born to Daniel Webster Nichols (1848-1910) and Hannah Elizabeth McColley (1847-1926).  Daniel was raised in and around Winnebago, Minnesota.  When his parents moved north between 1895 and 1900, he remained in Faribault County.

On 14 October 1899, Daniel married Martha Groppel in Blue Earth, Minnesota.  In the 1900 census, the Nichols family was living in Winnebago in the same neighborhood as Martha's sister, Sarah Ferguson, and Daniel's widowed sister, Emma Catlett.  Daniel was working as a farm laborer, and the couple had a two-month old son, Harry.  Daniel and Martha had five children total:

Harry O Nichols (1900-1990), married Charlotte Mary Huber in 1925.
Irene Mae Nichols (1903-1954), married John Marshall Messer in 1921.
Agnes Elizabeth Nichols (1909-2007), married Harry Merrill Shannon in 1929; married 2nd Raymond Ephraim Jeffries in 1972.
Lucille Myra Nichols (1911-1986), married Kenneth Ross Davis in 1938.
Audrey Violet Nichols (1917-1980), married John M Fenelon in 1941.

In 1905, the family lived on Oak Street in Winnebago, and Daniel was working as a day laborer.  In the 1910 census, the Nichols lived on Mill Street and Daniel was working as a plumber.  On his World War I draft registration, Daniel was listed as a plumber working for H.W. Cramer in Winnebago.  In the 1920 census, the Nichols were still on Mill Street, and Daniel was working as a plumber for a hardware store.  By 1930, only Lucille and Audrey were still living with their parents. Eighteen-year-old Lucille was working as a saleslady at a bakery.  Daniel was working for the public schools as a heating fireman.  In 1940, Daniel, Martha and Audrey were renting a home on Mill Street.  In the 52 weeks Daniel had worked in 1939, he had an earned income of $1300.  Audrey, age 22, was working as an assistant cashier at the electric company and had earned $840 in 1939.

According to his obituary, Daniel worked as a heating engineer for the public schools for over 30 years and retired at the age of 76, only three years before his death.  He died on December 3, 1959 after having been bedridden since September of that year.  He was living with and cared for by his daughter Lucille Davis during his illness.

In addition to his family and work, Daniel Nichols was a member of the IOOF Lodge and served for many years as a volunteer fireman in Winnebago.

Daniel Merton Nichols was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Winnebago, next to his wife, Martha who preceded him in death.