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Died

Died image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
December
Year
1843
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

At Dexter, Washtenaw County, October 31st, 1843. Dr. Cyril Nichols, aged 49 years. The following extract from the sermón delivered on his funeral occasion, is by request submitted for publicatioh. "The visitation of death is a dispensation of an overruling Providence, an event ever invested with surpassing interest, even though its victim be the most obscure and inconsiderable member of the human family - but greater by far when theselection falls upon an individual whóse relations to society have given him an extensive influence, and whose moral worth has endeared him to the hearts of his fellow men. Su'ch an event, in the Providence of has called us together this day, and while with submission we bow to the will of the sövereign of the Uni verse, may we all be led by a wise' improvement of his judgraents to realize in our own experience that "it is better to go to the house óf mourning fhan lö the house of feasting."" Ás preliminary to some remarks naturally suggested by the afllictive scènes through whiclï we are now passing, it may not be unprofitable to glance" briefly at the history of DrlNicÊols, whose sudden remofal from óur midst we deeply deplore. He was born in Middlebury. Vt. May 9th; A D. Í794. At the age of 23, he came'tothis Sfate, and prosecuted the study of Medicine under Üie tuition of Dr. Wkilney of Detroit, a man whose attainments in the profession ofh'is choice were justly celebrated. After completing his course, he entered the service of his country as Surgeon in the army, and was stationed at Mackinaw one year. - Returning fiom that post, he commencedthe practice of Medicine at St. Clair, where he remained oheyear and thcn returned to Detroit, where he wn's üniiedin marriage to Miss Mar y Williams, hisnovv surviving widow. He tlien settïed on the River Rouge, and while actively engaged in the duties of his professton, he shared in cornmon' With the' ear]y settlers of that vicinity in the hardships to which tiiey were exposcd. He as ofte of a small party who pursued and snot down' tlie'Indian, Toguish, son of a Pottawatornie Chiefof that name, who had wanton ly murdered a white man at the door af his ówn dtfelling. Some twö three moreIndians were killed in the skirmish. He carne ío Aun Arbor in 1825, where, instead of the beautiful village thát now charms the eye of the visión, the solitude of an alrnost unbroken íbrest reigned. - After stopping there two years, he carne to Dexter, having been preceded n his pioneer adventures, only by the individual whose name this village bears. He hxjpefuily embraced the religión of the Gospel in 1831, andunjted in church iellowship with the Methodist Society in this place. His example as a christian, it is bclieved was uniformly such as enabled him to honor the profession which he had made. As the settlement of the country advanced, his practice became widely extended, and no ínvidious comparisons are used when it is affirmed that few of his profession, within the bounds of the State had a more thorough knowledge of the diseases of the country, or was more successful in their trcatment and removal. - But it was not mainly in his skill asa Physcian that his chief excellence was found. He was a man in the high and peculiar signification of the term. With a heart all the pulsations of which were benevolence and love, he was ever ready to obey the cali of the afilicted, uninfluenced by the sordid consideralion of pecuniary rewaril. On foot and alone, through darkness and storm - across morass and wild, and in' every section of the región around us, he has followed the trail of the roving Red man, or been guided by the "marked tree" to the habitation of the sick and alïhcted. At his approach, joy has kindled the eye and hope dilated the bosom of the despairing sufFerer. His image is engravcd on the hearts of the children of poverty and suffering, and his name by them and allothers, who have shared in the warm sympathies of his benevolent soul, or experienced the benefits of his skill and attentions will be had in lasting remembrance.Asa cittzen, vigilant and tenderly alive to the interest of the community in which he lived, and of his country, Dr. Nichols was justly esteemed as a neighbor, kind and accommodating almost to a fault bland affable in his manners and pleasinoin his address, his worth can only be told in the language of the strong feeling that deplores his loss. Of himit may be said and be this the' meed of praise with which we embalm his memory, t:those who knew him best; loved hirrfniost." As a husband and father, he was affectionate and kind. Heaven cherish and Mess the objects of his earthly love! And may the merciful Providence which tempers the wind to the shorn lamb. communicate to all their wants and by his grace cause "the bones which have been broken to rejoice." In the last yearsof his Iife, Dr. Nichols experienced several severe attacks oFfever and violent afTection of the lungs. During the last summer and present autumn, he was much reduced, but had so far recovered as to resume business, and less than one week ago he remarked that he had not feit better for a year. - Bnt the disease which has beén so fatal in its visitation here in days gohe by but long o be remembcred, fastened upon his already shattered constitution, and in the developement of its type,' it was soon apparent to those in attendance, that the time of his departurewasathand. Their apprehensions werecommunicated to him, and in reply he said, "All is well," and peacefully went down intothedark vallcv of the shadow of death, supported, wc trust by the rod and the staffof his covenant keeping God, and the complaisant smiles of his Redeemer and Saviour."

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News