Timothy Nicholson was born in Perquimans County, North Carolina, Nov. 2, 1828, the son of Josiah and Anna (White) Nicholson, prominent Friends. Educated in local Quaker schools and in the Friends School (now Moses Brown School) in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1849 he returned to North Carolina to head Belvidere Academy. In 1855 he joined the faculty of Haverford College, first as a teacher and then as superintendent. In 1861, Nicholson moved to Richmond, Indiana, where he resided until his death, operating a book and stationary store. He became one of the leading members of Indiana Yearly Meeting of orthodox Friends, serving for many years as clerk of the yearly meeting of Ministers and Elders and as clerk of the yearly meeting from 1904 to 1911. From 1865 to 1914 he was a member of the Earlham College Board of Trustees. For most of that time he was considered the board's most active and influential member. When the American Gurneyite yearly meetings of Friends were swept by holiness revivalism in the 1870s, Nicholson was a leading proponent of a more moderate and traditional Quaker vision, and was central to Indiana Yearly Meeting resisting the revival movement's most radical tendencies. He also became nationally known for humanitarian work in prison reform and temperance. Nicholson was twice married: first in 1853 to Sarah N. White (1827-1863) and in 1868 to Mary S. White (1839-1911). He died in Richmond, Sept. 15, 1924.

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