Allen R. Nickell, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Allen R. Nickell
ALLEN R. NICKELL was born in Monroe County, Va., March 8, 1830, and is a son of Andrew Nickell, a native of Virginia, a farmer and of Irish descent, who married Janette Cornwall in Virginia in about 1826, and in 1835 came with teams overland to Elkhart County, Ind. After living there one year, he came to Porter County, and entered 240 acres of land in Washington Township, near Morgan Prairie. Mr. Nickell erected a cabin and lived there one season; then moved to Scipio Township La Porte County. His wife died about 1846 leaving a family of four children, all of whom are yet living. Mr. Nickell afterward married Mary Ann Parker, and to this union were born six children. The mother is yet living, but the father died in 1869. Allen R. Nickell was reared in La Porte County, receiving a common school education. He lived at home until December 1849, when he went to California, and for one month after his arrival worked on a farm for $150, after which he engaged in mining. In 1851, he returned and engaged in farming in Washington Township. In 1870, he moved to Valparaiso, where he is yet living. He was married, in 1851, to Sarah Shinabarger, who died in 1871. They were the parents of three children - Paulina J. (deceased), Malinda E. and Sarah E. April 23, 1876, he was married to Mrs. Lillie (Carpenter) Best , and by her has one son - Allen Roy. Mrs. Nickell is a member of the M. E. Church, and Mr. Nickell is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar of Valparaiso Commandery, No. 28. He is a Democrat, and has served one term as Trustee of Centre Township.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 263-264
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook