The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-09-23
SUDDEN SUMMONS.
Col. Fred s. Nichols, Editor Of the
Memphis Avalanche, Formerly Edi-
tor of the Argus, Dies Suddenly
in Davenport. T0.day-.-The
Particulars.

Rock Island were shocked this morning
when the news spread that Col. Fred 5.
Nichols, editor of the Memphis A0alanche,
had died suddenly of he art disease. Ac>
companied by his wife, Col. Nichols ar
rived in Davenport the latter part of last
week, to visit their daughter, Mrs. W.
Fl. Forrest The Colonel was in his
usual health. and he and his wife
had intended to spend several weeks
among old time friends. The time passed
pleasantly until this morning, when,
without moments warning, Mr.. Nichols
dropped dead A physician was sum
moned at once, and pronounced the cause
of death heart disease.
Col. Nichols was well known in this
city twenty-five or thirty years ago.
In the fall of 1851, Fred s. Nichols and
John W. Durham purchased of George X.
Budd, of the ST. Louis Intelligencer, sec~
ond hand materials for weekly paper,
and on the eighteenth of October of that
year issued the number of q democratic
paper called the Rock Island Republican
the name of which was changed to the
Rock Island ARGUS in 1855, because
political party had assumed the name re-
publican. Mr. Nichols, one of the found>
ers of this paper. was a native of Michi-
gan, and came to Davenport with his par
ents in 1885,
In 1910 he commenced setting type in
the office of the Iowa City Standard, in
Iowa City, of which VIM. Crum was
editor and proprietor In 1847 he worked
in the office of the Northeastern Aduer>
tiser. in this city, and in 1s49 on the ST.
LOUIS Inteligeneer, whence he came here
as above stated, in 1851.
Durham, his partner in the publication
of the ARGUS, was an imaginative and
rhetorical writer. and in this regard the
opposite of Col. Nichols. who used to
chide his grandiloquent discussiveness
with the stereotyped criticism, "Boil it
down, Durham" This is said to have
been the cause of the dissolution of the
partnership. Mr.. Nichols continued the
paper alone till November "a, 1862. when
he disposed of half interest, and on the
10Th of the following March he disposed
of his interest in the paper entirely. He
then went to Australia, and afterwards
returned and lived on farm in Iowa a
short time Then he worked on the Chi
cago Times
In 1854 he went to Memphis where he
took position on the Memphis Aua>
ld1tche and has continued to reside there
ever since. He was brilliant editorial
writer Cool. deliberate, forcible aud
clear. His opinions were always well
matured A few years ago when the
yellow fever scourge passed through The
south, the printers, editors and reporters
in the A0alancAs office became frightened
at the terrible work the epidemic was do
ing in Memphis and left the paper
and the city until the scourge should
cease. But Fred Nichols stood at his
post and published paper every day.
He was editor, reporter, type setter and
pressman. The paper he got out was a
small one, but he had the satisfaction of
knowing that the Asalanche did not sus-
pend, but swept along in its usual course
while the other papers waited until the
plague might be over
Mr. Nichols was in his 57th year, and
leaves wife and one daughter, the latter
Mrs. Forrest Many of the veteran jour
nalist's old friends in Rock Island will
read of his death with sorrow. For some
time he has owned the majority of the
stock in the Memphis AOaldnche and has
been its editor in chief. The paper is
one of the most valuable newspaper
properties in the south, and under Mr..
Nichols control has always been power
in democratic politics.
| The funeral will take place from the
Episcopal cathedral in Davenport at 2
N m tomorrow