Saratoga campaign
Nickerson was a descendant both of the Nickerson family of Cape Cod and of President John Quincy Adams. His mother, né Ruth Constance Comstock (July 11, 1891 – August 15, 1988), was from Orange, New Jersey. She gave birth to three sons: Schuyler, Eugene and Adams. His father, Hoffman Nickerson (December 6, 1888 – March 24, 1965), was an Army officer, state legislator, and historian who wrote "The turning point of the Revolution; or, Burgoyne in America" concerning the Saratoga campaign.