Life Story
Myrtie M. Ferguson was probably born in Kansas in 1888, the daughter of Robert H. Ferguson and Elizabeth Rippey Ferguson. The exact date and town should remain open until a stronger vital, cemetery, or death source is added, but the core placement is stable: by 1900 she was in her parents’ Galena Township, Woods County, Oklahoma Territory household, recorded with the family under the census spelling Furgason.1
By 1900, the Ferguson household had settled into the Galena country of northwestern Oklahoma Territory. Myrtie lived there with her parents Robert and Lizzie, her sister Minnie, and younger brother Chester. The census places her before marriage in the same rural world where the Ferguson, Rippey, and Nicholson families soon appear as neighbors, in-laws, and business associates.1
Myrtie’s early life sat inside a dense kinship network. Through her mother Lizzie, she belonged to the Rippey family; through her father Robert, she belonged to the Ferguson line that appears repeatedly beside the Nicholsons in the Galena, Elmot, and Fairview records. A 1906 land-ownership map later placed L. Nicholson near Galena, close to J. I. Rippey and a Ferguson-marked parcel. The map is not a family record by itself, but it helps show the neighborhood setting in which the marriage and business ties made sense.5
Myrtie married Leonard Isaiah Nicholson in Woods County, Oklahoma Territory, on 23 July 1905. The marriage record identified Leonard as a Missouri-born resident of Galena and Myrtie as a Kansas-born resident of Galena. Because Myrtie was under age, her father, R. H. Ferguson, gave consent.2 She was still a teenager when she entered what would become a very large and mobile household.
The first years of marriage were busy ones. In March 1906, a Major County notice reported both that Leonard had secured the contract to carry the U.S. mail from Elmot to Orienta and that a son had been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Nicholson.3 That son was the first of thirteen children born to Myrtie and Leonard.
Leonard’s public life as a mail contractor, auctioneer, liveryman, and promoter belongs mainly to his own profile, but it shaped Myrtie’s household too. In September 1906, a local item reported that L. I. Nicholson and Robert Ferguson had traded land for a large feed barn in Fairview.4 For Myrtie, the business connection was also a family connection: her husband and father were acting together in the same Fairview-area economy.
The 1910 census found Leonard and Myrtie in Fairview, Oklahoma, with their young children Francis, Ople, and Leo. Leonard’s mother Telitha Nicholson was also in the household, along with nephew Edwin Brown. For Myrtie, then about twenty-one or twenty-two, the census captures a household that already included three small children, an elderly mother-in-law, and a nephew from the extended Nicholson family.6
Family memory gives that domestic work a sharper edge. Myrtie later reportedly said that, as the mother of thirteen children on a farm, she went to bed at midnight and was up again at four in the morning. The exact hours may have been an exaggeration, or the kind of compressed memory that turns many hard years into one sentence, but the point is believable: Myrtie’s life was not a quiet backdrop to Leonard’s public ventures. It was the practical work of keeping a large household fed, clothed, moved, and connected.7
The family’s move to Canada was not a simple one-way migration. In May 1912, a Fairview newspaper reported that Len Nicholson and wife were going to Chickasha to visit her family and then expected to locate in Herbert, Canada.8 Contemporary notices then show a pattern of return and renewed departure. By January 1913, a Fairview item said Len Nicholson and family had returned from a nine-month stay in Canada, and in May 1913 another notice reported that Mrs. Nicholson stopped at Chickasha while Leonard went on to Canada on business.9, 10
Those notices are important because they show Myrtie not only as a migrant, but as a daughter and sister still moving through her own family network. Chickasha was not incidental; it was where her Ferguson relatives were. Even after marriage, children, and a Canadian homestead, Myrtie’s Oklahoma family remained part of the family geography.
The back-and-forth also carried financial pressure. In 1914, a foreclosure notice in Major County named Leonard I. Nicholson and Myrtle M. Nicholson as defendants in an action involving a 160-acre Oklahoma property. A 1915 sheriff’s sale notice followed in the same matter.11, 12 The records do not tell us how Myrtie experienced that loss, but they do show that the family’s movement toward Saskatchewan overlapped with unresolved Oklahoma land and debt.
The Canadian years still did not fully cut the Oklahoma tie. In 1917, an Oklahoma item reported that Mrs. Len Nicholson and the children, of Herbert, Saskatchewan, had arrived in the Fairview area to visit relatives, with Leonard expected to arrive later.13 Another 1917 notice described Leonard as a former Major County resident who had returned from near Herbert, Saskatchewan.14 Read from Myrtie’s side, these items show the work of maintaining family ties across a long and difficult distance.
By 1921, Myrtie and Leonard were again established in Saskatchewan. The 1921 Canada census enumerated the household in the R.M. of Connaught, with Leonard as a farmer and Myrtie recorded with ten children in the household.15 The 1926 Prairie Provinces census placed the family in the Melfort or Star City area, with a larger child group that included children born in both the United States and Saskatchewan.16 By 1931, the family was in the Nipawin district, and the census recorded Myrtie as Mytie Nicholson, age forty-three, born in the United States, and a homemaker.17
The children eventually spread across Saskatchewan and beyond, but the family remained visibly connected. When daughter Wilma Ethel Nicholson Sullivan died in California in 1949 at only twenty-six, her obituary identified her as a native of Leacross, Saskatchewan, and as the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. I. Nicholson of Nipawin. It named twelve surviving brothers and sisters in Canada: Francis, Nile, Thomas, Jay, Lorene, Zelma, Maxene, Louise, June, Ellen, Rosy, and Phyllis.18 The obituary is sad evidence, but it also helps reconstruct the full Nicholson child group.
Myrtie’s later life continued to cross borders. In 1938, a Fairview newspaper reported that Mr. and Mrs. L. I. Nicholson and children, of Saskatchewan, were visiting friends around Fairview and remembered Leonard as the first auctioneer for the old Tradesday sale.19 In 1947, an Enid item said Mr. and Mrs. L. I. Nicholson and daughter Ellen had arrived from Nipawin to visit Leonard’s sister Elizabeth Glines and added that the Nicholsons made their home in Enid each winter.20 Family memory also preserves visits to relatives in California and Oklahoma, though those trips still need stronger dated records before they are treated as more than recollection.7
A 1949 Enid item gives a small but personal late-life glimpse. Leonard had planned to proceed with U.S. naturalization, but the hearing was postponed because his wife had become ill.21 The item says little about Myrtie directly, but it shows that her health affected the couple’s late-life plans while they were in Oklahoma.
Leonard died at Nipawin in 1957. His Saskatoon obituary named Myrtie as his wife and listed the surviving children, by then four sons and eight daughters after Wilma’s death.22 Myrtie survived him by more than thirty years. A 1972 federal voters list for the Prince Albert electoral district listed Nicholson, Mrs. Myrtie M., widow, Nipawin, giving a late-life record of her continued residence there and supporting the Myrtie spelling.23 Her Find a Grave memorial, under the name Myrtle M. Nicholson, places her burial at Ravine Bank Cemetery in Nipawin and gives her life years as 1888-1989.24
Myrtie’s surviving records are quieter than Leonard’s. He advertised, auctioned, promoted, moved land, and turned up in newspapers as a public man. She appears more often through households, children, moves, visits, illness, widowhood, and burial. But that quieter record should not be mistaken for a smaller life. Myrtie Ferguson carried a large family through Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, Enid winters, visits south, and decades of farm and household work. Her profile is the story of connection: Ferguson to Rippey, Ferguson to Nicholson, Oklahoma to Saskatchewan, and one large family held together across distance.
Research Notes
Birth Year and Birthplace
Use 1888 as Myrtie’s working birth year, with Kansas as the birthplace. The 1900 census places her in the Robert H. Ferguson household and has a birth-month/year reading that needs caution. The later marriage age, 1931 census age, and cemetery memorial all fit an 1888 birth more comfortably. A death registration, obituary, gravestone image, or cemetery register may resolve the exact date and place.
Name Variants
Use Myrtie M. Ferguson as the display and index form, following the site’s preference for maiden names in public profile listings. Records vary after marriage. The 1914 foreclosure notice names her as Myrtle M. Nicholson, the 1931 census appears as Mytie Nicholson, and the 1972 voters list uses Mrs. Myrtie M. Nicholson. Treat these as record variants unless a stronger source shows a different preferred form.
Ferguson and Furgason
Use Ferguson as the normalized surname. The 1900 census appears as Furgason. Keep the record spelling in source notes, but use Ferguson in profile prose unless quoting or transcribing a source.
Rippey Family Connection
Myrtie’s mother was Elizabeth Rippey Ferguson. The broader Rippey network is important context, especially in the Galena-area land and business evidence, but do not claim a specific relationship from a contextual land map alone. Use direct family records for the parent-child chain and land/map sources only as neighborhood and kin-network context.
Migration Chronology
Do not present the Oklahoma-to-Saskatchewan move as a simple permanent move in 1912. Contemporary newspapers document travel and attempted returns in 1913 and 1917. Later obituaries give a useful broad sequence, but the contemporary newspaper evidence shows a more complicated cross-border pattern.
Family Memory
The midnight-to-four-in-the-morning comment should be treated as family recollection. It is useful because it conveys the remembered burden of farm and household work, but it should not be presented as a literal daily schedule unless corroborated by a direct interview or more detailed family testimony.
Children
Myrtie and Leonard had thirteen known children together. Do not include Leonard’s DNA-supported daughter by Catherine Teresa Kelly in Myrtie’s child list or family group sheet. That child belongs in Leonard’s profile or a separate source note, not in Myrtie’s household story.
Evidence Timeline
-
Birth in Kansas
Kansas is the supported birthplace; exact date and town remain open pending a stronger vital, cemetery, or death source.
-
Ferguson household in Oklahoma Territory
The 1900 census placed Myrtie in the household of Robert H. and Lizzie Ferguson in Galena Township.
-
Marriage to Leonard Nicholson
The Woods County marriage record includes consent from Myrtie's father, R. H. Ferguson.
-
Early married household
The first children were born while the Nicholson household included young children, Leonard's mother Telitha, and a nephew.
-
Oklahoma and Saskatchewan back-and-forth
Newspaper items show the family moving toward Herbert, returning to Oklahoma, and visiting relatives on both sides of the border.
-
Saskatchewan household
Canadian census records place the growing Nicholson household in Saskatchewan, later in the Nipawin district.
-
Continuing southern family ties
Newspaper items show visits to Oklahoma, winters in Enid, and family connections reaching California.
-
Widowhood and death
Myrtie remained in Nipawin after Leonard's death; a 1972 voters list names her there as a widow.
Family Group Sheet
- Spouse / family connection
- Leonard Isaiah Nicholson, married 23 July 1905 in Woods County, Oklahoma Territory
- Children and direct-line notes
-
- Leonard Francis Nicholson
- Ople Lorene Nicholson
- Leo Nile Nicholson
- Willard Jay Nicholson
- Zelma Elizabeth Nicholson
- Marion Thomas Nicholson
- Myrtie Louise Nicholson
- Telitha June Nicholson
- Wanda Maxene Nicholson
- Elzora Rosy Nicholson - direct-line child
- Wilma Ethel Nicholson
- Phyllis Nicholson
- Doris Ellen Nicholson
Photographs
Photograph Index
Images embedded in the story are gathered here with the additional family photographs connected to this profile.
Documentary Base
Sources
census
[1] 1900 U.S. Census - R. H. Furgason Household, Galena Township, Woods County, Oklahoma Territory
Needs caution Back to first citationCitation: "United States Census, 1900," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMGP-XTG : accessed 8 July 2026), entry for R. H. Furgason household, Galena Township, Woods County, Oklahoma Territory; citing NARA microfilm publication T623.
Access: FamilySearch image and index; image 388, digital folder 004119038_001_M9LY-H5F, microfilm 1241343.
- Places Myrtie/Myrtle Ferguson in the household of Robert H. Ferguson and Lizzie Ferguson before her marriage.
- Supports Kansas as Myrtie's birthplace and Galena Township as her pre-marriage residence.
- Preserves the Furgason surname spelling as a record variant.
- Birth month and year reading needs caution; later evidence supports 1888 more than 1887.
marriage
[2] 1905 Woods County Marriage Record for Leonard I. Nicholson and Myrtie M. Ferguson
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Woods County, Oklahoma Territory, marriage record, application/license/certificate for Leonard I. Nicholson and Myrtie M. Ferguson, 21-23 July 1905; 'Woods, Oklahoma, United States records,' images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8937-PF9V?view=explore : accessed 6 July 2026), image 234 of 828; Oklahoma County Court (Woods County), image group no. 005685921.
Access: FamilySearch image supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Records the marriage application and license for Leonard I. Nicholson and Myrtie M. Ferguson in Woods County, Oklahoma Territory.
- Gives Leonard as age 24, white, born Missouri, resident of Galena, Oklahoma Territory.
- Gives Myrtie as age 17, white, born Kansas, resident of Galena, Oklahoma Territory.
- Includes consent by R. H. Ferguson for his underage daughter Myrtie M. Ferguson to marry Leonard I. Nicholson.
- Supports the marriage date as 23 July 1905 and the Nicholson-Ferguson family connection.
- Exact place spelling/reading should be checked against the image; later obituary says Gelena/Galena, Oklahoma.
newspaper
[3] 1906 Major County Chieftain Local Items: Mail Contract and Birth of Leonard and Myrtie's Son
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Elmot Breezes' local items, Major County Chieftain (Fairview, Oklahoma), 2 March 1906, p. 10; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/major-county-chieftain/82017866/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- States that Leonard Nicholson had secured the contract to carry U.S. mail from Elmot to Orienta.
- Reports the birth of a baby boy to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Nicholson.
- States that W. T. Nicholson was 75 years old on 20 February 1906.
- Reports that Robert Ferguson was going to locate in or near Elmot.
- Supports Leonard's early transport/mail work and the birth context for his first child with Myrtie.
newspaper
[4] 1906 Cleo Journal Item: L. I. Nicholson and Robert Ferguson Trade Land for Fairview Feed Barn
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Elmot' local items, Cleo Journal (Cleo, Oklahoma), 13 September 1906, p. 6; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/cleo-journal-leonard-nicholson-and-rober/201058286/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- States that L. I. Nicholson had Arkansas workers pulling broomcorn for him.
- Names L. I. Nicholson and Robert Ferguson together.
- States that L. I. Nicholson and Robert Ferguson had traded land for a big feed barn in Fairview.
- Strongly supports identifying the later Nicholson & Ferguson feed barn/livery business as Leonard I. Nicholson and Robert H. Ferguson.
- Provides business and family-network context shortly after Leonard's 1905 marriage to Myrtie M. Ferguson.
- Does not identify the land traded or provide a formal deed record.
map
[5] 1906 Woods County Land Ownership Map Showing L. Nicholson
Strong support Back to first citationCitation: 'Map of Township 23 N Range 14 W,' Woods County, Oklahoma, 1906, showing L. Nicholson, J. I. Rippey, and Ferguson parcels near Galena P.O.; digital image, Ancestry, U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1127/images/31617_072087-00123?pId=187199 : accessed 6 July 2026); Collection no. G&M_26, roll 26; citing county land ownership atlases microfilmed by the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Access: Ancestry image supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Shows L. Nicholson on a 160-acre parcel in Township 23 North, Range 14 West, Indian Meridian, Woods County, Oklahoma, in 1906.
- Places Leonard's mapped land near Galena P.O.
- Shows nearby parcels associated with J. I. Rippey and a Ferguson-marked owner, supporting the local Nicholson-Ferguson-Rippey cluster.
- Useful for website map reconstruction and local geography.
- As a compiled land-ownership atlas, this should not override original land-entry, tract-book, deed, or court records.
census
[6] 1910 U.S. Census for Leonard I. Nicholson Household in Fairview, Oklahoma
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 1910 U.S. census, Major County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Fairview Ward 4, enumeration district 174, sheet 14B, Leonard J./I. Nicholson household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLQJ-XNF : accessed 6 July 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication T624.
Access: FamilySearch image and index supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Enumerates Leonard Nicholson as head of household in Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma.
- Enumerates wife Myrtie and children Francis, Ople, and Leo.
- Enumerates Leonard's widowed mother Telitha/Telitha E. Nicholson in the household after William Thomas Nicholson's death.
- Enumerates Edwin Brown as Leonard's nephew, supporting the Nicholson-Brown family connection.
- Contains indexing/spelling errors; use corrected readings from the image.
family memory
[7] Family Memory of Myrtie M. Ferguson
Family memory Back to first citationCitation: Family recollection concerning Myrtie M. Ferguson, preserved in the Nicholson/Ferguson family and reported to Davis Simpson, 8 July 2026.
Access: Private family memory; do not publish living-person contact details.
- Preserves family recollection that Myrtie spoke with a strong Missouri accent.
- Preserves family recollection that Myrtie once said she went to bed at midnight and rose at 4 a.m. while raising thirteen children on a farm.
- Preserves recollection that Myrtie visited Ferguson and Nicholson relatives in California and Oklahoma.
- Treat as family memory, not as documentary proof.
newspaper
[8] 1912 Fairview Republican Item: Len and Myrtie Nicholson Expect to Locate at Herbert, Canada
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Local item, Fairview Republican (Fairview, Oklahoma), 24 May 1912, p. 7; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/fairview-republican-leonard-nicholson-and/201049023/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Reports that Len Nicholson and wife went to Chickasha to visit her family and then expected to locate in Herbert, Canada.
- Provides contemporary evidence for the family's 1912 Oklahoma-to-Saskatchewan move.
- Shows the move was planned through Myrtie's family visit in Chickasha.
- Later records show back-and-forth movement, so do not treat this as a simple permanent move.
newspaper
[9] 1913 Fairview Leader Item: Leonard Nicholson Returns from Canada
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Local item, The Fairview Leader (Fairview, Oklahoma), 30 January 1913, p. 5; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fairview-leader-leonard-nicholson-re/201049314/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Reports that Len Nicholson and family returned from a nine-month stay in Canada.
- Includes Leonard's humorous comment about cold and wind in Canada.
- Shows the 1912 move was followed by a return to Oklahoma in early 1913.
- Important for avoiding a simplified one-way migration narrative.
newspaper
[10] 1913 Fairview Republican Item: Len and Myrtie Nicholson Travel, Mrs. Nicholson to Chickasha and Leonard to Canada
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Local item, Fairview Republican (Fairview, Oklahoma), 2 May 1913, p. 5; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/fairview-republican-len-and-myrtie-nicho/201048660/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Reports that Mr. and Mrs. Len Nicholson left by Rock Island train.
- States that Mrs. Nicholson stopped at Chickasha to visit relatives while Mr. Nicholson went on to Canada on business.
- Shows Leonard's continued business ties to Canada after returning to Oklahoma.
newspaper
[11] 1914 Fairview Leader Foreclosure Notice for Leonard I. and Myrtle M. Nicholson
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Notice by publication, Rutland Savings Bank v. Leonard I. Nicholson et al., The Fairview Leader (Fairview, Oklahoma), 20 August 1914, p. 4; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fairview-leader-leonard-nicholson-an/201049627/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Names Leonard I. Nicholson and Myrtle M. Nicholson as defendants in a foreclosure action.
- Describes a mortgage on the west half of the southeast quarter and east half of the southwest quarter of section 10, township 22, range 14, Major County, Oklahoma, containing 160 acres.
- States the mortgage was executed 1 March 1906 to secure an $800 promissory note.
- Supports land/financial pressure in Leonard and Myrtie's Oklahoma period.
- Should be correlated with deed, mortgage, and sheriff's sale records.
newspaper
[12] 1915 Fairview Leader Sheriff's Sale Notice for Nicholson Land
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Notice of Sheriff's Sale, Rutland Savings Bank v. Leonard I. Nicholson et al., The Fairview Leader (Fairview, Oklahoma), 6 May 1915, p. 4; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fairview-leader-leonard-nicholson-an/201049888/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Reports an order of sale issued 8 April 1915 in the foreclosure action involving Leonard I. Nicholson and Myrtle M. Nicholson.
- Describes the same 160-acre Major County property from section 10, township 22, range 14.
- States judgment details including $680.66 and attorney fees.
- Supports the loss or forced sale of the Oklahoma land after the Canadian move period.
newspaper
[13] 1917 Fairview Republican Item: Myrtie Nicholson and Children Arrive from Herbert
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Local item, Fairview Republican (Fairview, Oklahoma), 2 March 1917, p. 3; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/fairview-republican-myrtie-ferguson-nich/201050296/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Reports that Mrs. Len Nicholson and children of Herbert, Saskatchewan, Canada, former residents of Fairview, arrived in Ringwood and were visiting relatives in eastern Major County.
- States that Mr. Nicholson would arrive later.
- Supports a 1917 return or attempted return from Saskatchewan to Oklahoma.
newspaper
[14] 1917 Major County Item on Col. Len Nicholson Returning from Herbert, Saskatchewan
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Col. Len Nicholson' local item, Major County Chieftain (Fairview, Oklahoma), 30 March 1917, p. 6; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/major-county-chieftain-leonard-nicholson/201050438/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Names Col. Len Nicholson as a one-time resident of Major County and a well-known auctioneer.
- States that Leonard had returned from near Herbert, Saskatchewan, Canada.
- States that Leonard had resided near Herbert for the past three years.
- Reports that Leonard had been successful in Canada but returned because of Major County water and schools.
- States that Leonard would reside southeast of Cleo, farm, and resume his old calling as auctioneer.
- The phrase 'past three years' should be treated as rounded and correlated with the known 1912-1913 and 1917 cross-border movements.
census
[15] 1921 Canada Census for Leonard Nicholson Household in R.M. of Connaught, Saskatchewan
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 1921 Census of Canada, Saskatchewan, Prince Albert district, R.M. of Connaught, sub-district 30, p. 7, family 82, Leonard Nicholson household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8991/images/1921_158-E003219166?pId=7456593 : accessed 6 July 2026); citing Library and Archives Canada, RG31, folder no. 158.
Access: Ancestry image supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Enumerates Leonard Nicholson as head of household in R.M. of Connaught, Saskatchewan, in 1921.
- Gives Leonard as farmer, born in the USA, immigrated 1912, naturalized 1916.
- Enumerates wife Myrtie/Marta and children Leonard Francis, Ople Lorene, Leo Nile, Willard Jay, Zelma Elizabeth, Marion Thomas, Myrtie Louise, Telitha June, Wanda Maxine, and Elzora Rose.
- Supports the family's Saskatchewan residence and child list in 1921.
- Some given names are misread or variant in indexes; use corrected names based on image and family correlation.
census
[16] 1926 Prairie Provinces Census for Leonard Nicholson Household near Melfort, Saskatchewan
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 1926 Census of the Prairie Provinces, Saskatchewan, Melfort district, sub-district 25/33, household 4, Leonard Nicholson household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP2H-FK3G : accessed 6 July 2026).
Access: FamilySearch image and index supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Enumerates Leonard Nicholson, wife Myrtie, and children in Saskatchewan in 1926.
- Places the family in the Melfort/Star City area before the Nipawin district years.
- Gives Leonard and older children as born in the United States and arriving in Canada around 1912, with younger children born in Saskatchewan.
- Supports the transition from Herbert-era settlement toward later Nipawin district residence.
- Contains indexing errors in several children's names and sexes; correct by image and correlation.
census
[17] 1931 Canada Census for Leonard Nicholson Household in Nipawin District, Saskatchewan
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 1931 Census of Canada, Saskatchewan, Nipawin district, household entry for Lenard Nicholson and Myrtie Nicholson, 1 June 1931; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6R39-K7G2 : accessed 6 July 2026), digital folder no. 113475622, image 12.
Access: FamilySearch image and index supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Enumerates Leonard and Myrtie Nicholson in the Nipawin district in 1931.
- Places the family in the Nipawin area after the 1928 settlement reported in the obituary.
- Supports Leonard as farmer and head of a large household.
- Correlates with later obituaries stating Leonard was a resident of the Nipawin district from 1928 until death.
obituary
[18] 1949 Obituary of Wilma Ethel Sullivan
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: "Mrs. Sullivan dies at hospital," The Peninsula Times Tribune (Palo Alto, California), 25 April 1949, p. 2; clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-obituary-for/158557611/ : accessed 8 July 2026).
Access: Newspapers.com clipping.
- Identifies Wilma Ethel Sullivan as a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. I. Nicholson of Nipawin, Canada.
- States Wilma was a native of Leacross, Saskatchewan.
- Names twelve surviving Nicholson siblings and helps reconstruct Leonard and Myrtie's child group.
- Places Leonard and Myrtie at Nipawin in April 1949.
newspaper
[19] 1938 Fairview Visit Item for L. I. Nicholson, Former Tradesday Auctioneer
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Auctioneer for First Tradesday Visits Here,' Fairview Republican (Fairview, Oklahoma), 24 March 1938, p. 8; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/fairview-republican-leonard-nicholson-an/201051057/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Names Mr. and Mrs. L. I. Nicholson and children, of Saskatchewan, Canada, visiting friends in and around Fairview in March 1938.
- States that Leonard had lived in Fairview nearly forty years earlier.
- States that he was the first auctioneer for the Fairview Tradesday sale and cried the sale for six years.
- States that he left in 1912 for Canada.
- States that Leonard was still in the auction business in Canada.
- As a 1938 retrospective, should be correlated with contemporary 1908-1917 records before being used for exact dates.
newspaper
[20] 1947 Enid Item: L. I. Nicholson Family Arrives from Nipawin and Visits Sister Elizabeth Glines
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Mr. and Mrs. L. I. Nicholson' local item, The Enid Daily Eagle (Enid, Oklahoma), 23 October 1947, p. 16; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-enid-daily-eagle-nicholsons-visiting/137218021/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by user mwarren3634.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- States that Mr. and Mrs. L. I. Nicholson and daughter Ellen arrived in Enid from their home in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada.
- Identifies Mrs. Elizabeth Glines of 408 East Chestnut, Enid, as Mr. Nicholson's sister.
- States that the Nicholsons made their home in Enid each winter.
- States that Miss Nicholson planned to attend Enid Business College.
- Helps explain Leonard's later appearance in Enid naturalization-related records while maintaining a Nipawin home.
newspaper
[21] 1949 Enid Naturalization Item for Canadian Leonard I. Nicholson
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Canadian Leonard I. Nicholson' naturalization item, The Enid Morning News (Enid, Oklahoma), 5 May 1949, p. 12; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-enid-morning-news-leonard-nicholson/201051311/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Names Leonard I. Nicholson in an Enid, Oklahoma, naturalization context in 1949.
- Describes him as Canadian Leonard I. Nicholson.
- States that he was an Enid man who had planned to become naturalized.
- States that his naturalization was postponed because his wife had become ill.
- Does not state that naturalization was completed.
newspaper
[22] 1957 Star-Phoenix Obituary for Leonard Isaiah Nicholson
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Leonard Isaiah Nicholson' obituary, Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), 13 August 1957, p. 18; digital clipping, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-phoenix-obituary-for-leonard-isaiah/37272988/ : accessed 6 July 2026), clipped by Davis Simpson.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis Simpson.
- Gives Leonard's full name as Leonard Isaiah Nicholson.
- States that he died in Nipawin Union Hospital after a long illness.
- States that he had been a resident of the Nipawin district since 1928.
- States that funeral service was conducted by Rev. Nels Neilson of the Apostolic Church in Nipawin Legion Hall.
- States that burial was in Nipawin cemetery.
- States that Leonard was born at Princeton, Missouri, and educated there.
- States that in 1905 he married Miss Myrtie M. Ferguson at Gelena, Oklahoma.
- States that Leonard and Myrtie emigrated to Herbert in 1912, moved to Tisdale in 1919, and settled in the Nipawin district in 1928.
- Names surviving sons Francis, Nile, Tom, and Jay, with residences.
- Names surviving daughters Lorene, Zelma, Louise, June, Maxine, Rosie, Phyllis, and Ellen, with married names and residences.
- Conflicts with another obituary on exact Missouri birthplace: this source says Princeton, Missouri, while the Enid obituary says Liberty, Missouri.
voters list
[23] 1972 Canada Voters List - Mrs. Myrtie M. Nicholson, Nipawin, Saskatchewan
Strong support Back to first citationCitation: Canada, voters lists, 1935-1980, 1972, Prince Albert electoral district, rural polling division no. 174, Nipawin, Saskatchewan, entry for Nicholson, Mrs. Myrtie M.; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2983/images/33022_302526-01499?pId=10333059 : accessed 8 July 2026); citing Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Voters Lists, Federal Elections, 1935-1980, R1003-6-3-E (RG113-B).
Access: Ancestry image; subscription required.
- Places Myrtie M. Nicholson in Nipawin in 1972.
- Identifies her as a widow after Leonard's 1957 death.
- Supports the Myrtie spelling late in life.
cemetery
[24] Find a Grave Memorial - Myrtle M. Nicholson
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/166198805/myrtle-m-nicholson : accessed 8 July 2026), memorial page for Myrtle M. Nicholson (1888-1989), Find a Grave Memorial ID 166198805, citing Ravine Bank Cemetery, Nipawin, Melfort Census Division, Saskatchewan, Canada; maintained by DL, contributor 48844513.
Access: Find a Grave memorial page.
- Supports burial at Ravine Bank Cemetery, Nipawin, Saskatchewan.
- Provides broad life years 1888-1989.
- Records the name as Myrtle M. Nicholson, a name variant.
- Derivative memorial source; exact birth and death dates should be confirmed with death registration, cemetery register, obituary, or gravestone image.