Roberta West Nicholson collection
Collection
Identifier: L320
Scope and Contents
This collection includes letters, photographs, poetry, writings, newspaper clippings, advertisements, ephemera, and genealogical materials from Roberta West Nicholson and other members of the Nicholson and West families and their acquaintances in Indianapolis, Indiana, North Carolina, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and South America, ranging from 1861 to 1965 and undated, regarding her career and interests, including politics and social issues, as well as those of her family members, business, and Indiana authors.
Dates
- 1861-1965, undated
Creator
- Nicholson, Roberta West, 1903-1987 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Biographical Note
Roberta A. West was born on January 17, 1903 to Robert H., Jr. (1875-1942) and Thusnelda (Wiindisch) West (1877-1953) in Cincinnati, Ohio. She had two brothers, John Albert (1897-1951) and Robert Henry III (1907-1967) and a sister, Alice Louise (1901-1973). The Wests were well-to-do and had a number of servants. After high school in Cincinnati, West studied home economics at the Fuller School for Girls in Ossining, New York because she did not have the chance to learn sewing and cooking growing up. She met her future husband (Willis) Meredith Nicholson (1902-1968), son of author Meredith Nicholson, while visiting her family's summer cottage in Northport Point, Michigan. They married on October 14, 1925 in Hamilton County, Ohio and they had two children: Meredith III (1926-2009) and Eugenie Kountze (1929-2009). The couple lived in Indianapolis, Indiana, Meredith Nicholson's hometown.
During the early years of her marriage, Roberta West Nicholson was involved in the Junior League of Indianapolis as editor of their newsletter and fundraising chairman. Then the Great Depression hit and her husband's small manufacturing business failed and she went to work at Stewart's Bookstore on Washington Street. Nicholson got into politics via her work with the Women's Organization for Prohibition Reform and made speeches around the state in favor of Prohibition's repeal. Nicholson was a member of the Democratic Party and served as an alternate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1932. She was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives serving as a Democrat from 1935 to 1936. She also helped establish the Juvenile Court Bipartisan Committee at that time and was well-known for championing a heart-balm bill.
Nicholson worked as an Indianapolis social worker and served as director of the Marion County Work Progress Administration, Women's and Professional Division during the 1930s. She was also heavily involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), beginning when her children were in elementary school through the 1950s. Nicholson held various administrative posts in other social work agencies. She helped found the Indianapolis Social Hygiene Association (later known as the Social Health Association), serving as the director until 1960, in the 1940s, establishing the first birth control clinic in Indianapolis. Nicholson was also a founder of the Maternal Health League, which became Planned Parenthood, and served on its board. Nicholson was a member of the Parole Board of the Indiana Girls School (1956-1961).
After her husband's business failed, he went into the insurance business and became president of State Life Insurance Company of Indianapolis. Upon the couple's retirement, they bought a farmhouse in Brown County, Indiana as a retreat. Meredith Nicholson, Jr. died on November 28, 1968 and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Roberta West Nicholson continued to serve on the boards of several institutions, including Episcopal Community Services, the Social Health Association, and the Children's Bureau Auxiliary. She died of lung cancer on November 5, 1987 in Nashville, Indiana and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.
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Eugenie Kountze Nicholson was born on March 1, 1929 to Meredith, Jr. (1902-1968) and Roberta (West) Nicholson (1903-1987) in Indianapolis. She graduated from Shortridge High School in 1946. She then graduated from Indiana University and completed graduage work at the University of Iowa. Nicholson married Arnold B. Fox, a former professor of English at the University of Iowa, on April 11, 1953 in Marion County, Indiana. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. In 1979, Eugenie Fox taught as a professor of English at several schools, including the University of Guam and Detroit Community College. She eventually moved to Washington state. Fox died on March 23, 2009 in Grays Harbor, Washington
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Meredith Nicholson (1866-1947) was born on December 2, 1926 to Meredith, Jr. (1902-1968) and Roberta (West) Nicholson (1903-1987) in Indianapolis. He graduated from Shortridge High School in 1944 and Indiana University in 1947 with a degree in government. Nicholson worked as a police reporter for the Evansville Courier (IN). He served in the Finance Corps of the U.S. Army in St. Louis, Missouri and Kentucky duirng the Korean War until his discharge in 1954. Next, Nicholson worked at American Fletcher National Bank in Indianapolis.He married Elizabeth Ann "Cristy" Crist (1927-2016) on September 24, 1955 in Marion County, Indiana. Nicholson continued working in finance at banks in Pennsylvania and then Chicago, Illinois. He and his first wife eventually divorced. In 1978, Nicholson married Lora Jane Krapohl and purchased the Palos Heights Reporter, a neighborhood newspaper on the south side of Chicago in 1979. They sold the paper in 1986 and moved to Raymond, Washington. There they purchased the Willapa Harbor Herald, which they edited and published together. Upon retirement, they bought a vacation home in Casa Grande, Arizona, where Nicholson moved permanently in 2002 following the death of his second wife. He had two children, Joseph and Elizabeth. Nicholson died of congestive heart failure on December 20, 2009 in Casa Grande, Arizona and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." 1930 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." 1430 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie K. Fox." Washington, U.S., Death Records, 1907-2017. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." Web: Marion County, Indiana, U.S., Marriage Index, 1925-2012. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Meredith Nicholson." Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Meredith Nicholson III." Web: Marion County, Indiana, U.S., Marriage Index, 1925-2012. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta West." 1910 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta West." 1920 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta Nicholson." 1930 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta Nicholson." 1940 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta Nicholson." Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta West." Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
"Arnold B. Fox Marries Eugenie West Nicholson." Indianapolis Star, April 12, 1953. Accessed January 14, 2025. ProQuest.
Findagrave.com. "Alice Louise West Wallace." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed January 14, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106719091/alice-louise-wallace.
Findagrave.com. "Eugenie Kountze Nicholson Fox." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138223218/eugenie_kountse_fox.
Findagrave.com. "Robert Henry West, Jr." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79069317/robert-henry-west.
Findagrave.com. "Roberta West Nicholson." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45980738/roberta_nicholson.
"Meredith Nicholson, Jr., Author's Son, Dies." Indianapolis Star, November 21, 1968. Accessed January 14, 2025. ProQuest.
"Meredith Nicholson." Obituary. Indianapolis Star, January 24, 2010. Accessed January 14, 2025. ProQuest.
O'Connor, Bernice. "Controversy Surrounded Her." Indianapolis News, May 1, 1979. Accessed January 14, 2025. ProQuest.
During the early years of her marriage, Roberta West Nicholson was involved in the Junior League of Indianapolis as editor of their newsletter and fundraising chairman. Then the Great Depression hit and her husband's small manufacturing business failed and she went to work at Stewart's Bookstore on Washington Street. Nicholson got into politics via her work with the Women's Organization for Prohibition Reform and made speeches around the state in favor of Prohibition's repeal. Nicholson was a member of the Democratic Party and served as an alternate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1932. She was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives serving as a Democrat from 1935 to 1936. She also helped establish the Juvenile Court Bipartisan Committee at that time and was well-known for championing a heart-balm bill.
Nicholson worked as an Indianapolis social worker and served as director of the Marion County Work Progress Administration, Women's and Professional Division during the 1930s. She was also heavily involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), beginning when her children were in elementary school through the 1950s. Nicholson held various administrative posts in other social work agencies. She helped found the Indianapolis Social Hygiene Association (later known as the Social Health Association), serving as the director until 1960, in the 1940s, establishing the first birth control clinic in Indianapolis. Nicholson was also a founder of the Maternal Health League, which became Planned Parenthood, and served on its board. Nicholson was a member of the Parole Board of the Indiana Girls School (1956-1961).
After her husband's business failed, he went into the insurance business and became president of State Life Insurance Company of Indianapolis. Upon the couple's retirement, they bought a farmhouse in Brown County, Indiana as a retreat. Meredith Nicholson, Jr. died on November 28, 1968 and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Roberta West Nicholson continued to serve on the boards of several institutions, including Episcopal Community Services, the Social Health Association, and the Children's Bureau Auxiliary. She died of lung cancer on November 5, 1987 in Nashville, Indiana and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.
-----
Eugenie Kountze Nicholson was born on March 1, 1929 to Meredith, Jr. (1902-1968) and Roberta (West) Nicholson (1903-1987) in Indianapolis. She graduated from Shortridge High School in 1946. She then graduated from Indiana University and completed graduage work at the University of Iowa. Nicholson married Arnold B. Fox, a former professor of English at the University of Iowa, on April 11, 1953 in Marion County, Indiana. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. In 1979, Eugenie Fox taught as a professor of English at several schools, including the University of Guam and Detroit Community College. She eventually moved to Washington state. Fox died on March 23, 2009 in Grays Harbor, Washington
-----
Meredith Nicholson (1866-1947) was born on December 2, 1926 to Meredith, Jr. (1902-1968) and Roberta (West) Nicholson (1903-1987) in Indianapolis. He graduated from Shortridge High School in 1944 and Indiana University in 1947 with a degree in government. Nicholson worked as a police reporter for the Evansville Courier (IN). He served in the Finance Corps of the U.S. Army in St. Louis, Missouri and Kentucky duirng the Korean War until his discharge in 1954. Next, Nicholson worked at American Fletcher National Bank in Indianapolis.He married Elizabeth Ann "Cristy" Crist (1927-2016) on September 24, 1955 in Marion County, Indiana. Nicholson continued working in finance at banks in Pennsylvania and then Chicago, Illinois. He and his first wife eventually divorced. In 1978, Nicholson married Lora Jane Krapohl and purchased the Palos Heights Reporter, a neighborhood newspaper on the south side of Chicago in 1979. They sold the paper in 1986 and moved to Raymond, Washington. There they purchased the Willapa Harbor Herald, which they edited and published together. Upon retirement, they bought a vacation home in Casa Grande, Arizona, where Nicholson moved permanently in 2002 following the death of his second wife. He had two children, Joseph and Elizabeth. Nicholson died of congestive heart failure on December 20, 2009 in Casa Grande, Arizona and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." 1930 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." 1430 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie K. Fox." Washington, U.S., Death Records, 1907-2017. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Eugenie Nicholson." Web: Marion County, Indiana, U.S., Marriage Index, 1925-2012. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Meredith Nicholson." Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Meredith Nicholson III." Web: Marion County, Indiana, U.S., Marriage Index, 1925-2012. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta West." 1910 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta West." 1920 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta Nicholson." 1930 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta Nicholson." 1940 United States Federal Census. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta Nicholson." Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Roberta West." Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993. Accessed January 9, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. Accessed January 14, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
"Arnold B. Fox Marries Eugenie West Nicholson." Indianapolis Star, April 12, 1953. Accessed January 14, 2025. ProQuest.
Findagrave.com. "Alice Louise West Wallace." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed January 14, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106719091/alice-louise-wallace.
Findagrave.com. "Eugenie Kountze Nicholson Fox." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138223218/eugenie_kountse_fox.
Findagrave.com. "Robert Henry West, Jr." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79069317/robert-henry-west.
Findagrave.com. "Roberta West Nicholson." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45980738/roberta_nicholson.
"Meredith Nicholson, Jr., Author's Son, Dies." Indianapolis Star, November 21, 1968. Accessed January 14, 2025. ProQuest.
"Meredith Nicholson." Obituary. Indianapolis Star, January 24, 2010. Accessed January 14, 2025. ProQuest.
O'Connor, Bernice. "Controversy Surrounded Her." Indianapolis News, May 1, 1979. Accessed January 14, 2025. ProQuest.
Extent
2 Cubic Feet (6 manuscript boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by subject.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Roberta West Nicholson during August 1977-January 1978.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection reprocessing completed 2025/01/14 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid revised 2025/01/14 by Brittany Kropf.
- Advertisements
- Authors -- Indiana
- Authors, American -- Indiana
- Brown, Elizabeth Kountze Nicholson Claypool, 1899-1951
- Clippings
- Correspondence
- Ephemera
- Family history
- Florida
- Fox, Arnold
- Fox, Eugenie Kountze Nicholson, 1929-2009
- Illinois
- Indiana -- Politics and government
- Indianapolis (Ind.)
- Iowa
- Kountze family
- Michigan
- Missouri
- New York (N.Y.)
- Nicholson family
- Nicholson, Meredith, 1866-1947
- Nicholson, Meredith, 1926-2009
- Nicholson, Willis Meredith, 1902-1968
- North Carolina
- Omaha (Neb.)
- Pantzer, Kurt F. (Kurt Friedrich) 1892-1979
- Photographs
- Poetry
- Politicians
- Politicians -- Indiana
- Politics and government
- Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916
- Social work -- United States
- Social work with children
- Social workers
- Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946
- West family
- West, Robert Henry, 1875-1942
Creator
- Nicholson, Roberta West, 1903-1987 (Person)
- Title
- Roberta West Nicholson collection
- Status
- Under Revision
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
