Nichols Family

ARTHUR HOWARD NICHOLS (1840-1923)

Arthur Nichols was a highly regarded physician and the beloved patriarch of the Nichols family. He practiced medicine and saw patients out of his home office at 55 Mount Vernon Street. His other passion was bellringing and he enjoyed feeding the pigeons on the Boston Common.

Learn more about Arthur, here.

ELIZABETH FISHER NICHOLS (1844-1929)

Elizabeth Fisher Homer embodied the Victorian ideal of woman as wife and mother. Yet she was also adept at managing the family finances and never missed an opportunity to travel. She exercised good taste in furnishing her family’s homes and enjoyed gardening. Elizabeth participated in local charities and she supported the suffragist cause.

Learn more about Elizabeth, here.

ROSE STANDISH NICHOLS (1872-1960)

Confident, in-charge, and highbrow, Rose Standish Nichols was successful in many walks of life: she is remembered as a garden designer, writer, collector, craftsperson, suffragist and pacifist, historic preservationist, and museum founder. Rose Nichols lived independently at 55 Mount Vernon Street until her death in 1960, at which point it became the Nichols House Museum.

Learn more about Rose, here.

MARIAN CLARKE NICHOLS (1874-1963)

Marian Nichols dedicated her life to state and local politics. Once seen as shy and timid in her adolescence, she made herself heard at the nearby Massachusetts State House where she agitated for reform measures. She enjoyed automobiles and driving, and she founded the Beacon Hill Civic Association.

Learn more about Marian, here.

MARGARET HOMER (NICHOLS) SHURCLIFF (1879-1959)

Margaret was the lively youngest sibling who enjoyed athletics and carpentry lessons. She took after her father, Arthur, and practiced bellringing. Margaret opened a furniture business, Pegleggers, and she taught carpentry lessons in the North End and at the Shurcliff summer home in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Like her sisters, Margaret was a suffragist and pacifist, as well as a fierce defender of civil liberties.

Learn more about Margaret, here.