Erastus Worthington Nichols was the son of
Samuel M. and Sarah Miller Nichols of
Smithtown, Suffolk, Long Island, New York.
He was the brother of Edgar A., Emily S.
(Charles S.) Price, John F., and Mary
(Thomas) Clark and a step-brother to Jeremiah, Vincent, Cornelius, and Priscilla (chidlren of his father's second marriage0.
He was married about 1853 to Mary Elizabeth
Wetherill and they had a son, Clayton
Worthington Nichols. They lived at No. 279
5th. St. New York City, New York.
Erastus was a sea captain in the China trade.
Tradition has it that he nursed the crew of
his ship when they were dying of smallpox,
thus contracting the disease himself. Three
of the ships he sailed on, according to notes
made in his personal notebook and logs, were
the ship "Heber" of Philadelphia (1852), the
ship "North Star" (1854), the ship, "Element,"
and the barque "Reindeer." He sailed on
these ships in the period circa 1852-1855.
His personal notebook contains mostly poetry
written by him, apparently while on board
these ships, including such titles as
"Mary's Face," "on Recovery from Sickness,"
"To an Old Sweetheart," and "Duty to Aged
Parents."
He died in May 1856, New York, and was
buried at Northport, Suffolk, Long Island,
New York. His remains were removed about
1920-1930 to Huntington Rural Cemetery,
Suffolk, Long Island, New York.

"Duty to Aged Parents"
Me let the tender office long engage,
To rock the cradle of reposing age,
With lenient art extend a mother's breath;
Make languor smile and smooth the bead of death
Explore the thought, explain the asking eye
and keep awhile one parent from the sky.
April the 23rd, 1854

"Long Years Had Passed"
Long years have passed--but in my memory now,
I see the light that quiver'd o'ver her brow,
I see the smile around those dying lips:
The lingering smile which death could not eclipse
And even in my thought and in my dream
I feel the influence of that holy scene.
E.W.N.

(Note - Erastus was seven years old when his
mother, Sarah, died. Did he witness her
passing? How very sad! His father passed
away in 1864 at Andover, Henry, Illinois.)

In the Long Islander Huntington Newspaper,
on June 6, 1856, p. 2 was the following:
DIED
In New York, on the 2?,th inst., after a
short and painful illness, Captain Erastus
W. Nichols, in the 31st. year of his age.
His remains were taken to Northport, L.I.
for interment.