J.V. Nickolai, Victim of Cholera

J.V. Nickolai was also known as John Valentin Nicolai. As often is the case with individuals of German descent, there are often discrepancies in spellings of both their first and last names. This brief biographical sketch of Mr. Nickolai/Nicolai in HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, OHIO, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich:

Valentin Nicolai was born in Saxonia in 1806 and emigrated in 1834. He worked at his trade, that of carpenter, for many years with Peter Gilcher and F. R. Rheinheimer. In 1837 he was married to Elizabeth Schmidt ; of their six children four are now living : Frederick, residing in Tiffin ; Ezra, also a resident of Tiffin ; Johannes, residing in Cincinnati, and Christine Scheer, of Michigan. Mr. Nicolai died of the cholera in the epidemic of 1849.

Valentin Nickolai/Nicolai succumbed to cholera on July 20, 1849, at the age of 44 years, 3 months, and 25 days. He was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Hundreds of individuals died in Sandusky during the cholera epidemic of 1849. A marker found at the Cholera Cemetery, which served as a mass burial location for hundreds of cholera victims, honors the memory of both the cholera victims, as well as those who came to their aid.

















Note: A GAR marker is found near the tombstone of J.V. Nickolai, however this is most likely an error, since GAR members were Civil War Veterans. Mr. Nickolai died several years before the outbreak of the Civil War.