John Nicholas and a house on Grant Ave.

In April of 1866 John Nicholas left Loveston, Penhokshire South Wales and Annie Affleck Title left Newcastle, Tyne England journeying to Liverpool England and on to America. Both traveled with young sons, Annie was a widow, John’s wife Mary died enroute to Liverpool also leaving him widowed.  Both John and Annie had converted to the Mormon Church and were traveling to join Saints already in Utah. John’s family was so distraught about his decision to change religions and move to America that he had no further contact with them once he left Wales.

John and Annie along with their sons traveled onboard a ship to America where they boarded a train and then made the final leg of their journey by wagon; the two of them were married in Utah three weeks after arriving in Ogden Utah.  John and Annie bought a small house located between Grant and Lincoln on the north side of 25^th street, it was here that their first child together John Nicholas Jr was born on 8 February 1868.  John Jr. would grow up to become the father of my great grandmother Luella Nicholas Crittenden a women I have multiple memories of. John Sr. was a blacksmith who had a shop on the east side of Washington Blvd between 24^th and 25^th streets before moving it across the street from his home on 25^th street.

Ogden Utah was settled by Mormon Pioneers and grew rather slowly in the beginning, by 1863 Ogden saw the establishment of permanent stores and businesses and by 1869 Ogden had grown with 23 different types of businesses being listed. These businesses included 6 Blacksmiths, one of whom was John Nicholas Sr. Ogden had grown from a Mormon settlement to a freighting center with many freight wagons stopping here to be outfitted for their trips north to mining camps in Idaho and Montana. By 1868 when John Jr. was born Ogden had seen an increase in population and business, and more was on the way as the railroad was coming.

While John Jr. was still quit young his father built a new rock house on the corner of 25^th and Lincoln, at that time there were only four other families on the block. John Sr. died when John Jr. was only 12 years old; this left John to work to help support his family. In 1888 John went to work as an errand boy for a camp of surveyors who were building the new Union Railroad Depot, for this job he earned 40.00 a month. John’s mother died when he was 17 and his blind uncle Jack Affleck took over the household with John still working to help support the family. With his mother’s death, the family property was divided and John received the corner lot. When John married Martha Ann Cole he built a two story brick building on the lot. The first home that John and Martha Ann lived in was the old rock house on 25^th and Lincoln, he then bought a house on Wall Ave between 29^th and 30^th streets the family lived here for 8 years before selling and building back on the Nicholas property between 24^th and 25^th streets on Lincoln Ave.

Martha Ann Cole

John Nicholas Jr.

With the coming of the railroad, Ogden saw a change in population and went from a predominantly Mormon town to a town filled with people from multiple religious background as well as railroad camps, red light districts and gambling.  This also brought building materials more easily to the area and the town saw and increase in beautiful home being built.

During John’s lifetime, 25th street was the center of activity for Ogden, Union Station was located on one end at Wall Ave and it extended up several blocks to Washington Blvd the site of the Ben Lomond Hotel. With the railroad and the change in population 25^th street was dubbed “Two Bit Street”  and was a quintessential example of the wild west. The street was known for its bars and brothels, for underground tunnels, opium dens and bootleggers.

Perhaps it was these activities that prompted John to buy a piece of property located at 2928 Grant Ave and build a beautiful home for his family. Whatever the reason John and Martha Ann did move to Grant Ave building a home and at some point several small homes were moved in behind the larger home as well. Towards the end of his life John moved to one of the small houses in the rear of the property.  It is in this home that John Jr. built on Grant that my great grandmother Luella lived as a young women and again after she married my great grandfather George Crittenden. This is also the house that my grandfather spent his childhood in. My grandfather later moved his own family to one of the homes in the back and my mother lived there during part of her childhood. Later my mother and father moved into that  same small house, that is where they lived when I was born and where I spent my first 7 years of life. My great Uncle and Aunt Charles and Gloria were living in the front main house along with my cousins so my first memories are of time spent in the home my great great grandfather built and playing in the yard with my cousins.

Grant Ave home

My early childhood home

Martha Ann Cole Nicholas was sick for several years and died on 6/14/1935, the couple had been married over 40 years and on 12/27/1935 John joined her, they are buried side by side the Ogden City Cemetery. Luella wrote in her memories of her father that he had a great love for elderly people and enjoyed listening to their stories, perhaps that is where I got that same trait.

The homes on Grant Ave were sold when I was a young child, however for several generations and many years the property and home that John Nicholas built was occupied by his decedents, each generation would have seen changes to the area and made new memories while adding to the family.  A few years ago I returned to the property on Grant Ave and walked around looking at the homes and remembering childhood adventures.